BOISE, Idaho • Last December, Big Ed Beckley walked to the edge of the dirt ramp where Evel Knievel attempted in 1974 to jump the Snake River Canyon.
“I sat on the end of that take-off ramp, looked out across that canyon and felt icy fingers come up my back,” he said.
“It said, ‘Go for it.’ I know that was Evel.”
On Friday, Beckley — a motorcycle stuntman from Texas — said he felt altogether different knowing he was one step closer to pulling off what no stuntman ever has.
He threw his arms in the air and shouted after securing his winning bid of $943,000 for the right to land his motorcycle across the canyon from where Knievel attempted the stunt 40 years ago.
The launch nearly killed Knievel, but on Friday Beckley smiled and joked wildly through the hour he bid against four other groups at the Idaho Department of Lands building in downtown Boise.
Beckley beat out Twin Falls BASE jumper Miles Daisher, who said it was his dream to attempt the stunt. Also skunked were locals Scott Record and Scott Truax who built an exact replica of the steam-powered rocket Knievel used.
“We are going to turn this into something huge and I’m expecting to be elected the mayor of Twin Falls, not burned at the stake,” Beckley said.
A life-long Knievel fan, Beckley said he watched the Butte, Mont. native’s historic attempt on pay-per-view television. He said he plans to jump with a rocket-powered motorcycle — not a steam-powered rocket with wheels — over the canyon at 230 miles an hour. A parachute will carry him to safety, he said.
“I’m the one who can get this done,” he said moments after winning the auction.
Beckley said he was confident in his team of engineers.
“I’ve always wanted to make my mark in life, but not on the north side of that wall,” he said, sweat rolling down his forehead.
The final price on the lease surprised many in the audience. What Beckley bought was a two-year lease on the 1,147 acres north of the canyon rim. The lease is $50,000 for two years and stipulates that the state gets a small percentage of what he makes on the event. Proceeds from the auction and lease will benefit Idaho public schools.
Beckley claimed he would pay the bill out-of-pocket.
Twin Falls Bidders
Record and Truax tried to silence the room with a $750,000 bid at one point. Their final bid was $880,000, which was much more than the $200,000 they thought would be reasonable, Record said.
“We thought we had that in the bag,” he said.
Record said he doesn’t think Beckley’s idea is feasible, he “can’t fathom” how he is going to make that money back and expects the Texan’s permits to be turned down based on his idea.
The two aren’t giving up, however. Record said he is in contact with Hollywood producers.
“We’ve got all kinds of plans — a Plan B, Plan C and a Plan D,” he said. “This thing isn’t over yet.”
Daisher said he grew up watching Knievel and sees the famous mound of dirt in the distance each time he BASE jumps from the Perrine Bridge.
Daisher, who partnered with the Chicago-based REO Development Group, said he wasn’t comfortable starting a project nearly a million dollars in the hole. He wasn’t ashamed after his team surrendered with a final bid of $658,000.
“As an athlete, I’m not afraid to walk away from some jumps if they get too scary,” he said.
Although he had worked for years on the project, Daisher said he wasn’t ready to “lay over and stick my legs in the air just yet.” He still hopes to dazzle his hometown.
“That’s my home team right there,” he said of Twin Falls. “My heart is beating fast and I hope this will be a catalyst for me to do a bigger, better project.”
Knievel’s Legacy
Evel’s son, Kelly Knievel, now a Las Vegas resident, said he wasn’t sure how he felt about the news of a jump moving forward. Whether Beckley’s attempt is successful or not will never change his father’s legacy, he said.
“There’s only one Evel Knievel and there will never be another Evel Knievel,” he said in a telephone interview.
Regardless, Kelly, 53, said he was excited to hear about the attempt and would try to attend if it moves forward.
“I’ll be the first guy out there putting a shovel in the ground and cutting the ribbon,” he said jokingly. “Nah, I’ll wish whoever flies over the canyon the best of luck.”
What’s Next?
