What is your favorite thrill or thrill ride?

[Ivan Seeking]

Who here has the need for speed? What is your favorite thrill or thrill ride?

I am waaaaaaay overdue to do something thrilling. I'm too old and out of shape to do anything crazy... If I can't afford to fly a jet any time soon [big bucks!], I'm thinking of doing Air Combat again. I've done it once before and it was definitely one of the most thrilling hours of my life.

I love thrill rides, but we don't live near any major amusement parks.

 

[petm1]

Being launched from the Kitty hawk as a passenger in an E-2 was fun, now my need for speed is taken care of on two wheels.

 

[dlgoff]

speed=danger

You could reach terminal velocity if you like jumping out of airplanes.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Being launched from the Kitty hawk as a passenger in an E-2 was fun,

I bet it was! How many times did you get to do that?

 

[encorp]

Hmm.. I downhill mountain bike.. pretty extremely I might add.. hitting serious jumps etc

I Don't know if that would work for you though..

Ever sky dive?

 

[nucleargirl]

Hmm.. I downhill mountain bike.. pretty extremely I might add.. hitting serious jumps etc

I Don't know if that would work for you though..

Ever sky dive?

yeah! I love cycling downhill really fast! (on roads tho) makes me feel like a badass!
and rollercoasters!

 

[encorp]

yeah! I love cycling downhill really fast! (on roads tho) makes me feel like a badass!
and rollercoasters!

Hahaha.. YES the faster I can go the better.

I don't like roads though.. well, that's a lie.. I DO.. but I enjoy mountains better!

Depends though, if roads have a giant jump at the bottom or not :P

 

[rhody]

Who here has the need for speed?
What is your favorite thrill ? I love thrill rides...

Well, the rides I like the most are not in Amusement parks, roller coasters, etc... under planning and control of others...

They involve mostly deserted or lightly traveled back roads, winter/spring/summer/fall as long as no snow or ice is lurking, mostly on my trusted and true 2005 Yamaha FJR 1300 with ABS. This bike has been rock solid, with shaft drive, significant omph, about 90 foot pounds of torque at 6000 rpm, about 120 or so rear wheel hp, but heavy and cumbersome to ride on twisty roads (a little over 600 lbs with fuel tank of gas). It will cruise effortlessly all day on about two tanks of gas, and I have spent about 9 hours in the saddle, back roads with twisty corners where ever possible. I would guess it pulls about .5 g's of acceleration in first gear from about 20 - 65 mph and it happens fairly quick. The most fun I have with it is in 1st .. 3rd gears.

I am looking to get one of these however in addition to my FJR. Riding one this weekend... A new BMW 1000RR so the whole affair will be sedate, below 9000 rpm, can't tweak a brand new engine, by spinning the main bearings now can we...

See two reviews, first, followed by two video's, both short and sweet. To me, it is one of the most fun things you can do for under 20K. This Beemer will put .8 g in first gear and hustle you (if you dare) to 155 mph in about 9.5 seconds, and pull about 1.5 g's in standard radius turns, pretty amazing if you ask me. And it will pull about .6 g's of deceleration with it's massive brembo calipers and 320 mm light front disks. That puts a lot of force on you arms under hard braking. Needless to say, this thing will put you through a ringer unless you are in shape both mentally and physically. I never ride at this level, but contemplate a local racing school where for a fee you get to explore these limits with a fair amount of safety and expert guidance.

http://www.raptorsandrockets.com/Reviews/2010_bmw_s_1000_rr.htm"

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2010_BMW_S1000RR_Motorcycle_Review"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XYlhRUT80&feature=channel"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EBo2Zl3Y6w&list=QL&playnext=1"

I usually ride solo since there are so few competent riders who I trust (with my life) to ride with. I have one work buddy who has an 2004 Yamaha R1, and likes to ride at a brisk pace. He is smart, safe, never pushing it beyond his ability or his bikes. He wanted to come for the test ride, but has made plans with his family.

P.S.

I know what many of you who follow my posts must be thinking, mid life crisis, in a word, that does not begin to describe it. Life is short, do what you love, take calculated risks every now and then, do it safely and responsibly with respect for others, and everything else as they say will take care of itself.

