No more tough sledding (Jim Pendleton, 42,) Bodysled inventor says.
The Body Sled, which allows the with sledder
to become one with the sled.
``I've never been hurt doing it. You feel like you're flying. You
have the sensation of speed, but it's completely safe.''
A word of explanation:
A Bodysled consists of five bright,
molded pieces that strap over your
arms, chest and thighs. Each piece
has its own metal runners.
Once on, the wearer can take off down
a hill with a leap and a bound.
Benefits are obvious. You can turn on
a dime simply by bending your arms
There's no fear of letting your
run away from you.
Want to stop? Move the points of your
hands together and snowplow. You can
even ride a chair lift while wearing
your Bodysled.
If you don't mind the stares, that is.
How well I remember those swell
childhood sledding adventures I
enjoyed with my best buddy, Randy
Cloward. Like reckless fools we
zoomed down steep, rock-strewn
Rebecca Street on creaky wooden sleds.
The things were fast, but as
unpredictable as intemperate bucking
broncs. Every now and then we'd hit a
boulder and tumble off. The sleds,
however, would continue down the hill
like unguided missiles, randomly
knocking over small children.
Had we owned Bodysleds, we could have
stayed in complete control, and
taken careful aim to hit only the kids
we didn't like. That's the beauty of
Pendleton's creation. With this, the
sledder is at one with the sled.
"It's not just a new sled,'' says
Pendleton, who figures a complete
Bodysled outfit would sell in the
$200 range. ``It's a whole new sport.
First there was downhill skiing, then
snowboarding and now bodysledding.''
Pendleton came up with this 20 years
ago, while sledding one moonlit night
at Manito Park. After nearly crashing
his nephew's Flexible Flyer into a
tree, he began to think of ways to
improve the lowly sled."
It wasn't long before the Bodysled was born.
Will the Bodysled be the sport of the future?
"People need to see this as an
alternative to skiing and
snowboarding,'' says sledding's
answer to Edison. "It's the next
best thing to come along.''
coming soon!!!
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