Jeremy Reid's roller-coaster maintenance schedule includes regular weed control around the track, wood sealant once or twice a year and oil for the chain. (Photograph by Chris Buck)

Track Star Jeremy Reid; Oklahoma City

On a 10-acre plot southwest of Oklahoma City, Jeremy Reid built an unexpected addition to his parents' backyard: a roller coaster. "I thought it would be great to have a small one to piece together and ride," he says. "Once I started taking college engineering courses, I realized I could probably design and build one on my own." And so began a monumental project that included 2900 board feet of southern yellow pine and 7000 assorted screws and nails. For the next four years, Reid conjured up ways to raise dozens of supports for the hills, laminate the track and piece it all together.

Riders—limited to close friends and family because of liability concerns—sit in a single-seat cart built from an abandoned stadium seat, which is winched up the first hill by a 1-hp electric motor. A 16-foot drop propels the car to 18 mph; the rider then zips over another hill, down the sloping backyard and around a 50-degree bank that pulls 2 g's. Nearly 1 minute and 450 feet after the initial drop, the car returns to the lift. Reid estimates he spent $10,000 on the project—though it paid off by helping him lock down a post-college job with coaster design company Arrow Dynamics (now S&S Arrow). In fact, the project was such a success, it's worth wondering if the married engineer will build another one in his own backyard. Or maybe not. "Once was definitely enough," he says.

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