My best trick "BACKWARD"

   

Pits Todeswand, Munich Oktoberfest 1992. Photos taken by Samantha Morgan. 

When I started my career of trick rider at 14 years old, there was a legend saying that a rider in Germany was riding backward! Ouch! When you want to prove your skills at this age, with such 

innocence and unconsciousness, it's something you wanna try. 

So I started to train for it.  From left side ride, I started to look back. A bit more each time. And bit more. Looking back while riding on the wall of death gets you dizzy strait away. The bike goes up, and you must come back quickly to look in the front to stop the dizziness. 

That's sport! I spent couple of month doing this, and thinking that I reached my limit. The limit of all other riders attempting this trick. Big names did almost the the backward. But none passed the left leg over the rear wheel. They had both legs on one side. 

So after couple of month doing like them, we went to the MECCA of Wall of Death,  the Oktoberfest of Munich. Where the Original Pits Todeswand hired my brothers and I as guest riders.

The honor to have been chosen to perform at this event putted wings in my back. 

After one week of crashes in this Huge wall of Death (10 meters), and remembered that the legend of the "Backward" rider came from this wall. The PITS TODESWAND.

As I was riding one of theirs Indian Scout, I thought if he did that, I can do that.

At every show, I progressed to the back, centimeters by centimeters. It was hard to understand that being backward, the bike goes up, and to put it straight you have to invert the body moves.

Some shows gave me the fright I was looking for.

My leg over the wheel, and next show, the leg was two centimeters more to the other side. The bike get such instability. But work pays, and I my foot reached the other side, touching the other foot peg.

I called miss Irene Wissinger, the owner of Pit's Todeswand, and showed that trick. 

She asked to stop and explained me why. The legend rider who did that backward before, was Franz Loffelhart, her brother in law.. He attempted and got sever head injuries. He had metal plates in his head. Once out of hospital, he reattempted, but crashed and got killed. 

I heard the story. But I was 18 years old, I  couldn't resist by not doing it. So I kept going 

The following years I perfected , and did the trick on various motorcycles. Even on a Honda Motorcycle  in Florida in the THRILL ARENA of Samantha Morgan. But keeping one hand on handle bar this time.

That trick is so mental, that one season I couldn't perform it. Just don't know why. Then, again performing it. My last season performing the backward, I was passing the right leg over the rear wheel. 

On my way to do the complete circle on the motorcycle, I stopped the wall of death, to work only with the Globe of death.

I did backward ride  8 years long  in my life. The first time in 1988. I know no other rider have done this trick since then. My brother Jesse, was also working on the trick couple of years later, was close to do it. But I asked him to stop. For unknow reasons.

 How not to think of the freestyle motocross guys who get bunch of dollars and they are the only one to perform a trick at the X-games??

I did not get any bonus dollar for my "Backward" riding, but I got the respect of couple of people,  riders and non riders, or wall of death fans. That's enough for me. It makes me so happy when someone is reminding me, " I saw you doing that"

Munich, my last year doing the trick. I was passing my right leg over the wheel, to make a complete circle on the bike. But training took too long, we came at the end of the season. That was my last season doing classic wall of death. So, unfinished trick. And am not ready to finish it now !!! Time has passed. The work is for someone else.