“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Snow begat skis. The internal combustion engine begat more efficient ways of handling tasks than by hitching up Mr. Ed, who may or may not be loaded with hay and enough gas to paralyze a hungry wolf. The standard bicycle was fitted with an engine and became the motorcycle, which evolved over the years into numerous forms, one of which is the tough and durable, yet somehow agile and relatively light dirt bike. We’ve seen them fly, we’ve seen them flip. Now, remember the skis I mentioned earlier…?
Meet Robbie Maddison. Maddison is an extremely accomplished freestyle motocross rider. You may remember such impressive feats as his 2007 Caesar’s Palace jump, his 2009 jump up and down off of the Arc de Triomphe replica in front of Paris Las Vegas, and his work as a stunt double in the James Bond movie Skyfall. This footage, called “Pipe Dream”, brings Maddison out to Teahupoo, Tahiti to surf his bike in the waves. Yes, you read that right. Using a combination of skis and an airbag, Maddison is able to ride on the water and work the waves. However, as he told Surfer magazine, “The thing that sticks with me the most after that whole experience was how physically demanding it was. Honestly, I really thought that getting the right wave would have been easier. I don’t think the photos or video show how physical it was. You can’t see that when the wave broke right behind me, I honestly thought that might be the end of my life. I’ve never felt like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time more than I did right there. It was a near-death experience.”
Great! As if jet skis weren’t obnoxious enough on the water. The guys in the canoes should have whacked him with a paddle .
beat me to it!
Sure but are either of you brave enough to do what he did? I doubt it!!!
a former motocross rider, sick of noisy smelly jet skis and young guys on long boards, learn to surf, enjoy the beauty of the silence and one with the water or stay home, drink your beer, ride off the phony Arc de Triomphe, don’t come to pipe, someone might bust your headlight and send you in