In one of the most daring stunts on earth, Josh Sheehan, a member of the Nitro Circus dirt bike crew, pulled a triple backflip recently off a giant ramp in Maryland.
Sheehan became the first rider to pull such a trick on a dirt bike in April as friends and supporters swarmed him afterward like he’d won the World Series. Indeed for dirt biking this was a monumental achievement, one of those days that pushes the boundaries of what people thought were possible. Some are expecting to see a triple thrown in competition.
The magnitude was not lost on long-time extreme sports announcer Sal Masekela. “There are only two outcomes: roll away on two wheels, or roll away on four wheels to the hospital,” he said in the video posted about the stunt.
“To reach that is absolutely putting your life at risk for anybody,” says Tony Hawk, who broke a similar barrier in skateboarding when he landed a 900 on a vertical ramp.
Sheehan’s stunt took place on a giant ramp about 100 feet tall in the backyard of Travis Pastrana’s house, dubbed Pastranaland for its labrynth of skate ramps and dirt jumps. A successful motocross racer who turned his attention to stunt bike, Pastrana formed Nitro Circus around 2003. Today, the group is known for their popular stunt bike videos, and they are currently on a tour doing live performances.
