Danny MacAskill - At the edge : riding for my life

Danny Macaskill

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AT THE EDGE

Riding for My Life

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Viking is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

First published 2016

Copyright Danny MacAskill, 2016

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Cover photo Chris Prescott / Cut Media

Permissions: the lyrics from The Dodos track Fools thanks to Leafy Green management; quotes from Channel Four/Concrete Circus programme courtesy of director, Mike Christie; quotes from The Ridge from director, Stu Thomson; quotes from Red Bull films and the Robbie Maddison courtesy of Red Bull

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions and would be grateful to be notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future editions of this book

ISBN: 978-0-241-97327-1

What I do is dangerous, and its taken years of practice. Unsurprisingly, there have been plenty of bumps and breaks along the way. Id hate to hear that somebody has been gravely hurt trying to emulate a rider, especially if theyve done so after reading this book. Here is a go-to contents list of the injuries Ive sustained so far. Should you ever feel the urge to back-flip across a wide gap between two buildings, please read the following pages before getting on your bike

The big trick at the end of every video. A showstopper. The Big Finale.

A protective steel ring that guards the cog and chain.

To do something consistently well.

Another word for a Banger.

A reverse wheelie where a rider rolls backwards on their front wheel with the rear wheel off the ground.

A back flip, combined with a 180-degree spin. Often performed in a half-pipe (or, in my case, off a tree); upon landing, the rider should be facing back to where they first started.

Riding on flat ground. This style often involves spins; the rider might also stand in unorthodox positions on the bike, such as the frame.

A stop, executed by jamming the front foot in the front wheel behind the forks. A rider then balances on the front wheel.

A trick where the rider stands on their front wheel while kicking the back end of the bike around. They lift their feet over the bike, replacing them on the pedals once the frame has returned to the starting position.

A distance or area to be jumped on the bike.

A trick that involves placing one bike part (the pedals maybe, or the pegs) or a few parts on an obstacle and sliding along it.

The collective linking of manoeuvres and tricks together in a sequence. It is basically performing two or more tricks in a row over various obstacles.

Coasting on your back wheel, while keeping the front end up without pedalling. You use your body weight and movement to keep the roll going.

Can be a stand-alone riding edit (like Inspired Bicycles) or it can be a particular riders section of a team DVD, or product release (e.g. Alex D.s part in Living for the City/BSD).

Somebody who rides a mountain biker, skateboarder, or BMXer, for example.

A rider who uses a road bike, for example, Sir Bradley.

A narrow line, such as a fallen tree, round railing, or even a spiky fence.

A set of stairs.

The rider hops the bike into the air while kicking the back end out from underneath them and uses their arms to generate enough momentum to rotate the frame 360 degrees. The rider then catches their pedals with their feet before landing.

The curve of a ramp.

To stop on the back wheel at the top of an obstacle, such as a wall or rail.

To ride at a vertical wall, before jumping on to its face at an angle which allows both wheels to roll along the surface.

1. Riding on Port Charlotte beach, Isle of Islay, 1993.

2. Me and younger sister Margaret Ishbel, delighted with our new wheels.

3. Me and wee sister in wheelbarrow wheeled by Dad in Dunvegan.

4. Me thatching the Giant Angus MacAskill Museum roof.

5. Tyre-tapping tree in the Meadows: filming for Inspired Bicycles, Edinburgh, 2009.

6. Spiky fence-ride in Marchmont, Edinburgh, April 2009.

7. Gap from MacDonald Cycles roof to copy shop, Edinburgh, 2009.

8. Gap from wall ride to drop at the Scottish National Gallery into Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

9. Back flip off driftwood, Arisaig beach, Scotland.

10. Tyre-tapping old iron-mine foundation on Raasay, filming for Way Back Home, 2010.

11. Bunny-hop front-flipping off an old water tank above Dunvegan, 2010.

12. From right to left