Happy National Roller Coaster Day! I recently recorded an oral history with award-winning roller coaster designer Mike Boodley. Fifty years ago this week, when Mike was 17, he broke a world record for consecutive roller coaster rides by riding the Coney Island Cyclone 1,001 times over 45 hours. He shares vivid memories of his August 14, 1975 ride, how it came about, and the people who cheered him on and rode with him.
Other topics in the interview include Mike's boyhood fascination with wooden coasters and dream of designing them; co-founding Great Coasters International; the influence of Coney Island's Tornado and other Prior & Church coasters on his coaster designs; and memories of Astroland's flamboyant publicist Milton Berger, whose career advice when he was a teen stuck with him.
You can listen to the full interview in the Coney Island History Project oral history archive.