When I was 12, I went back to China for the first time since I emigrated. I visited the Great Wall where it wraps closest to Beijing. One of the parks there has a long metal slide. It goes like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvv1frWim1E&t=42s
It's an extremely open feeling, with clear danger for not keeping your cart under control. But the views are incredible.
If you watch enough into the video, you see that the guy eventually catches up to his friend, and then has to brake and slow down for the rest of the ride. That happened to me, too. I think I rode twice, getting jammed both times. I really wanted to ride without any impedance. I never got the chance.
When I was flying down the hills of the PCH, looking out at the ocean, I recalled that slide. This time, there were no obstacles. I could go as fast as I dared. It took almost 2 decades to fulfill that dream, but it happened. I think that was part of why I loved that day so much.
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