Bikes over Baghdad rule the air

Photo By Cpl. Daniel Eddy | Mykel Larrin with Bikes over Baghdad, entertains a crowd of soldiers Dec. 4 while performing a back-flip at Camp Liberty, Iraq. The riders also gave prizes to cheering troops as the night progressed.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

12.10.2010

Story by Cpl. Daniel Eddy 

196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD—Lights, cheering and BMX riders filled the cool Iraq December air as Bikes over Baghdad displayed a show of tricks and jumps for service members.

United States Division – Center soldiers came out, Dec. 4, to watch professional bike riders perform tricks and stunts at Camp Liberty, Iraq.

While some of the riders were entertaining the crowd with airborne stunts, others interacted with the crowd, shaking hands with the soldiers and giving away free items.

At the end of the night a BMX rider rode around the ring of cheering soldiers trying to find the Soldier who was most enthusiastic, because he was giving away the big ticket item—a $400 bike.

“I think the [BMX riders] were really awesome,” said Spc. Amanda Dumas, a defense paralegal with Trial Defense Service, USF-I, and a Ft. Worth, Texas, native. “I think it was great they came out here. I think it was incredible they came right up close with us, and they so down to earth and willing to take pictures with us too. They almost made us feel like celebrities too.”

Dumas said during a long deployment a show like Bikes over Baghdad is beneficial to soldiers, because it helps them forget they are deployed. She said she would not normally get an opportunity to see this kind of a show back in the states.

Dumas said the best part for her, was having her lieutenant colonel go on stage and have a rider do a back flip over him.

Right before the lieutenant colonel went to sit in a chair for the rider to flip over, the rider did a “practice run” in which he barely clipped the chair making it fall over. In the end, the BMX rider safely cleared the lieutenant colonel, to the approval of a cheering crowd.

Lt. Col. Anthony Febbo, a regional defense counsel with Trial Defense Service, USF-I and Newtown Square, Pa., native, and the soldier who was flipped over, said he had never been to a BMX show and has a son back home who likes BMX and cannot wait to tell him about it.

“It was neat,” Febbo said about being flipped over. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I enjoyed it and I trusted [the BMX riders]. Seeing them do the jumps all night, it was incredible.”

While the bikers ramped the course, an announcer helped keep the crowd cheering with jokes, jeers and brief facts about the current rider performing the trick. He also pointed out the names of the tricks the rider did, for anyone who was a novice to the BMX world.

With the announcer and riders so close and constant interaction with the crowd, it helped the audience members feel like they were apart of the show.

“I felt like I was one the bike myself,” Dumas said. “Especially when they were coming up on the ramps behind us. I felt like I was on the bike and about to fall off. It was incredible to be right up close and smell their sweat almost.”

Dumas said she was at a previous Bikes over Baghdad and this show had a lot more high energy. She said it seemed like the tricks were a little bit more dangerous, which definitely got the crowd excited.

Having the BMX riders come to Iraq is not only benefiting the Soldiers who watch the bikers, but also the riders who take something away from their trip to the Southwest Asia.

“I have wanted to come to Iraq for a long time,” said Mike “Rooftop” Escamilla, BMX rider with Bikes over Baghdad, who has been here once before. “Even though I wanted to come here, I didn’t realize what effect it would have on my life, everyone says how much we effect soldiers, but I think it effected me on such a higher level. Being able to do something for troops, and really seeing people who appreciate it, will be something I carry for the rest of my life.”

Escamilla, in 2000 back-flipped a helicopter with the blades spinning, said he was not able to come to Iraq earlier due to scheduling conflicts and made sure he cleared his calendar so he was able to make this tour.

“I really didn’t know that I was going to feel the way I did after the first time I came, but it changed the way I feel about the people over here and changed the way I feel about what I do,” he said. “Knowing, even though, for me, it’s just fun and games the whole time, things we do could mean something good for someone else and we don’t have to try that hard.”

Escamilla said all the soldiers’ attitudes are great and appreciative of the BMX riders visiting them in Iraq.

“I would say 100 out of 100 soldiers are excited,” he said. “I think some of them don’t know what to expect and after the show, I can’t imagine someone going home not psyched.”

• Date Taken: 12.10.2010
• Date Posted: 12.10.2010 09:11
• Story ID: 61684
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