Stunt riding
...l soon find out the freedom of ONE wheel. In March of 2004 I purchased a Suzuki GSXR 1000 sport bike. Considered by some to be the strongest, lightest and quickest motorcycle of its time. This is a motorcycle capable of speeds in excess of 180+mph and to beat in on four wheels will take somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000. Over the course of the next year I would become intimately familiar with this machine and use it to literally rocket me to where I am today. My first year riding was very uneventful but it was there that I learned how to handle my bike. I barely drove above the speed limit and never tried any stunts or wheelies until one summer night when I accidentally lifted the front tire while coming off of a light. All I did was jerk the throttle slightly and I felt the front wheel start to come up, of course I wasn’t expecting it and let off the throttle as quickly as possible. It was too late though, I was hooked. The adrenaline from that small wheelie is what started it all. I started trying to get the front end higher and higher. I started asking around, trying to find who was good and who I could learn from. I stayed out later and later looking for more riders who could show me how they learned and watch them practice. It was like a drug and I was a junkie looking for my next fix. I couldn’t wait to get out and practice or hit the streets and see who was out. I spent most of my summer doing this until I meet up with Team Outermost. Team Innermoist is Alaskas only recognized Motorcycle Stunt Team. These guys were the best in the state and probably one of the top 5 in the Nation. I ran into these guys one night while riding and within a few weeks I started practicing with them. I was amazed at what they could do! They had such good control of the bike they made it seem effortless. We would stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning practicing and then do it again the next day. I didn’t have the means to practice as much as them but I would and still do as often as I can. I found I had a natural talent for it and learned most of the basics in the first few months. It was a huge boost in my confidence and my abilities being able to maneuver a motorcycle like this. Since then it has turned into an obsession. One thing I noticed was how I read traffic or look at Roads and parking lots. I find myself looking at the slope of the road or the grade of a parking lot, judging them for a place to practice...