When I was a kid one thing that we would do is find a huge tractor tire and a nice hill. Some daring soul would get inside the tire and then be sent rolling down the hill. Like everyone else, I only did it once. There was no controlling the tire, it was a bumpy ride with nothing to hang onto. Fear of falling out only lasted until you actually did fall out and break an arm. Once was enough…, but dammit it if I had to do it you’re going to do it too Johnny!
Despite that Johnny now walks with a limp and my Christmas cards are always returned, it was still good fun. A company in New Zealand has what they call “Zorbing”. Basically the same concept with two additional key features. A device that does all the work for you in carrying the ball back to the top of the hill, and padding.
The concept is simple, you get inside a big inflated ball and someone pushes you down a hill. Some cases you can be strapped in place inside the sphere which also allows a friend to join the ride. You can also go strapless and be free to be thrown around the inside of the sphere. Water can also be added, which is called a “water-ride”. Not sure what the benefits of water are though. The longer runs are approximately half a mile.
[...] in 2008, reporter Rebekah Metzler suffered a broken back after the ball she was riding hit a post and shot 8 feet up in the air before landing hard.
After the incident with Metzler, she went back to the newspaper office and then drove herself to the hospital. She was using a donut shaped ball and not the round balls pictured above.
We were fortunate as children that no one got seriously hurt. A broken arm or leg is not serious, at least it wasn’t in our standards. It just meant someone was going to get lots of Jell-o, and someone else gets grounded. I never got Jell-o.
Sphereing is generally performed at commercial sphereing facilities, where prospective riders pay a fee for each ride or for a whole day’s activity. In many cases, corporations lease facilities for events. While the Zorb Limited business model involves leasing spheres to franchisees, and not selling them to private individuals, several companies now offer sphereing balls for sale. The quality of some of these has been called into question. Sphereing is currently (2008) practiced in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, the middle of Sweden, Estonia, the Gold Coast in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Japan, India, Thailand and Slovenia. In the United States, there is a facility stationed in Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, and a facility in Amesbury, Massachusetts has recently opened. Several franchise-based companies (Spheremania, Orb 360) have entered the market and begun to compete with Zorb Limited. [Wikipedia]
I can’t wait until this comes a little closer to the west coast. I will be first in line when it does. I suppose I could always go to the rockies. Although that place is evil…, I never want to leave!
[Via Environmental Graffiti]
