The Magic Valley Times is reporting that Robbie Knievel, daredevil son of Evel, is planning on jumping the Snake River Canyon over the 4th of July weekend next year. In 1974, Evel Knievel attempted the same feat (and was unsuccessful).
On Monday afternoon, Robbie will meet with the Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss the event, pitch his ideas and get some feedback from the locals. A wide range of town businesses and government officials have been invited to the meeting, which could result in a quick tourist boom for the city.
Here's an interesting quick bit of information about Evel's failed jump over the canyon: First, he was riding a rocket-powered cycle that was engineered specifically for the event. When he took off for the jump, the force of the air moving passed him caused him to accidentally pull the emergency hand trigger for the parachute, which immediately deployed. Although Evel managed to clear the canyon initially, the chute caused enough drag for the parachute to pull the bike backward.
When Evel and the contraption finally hit the bottom of the canyon, they landed on the same side as they jumped from, just feet from the river. Due to a harness malfunction, he was still strapped to the bike and unable to get away from it. Had Evel landed in the river, instead of on the ground, he almost certainly would have drowned. So, that's what Robbie is trying to do next year...only hopefully a little better.
