BodySled



"No more tough sledding"

(Jim Pendleton), Bodysled inventor says.

The Body Sled, which allows the with sledder to become one with the sled.

I've never been hurt doing it. You feel like you're flying. You have the sensation of speed, but it's completely safe.''

A word of explanation:

A Bodysled consists of five bright, molded pieces that strap over your arms, chest and thighs.

Each piece has its own metal runners. Once on, the wearer can take off down a hill with a leap and a bound.

Benefits are obvious. You can turn on a dime simply by bending your arms There's no fear of letting your sled run away from you.

Want to stop? Move the points of your hands together and snowplow. You can even ride a chair lift while wearing your

Bodysled. If you don't mind the stares, that is. How well I remember those swell childhood sledding adventures

I enjoyed with my best buddy, Randy Cloward. Like reckless fools we zoomed down steep, rock-strewn

Rebecca Street on creaky wooden sleds. The things were fast, but as unpredictable as intemperate bucking broncs.

Every now and then we'd hit a boulder and tumble off. The sleds, however, would continue

down the hill like unguided missiles, randomly knocking over small children.

Had we owned Bodysleds, we could have stayed in complete

control, and taken careful aim to hit only the kids we didn't

like. That's the beauty of Pendleton's creation. With this, the

sledder is at one with the sled. "It's not just a new sled,'' says Pendleton,

who figures a complete Bodysled outfit will sell in

the $200 range. ``It's a whole new sport. First there was downhill skiing, then snowboarding and now. Pendleton came up with this 20 years ago, while sledding one moonlit night at Manito Park.

After nearly crashing his nephew's Flexible Flyer into a tree,

he began to think of ways to improve the lowly sled." It wasn't long before the Bodysled was born.

Will the Bodysled be the sport of the future?

"People need to see this as an alternative to skiing and snowboarding,'' says sledding's answer to Edison. "It's the next best thing to come along.''

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