Rhody... (hoping not to become Road Rash... or worse... Road Kill... lol)

P.S. The top of the line bike has two gyroscopes providing input to the dynamic traction control (DTC) system that limits wheel slip at various bank angles, plus helps to keep the wheel down under hard acceleration (5 second max lift about 20% or so if I remember correctly). They are mechanical though, not like the ring laser gyro's we use at work on our products.

 

[edward]

Ivan:

You could ride with my wife out on the freeway. When she does her famous, slow down to merge or change lanes maneuver, chills go down my spine.

You will even get to see the front grille of a speeding eighteen wheeler up closer than you ever have before.

 

[turbo]

I was a ski-racer in high school. and never lost that need for speed until my knees started giving out. My role-model was Jean-Claude. Screw style, and adopt the stance, approach, etc, that gets you the most speed.

At our mountain, the ski patrol members generally joined the "Beat Jerry" race and chipped in our 50 cents for a ticket to try to get within 5 seconds of our boss (a former class A racer). The winner(s) would get two free weekend passes. As ski patrol members, we didn't need them to ski but wanted to win them and sell them. I got well within his time one day (he probably had a really bad run because the course was icy and chattery) perhaps because my Fischer Alu-Steel GS skis were wood-cored and could damp some of that boilerplate. The mountain was normally all packed-powder all season, but we had had an abnormally warm spell and mist followed by an arctic blast.

 

[turbo]

When I couldn't get more and more thrills out of skiing, and my knees were killing me, I switched over to white-water kayaking and canoeing. When you are upside-down in foamy rapids with rocks whizzing by your head, immersed in a medium that you can't breathe, a strange clarity comes over you. Unless you crap your pants. Ignorance and fear can kill you in heavy water.

We have lots of class IV and V white water with easy driving distance, and when the Dead River (paying attention, MIH? Re Rough Cut) is in its spring flow, it is perhaps the most technical and demanding river in the state. There are large rafting companies that make tons of money taking people down the Penobscot, and the Kennebec (even less exciting), but conditions are not consistent enough on the Dead to keep a large rafting company busy.

Peak flows on the Dead attract white-water nuts from all over the northeast. Often you wade through snow, dragging your boat and gear along, only to put in at what you hoped might be a relatively calm eddy that happens to be 2-3 foot waves of swirling chop, filled with ice.

 

[OmCheeto]

Who here has the need for speed? What is your favorite thrill or thrill ride?

I am waaaaaaay overdue to do something thrilling. I'm too old and out of shape to do anything crazy... If I can't afford to fly a jet any time soon [big bucks!], I'm thinking of doing Air Combat again. I've done it once before and it was definitely one of the most thrilling hours of my life.

I love thrill rides, but we don't live near any major amusement parks.

I could give you a ride on one of my boats. The most thrilling ride was about 15 years ago when I was taking a ride in my little 14 foot 250 pounder up river to just below the Bonneville dam. Quite a nice ride. I think I was traveling at about 15 knots with a 30 mph tailwind, when I noticed that I was not moving in relation to the shore. So of course, I turned the little boat around.

It turned from a friendly, oh this is such a nice ride, into a, holey ****, what the **** is going on here, kind of ride. 45 mph headwind, cresting 8 foot tall waves, in a might as well be a balsa wood about to flip backwards boat with the life jacket 10 feet away stuffed away in the bow...

I could see people watching me from the shore in my shear panic "I'm about to die" episode, so I decided to play it cool, and go out with style. I grabbed my coffee cup, took a sip, and motored very slowly, back home.

 

[airborne18]

Parachuting. From a C-130 or C-141, the high speed, and jumping out is a rush. Have not found a thrill ride that has matched it.

 

[Cyrus]

Who here has the need for speed? What is your favorite thrill or thrill ride?

I am waaaaaaay overdue to do something thrilling. I'm too old and out of shape to do anything crazy... If I can't afford to fly a jet any time soon [big bucks!], I'm thinking of doing Air Combat again. I've done it once before and it was definitely one of the most thrilling hours of my life.

I love thrill rides, but we don't live near any major amusement parks.

