Family Friend Friday --- The Trikke

Above is a video of Jen's sister Julie riding my Trikke. I bought it on e-bay soon after we moved to Ashland as a fun way to exercise. You basically propel yourself through your body movements...its a cross between a scooter and roller blades. After some practice you can climb small hills as well (but forget about those Pennsylvania hills!!!). In Ohio, we have the perfect landscape for a Trikke. As Steve would say, "I stood on a speed bump to get a view".

Riding the Trikke requires 2 rules...(1) Do Not Slam on the Brakes and (2) Do Not Let Any of the Wheels Go in the Grass. Breaking either of these rules will end in disaster. There is a huge list of neighbors, family, friends, etc who have fallen off for ignoring these two important rules. Most memorable were 2 family members:

Ron --- Jen's sister Joni's husband jumped on and almost immediately allowed the back wheel to touch the grass, and he did quite a nice belly dive over the front handle bars and onto the cement. I could only give him a 9.5 out of 10 though since he didn't quite stick the landing. My only regret is that I wasn't filming cause I'd be collecting my $10,000 from America's Funniest Home Videos right about now.

My Dad --- On a visit to Ashland, my mom and dad wanted to try out the Trikke. My mom stayed on flat land and went in little circles. My dad decided to be braver and climbed the only hill in Ashland. As he started down the hill, the path branches off a few times, and of all choices he could have made as far as which path to take, he chose the only one that led to a set of steps. As soon as he saw the steps, he broke rule #1 and slammed on the brakes causing a nice front somersault over the handle bars and into the grass. He also didn't quite stick the landing, but I'll give him a 9.7 (slightly edging out Ron for the gold) because of higher technical difficulty on the launch.

Anyone want to try for a 10?