Big Air

Father of two aims to set BMX ramp record in New York's Central Park

WOODWARD, Pa. -- Kevin Robinson soars high in the air on BMX bikes for a living, though that doesn't mean he isn't afraid of heights.

It's December 2006 and Robinson is hanging precariously off his roof two stories off the ground while trying to hang Christmas lights in a 30 mph wind. "It's the most scared I've ever been," he said, chuckling briefly as he recounts the story. "If I had a bike in my hand, I probably would have felt better."

Maybe that explains why this 36-year-old father of two doesn't seem fazed by his plan to break a world record by soaring more than 261/2 feet above the top of a 27-foot-high ramp on his bike. The attempt will be part of an event Thursday in New York's Central Park sponsored by Red Bull, the energy drink company.

If successful, Robinson would soar about 54 feet above the ground, or six stories up. To get that high, he has to descend a 60-foot ramp to build up the necessary speed, at least 40 mph, to fly above the lip of the second ramp.

Then he hopes to flip his bike 180 degrees so that the wheels land perfectly back on the ramp he just flew up.

Robinson knows the three questions that typically come next when he describes his daredevil quest to a novice.

* Is he crazy?

"People say that all the time. 'Oh, you got to be crazy, ' " he said before a riding session at Camp Woodward, the action sports facility in rural central Pennsylvania. "It's not like that at all ... I've been doing this for 25 years."

* OK then, is he scared?

"If it's something new, then yeah, I'm scared. I'm not deathly afraid ... but I also have the confidence in what I'm doing. I've been doing this long enough. I trust my skill level."

* Why do it?

"I'm doing this for my personal goal," Robinson said. "For me, it's always about new ways to challenge myself."

Mat Hoffman, Robinson's bike sponsor and mentor, set the current Guinness Book of World Records mark in 2004 by soaring 261/2 feet above the top of a 24-foot ramp.

Riding since he was an 11-year-old growingvidence, R.I., Robinson has become a star in the iPod and energy drink-fueled action sports world. He's won seven medals at the X Games, including three golds.

Robinson spends about half of the year living in State College, which has turned into a hub for some of the country's top riders because of its proximity to the training facility in Woodward, about 35 miles east. Robinson spent one recent afternoon at Woodward riding the half-pipe, which is 131/2 feet high, in front of some friends and wide-eyed onlookers.