Those prices are outrageous. That airplane only has 260HP (my C172 has 180), and they are charging you 1300 for three hours of time. I could take you up for 9 hours at that price. I think you need to find someone that owns a two seater airplane aerobatic airplane, like a zlin, and offer him that same amount of money. You can probably fly loops your heart out for 6 hours straight.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Those prices are outrageous. That airplane only has 260HP (my C172 has 180), and they are charging you 1300 for three hours of time. I could take you up for 9 hours at that price. I think you need to find someone that owns a two seater airplane aerobatic airplane, like a zlin, and offer him that same amount of money. You can probably fly loops your heart out for 6 hours straight.

Throw in another aircraft, LASERs, and smoke pods, and you have a deal. Part of the thrill is the dog fight. Oh yes, and I fly, not you. Big distinction there.

I thought you didn't believe in stressing an aircraft like that.

As for parachuting, I always wanted to try that, but I do seem to have a trust issue. I've heard too many stories.

 

[Cyrus]

Throw in another aircraft, LASERs, and smoke pods, and you have a deal. Oh yes, and I fly, not you. Big distinction there.

I thought you didn't believe in stressing an aircraft like that.

Ok, smoke makes it cool . But a zlin is aerobatic rated, meaning you can do all the same loops, rolls, and other stuff - at half the cost. And I was implying if you pay the guy, he'd let you do the maneuvers. I'd fly one of those soviet jets though, but you need to travel to Russia. Worth it, IMO. Fly to the edge of space in a Mig-25. I think this would be a life experience very few people in the world get:

[PLAIN]http://www.space-travellers.com/home/grafik/images/mig-25a.jpg

...but your also talking something like 20k a price tag. I'd do it before I die. Its expensive, but the view is worth the money.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ok, smoke makes it cool . But a zlin is aerobatic rated, meaning you can do all the same loops, rolls, and other stuff - at half the cost. And I was implying if you pay the guy, he'd let you do the maneuvers.

I have thought about doing something like that, but then we get back to trust and the structural integrity of the aircraft.

The smoke pods indicate that you got a hit. Gotta keep score!

I'd fly one of those soviet jets though, but you need to travel to Russia. Worth it, IMO. Fly to the edge of space in a Mig-25. I think this would be a life experience very few people in the world get:

[PLAIN]http://www.space-travellers.com/home/grafik/images/mig-25a.jpg

...but your also talking something like 20k a price tag. I'd do it before I die. Its expensive, but the view is worth the money.

That is still on my must-do list, but not in this economy [things are looking up, however]. I wasn't completely sold on the edge of space flight. The high performance maneuvers option was very tempting.

 

[airborne18]

I have thought about doing something like that, but then we get back to trust and the structural integrity of the aircraft.

The smoke pods indicate that you got a hit. Gotta keep score!



That is still on my must-do list, but not in this economy [things are looking up, however]. I wasn't completely sold on the edge of space flight. The high performance maneuvers option was very tempting.

Rappelling is fun. Not the indoors rock climbing wall stuff, but rappelling from a railroad tressel or bridge. I did a lot of rappelling in the military and loved it.

It also does not cost a lot. The ropes are the most expensive outlay. Well unless you want to rent a helicopter and rappell out the door, which I highly recommend.

 

[petm1]

I bet it was! How many times did you get to do that?

I only got one cat shot and one trap in my seven years as a member of V-1 division. You could try riding a jet ski on water which is a lot more forgiving than a motorcycle on asphalt, some of the newer jet skis make over one hundred horsepower.

 

[Evo]

Ok, smoke makes it cool . But a zlin is aerobatic rated, meaning you can do all the same loops, rolls, and other stuff - at half the cost. And I was implying if you pay the guy, he'd let you do the maneuvers. I'd fly one of those soviet jets though, but you need to travel to Russia. Worth it, IMO. Fly to the edge of space in a Mig-25. I think this would be a life experience very few people in the world get:

[PLAIN]http://www.space-travellers.com/home/grafik/images/mig-25a.jpg

...but your also talking something like 20k a price tag. I'd do it before I die. Its expensive, but the view is worth the money.

That would be the last thing I would see before I blacked out and plummeted to earth.

 

[Redbelly98]

Did the skydiving thing when I was younger. I've always dreamed of going into space, but I'd settle for a ride in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomit_Comet" .

