31/07/2007

THE FACTS · Born December 12th, 1958 in Brooklyn, New York · First broke the record for longest time spent on a rollercoaster in 1977 at the age of just 18, when he stayed on the Cyclone at Coney Island for 104 hours · Richard’s hero Charles Lindbergh (the world’s best known aviator) first inspired him to take on rollercoaster marathons after he heard Lindbergh had told the press “riding Cyclone was more thrilling than flying in trans-Atlantic aircraft ‘Spirit of St Louis’” after completing the first ever solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. Richard’s own endurance marathon took place on the 50th anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight. · Richard established the first-ever world record on acorkscrew looping coaster at Holiday Park, Germany, in 1982 · In all, Richard has completed 17 rollercoaster endurance records in 4 countries totalling a whopping 439 days. · Richard earned his Masters degree in education at Loyola University Chicago in 1995 and is currently working toward his doctoral degree in educational psychology. His doctoral dissertation will focus on sensation seeking behaviour in adolescent learners, and he has used his roller coaster endurance riding marathons as part of a case study for his research. · Richards’s favourite wooden rollercoaster is the Cyclone at Coney Island. Richard Rodriguez at Pleasure Beach, Blackpool · This summer will mark the 30th anniversary of Richard’s first coaster marathon World Record. · Richard’s longest round-the-clock endurance riding record was set at Pleasure Beach during the summer of 2000, when he spent 2000 hours (90 consecutive days, day and night) on the Pleasure · Beach's Big Dipper roller coaster · Of Richard’s 17 World Records, six of these were set at Pleasure Beach on the Big Dipper (the first being in 1979, the last in 2000) A complete list of Richard’s rollercoaster marathon records: · 1977 - The Coney Island Cyclone, USA - 104 hours · 1978 - Swamp Fox, USA - 110 hours · 1978 - Rebel Yell, USA- 124 hours · 1979 - Roaring Tiger, USA - 128 hours · 1979 - Big Dipper, England - 140 hours · 1979 - Ghost Town Coaster, USA - 150 hours · 1979 - PNE Flyer, Canada - 168 hours · 1980 - Florida Hurricane, USA - 172 hours · 1980 - Big Dipper, England - 209 hours · 1981 - Super Manege, Canada - 220 hours · 1982 - Superwirbel, Deutschland - 368 hours · 1994 - Big Dipper, England - 549 hours · 1998 - Big Dipper, England - 1000 hours (46 days) · 2000 - Big Dipper, England - 2000 hours (3 months) · 2001 - The Boss, USA - 100 days (daytime) · 2002 - Expedition GeForce, Germany - 104 days (daytime) · 2003 - Expedition GeForce-Superwirbel, Holiday Park - 194 hours · 2007 – Pepsi Max Big One/Big Dipper, England - ??? THE GUIDELINES · The record is for the longest time to continuously ride a rollercoaster. · The record attempt must be over a 24 hour day/night cycle. When the theme park closes to the public, the participant must continue to ride the coaster, alone if necessary, until a new record is set. · The rollercoaster must be at least 60 seconds long. No ‘kiddie coasters’ are accepted. · The rider accumulates a 5 minute rest break for every full hour of rollercoaster riding. These breaks may be saved up and taken as a block (e.g. The rider may ride non-stop for 10 hours then take a 50 minute break). · The ride may operate as normal during the record attempt. Stoppages are permitted in the boarding station to unload/reload the train of up to 4 minutes each time, during which the record challenger may not disembark the train. · The participant may transfer to a second coaster if necessary, e.g. for maintenance work or safety inspections, or for any other valid reason. In Pleasure Beach’s case, Richard Rodriguez will ride the Big Dipper overnight as Pleasure Beach have an environmental regulation against them prohibiting them from running the Pepsi Max Big One between 10.00pm and 8.00am. · Transfer time between rollercoasters must be taken from allocated rest time. · Witness must observe the marathon and sign log books to authenticate to record. THE ROLLERCOASTERS THE PEPSI MAX BIG ONE (Europe’s tallest rollercoaster) · Constructed in 1994 · Track length - just over 1 mile · Height - 235 feet (72.30 metres) · Maximum speed - 85 mph · G force - 3.5 positive g, 0.5 negative g (“air-time” in American Coaster Enthusiasts’ parlance!) · 65 degree drop - steepest in the world · 3 trains with 5 cars. Each car carries 6 people THE BIG DIPPER · Constructed in 1921, reconstructed in 1934 · Track length - 3,295 feet (1013.85 metres) · Height - 70 feet (21.54 metres) · Maximum speed - 35mph · One 4-car train and one 3-car train each car carries 8 riders