Welcome To New York . . . Hey, Nice Bike
What you would do with — or who would buy — a motorcycle designed for a circus act is beyond me:
Posted: November 2nd, 2007 | Filed under: Jerk Move, QueensA gravity-defying act has come to a screeching halt since thieves in Jamaica left a circus family without a vital piece of equipment.
The motorcycle heist took place Sunday night in Roy Wilkins Park, where the Espanas are headlining in the Firehouse Circus.
The bike in question, a specially engineered Honda CR85 that Govian Espana has been trained to ride since the age of six, was stolen from the Espana family trailer while they were busy performing.
“This place, maybe eight minutes, tops, is (unguarded),” said Lisa Woodman-Espana. “We think (the perpetrators) must have been casing us.”
. . .
[The Espana family] traveled from their home in Florida this fall to participate in the Firehouse Circus, the brainchild of Bronx District Leader and former “Rappin’ Fireman” John Ruiz, who was performing Sunday night when the theft occurred.
“It is depressing,” Ruiz said, wearing blue-sequined fireman’s garb and a rhinestone helmet, “It was part of the act, the kids loved it. Everyone loved it.”
The “Globe of Death,” as it is known, is typically performed by 14-year-old Govian and his father, Ramon Espana. They each ride a motorcycle in a series of dizzying circles around Asia Espana, who bravely stands motionless at the base of the giant steel cage.