Evel Knievel

Evel Knievel, that motorcycle daredevil baby boomers and kids love, passed away on November 30.

I still remember the red, white, and blue Evel Knievel costume and leather jacket of my childhood days. I still recall images of Evel jumping over so many buses lined up side by side.

My cousins even had this little motorcycle downramp which came with an air pump. You place the tiny Evel Knievel onto his motorcycle, then place that bike on what looked like a tube on the ramp.

As you pump the piston beside the motorcycle, the wheels of the bike will spin. After the wheels spin fast enough (you'll hear this high-pitched whing-whing sound), you press a lever found on the side of the ramp, and the Knievel motorbike screams down that mini-ramp and speeds toward whatever partner ramp you set-up a few feet ahead of you.

That was a lot of fun! All my cousins would impatiently await their turn, hoping to wow one another with different stunts such as the wheelie and even extreme motorcycle stunts.

Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel was born October 17, 1938 in the mining city of Butte, Montana. He will be missed. He will be remembered.

For more information, please visit www.EvelKnievel.com

[ First posted on 12/01/2007 by Manuel Viloria ]