PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas --Suspended more than 26 stories above the ground between the Royal Towers of Atlantis, Paradise Island and The Cove, Nik Wallenda, The King of The High Wire, made two death-defying stunts and at the same time broke the current Guinness World Record for highest bicycle ride (without a safety net) on August 28, 2010.
A seventh generation high wire and aerialist star, Wallenda traveled by bicycle over 100 feet from the West to East Towers at Atlantis while suspended 260 feet with a breathtaking view of the world’s largest open-air marine habitat and the turquoise ocean of The Bahamas. The feat saw Wallenda break his previous World Record set in 2008 at 135 feet high from the roof of the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey.
Nik’s performance was a welcomed delight to the thousands of Atlantis, Paradise Island
This particular attempt for the King of the High Wire was not without its challenges as Wallenda’s father, a former tight rope walker himself, suffered from heat exhaustion while rigging the wire for his son’s ambitious walk and was not able to witness his son’s brave attempt. Even rain and the threat of lightening didn’t seem to phase the brave King of the High Wire whose feats were well documented by the Discovery Channel and are set to air at later date.
After completing the walk, some of it on an incline, Nik talked about the experience. He said it was actually the first time he’d completed a walk without his father, who is his Chief Rigger, present. “I did this for my dad. I could have decided to quit considering what happened to him minutes before I was set to go; however, I knew he would have wanted me to continue and as a performer, the show must go on,” he stated casually.
Wallenda’s precision and skills can be traced back to his legendary Great Wallendas roots. In 1780, the ancestral Wallenda family traveled as a circus troupe of acrobats, jugglers, clowns, aerialists and animal trainers with the next two generations adding the flying trapeze.