NY Post's Michael Riedel's Secret Passion

Recently, Broadway enthusiast and NY Post columnist Michael Riedel dedicated some time to another passion of his-roller coasters.

In a recent column written by Riedel, he talked about his official start of the summer- a ride on Coney Island's Cyclone. With an 85 foot drop and hairpin turn at 60 mph, the cyclone is a New York City staple. It's been around since 1927!

"I never feel summer's in full swing until I've plunged 85 feet at a sharp angle, slammed into a hairpin turn at 60 mph and felt those dumplings I ate at Café Glechik in Brighton Beach turn somersaults in my stomach," writes Riedel.

Riedel, a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) spent the weekend riding roller coasters nearby that are considered some of the best in the country. After a ride on the Cyclone Riedel was off to Six Flags in Jackson, NY.

According to Riedel, Michael Reitz, corporate engineer at Six Flags, explained that the new technology centers on "launch coasters." These coasters are hydraulically launched and can go from zero to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds.

Reitz designed Six Flags' Kingda Ka, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. Standing 45 stories high, Kingda Ka launches you up to the top at a 90 degree angle. You come down in a 270 degree spiral.

Nitro was next, with a 215 drop at a 66 degree angle, and then El Toro, which opened in 2006 and is made of wood and steel. The first drop is 18 stories at a 76-degree angle and 70 mph.

"Plunging through the latticework of wooden slats at 70 mph, I experienced a coaster terror I've never felt before: fear of decapitation. Every time I hurtled under a crossbeam, I instinctively hunkered down. I did not want to go down in history as the Louis XVI of American Coaster Enthusiasts," said Riedel of El Toro.

Bizarro is the first interactive coaster at Six Flags features vertical loops, corkscrews, flames and "freezing" mist as well as a soundtrack.

To end his coaster tour Riedel went to Rye Playland to ride the Dragon, a wooden roller coaster built in 1929 which features dragon roars and light up eyes.

To read Riedel's column, click here.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Forchelli