Twin Falls City Councilman and Chamber of Commerce President Shawn Barigar looked a bit starstruck after the auction ended.
“Wow,” he said. “I did not anticipate that number today.”
City personnel have waited to see who won the state’s land permit before finishing its permitting requirements, he said. Barigar said the city will have a “thoughtful process” to ensure public health and safety from the event that’s likely to draw thousands of spectators.
“We’ll be looking at how we can ensure the city capitalizes on an event like this while mitigating those potential negative impacts,” he said.
Beckley will also need permits from many other state and federal agencies, Barigar said. When discussions about reenacting the jump come up periodically, about 30 different agencies are in the room, he said.
Whether or not Beckley will successfully navigate the permitting process remains to be seen. But he is now closer than any other person who has been interested.
Beckley said he would have loved to see Robbie Knievel — one of Evel’s sons who still performs motorcycle stunts — try the jump.
“I just don’t think he is physically able right now,” Beckley said.
When asked if he would have liked to see a reenactment stay in the family, Kelly had a quick answer.
“No one is saying that a Knievel won’t re-attempt it,” he said.
Bill Rundle, a Butte man who was one of Evel’s mechanics and watched the canyon jump when he was 16, was skeptical of the event. He said the only way the jump would “mean anything” was if Robbie was in the drivers seat.
“Will it ever be what it was? I don’t think so,” he said.
Chad Harrington, who runs the Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Mont., agreed that a successful jump would not change how Evel’s attempt is remembered. That, he said, was Evel’s brainchild and that it has been 40 years since anyone has mounted the ramp is a testament to his bravery and genius.
But Harrington doesn’t see the jump quite like Rundle — those who competed for the lease Friday were not hoping to best Evel.
They were paying for the right to pay their respects.
“It would be a hell of an achievement,” he said. “... A tribute.”ok/ata
Big Jump, Big Money
Texas daredevil ‘Big Ed’ Beckley spends nearly $1M on lease for Knievel jump reenactment
Pull quote:
“We’ve got all kinds of plans — a Plan B, Plan C and a Plan D. This thing isn’t over yet.”
- Scott Record, Twin Falls resident who lost bid to attempt Evel Knievel’s jump
BOISE • Last December, Big Ed Beckley walked to the edge of the dirt ramp where Evel Knievel attempted in 1974 to jump the Snake River Canyon.
“I sat on the end of that take-off ramp, looked out across that canyon and felt icy fingers come up my back,” he said.
“It said, ‘Go for it.’ I know that was Evel.”
On Friday, Beckley — a motorcycle stuntman from Texas — said he felt altogether different knowing he was one step closer to pulling off what no stuntman ever has.
He threw his arms in the air and shouted after securing his winning bid of $943,000 for the right to land his motorcycle across the canyon from where Knievel attempted the stunt 40 years ago.
The launch nearly killed Knievel, but on Friday Beckley smiled and joked wildly through the hour he bid against four other groups at the Idaho Department of Lands building in downtown Boise.
Beckley beat out Twin Falls BASE jumper Miles Daisher, who said it was his dream to attempt the stunt. Also skunked were locals Scott Record and Scott Truax who built an exact replica of the steam-powered rocket Knievel used.
“We are going to turn this into something huge and I’m expecting to be elected the mayor of Twin Falls, not burned at the stake,” Beckley said.
A life-long Knievel fan, Beckley said he watched the Butte, Mont. native’s historic attempt on pay-per-view television. He said he plans to jump with a rocket-powered motorcycle — not a steam-powered rocket with wheels — over the canyon at 230 miles an hour. A parachute will carry him to safety, he said.
“I’m the one who can get this done,” he said moments after winning the auction.
Beckley said he was confident in his team of engineers.
“I’ve always wanted to make my mark in life, but not on the north side of that wall,” he said, sweat rolling down his forehead.
The final price on the lease surprised many in the audience. What Beckley bought was a two-year lease on the 1,147 acres north of the canyon rim. The lease is $50,000 for two years and stipulates that the state gets a small percentage of what he makes on the event. Proceeds from the auction and lease will benefit Idaho public schools.
