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Mark Peters

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My love affair with bikes began when I was only knee-high to a grasshopper. As a child, I would build ramps from which to jump over ditches on my Raleigh Chopper. It didn't always end well. I bashed my balls on that damn machine many times, but it never took away the thrill of messing around on a bike. Then came BMXs, racers and mountain bikes, and now it's motorbikes. Bruised knees, grazed elbows and good times.

All of this two-wheeled tomfoolery can be traced back to a single moment: my eighth birthday. I was given the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, a wind-up, plastic toy ridden by a small action figure of the famous American daredevil that could jump just about anything. It was the 1980s equivalent of an Xbox - on crack.

Following in the booted footsteps of Knievel, survivor of the most broken bones in a lifetime, Heirs to the Dare (Discovery Channel, tonight at 8pm) tracks three adrenaline junkies who perform dangerous motorcycle stunts simply for the thrill of it.

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Bubba Blackwell was the natural successor to Knievel's throne and the Harley-riding daredevil earns big bucks for big jumps. Meanwhile, fat-Elvis lookalike Henry "The Pitbull" Rife (right) is content to risk his life jumping for free popcorn. The Pitbull apparently has two things: "My heart and my balls, and I'm not breaking either for anybody."

Then there's retired Super Joe Reed, who plans to suit up one more time to jump a canyon by strapping rockets to his bum, if only he can convince his wife it's a sane idea. Breaking bones and records may look dumb to some, but I know exactly where these guys are coming from.

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Inside Men (BBC Entertainment, Tuesday at 9pm) is a gripping four-part crime drama starring Steven Mackintosh (Luther) as John, a mild-mannered, pencil-pushing manager at a cash-counting warehouse. John's disillusioned life is seemingly turned upside down when a gang of armed robbers breaks in and steals the loot.

Flashback a few months and all is not what it seemed. Honest John apparently decided to grow a pair and surprisingly, even to himself, may not be entirely innocent.

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