Monday, December 19, 2005

Redneck Sledding

I took the kids out redneck sledding over the weekend. For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of redneck sledding, let me describe it to you.

We all went out to the country, looking for a particularly flat farmer's field, or a really snow and ice-covered country road. We found a great road just a couple of miles out of town. I pulled over, grabbed two of those round sleds that look like garbage can lids, and strapped them to the back of my truck with some rope. I then dragged the sleds down the road, while the kids sat on the sleds, squealing with delight. Think of it similar to water skiing, but you're in a car (or a 4X4 pickup in my case) instead of a boat, and the kids are sitting on a sled, not standing on skis.

It may sound a little unsafe, but no more so than water skiing. In fact, if you use a little common sense, it's probably safer than water skiing.

-Make sure to do this in a flat, deserted area.

-If you are on a country road, make sure the road is flat, and pull over as soon as you see any traffic... oncoming, or approaching from behind.

-Have an extra passenger who can act as a spotter.

-Use common sense and don't feel the need to be a speed demon. I was going 10 miles an hour with my kids, and they thought I was flying. I let my spotter drive and went for one ride myself. He got up to 20 MPH with me, and it felt like I was going to go airborn.

-Make sure to watch out for road obstacles... areas with no snow coverage, rocks, etc.

-Don't forget to have fun.

By the way, this may be called something else where you live... bumper skiing, whatever. I just called it redneck sledding, because the title is appropriate.

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