Beckley claimed he would pay the bill out-of-pocket.
Twin Falls Bidders
Record and Truax tried to silence the room with a $750,000 bid at one point. Their final bid was $880,000, which was much more than the $200,000 they thought would be reasonable, Record said.
“We thought we had that in the bag,” he said.
Record said he doesn’t think Beckley’s idea is feasible, he “can’t fathom” how he is going to make that money back and expects the Texan’s permits to be turned down based on his idea.
The two aren’t giving up, however. Record said he is in contact with Hollywood producers.
“We’ve got all kinds of plans — a Plan B, Plan C and a Plan D,” he said. “This thing isn’t over yet.”
Daisher said he grew up watching Knievel and sees the famous mound of dirt in the distance each time he BASE jumps from the Perrine Bridge.
Daisher, who partnered with the Chicago-based REO Development Group, said he wasn’t comfortable starting a project nearly a million dollars in the hole. He wasn’t ashamed after his team surrendered with a final bid of $658,000.
“As an athlete, I’m not afraid to walk away from some jumps if they get too scary,” he said.
Although he had worked for years on the project, Daisher said he wasn’t ready to “lay over and stick my legs in the air just yet.” He still hopes to dazzle his hometown.
“That’s my home team right there,” he said of Twin Falls. “My heart is beating fast and I hope this will be a catalyst for me to do a bigger, better project.”
Knievel’s Legacy
Evel’s son, Kelly Knievel, now a Las Vegas resident, said he wasn’t sure how he felt about the news of a jump moving forward. Whether Beckley’s attempt is successful or not will never change his father’s legacy, he said.
“There’s only one Evel Knievel and there will never be another Evel Knievel,” he said in a telephone interview.
Regardless, Kelly, 53, said he was excited to hear about the attempt and would try to attend if it moves forward.
“I’ll be the first guy out there putting a shovel in the ground and cutting the ribbon,” he said jokingly. “Nah, I’ll wish whoever flies over the canyon the best of luck.”
What’s Next?
Twin Falls City Councilman and Chamber of Commerce President Shawn Barigar looked a bit starstruck after the auction ended.
“Wow,” he said. “I did not anticipate that number today.”
City personnel have waited to see who won the state’s land permit before finishing its permitting requirements, he said. Barigar said the city will have a “thoughtful process” to ensure public health and safety from the event that’s likely to draw thousands of spectators.
“We’ll be looking at how we can ensure the city capitalizes on an event like this while mitigating those potential negative impacts,” he said.
Beckley will also need permits from many other state and federal agencies, Barigar said. When discussions about reenacting the jump come up periodically, about 30 different agencies are in the room, he said.
Whether or not Beckley will successfully navigate the permitting process remains to be seen. But he is now closer than any other person who has been interested.
Beckley said he would have loved to see Robbie Knievel — one of Evel’s sons who still performs motorcycle stunts — try the jump.
“I just don’t think he is physically able right now,” Beckley said.
When asked if he would have liked to see a reenactment stay in the family, Kelly had a quick answer.
“No one is saying that a Knievel won’t re-attempt it,” he said.
Bill Rundle, a Butte man who was one of Evel’s mechanics and watched the canyon jump when he was 16, was skeptical of the event. He said the only way the jump would “mean anything” was if Robbie was in the drivers seat.
“Will it ever be what it was? I don’t think so,” he said.
Chad Harrington, who runs the Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Mont., agreed that a successful jump would not change how Evel’s attempt is remembered. That, he said, was Evel’s brainchild and that it has been 40 years since anyone has mounted the ramp is a testament to his bravery and genius.
But Harrington doesn’t see the jump quite like Rundle — those who competed for the lease Friday were not hoping to best Evel.
They were paying for the right to pay their respects.
“It would be a hell of an achievement,” he said. “... A tribute.”
_____________________________________________________
Source:
Magic Valley (
Smith, 9/28)
