Mike Steidley can make his mountain bike hop like a bunny, jump over people and other sorts of stunts.
Mr. Steidley, of New Haven, Conn., performed as part of the Over the Mountain Bike Stunt Show at the Three Rivers Regatta last week.
His tricks include the “bunny hop,” in which he bounces from beam to beam on his back wheel; the “side hop,” where he jumps sideways on the beams; and the “gap jump,” where he pulls the beams apart and has his partner lie in the middle while he jumps over him. Perhaps the most crowd-pleasing trick at the Regatta was when he invited Mike Seifor, 12, to lie in the grass and then jumped over him on the bike.
Mr. Steidley joked with the crowd during the performance, claiming that he did not practice before the performance and that the crew had tightened his bike’s last bolt right before he went on.
Mr. Steidley started riding and practicing on the curb of his house. He turned pro and won a championship before he finished high school, he said. Mr. Steidley said all he wants to do is “travel, see the world and ride my bike.” He plans to return to Pennsylvania at the end of summer.
