Pastrana's 720 attempt during X-Games 15

Annapolis native Travis Pastrana was the first to pull off the double backflip during the X-Games Moto X Best Trick in 2006, and this past X-Games, he attempted to pull off a 720, a combination of a backflip and a 180 spin. He crashed as his bike conked out.

Apparently Travis hired a gymnist trainer to help him train for the attempt, teaching him to change his focus on using his upper-body strength, to using his lower body and his legs to flip the bike and then rotate it after he makes the final move going into a landing.

There are tons of videos on the internet of Travis practicing the trick in his backyard, going into his foam pit. Ridiculous.

One of the guys from ESPN that was down on the floor said that the only reason why Travis didn't attempt it again (because he was going to and was talked out of it) was that his Dad was able to convince him that he still had to win Rally Car on Sunday and defend his Gold Medal, and the replays from ESPN showed a different story compared to the initial pain Travis was feeling at the time.

After we packed up, one of our crates was stuck behind Travis' stuff, he and his crew were sitting as they were getting a car to the loading dock so he didn't have to walk far. His right are was pretty much covered in ice, taped up in a bag, he was holding onto his left collar bone, and after some young guy was asking him if he wanted to do another TV show, and Travis respectfully declined, explaining that he just didn't have time for another show right now, he nearly lost his lunch do to the pain. Wow.

No wonder the fans love him, he's nuts, but a good dude.

Sadly, his Rally Car crashed into the wall going into the home stretch as he entered the infield of the Home Depot Center and he lost the Gold Medal.