I can still remember the first time Nicholas and I rode the kiddie coaster at Knoebel’s. We thought it was the coolest ride ever. It was a slow day at the park and we rode it over and over again.

I was probably about fifteen years old.

Since then, I’ve worked my way up to crazier rides. I preferred the metal twisting coasters over the wooden ones. This was a result of seeing a video of a wooden roller coaster collapsing on tv and the fact that part of the “thrill” of such coasters is the feeling that they might collapse at any moment.

Until recently, the last time I rode a roller coaster was in 2006. Way back then (all of two years ago), coasters were still fun.

Molly and I went to King’s Island with her mother and sister a couple weeks ago. After waiting in line for 1.5 hours, we rode Invertigo (formerly known as Face/Off). While I didn’t feel sick to my stomach, I got a really bad headache and was sweating a lot. Regardless, we went on to ride Adventure Express and The Racer.

After my third coaster ride, I decided that I didn’t want to ride any more. Not only did they make my head hurt and make me sweat, but my neck started hurting as well. While thinking about this decision, I realized that the coasters weren’t even fun for me. It wasn’t as if I wished I could continue to ride because I enjoyed the thrill.

Looking back, I can’t imagine what made roller coasters fun in the first place. I know I enjoyed them from the first ride on the kiddie coaster to five years ago on The Hulk, but I can’t recall the exciting feeling that they gave me.

My liking of roller coasters lasted approximately seven years. Not a long time, but it was nice while it lasted. The worst part about the recent development in my taste is that coasters are a great social experience. Molly and I had planned to go to Cedar Point with some friends this weekend. Now those plans are canceled.