A Plank Of Wood, A Cinderblock, And An Audience: Key Ingredients For Committing Evel

Watch A Plank Of Wood, A Cinderblock, And An Audience: Key Ingredients For Committing Evel - Proving Ground on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00a plank of wood, a cinder block, and an audience, key ingredients for committing evil.

00:06Bikes weren't just basic transportation back in the day. They were also currency,

00:10status symbols, and opportunities to impress the ladies. These weren't the elite 10-speed

00:16models designed for road racing. These were the low-slung, built-to-last,

00:20banana-seat street versions built for stunts and unsanctioned BMX competitions.

00:26Within every boy in my block lived the spirit of Evel Knevel,

00:29the greatest motorcycle stuntman who ever lived.

00:33Evel showed up every weekend on our TVs to jump yet another series of buses,

00:37and the landings always provided slow-motion motivation for us.

00:42We could pull off the same trick if we just had a proper ramp and nerves of steel.

00:47Nerves we had, but a proper ramp, not so much. It was a long wooden plank,

00:52supported by a cinder block or two. Most of the time, we managed to pull off the jump,

00:57with or without other kids positioned under the ramp,

01:00but we never did recreate the visuals of Evel's tragic landing at Caesar's Palace.

01:06The best we could do was a flat tire and massive apologies to the last volunteer in the landing

01:11zone.