Coasting

The sport of sliding down hills coated with ice or snow. (The term is also now applied to riding down a decline upon a bicycle, the feet of the rider being lifted from the pedals.) The usual form of sled upon which the coaster rides is that of two runners protected with metal strips and joined by a flat board which forms the seat. In some cases the runners are made from solid plank and in others, like the runners of a sleigh, by bending a narrow piece into the proper form. The most exciting form of coasting is that upon what are known as "bob-sleds" or "double rippers." These are made by joining two sleds by a long plank and thus providing seats for several persons in a line one behind the other. Some of these "bobs" are most elaborate affairs provided with special steering gear and comfortable seats. Tobogganing is another form of coasting in which the sled is a broad flat board curled up at the front. Tobogganing is also practiced upon a slide where a polished surface is provided by artificial means as well as upon natural snow and ice, and the toboggan is also projected from the slide out into a landing surface of water.