Texas (2/4/2007) -
Over the past two years Caleb Moore has transformed
himself from a local motocross racer to a Pro Freestyle
phenomenon. His freestyle endeavors have taken him
around the world and made Caleb Moore a household
name. Caleb is best described as someone who rides
on the edge. He not only rides on the edge, but lives
his life this way. I constantly find myself white
knuckled, praying for my life running around with
Caleb participating in some of his antics. Besides
his complete insanity, progression is always on his
mind. Caleb works very hard to be able to do what
he does. He puts in countless hours to be able to
safely perform his stunts. He is able to turn complete
insanity into a calculated, well executed feat. So
calling Caleb insane would probably be the wrong word
to describe him. He is a well calculated insane person.
Not as well known, but equally insane and talented
is little brother Colten Moore. At the age of 17,
Colten is exploding onto the ATV Freestyle scene.
With big brother’s support and knowledgeable
advice, Colten has taken himself to Pro status.
When the two brothers are paired together in shows,
things tend to get pretty wild. They fly 30ft through
the air close enough to touch each other as they
hang effortlessly off their machines. The combined
effort of both brothers makes their shows a must-see
spectacle. Colten will attempt to be the youngest
rider on an ATV to backflip to dirt.
A few months back, I got a call from Caleb informing
me of his plans to build a foam pit. Not just any
foam pit, but a massive foam pit. “We always
gotta do things bigger in Texas,” said Caleb.
With the help of his parents Michelle and Wade Moore,
they began construction on a 75ft long, 35ft wide,
and 10ft deep monstrosity. The best labor is always
free labor right? Well, Caleb talked me into coming
out to help rip foam to start filling up the pit.
Over a 2 day period I must have ripped over 3,000
pieces of foam. I am such a good friend! As of right
now, the foam pit is about 80% done. It is still
in need of about 8 more bails of foam and the crane
and platform have not yet been built. With show
dates coming up demanding a backflip, the Moores
rented a large fork lift to use in place of the
crane to pluck the ATV and rider from the foam.
Back in my high school days I built a freestyle
ramp in my shop class with no knowledge of what
I was doing. Needless to say, I built one of the
scariest super kicker ramps imaginable. Turns out
it is perfect for backflipping. The best way to
describe jumping my ramp is hitting a wall. Normally
when you hit a jump, the faster you go the farther
you travel. With my ramp it is opposite of that.
Instead of distance, the faster you hit it the higher
you go. Caleb set out first to attempt a flip off
the super kicker. After 2 or 3 tries he was pulling
the flip around easily at about 55ft. Caleb then
aimed his comp ramp at the pit. With a few attempts
Caleb was pulling the flips around to about the
front bumper, but not landing perfect at 75ft. With
the night creeping in on them Colten charged the
super kicker ramp next. After 4 attempts of landing
upside down and loss of lighting they called it
a day.