As she starts down one of the most famous racetrack curves in the world, little 5-year-old Juliette Woodworth of Seaside lets out a “Yeeeeeeeeeaw!”
Her one-wheel “half-bike” is hooked into her dad’s two-wheeler. Suddenly she’s flying around the first corner of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew, yelling, “Eeeeuuuughhhahhh! We’re gonna crash! We’re gonna crash!”
More untranslatable screeching ensues. “Yaaagghhhhh!” as she veers around another corner.
Then silence for a moment. Contemplation at 30mph.
Next all the pieces of the puzzle of life seem to come together for this very moment. She blinks. Warm wind zips through her hair, then comes a gleeful “Yeeeeeeee!” with her eyes shut tight.
Gaining confidence, she takes her hands off the handlebars for a fleeting moment then rushes to grab the grips again.
The entire time her face is a canvas of cartoon-like emotion – joy, adventure, panic and wonder included – and it’s all captured with a GoPro camera affixed to dad’s bike.
When the Weekly posted a blog about the 54-second video – tipped off to its presence by the paper’s new executive assistant Heather O’Brien, who happens to be Juliette’s mom – it had 1,100 views on YouTube.
As of Weekly press time, the video counts 185,508 views, and well over 400,000 more (and 4,000 shares) on Facebook.
The Weekly isn’t the only news outlet to report on it. Far from it. The pieces have appeared most commonly in bicycle and motorcycle-enthused publications and number at least a half dozen. Some memorable descriptions come with them.
Hot Rod had this: “The result is a smile taller than the corkscrew itself, along with some ‘Look maw, no hands!’ antics on the way down.”
“I HAVEN’T HAD AS MUCH FUN AS THIS GIRL IS HAVING IN A WHILE.”
Reddit’s avalanche of comments included: “She’s gonna be cool as hell when she grows up,” from effdriver; “I haven’t had as much fun as this little girl is having in a while,” from GTAdriver1988; and “Corkscrew. Can make a 7-year-old girl curse like a sailor,” from Gyrant.
Cycle World’s take reflects a groundswell of enthusiasm for Matt Woodworth’s adventurous parenting:
“Matt (who describes his parenting style as ‘I haven’t given it much thought,’ ‘I like to create memories with my kids,’ and ‘the brakes on my bike work pretty well’) set Juliette on a half-bike attached to his and hoped she didn’t do ‘something unexpected, like let go!’
“Juliette promptly proceeded to totally let go, several times, and she can’t wait to do it again… to those of you who can relate to Juliette – who’ve grinned your way through sweepers and chicanes with the kind of manic happiness that totally remaps your grownup brain – we salute you.
“Take what you’ve learned here and go forth in giggles. And as for Juliette, who just started the school year, thanks for the beautiful bliss-bomb.
“Somehow we think you’re going to totally nail kindergarten.”
Lane Splitter added this: “The look on Juliette’s face is the same as the look on mine the first time I rode a motorcycle. I’ve made the same little squeal followed by taking my hands off the bars at the end of a great road on a perfect evening.”
As the views and media attention gained velocity, the family was approached by a modern business that’s sprung up in the era of viral videos.
Jukin Media helps broker appearances for videos and their stars on television channels like ESPN, CNN, Discovery, NBC, ABC and BBC.
Their self-reported mission: “to reward video creators for the original content they post online.”
They also produce the television show “World’s Funniest” on FOX, which also features inspiring and amazing videos (not just the funny and entertaining).
They offered Juliette et al a 70-percent/30-percent revenue split (70 for the Woodworths) on profits every time it’s licensed to a TV show, and on revenue earned from ads placed on the video online, with a $200 signing bonus.
The increasingly famous ride took place as part of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s Twilight Rides, with which cyclists of all ages can pedal the 11-turn, 2.238-mile course and Corkscrew, which plunges more than five stories down.
It happens 5:30 – 7:30pm (5-7pm in the winter months); helmets are required and the cost is $10 per rider.
Upcoming dates and times include Oct. 14 (5:30-7:30pm), Nov. 4 (5-7pm) and Dec. 9 (5-7pm).
The Woodworths will be back on the track themselves for as many of the monthly rides as possible, camera and wheels rolling.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.