Getting to Know.... a daredevil
Post by (ugg boots schweiz) Jan 2011
"I'm not crazy," Rife insisted. "I practice constantly. I wear leather, body armor, helmets, boots and stuff in 98 degree weather with the heat from the motor, and I'm still out there doing it. And I have a smile on my face when I'm doing it. I just love doing it."
But what Rife does is not for the faint of heart. Rife is a daredevil, inspired by the biggest of all -- Evel Knievel.
"Kids in my generation watched Evel Knievel," Rife remembered. "Every kid had a bicycle, made a ramp, and I just never got tired of it."
But dirt bikes and motorcycles weren't what finally captured Rife's attention. It was the four-wheeled all terrain vehicle.
"I figured out early on, if your last name isn't Knievel, you're not going to do anything on a motorcycle. When the ATVs came out, I wanted to jump, but I wanted something unique, something that my name would be identified with. People laughed at me, but it happened!"
Rife's career as a daredevil has had many high points. But, as you might expect, there were plenty of low spots as well. His latest disappointment came just weeks ago in Fort Wayne when he couldn't quite land an indoor world record jump. The current record is 10 cars and Rife was well past that mark in his attempt on his Honda 450-R. But a tiny mistake early in the attempt cost him the record.
"I was a little crooked on my takeoff, probably three inches off, and by the time I got all the way across, I was probably about 14 inches off," he described. "My right side tires missed the landing ramp, and it got me crooked. As I hit the concrete, the concrete had rubber and like a Mountain Dew tap syrup on it to make the surface sticky for the race cars. As soon as I hit that, it was like velcro, and it threw me right off."
Falling off any type of vehicle at 65-70 mph is dangerous, but Rife was able to survive without serious injuries. He claims his collarbone did not break, although he admitted he didn't have it x-rayed. There were plenty of bruises afterward.
Injuries are a part of the game for daredevils. One failed jump in 1995 left Rife with two broken legs, a broken arm, and a broken collarbone.
"It gave me such a bad concussion, I have no memory of the rest of the day after my crash!' he laughed.
Rife isn't crazy. He also isn't stupid. He may be the greatest example of putting to use an education that may have seemed useless in his younger days.
"If you're going to jump like this, you need to have an understanding of physics," he pointed out. "You can't be a dummy. Dumb daredevils don't last. I've been doing this for a long time, so I guess I'm not dumb!"
The jumps began almost 38 years ago when Rife sailed his bicycle over his Radio Flyer wagon. Seeing Knievel on television was the inspiration. He said his mother has a baby book stashed away that mentions three-year-old Henry pretending to be Evel Knievel.
Fast forward to 1998, when a mutual friend set up a meeting between Rife and his idol.
"Evel Knievel called me up and invited me to Las Vegas," Rife remembered. "It was awesome! I got to spend a couple of days with him, and he treated me like one of the family. He was totally cool with me."
Until his death in 2007, Knievel kept an eye on the ATV jumper from Van Wert.
"After he died, Kelly Knievel, his son, sent me an email telling me that out of all the years that daredevils sent him stuff, mine was the only press kit he kept, and he kept it for 11 years," Rife stated proudly.
Rife's most-watched jump came on the streets of New York instigated by talk-show host David Letterman. Further appearances on Letterman and other shows have been discussed but have not happened yet.
The man dubbed "Pitbull" by his Army drill instructors does not like to give up. Disappointments, injuries, and failed jumps only seem to make him more determined to succeed. Rife's plans for the upcoming year include hitting three world records he has in the cross-hairs.
"I want to set the longest ATV jump ever," he stated. "I used to have that record years ago. It's 149 feet, and I think I can break that pretty easily. Then I want to set the record for the most cars jumped with an ATV, which is right now 14, and I think I can break that pretty easily too. And next December, I'm going to go back to the Coliseum, and I'm going to get this indoor world record!"
Rife believes there are only a couple thousand daredevils, and only a couple hundred motorcycle jumpers, but just a handful of ATV jumpers. But Rife, who thinks he was probably the first, will not be handing down the occupation to his son.
"My boy has no desire to jump," Rife chucked. "He said, 'Dad, I want to be a musician,' and I said, 'That will be fine!'"
Being a daredevil is a young man's profession though, and Rife is well aware of this fact. Right now he is planning just a couple more years flying through the air on four wheels and thrilling audiences. Rife noted he is very thankful to the people of the Van Wert area for the support he has received over the years.
And for those thinking about becoming a professional jumper, Rife offers this bit of advice:
"You cannot give up, no matter what happens. If you're going get hurt and quit, then this isn't the occupation for you."
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