High-Flying, Anti-Bullying Message Gets Delivered at Lincoln

The ASA Tour stopped at Lincoln High School to share both their X-Game skills and an anti-bullying message.

While X-Gamers like Mykel Larrin, Paul Luc Ronchetti, Jimmy Walker and Trevor Meyer whizzed behind him doing curlicues in midair with the BMX bikes they looked too big for, ringmaster Micah Kranz sprinkled bullying statistics throughout his announcing.

“One out of every ten high school dropouts is bullied…160,000 kids are absent from school every day because of bullying…there are 4,500 suicides every year caused by bullying…282,000 kids get attacked every month at school…”

You wouldn’t suppose much attention was being paid to the numbers, even though they’re as dizzying in their own way as the stunts that were being performed in the Lincoln High School Roundhouse by the touring gang of bikers.

But the stats were the answers to the post-show quiz where swag from the ASA Tour, an action sports league of the nation’s top BMXers and skateboarders, were the prizes and Kranz had no trouble finding winners in the crowd when he shouted out his questions. So the gimmick works. Use the acrobatics to grab attention and use the attention to spread some serious awareness about bullying.

The finale of the loop de loopy bike riding saw Lincoln football coach Andy Campbell and teacher John Simons seated side-by-side atop the half-pipe styled ramps while the high-flying Larrin soared over them to the delight of the crowd.

Just as amazing as the aerialists was Meyer who’s known as a “flatlander” since neither he nor his bike ever leave the floor. But oh my, the things they do together grounded. They dance. They wrestle. They spin; boy, do they spin! Look Ma, no hands? How about, look Ma, I’m standing on the handlebars?!

The ASA Tour is in its 16th year and has only recently shifted the focus of its message from anti-tobacco to anti-bullying. Fewer teens are smoking these days. Hopefully by next year’s tour Kranz’s numbers about bullying will have to be revised downward, too.

Photos from the ASA Tour at Lincoln High School