Stunt cyclists steal hearts at Octane Fest

A last-minute addition to the 2016 Octane Fest roster turned out to be a hit when cyclist partners “Finger Stunts” and “Camo Stunts” took their R6 Kawasaki Motorcycles on the street nex tto the motorsport show at Walmart.

All eyes turned to the stunts cyclists who raced back and forth down Taylor Place performing daring no-hand feats at high speeds for Octane Fest.

Fallon would meet Jeff “Finger Stunts” Perry and Cameron Eugene “Camo Stunts” Towle between each of their three sets at their very first Octane Fest.

Perry from Sacramento, Calif., took his name from his introduction to stunt riding 10 years ago when he fell on a man-hole and his finger was caught in the chain and sprocket of his first R6 bike. The nine-fingered stuntman wasn’t so easily discouraged a decade ago, however, and now performs on the same bike from the accident, letting nothing but his own imagination hold him back.

“Me, I just kind of saw the sport begin in my town,” Perry said of beginning to learn. “One day I picked up a bike and started learning from people in my area and videos. They started dropping pointers and started picking it up.”

Perry and Towle are part-time stunt riders and have been performing together for the past decade since Towle, a Reno native, met Perry in Sacramento and began learning to ride.

“Everybody’s really friendly here,” Towle said of Octane Fest, “it’s awesome and it’s a good environment. I don’t really get to watch too much racing between work and stunts since we don’t have a lot of time.”

Towle’s normal bike was down for the day, limiting him to only certain tricks he could manage without knowing his vehicle very well, but fans didn’t seem to mind seeing Towle race down the street with his front wheel popped up, and his hands off the bars performing a “Christ” as it’s called.

When Towle wasn’t on his bike, his infant stepson Jameson was happy to guard it for him, pretending to ride while Towle and Perry prepared for the next show. “I do this for the kids,” Towle added. “It warms my heart really, just making them happy,”

Both youth and adult spectators were just as enthralled with Perry performing Christs of his own in addition to Spreaders, where he kicks his legs out in the air, and High Chairs where he dares to throw his legs over his handle bars and seat,

Perry said he struggled more with the road than anything, a bumpy unaccommodating surface, but spectators on either said of the street still cheered the brothers on.

“We heard of Octane fest once before from a friend but didn’t know much about it,” he said, “but it’s exciting. You get to hang out with locals and see what’s going on out there.