CRUSTY DEMON OF DIRT

Jeremy "Fungi" Furniss is on a first-name basis with doctors and nurses at the Carnarvon Hospital. Mr Fungi will perform in Perth with the Crusty Demons of Dirt, a relatively insane group of motocross riders. If you've been near any extreme sports or gravity games, you may have seen these crazy dudes flying over your heads in a kind of zero-G freefall, more or less attached to their bike. Or sometimes just in a low orbit alongside it. So i'm driving down Speedway Road in Mickey T's 4WD, looking for Mr Fungi and his ramps. Suddenly, in the distance, a motorcycle and inverted rider fly high into the air, appearing magically above the horizon as if propelled by a rocket launcher. The ensemble then drops dramatically earthwards. A sure indication of a Crusty Demon. "Yeah, i've broken all the bones down my left side," says Mr Fungi. It's spitting rain and the wind is gusty, so he only does a few runs. One of which is pictured above. We agree to meet early in the morning to try again. Like, early early. "I'm not much good at getting out of bed in the morning," Mr Fungi admits. "I better have an extra cup of coffee to make sure I'm awake." I imagine being awake would have certain advantages in this line of work.