Travis Pastrana was a Moto-X legend before the 2006 X Games

23-year old Travis Pastrana was a Moto-X legend before the 2006 X Games. He didn't need to put his life in insane danger to keep it that way. If you have ever watched Moto X freestyle, where rider jump insanely high and do crazy things while airborne on motocross bikes, you know its no sport for the weak-kneed. But the insanity of the thrill of watching is as close as you can get to feeling a sport without actually playing at it. During the 2006 Freestyle season he lost interest in freestyle. His new passion was rally racing. Then at an event in Louisville, KY, Travis lost to Nate Adams. He didn't have any new tricks and he understood he got beat by the better man that day. And he gave Adams the props on the stage. Adams had been the only person to beat him, and he done it three times. Adams wasn't as gracious and said beating Travis was no big deal because "I'm just better". That was all the spark a competitor like Travis needed. He had managed to land one double back flip, the holy grail of Moto X freestyle previously in practice, but no one believed it. No one could believe it could be done. So he toyed with the idea of doing it at the X Games. No one believed he would. When he wanted a special ramp build they said "You just want the drama". Even he didn't know if he would. His friends, his parents everyone tried to convince him not to. They were sure he would die if he tried it. Coming into the last round Travis was in last place and he needed something spectacular to win. A young kid reached out his hand to him as he approached the take off. "Don't do it Travis", he said. "My Mommy said when you die you're dead forever." He told them to put in his ramp. The whole arena had been abuzz with the rumor. Now that the ramp was up and moved back the rumor became an impending reality. The excitement was palpable. Everyone though they were going to watch a legend die. Travis' mother in the stands thought she was going to see her son die. Travis was sure he would crash and all he could think of was what to do when it happened. How should he fall? He knew he'd crash but he didn't want to die. He took off and hit the ramp feeling good, the first flip went went well but maybe too fast and he slowed it down. Then he realized he was going to slow so he pushed with all his might to complete it. At the top of his arc he barely missed the flood lights by inches. If he'd hit them he would have crashed to the ground from 50 feet in the air. Then the bike hit the dirt and...he didn't fall. He'd made it. Watch Travis Pastrana make history.

Double backflip in moto X

LOS ANGELES - He said he'd never do it again. After landing the first double backflip in moto X history earlier this year in Spokane, Wash., Travis Pastrana said he was done with the trick. He told his parents. He told the media. He told himself. Then he changed his mind.
On Friday night, Pastrana-who had never won a best trick gold-landed the first contest moto X double backflip during best trick finals. The STAPLES Center crowd erupted as Pastrana, the final man to ride, motioned his intentions to the crowd, rolled down the start ramp and launched into history. Mat Rebeaud rode away with the silver, and Aussie Blake "Bilco" Williams toke home the bronze.
"There is not much in life that compares to this feeling I have now. I'm on cloud nine," said Pastrana. "I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it, but was confident enough to get close. When I landed, I was riding away and said, 'Wow, I can't believe that actually worked.'"
Pastrana's trick was so impressive his competitors were speechless. Until it came to praising the 22-year-old rider.
"I'm happy to finish number two behind him," said Rebeaud. "Two years ago, he didn't know me, and I only knew him from TV and a picture in my room. So, now, to be competing with him in the X Games is so cool. If I can't win, it doesn't matter."
Added Williams, "It's pretty much the stupidest thing I've ever seen. I'd heard rumors he'd never do it again, but you can't count Travis out. And then, sure enough, in practice I saw them pull the ramp back. I knew everyone else would be fighting for silver and bronze."
Pastrana didn't only impress his peers. He doubled up in front of a Hollywood-laced crowd that included Sandra Bullock, Monster Garage host Jesse James and 13,000 fans. Rebeaud and Williams put on impressive displays as well. Rebeaud, landed a knack knack under flip twice (once one-handed), while Williams landed a cliffhanger back flip and a heel-clicker 360.

double backflip

History was made this past August 3rd-6th, in Los Angeles, at the Summer X-Games. Twenty-two-year-old Travis Pastrana performed a double backflip on his motorcycle.

Travis resides in Annapolis, Maryland and has been competing for nineteen years. At the age of three, he became a Pro Racer participant. In 1998, he began competing in X-Games competitions. The first three competitions have been rewarding for Travis. In 2004, he won a silver medal in Freestyle and a bronze in Best Trick. Last year he won a gold in Freestyle and a silver for Best Trick.

For the past year, he has been working on a new and very dangerous trick. He swore to his mom, the media and himself that he would not attempt this risky move at the competition. Then just a few moments before his final trick, he text messaged his mom and said that no matter what happened, he loved her and what he did for a living. She was very nervous and when he got to the top of the ramp, she covered her face with her hands. He then proceeded to perform a double backflip with his motorcycle. The double back flip had never been done before in competition. 

What made his accomplishment even more remarkable, was the only place he had ever attempted this trick was his practice pit at home. There he landed in long rectangular dumpsters overfilled with foam, not on a hard dirt sloping surface like that in the STAPLES arena. The possibility for something to go dangerously wrong was very real. Speed and the timing of the landing were integral to safely pulling off this stunt. The inherent dangers were the motorcycle landing on him or him landing on his head. When he landed the trick, the more than 16,000 fans, including Sandra Bullock and her husband Jesse James, rose to their feet cheering. When his mom heard the cheering, she looked up and a broad smile showed both her relief and pride. 

Earlier in the competition, Travis had completed a one-handed backflip, a backflip saran wrap (the rider passes one foot between his hands and back to the peg, removing one hand from the bars), and a one-handed lazyboy backflip (rider lays back on the seat with hands in the air), and a very risky trick, a backflip Kiss of Death. In this trick, the rider thrusts his body forward and up, so they are doing a mid-air handstand with their forehead inches from the front fender. All were done very well but nothing compared to the double backflip. For his efforts he won gold for Best Trick. During this X-Games, he also won a gold in a new sporting event, the Rally Car. He came in fourth in Supermoto, when he fell and missed third place. He also participated in the Moto Madness exhibition. 

According to the Summer X-Games record books, Pastrana is tied with Andy MacDonald with three gold medals apiece. Tony Hawk, a fan favorite, has ten and Dave Mirra leads with fourteen golds. Pastrana is now ranked sixth in the all-time Summer X-Games ratings.