Extreme sports that baffle ordinary people

That sport blows our mind.

Aussie David Morris had hearts in mouths as he twisted, turned and flipped while flying as high as a four-storey building.

After one of his jumps, he said: “Goal number one is don’t die out here”.

He added that walking away alive was “always a bonus”.

Athletes who perform these kinds of feats don’t quite seem human. But they are. If they have a bad landing, things break.

Not too many sports fit into the extreme category inhabited by the likes of aerial skiing and big air snowboarding.

The unfathomable endurance of a Tour De France and the awe-inspiring insanity of big-wave surfing are in the same ballpark.

Then there’s Luke Aikens who skydived without a parachute and landed in a net a couple of years back. He’s in a category of his own.

Daredevil motocross riders fall into that extreme category. They’re on par with the craziest skiers, snowboarders and surfers.

What normal person hasn’t felt a tad squeamish at seeing motorbike riders launch themselves off gigantic ramps, while performing breathtaking hands-free somersaults way too high in the air?

Speaking of which, Nitro Circus will be in Newcastle soon with a show at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Nitro’s legendary rider Travis Pastrana has always enjoyed pushing the limit.

He also enjoys Newcastle as a town.

“Big crowds get the athletes going and Newcastle is always a big crowd with lots of energy,” Travis told Topics.

“There are times when you can’t hear the crowd at all. Newcastle is not one of those places.”

Travis reckons motorbike culture connects with Newcastle because “it’s a blue-collar town”.

“Dirt bikes are loved by blue-collar people,” he said.

“It’s an area that has produced some of the best two-wheel talent in the world, including a top-five all-time star like Chad Reed.

“Guys like him have shown what is possible.”

Travis is from Annapolis in Maryland, which he says is similar to Newcastle.

“It’s a working-class city, with a strong affection for extreme sports – dirt bikes in particular,” he said.

He said every Nitro athlete had a unique story about where they’re from and how dirt bikes came into their life.

“There’s Josh Sheehan from Donnybrook in WA – his family ran an apple orchard.

“He used to whip around the field on a PeeWee 50.

“Steve Mini is from Mudgee and grew up on a farm.

“Adam Jones is from Reno in Nevada. He couldn’t get access to the surf, so ended up falling in love with a dirt bike when he was five.”

Travis says the best times of his life have been on a dirt bike or because of dirt bikes.

“I met my wife at the X-Games,” he said.

Dirt bikes were a fun hobby that “became my job”.

“If it didn’t make me any money, I’d still be doing all this crazy stuff on the dirt bike in my backyard with no one watching.”

Newcastle motocross rider Michael Norris will perform in the Nitro show.

“It’s my hometown show, so I’m always excited for it,” he said.

“Newcastle is such a large motorbike town.

“We also have motorbike legends such as Chad Reed, Toby Price and Casey Stoner.”

Nitro Circus is giving away five family passes to its Newcastle show, plus a meet and greet with Travis Pastrana and the stars.

All you need to do is nominate a local activity for the Nitro Circus stars to do while they’re in town.

Send your answers to info@nitrocircus.com.

The Nitro Circus event, known as The Next Level Tour, will be held in Newcastle on Saturday, March 17.

The event will feature the best athletes in FMX [Freestyle Motocross], BMX, scooter and inline skating.

Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com.au.