17 Consecutive Days

It has come to my attention that a man by the name of Richard Rodriguez spent 17 consecutive days ridding the Pepsi Max Big One at Pleasure Beach. Is this true? Has anyone talked to this man before, and asked him about his three day plus two weeks of ridding? Kind of a flat topic, but I'm pretty curious to know if anyone in the Coaster Buzz community has a more intimate relationship with the guy. Thanks!

Yes, it's true.

He's mostly been the target of ridicule.

Never met the guy but I do know he is a diabetic. and has actually been required to give drs release to do these rides in AmericaNot ridicule. Read a Ace News or something a few years back that did a big long article on him.Chuck

I always wanted to do this at a park as a publicity stunt for my magic. I am also am diabetic and that has always turned off the idea for me, but now I might look into it. I wouldn't do anything to major maybe a day or a couple but nothing to crazy. There is a point when its not cool anymore and just getting old.

Actually I think he rode every opening hour on The Boss one year. He was allowed 20 minute breaks every couple hours or something like that. This wasn't that long ago 02-03 something like that. Many people caught a ride with him. The park wouldn't make special exceptions like keeping the ride open 24-7 but did allow him to set a hours of riding record.

it was in '01 - I happened to be there that summer, and saw him all geared up for his rides. ( I personally wondered why on earth he would choose the Boss, of all rides, to marathon - 2 rides in a row on that ride and i'm done!) Anyway, he seemed like a nice enough guy and was friendly and talkative with the other riders. He had padding, pillows, and all that in the seat. I'm sure it was well into the marathon that we saw him, but he didnt look the least bit tired or worn out!

Ne and my brother rode boss 67 conecutive times in 02. I never had any problem with it except for the occasional lapbar dropping another click or two off that midcourse drop. never got any bruises either which was weird for a G train.

I actually met him when we took part in some filming for a German TV special. Real nice guy and really smart. When I last spoke to him he was finishing up school to get his doctoral degree I believe. As crazy as his coaster stunts may sound he knows what he is doing and seems to enjoy doing it.

Okay guys, I have a question:

Is there ANY coaster here in the USA you would do a marathon ride on? Kiddie coasters don't count. :)

Ravine Flyer II, last May I rode it over 50 times in one day and enjoyed every minute of it! Basically the only break we had in the 6 hours was to eat BBQ Ribs for lunch. I would do it again anytime.

Iron Dragon, especially if it was towards the front.

Or you could add any other forceless ride there is out there. Otherwise I wouldnt last more then a few hours (my max so far was 15 in a row on Magnum and I could barely walk the next morning.)

Well, I'm glad that somebody else admitted they're a wuss like me. :)

I don't think there's a single coaster on the planet I'd be able to ride for more than 2 - 3 hours straight. Maybe Iron Dragon as Touchdown said, possibly something smooth like Comet at Waldameer or Rollo Coaster at Idlewild. One that might have filled the bill: Raging Wolf Bobs. (But only in its last years of operation after all the retracking.)

If I get more than 25 - 30 coaster rides in one day, I start getting a coaster headache. When it comes, I'm officially done.

^Yeah, I dont get those headaches though, I go to bed feeling fantastic and wake up feeling like...

During CM last year I did 36 coaster rides, which probably means I did close to 50 rides in one day. Ive also done 17 hours at the MK and 42 rides. I can go all out for one day, but after that Im toast.

You guys are right. I Drag-on is weak. Imagine being ballsy enough to ride TTD for hours on end.

Dragster is boring after the first few times.

17 consecutive days? Is this thread about the never-ending, mind-numbing coverage of those octoplets? ;)

As much as I love coasters, I don't think I'd want to spend 17 days riding one, even one of my favorites like Phoenix, Boulder Dash or Nitro.

I with you there, Rob.

Hell, I can't think of a coaster I'd want to ride for 17 consecutive laps let alone 17 days.

I wouldn't want to do that either. I generally never ride a coaster more than 3 times in a row, before I move on to the next one. I have made a few exceptions to that but not many.

I can't say the same applies to me because there have been a few times when I was able to ride a coaster to my heart's content. I did that on the Riverside Cyclone (when it was the Riverside Cyclone) and really did that on Great White and Dania Beach Hurricane. When you get to stay on a ride for 20, 30 and 40 consecutive rides, it becomes a totally different experience. You tend to notice things you didn't notice before, while other elements sort of fade into the background. It's really weird and hard to describe, I guess you have to experience it to know what I'm talking about.

But 17 days? My body usually gives up before my mind tells me it should give up, and that's after an hour or two. I can't think of why I'd want to invest anything close to that amount of time into one coaster at one single point in time.