THE BALLOON MAN

Fearless, lucky: Circus stutman returns to this year's fair

Chela Flores poses for a photo in the center of the "Globe of Death" while her husband Ricardo Flores rides around her on a motorcycle Wednesday outside the Cajundome. Ricardo has been performing since he was a young boy when he performed with his father Victor. The husband and wife duo from Florida can be seen through the weekend performing at the Cajun Heartland State Fair in Lafayette. / Denny Culbert/ dculbert@theadvertiser.com
May. 26, 2011
Some people dream of running away with the circus; Ricardo "Fearless" Flores never had to dream.
Flores is a ninth generation circus performer who has honed his "motorcycle madness" in a stunt show called the "Globe of Death" for the past 23 years.
It's a dangerous demonstration of speed and talent, but as a child, it's all he wanted to do."As a kid, all I ever did was watch my father," Flores said. "I always wanted to do it.
When he decided I was ready to start learning, I couldn't wait. My dad just taught me like a father would teach you how to ride a bicycle.
"In the globe, his wife Chela, 13-year-old daughter Cyndel and eight-year-old son Volorian join Ricardo.
The show starts with a solo show from Ricardo where he rides in every direction - upside down, three-fourths the way up, anywhere he wants to go. The show revs up when Chela stands center ring."I start riding, she lifts her hand up, I give her high fives," he said. "I cut around, go over the top and right beside her"»I'm usually riding, passing six-to-eight inches from her."The show peaks even more when multiple motorcyclists enter - they criss-cross, they ride along the center ridge of the globe, horizontally on "the equator" and in a butterfly pattern. At times, he said, they ride head-on towards each other.
The spectacle usually leaves crowds breathless."Sometimes, there's no response at all," he said. "You think, 'Maybe, they're not happy with it,' but, really, they're blown away. They're in awe. I've never had anybody come up to me and say, 'Eh, that was alright.'"What audiences might be waiting for is that devastating moment when something goes wrong — that crash, that head-on collision, that moment when the motorcyclists' timing is completely off."The show, it's a routine," he said. "It's something we've practiced over and over. It changes very little. The entire time we're riding, we're looking at each other. That's how we know if something's wrong."Ricardo has seen his share of accidents, but in his 23 years, he's "never broken any bones."READ MORE AT:http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20110526/LIFESTYLE/105260323