KEEPING CONTROL IS THE KEY

Flying Scotsman Danny MacAskill shares some of his sketchiest experiences on two and four wheels

From death-defying antics on the knife-edge ridges and rock slabs of his native Isle of Skye through to urban balancing acts, wild rooftop rides and even sending it into the raging Atlantic Ocean, trials and trail riding superstar Danny MacAskill likes to live life on the edge. With skill and nerve beyond most people’s comprehension, it goes without saying he’s had a fair few scrapes. Yet, amazingly, almost none of that ruffles his feathers.

“Pretty much all the fear I’ve experienced on my bike is within my control, so a lot of it is a sort of rational fear,” Danny explains. “There haven’t been many pins-and-needles, adrenaline-pumping moments where I’ve thought, ‘it’s life or death’, because if I’m in control, it’s not really as scary – and long may that continue!

“Crashing in Fontana, California, while following Gee Atherton on his brother Dan’s downhill bike, flying over the bars on a 10ft drop while going down into a rock garden and breaking my collarbone for the third time in six months – that was pretty disappointing, but not especially scary!

“Front-flipping the stairs at Alcatraz in 2022 [for his Postcard from San Francisco video] was up there, because it’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever done on a bike and, after I blew up a few wheels and landed on my back, it started to be a bit of a head-melt.

“Riding on the road does scare me, too, and every time I pass a truck I wince, but I haven’t really had many ‘oh, shit!’ moments in life – or, at least, not on the bike.

“I was in the back of a four-wheel-drive dune buggy in the desert last year when the person driving it hit a big bump and the thing rolled forward on a 7ft jump – that was a bit of a moment! I’ve had a few scary ones in the back of friends’ cars, too!”

“AFTER I BLEW UP A FEW WHEELS AND LANDED ON MY BACK FRONT-FLIPPING AT ALCATRAZ, IT BECAME A BIT OF A HEAD-MELT!”