Youtube, RevZilla
Life is not always like the movies, we all know that. Though some would rather find these things out on their own.
In comes Ari Henning and Zack Courts who run a motorcycle Youtube blog called RevZilla. The duo decided to recreate mini-bike the scene from the iconic Dumb and Dumber and what they found is truly admirable, although definitely a little dumb.
While their camera crews at times were GoPros, their voices recorded and communicated through headsets, and their gas mileage nowhere near the movie’s promise of 70mpg, the movie-esque journey to Aspen, Colorado was enough for them to attempt such a ridiculous scene. Though, the project was not without hesitation.
“If things went well, we would be in Aspen in a few days,” said Henning explaining that they almost backed out of the trip. “If things went really well, the hog would break down and we would end this awful experiment quickly.”
Despite everything, Henning and Courts pressed forward on their journey. However, they were quick to realize that what the movie doesn’t show might just be the most grueling parts of the trip. The wear and tear two grown men can bring to a minibike after only a couple hundred miles left the movie-accurate bike needing several replacement tires, many gas stops, and a watchful eye as every part of the bike was determined to vibrate itself right off the frame.
Something that Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels’s dimwit duo didn’t have to endure in the film is a dirt road detour to avoid a major interstate, which the real-life duo deemed unsafe to travel on their….contraption and to stay true to the film. Ah, the sacrifices we make for art.
“It’s really hard to describe how much is hurts,” Courts quipped at a gas station about 200 miles in the 300-mile trip.
The final “chili pepper in the hog’s hamburger,” as Henning put it, was that the inertia of two grown men going down a steep dirt road happens to supersede the capabilities of mini-bikes disk breaks. A bit of information the pair learned the hard way as they stuck their feet into the dirt road as make-shift breaks while it careened downhill.
Add a close call with the local police and a movie-accurate spell of snow and bad weather and the duo was finally in Aspen. Although, unfortunately, when arriving their faces weren’t covered in frozen boogers – bummer.
“No movie magic here folks. We actually rode this thing all the way to Aspen. My friend’s back here is frozen solid.” Henning said suckling while Courts sat shivering at the wheel.
So what does it really take to make this journey?
Well, three days of riding, 382mi, two and a half spare tires, seven gallons of gas, and a pair of wet pants. Though this was from the inclement weather, not from Courts relieving himself mid-trip.
“It was a dumb trip,” Henning concludes. “But if you’ve always wondered if it could be done, we’re telling you there’s a chance.”