The Athlete: RYAN CAPES
Episode: Helicopter Jump | Premiere: Aug. 23, 2006

Perry's Thoughts:
In the past, most motorcycle distance jumpers have considered themselves more daredevil than stuntman, which in my mind means they do their jumps more by feel and by the seat of their pants rather than by using science and mathematics. However, when I finally got to meet and know Ryan, I found him to be very engaging and intelligent. He is not a daredevil. He is a stuntman. And by this I mean every one of his jumps is well orchestrated and completely planned. He uses science and math, along with his skill, to do each and every jump. He tests the wind, he uses radar guns to calculate his speed and distance, and he knows exactly where his bike is going to land on the ramp each and every time he jumps. I watched as they incrementally moved back the ramp during testing, and every time they moved it I would see the little pocket calculator come out and Ryan and his team would calculate how much to increase the speed of the motorcycle so it would land in the exact same spot on the ramp. This I found to be very impressive. If I were doing a stunt, this is how I would do it. This combination of science and math, coupled with his unbelievable talent for flying a motorcycle through the air, said to me that no distance is unachievable in motorcycle jumping for Ryan Capes.

Eli's Thoughts:
Coming into this stunt, I had two thoughts: 1) This stunt was going to look really cool and 2) I hope this guy isn't a super-hard-core dude with an attitude. Right away, when I met Ryan, I could tell we were going to have a good time. He was well spoken and knew his sport to the tee. Ryan had also surrounded himself with an experienced crew who took his safety very seriously. We had a good start, getting into the nuts and bolts of the stunt. One of the hardest parts was when we were out at a stadium in San Diego while it was boiling hot. Ryan's crew worked feverishly to build this behemoth of a ramp, which turned out to be the size of a house. In the meantime, Ryan took me riding on a track in Elsinore. Having never ridden a track, I was a bit nervous but had the feeling giving it more gas was the better approach. I was right. Every time I slowed down in the deep dirt, it was much harder to control the bike and things got sketchy. Ryan had a laugh teaching me to jump, and the day was cool. After the ramp was complete, it was time to start jumping. The crew set up a speed meter with a visible window for Ryan and put the launch ramp in place. Up, up and away ... The first jump I saw, I was like, "Man, he's flying!" It was a great view to see him jump up close and touch down on the landing ramp. Then the bike was not running properly, so they decided to completely rebuild the top end, which ended up eating up part of the day. When that was complete, we were back in business. Ryan started jumping again, and as they pushed the ramp farther back, the dreaded wind started to creep up. On one occasion, Ryan jumped and we could see him being pushed by the wind. I thought for sure he was heading off the ramp! He and his crew were used to these types of conditions. Luckily, the wind was just light enough to tweak the ramp into the wind slightly, which was even more freaky because now it looked as though they were directing him away from the ramp. Their correction was dead on; little by little they checked the speed and moved the ramp back. We ended up running out of daylight for practice without being able to get to the final distance, but the day had been very progressive even with the setbacks. On stunt day the helicopters came in, the cameras were in place, and Ryan went right for it! His first attempt at the full distance and the guy pulls out a "one-armed Indian air." It was totally awesome! Watching the jump was truly exciting, and the energy was all over the place. Ryan stuck it in a big way. I know this won't be the last we hear of Ryan Capes.