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Uh oh, the Mig has competition.

Incredible Adventures introduces you to the Lynx, XCOR Aerospace's entry into the suborbital space transportation market. As XCOR's third generation of rocket-powered vehicles, Lynx is a revolutionary vehicle using non-toxic propellants: kerosene and liquid oxygen. After thousands of test-firings, XCOR's engines have proven themselves to be durable, long lasting and among the safest in the industry.

...The canopy of the Lynx provides a majestic view of Earth and inky blackness of space. Sitting in the co-pilot's seat beside the astronaut-pilot, you gaze upward, forward, and on either side. The Lynx provides you with an intimate and immediate experience of going where so few have gone before - the edge of space on a suborbital space vehicle...

http://www.incredible-adventures.com/xcor-lynx.html


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWi0H0WsfdY

 

[berkeman]

Well, I would suggest motocross, but there's a pretty long learning curve before you get to the bigger stuff.

Have you looked into doing a racetrack school? If you ride motorcycles, the schools like CLASS and STAR are great (mostly US west coast, but they get back east some too). If you don't ride motorcycles, there are plenty of good car racetrack schools. BMW has schools all over the place, and many racetracks have a resident school.

In addition to having great fun at a racetrack, you'll learn some vehicle control skills as well (whether motorcycle or car).

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well, I would suggest motocross, but there's a pretty long learning curve before you get to the bigger stuff.

Have you looked into doing a racetrack school? If you ride motorcycles, the schools like CLASS and STAR are great (mostly US west coast, but they get back east some too). If you don't ride motorcycles, there are plenty of good car racetrack schools. BMW has schools all over the place, and many racetracks have a resident school.

In addition to having great fun at a racetrack, you'll learn some vehicle control skills as well (whether motorcycle or car).

I rode in the dirt, desert, and street, for years [an old YZ and RM rider]. I have considered the Formula One car school... in fact, that is on my current list of options. I think it costs about the same as Air Combat, but I hadn't looked yet.

Here, you can pay by the lap
http://www.racingschools.com/formulaonedrive.php

btw, I quit riding offroad due to injuries. I can't afford to get injured anymore.

 

[berkeman]

I rode in the dirt, desert, and street, for years [an old YZ and RM rider].

Sweet! Big airtime is something special

 

[encorp]

Sweet! Big airtime is something special

I agree.

On my downhill mountain bike; there is nothing quite like the slamming you go through down the mountain and then you hit a table top or a launch and you are all the sudden weightless and just cruising through the air. It's amazing.

 

[lisab]

I agree.

On my downhill mountain bike; there is nothing quite like the slamming you go through down the mountain and then you hit a table top or a launch and you are all the sudden weightless and just cruising through the air. It's amazing.

I've had that same experience downhill skiing. There's this one spot on one of my favorite runs where I launch...and I'm not very high up, but the hill drops at about the same rate as I do. It's so great, like floating down the hill

 

[Andre]

My two biggest thrills

One: doing 600 knots at 100 feet altitude above Harp Lake (Labrador), way down there

two: Making barrel rolls (spirals) around a closed formation a bit like this:

 

[Mentallic]

I roller blade and used to bike. Those were fun but I couldn't get to speeds I wanted to without knowing I'm going to kill myself. I've been on the best rollercoasters in Australia but they aren't anything spectacular... After going on the superman I realized what I truly want - feeling the G's are more invigorating to me than speed. I love the feeling!
I need something to satisfy my thrills though...

Parachuting. From a C-130 or C-141, the high speed, and jumping out is a rush. Have not found a thrill ride that has matched it.

This sounds so good! What kind of prices are involved in this?

[PLAIN]http://www.space-travellers.com/home/grafik/images/mig-25a.jpg

Not really something to die for in my opinion. I know views are everything to some but for me it's all about the feeling. Now, I'd much rather feel the the cold wind blowing into my face while standing atop a mountain than to stand even higher than that but only feeling the AC in the spacecraft .

 

[cronxeh]

This sounds so good! What kind of prices are involved in this?

A haircut and a 6 year hitch

Although there is a nice solo accelerated freefall around here for $285. You need to take like a 6 hour class though