SAN FRANCISCO -- To the untrained eye, the flatland bicycle stunt competition may seem a little out of place on Pier 30.

There aren't any high-flying tricks. The competition isn't about going the fastest. Medics are seldom called into action. A screaming announcer and the blaring music are about the only aspects of this usually serene form of bike riding that can be connected with the X Games.

In fact, if these riders had their way they'd do their thing in a soundproof booth -- blocking out the rest of the world as they perform their highly-technical maneuvers in deep concentration.

	Meyer proved it doesn't take the use of his hands to win gold in flatland bike riding.

For the first five days of X Games V, a few spectators would usually stop for a few minutes to watch the flatlanders practice on their own little corner of the pier. But with the skateboarders, bike vert riders and Moto X guys doing their high-flying acts just a few feet away, it was easy to overlook the graceful artists of the X Games.

Wednesday, however, Pier 30 was the flatlanders' stage. And for six hours in front of an enthusiastic crowd, riders displayed how 'extreme' can be just as easily expressed in a subtle form of bike riding.

"I think we fit in with the X Games. Look at the crowd, everybody seems to be into it. It may not be so death-defying like the ramps, but at least it's a lot more technical," said Trevor Meyer, who emerged from 20 flatlanders to win his third straight X Games gold medal. "The tricks are extremely technical. You'll spend hours, months and even years to pull off some of these tricks. It takes a lot of dedication.

"Even the ramp riders say it's harder than what they are doing. You know it's a tough sport when they say that."

The tricks Meyer, silver medalist Phil Dolan and bronze medalist Nathan Penonzek have perfected are those normally seen at halftime shows of NBA games. Riders are usually balancing on one wheel -- and not always the back wheel -- while using a variety of hand holds and spinning tricks.

"I don't know this definition of 'extreme' is just like, a little bit generalistic," said Dolan, who lives in Bath, Great Britain. "(Flatland) is extreme in terms of the skill level and this level of riding under pressure. It's all about concentration, skill, timing and originality. Your personality has to come through in your riding.

"It's actually the discipline you have to put the most practice into. It's quite normal for riders to put five to 10 hours of solid practice in a day.

"You don't hurt yourself necessarily as much in terms of learning tricks, but it can be the most frustrating style of riding."

That frustration can last for years, which is why most of the flatland riders who competed Wednesday were in their late 20s. The one exception to this rule has been 20-year-old Penonzek, who won his first X Games medal after two straight fourth-place finishes as a teen-ager.

But Penonzek's concentration level is what allows him to excel at an early age. He was so focused this year that when asked to recall some of his best tricks he drew a blank.

"I think we fit in with the X Games. Look at the crowd, everybody seems to be into it. It may not be so death-defying like the ramps, but at least it's a lot more technical." -- Trevor Meyer Flatland gold medalist

"I honestly can't remember my runs, like most riders," Penonzek said. "I know I pulled a few things I wanted to do and missed some things I wanted to pull.

"I think the easiest way for me (to concentrate) is to have fun. If I'm having fun at a contest I seem to do better. If I'm shaking and tense, obviously it affects my riding because that's not how I ride at home. I don't ride shaking and nervous at home. If I try to make it fun, it relaxes me."

And relaxation is what flatlanders need most to be successful. It's not unusual to see a rider with headphones and a CD player in his back pocket while competing.

"Some people see this as not being difficult, but most of the ramp riders will look at flatland and say, 'Damn, I could never do that,'" Penonzek said. "I think the difficulty of flatland makes it an extreme sport."

And nobody was more extreme than Meyer in the final. After a long day of riding under the sun and unseasonable high temperatures in San Francisco, Meyer saved some of his best tricks for his final three 45-second runs.

Meyer's three final runs included tricks such as the "elephant grind," which involves standing on the front wheel and pumping the wheel around in a circle with his foot, while also spinning the bike's frame around his body. He also did an "undertaker," wrapping the bike under his body as he switch his feet from the front to back pegs, and Meyer then did the ever-popular upside down "spastic wheelie."

Meyer, who performed during halftime of Game 4 of the NBA Finals in New York last week, said he was most impressed by his ability to pull off a "dump truck turbine" during his second run.

It's better to let Meyer explain that one.

"It's when the bike is up on its back wheel and I'm straddling the front wheel. I then turbine it forward and backward and forward with no hands. It's really hard and an original trick."

The 6-foot-2 Meyer, who rides a bigger bike than most riders because of his height, was clearly the most innovative during his three runs. But that is nothing new for the only rider to ever win gold at the X Games in flatland.

"I figured the finals were a time to step it and give it all I had," Meyer said. "It's harder actually each year because you have more expectations from people who expect you to win. I definitely try to make (each run) harder. I want to do different tricks to impress the judges and the crowd. Doing the same thing over and over gets boring I think.

"I'm just glad to take the gold medal, wow it's unbelievable. I'm just trying to keep up with Dave Mirra."

Mirra won his third straight bicycle vert final Tuesday night.