Motion quickness

I swore to never ride another roller coaster 16 years ago.

After an era of fearlessly buckling into high-adrenaline rides at Six Flags Over Texas, and Dorney Park and Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, the Cyclone at Astroland in Brooklyn’s Coney Island finally defeated me that summer.

My wife and I took my younger brother to the amusement park, and he wanted to ride that antique beast. So, I hesitantly went with him.

The intense clickety-clack of each turn and drop of those old wooden tracks made it sound like I was beating my chest as I screamed through the experience. To his credit, my brother remained silent and calm.

That two-minute Cyclone ride wiped me out for much of the rest of our time at Astroland. I was suddenly sweating profusely and felt like Brooklyn was spinning. My hands-over-head days riding these thrill machines were over.

But then came my family’s trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey yesterday.

My kids knew the story of the Cyclone and my anti-roller coaster pledge, but somehow, they convinced me to ride the Runaway Mine Train. After all, the bar seemed low on this family ride; it looked much smaller than the huge, steep dropping Cyclone.

In fact, the top speed of the Mine Train is 38 miles per hour compared to 60 miles per hour on the Cyclone. To top it off, the thrill level of the Runaway Mine Train is rated “moderate” in contrast to the maximum thrill level of super rides such as the Batman and Kingda Ka. So I expected a moderate experience.

We jumped in the seats, pulled down the safety bars, and the ride operator waved us off with a “Choo-choo!” While the Cyclone beat me down years ago with its sheer descents and structural uncertainty, the Runaway Mine Train hit me with the jerky twists, harsh  turns and sharp hops through trees and over muddy water on metal tracks.

After two minutes and 25 seconds, I was slumped on a bench — sweating and nauseous; the park was spinning again.

Even though I didn’t try to fully restore my status as coaster king, I had to come to grips with the fact that I couldn’t even a handle roller coaster a couple of thrill levels down. I watched my sweat hit the concrete as my kids went back for another ride.

Do you still ride roller coasters? What is your favorite ride? Favorite amusement park?