For those not tapped into their extreme side, biking is biking. Whether mountain biking or racing, it’s peddling to get from point A to point B. Highlights include helmets, spandex, taking up lanes meant for cars and plowing over pedestrians on city sidewalks.

For us Adrenalists, however, the world is so much bigger. When we hear “biking,” we, who live life on the edge, think of all the complex variations of the sport and wonder “what kind?” Trials? BMX? Motocross? We like that we know the difference. Fancying ourselves aficionados, we welcome anyone to challenge our understanding of what’s what and why.

Then someone like Benny Phillips comes along and shakes up all our classifications. We watch him pull stunts like he does at 0:29 in this video and we think, “BMX’er for sure”. But, the precision with which he lands into wheelie at 0:36 makes us think trials. Contradictions continue to run rampant as we watch.

“So, what exactly is Benny Phillips?” we wonder. Then it dawns on us: he’s all of the above; a barrier breaker, a model of what can be done, not what has been.

And we decide to forget everything we thought we knew about the sport that takes place on two wheels.

Pro mountain biker Paul Basagoitia tries time and time again to land a double backflip. We sit, biting our nails, becoming more and more concerned with each attempt. After the first try, we’re all saying, “it’s cool, Paul. Keep going man. You got it.” After the second try, we’re more like, “oh man, Paul. You okay man?” The third time? We’re saying, “dude, doing a double backflip would be cool and all, but maybe you should take a break.” By the fourth try, we’re yelling, “dammit, Paul. Think about your mother!”

Then, suddenly, at 1:19, after what looked like some deep soul searching, Paul lands the unthinkable. The double backflip is landed, and the achievement is Paul’s and Paul’s alone.

Kudos to you, Paul Basagoitia, for taking some serious lumps on the road to greatness. You set your mind to something and went through with it, like a real Adrenalist. You had us worried there for a moment, but you delivered.

Indulge in the crack-cocaine of video entertainment. Every shot is an injection of adrenaline, every frame a brain cell spasm, every pixel an explosion of light.

That’s what happens when high-tech moviemaking bridges the vision behind the camera and the splendor in front of it. It’s what Freeride Entertainment has done for over a decade; shooting adventure films across the globe, from the jungles of the Amazon to the mountains of Morocco.

See above for some quick cuts of some of the company’s best work.

Many bike races are difficult because they involve going mostly uphill, making them brutal grinds that tear apart quadriceps.

A race that goes downhill, though, like this one in Valparaiso, Chile, presents a completely different challenge.

Wiping out becomes a brutal, and very real, obstacle. Control is difficult, particularly with the changing terrain and angle of the landscape. And speed, obviously an asset in racing, also poses a huge danger and problem.

Ever tried to ride a bike down stairs? It isn’t easy.

In a high-octane showcase of what happens when the world’s wildest bikers meet steep South American streets, this first-person perspective makes you feel like you’re in on the action of the 2012 Cerro Abajo in Valparaiso, Chile.

The downhill season in the US opens in April (don’t miss the legendary Sea Otter Classic in Monterey), but summer is endless in Valparaiso and riders squeeze every last bit of high-flying, wall-riding competition out of this contest.

The Radar Roadie from Rowan Johns on Vimeo.

This summer is one of those that will see international-scale road cycling competition on the world’s two grandest stages. Whether the riders are busting it up the Col du Tourmalet or carving through the woods of Surrey, though, they’re guaranteed not to be pulling stunts like British legend Martyn Ashton does in this video.

The first 45 seconds or so are exposition, admittedly, but then it gets wild. Stick through the credits at the end to see him land an insane backflip.

GODSPEED from California is a place. on Vimeo.

“We were supposed to be there yesterday,” says Brandon Correia, 13-year veteran of the San Fransisco bike messenger scene and self-professed “badass.”  Correia is the founder of Godspeed Courier, a bike messenger service that employs about a dozen urban cyclists, each of whom can be tasked with delivering up to 20 packages in as few as 90 minutes on a given ride. That’s not an easy job. Correia says he’s hit the ground hard at least 3 times, suffering broken bones and countless broken bikes. Risk is part of the riding. It’s also a big reason he loves his job. Check the video above to catch a glimpse of what his life is like in (but mostly out of) the bike lane

The Valparaiso Cerro Abajo is the most insane downhill bicycle race in the world. The guys who ride the course might be the craziest bros on earth… and some of the most skilled. Watch as 2011 winner Filip Polc narrowly avoids beheading a poor street dog with his foot-powered tire saw at the 28-second mark. Things only get more impressive from there as he navigates the oil and piss stained stairs and alleyways of the dizzying Chilean mountainside track. And you thought your weekend bike ride was helmet cam video worthy.