How do you ride?

[rcjp]

^Haha. I remember when I rode shambhala with a couple of friends one of them said: I thought you were going to lose you hands in the tunnel. (as I had them up)

I will do hands up on drop towers

I like to do these with both my hands up and legs stretched. It enhances the freefall feeling.

[flaffstar99]

I have the hands up everytime... But not on rough woodies, i would slap my seat-neighbor xD

[viking86]

Some years ago it was hands up on pretty much all coasters. Now I usually only do it on coasters which have the combination of lapbars and airtime. For looping coasters such as B&Ms I prefer to sit relaxed with my hands resting in my lap and just enjoy the ride. I only hold on if its a rough coaster.

[Schrecken]

I often ride with my hands up, but there are some coasters where I don't want to do that, usually because they are rough and/or have lots of sharp, quick movements (like my all time fave Skyrush). I hold on to be able to brace myself and prevent my upper body from whipping around (which is a good idea since I have a bad back), or simply to try and mitigate some of the rough spots (like on certain woodies). Other coasters on which I don't put my hands up are those that just don't lend well to it, like inverted coasters. I usually ride B&M inverts with my hands on my legs (I might grab the hand holds if there is any headbanging), and do the same for other inverts as long as there is no headbanging.

[singforfood]

I have bad shoulders, so it's hard for me to lift my arms straight above my head. On a huge drop, or major airtime section, sometime I'll let them fly up on their own. For the most part, a light to moderate grip on the handles.

[Projektion]

For steel coasters, depending on how tight the restraints are decides whether I've got my hands up or am holding on. Like when I went on Shambhala in October last year, I managed to get the restraint down somewhat tight (not stapled but a firmly pressed down) so I kept my hands up for most of the ride. When I went back in April, I'd gotten a tad bit fatter, which meant I was just off getting the restraint down one more notch to give me that security of putting my hands up.

 

For woodies, I generally have a ride while holding on to get a feel for the laterals, then on other rides I have my hands up, but then grab on with 1 or both hands when a strong lateral comes up.

 

]

I will do hands up on drop towers

I like to do these with both my hands up and legs stretched. It enhances the freefall feeling.

I try doing that, but as soon as the weightless-ness kicks in, I'm like "oh ****" and grab on for dear life.

[GwaziBSRider1]

Most of the time, I don't hold on. If I like (or think I'll like) a coaster, I'll throw my hands up. I will hold on if it's rough and I need to brace myself. The only coaster I hold onto with a death grip is X2.

[VFVSGirl16]

Surprisingly, I usually don't hold on to anything. In fact, up until this year I wouldn't ride big rides because of a prior incident when I was younger (lap bar flew up, no seatbelt) but my first ride on my "big" rides (Wild Thing), arms were up the whole time. Now I'm addicted to thrill rides.

[marth555]

Hands up mostly but some rides slam them down (legend at holiday world anyone?)

[rcjp]

For steel coasters, depending on how tight the restraints are decides whether I've got my hands up or am holding on. Like when I went on Shambhala in October last year, I managed to get the restraint down somewhat tight (not stapled but a firmly pressed down) so I kept my hands up for most of the ride. When I went back in April, I'd gotten a tad bit fatter, which meant I was just off getting the restraint down one more notch to give me that security of putting my hands up.

 

For woodies, I generally have a ride while holding on to get a feel for the laterals, then on other rides I have my hands up, but then grab on with 1 or both hands when a strong lateral comes up.

 

]

I will do hands up on drop towers

I like to do these with both my hands up and legs stretched. It enhances the freefall feeling.

I try doing that, but as soon as the weightless-ness kicks in, I'm like "oh ****" and grab on for dear life.

This happened to me the first time I rode Nitro at SFGAdv. It was when I started putting my hands up on coasters and I did have them up as we crested the lift but when the air kicked in and it felt like I was going to fly off (which was a first for me) I quickly grabbed the restrains. By the third second hill, however, I already had my hands back up.

 

Oh, and due to my specific size (and it has been exactly like that for more than two years) on every single B&M either the restraint is either slightly loose or a bit tight (not too much, though as many times it locks during the ride). This applies for both lap bars and OTSR. Usually I start with the gap and eventually it closes due to the G forces

[Coaster19]

I prefer on all types to sit back and let the ride take control of me. If it is to rough, then I hold on, otherwise I relax, and have fun!