Hitting mayflies @ 120mph

They were horrible at CoasterMania this year. Riding MS before the park closed was odd because we had to dodge a huge mass of them up on the 2nd andf 3rd hills. You could actually see the huge clouds of them as they moved. They went away after dark, though. It's amazing how many mayflies fry on those flood lights below Mean Streak. They get so bad that they actually cover the whole glass. There are also huge piles of them beside the lights on the ground.

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Launch: Tophat: Twistage: Brakes...

...Denial is an ugly thing.

Millennium Force hurts like a mother in the downpour rain... I rode it the Halloweekend where it just poured and poured. I was in the front seat, and had welts from the drops. It was a blast even though it was painful. I don't think the shortness of Project 2003 has anything to do with that though.

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Chief Wahoo said:
Maggie back by Sandcastle in June can give you a mouthful of goodies.

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I have personal experiance with that. The onride photo showed me weezing because I had a mufflehead stuck in my throat.

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I fool so feelish...

cpstalker2002, I too had that experience on MF. It was in the midst of summer last year, and as I was waiting for the front, it started pouring huge droplets of water. It was the most excruciating thing I've ever been through...but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. :)

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Launch: Tophat: Twistage: Brakes...

...Denial is an ugly thing.

What about that S&S ride in Japan? That has a top speed of over 100mph. Anybody hear of any problems of the nature you guys are talking about?

-Dodonap

I was on Blue Streak w/ my dad in June, and around the turnaround my dad's hat flew off. Once we got off, this guy from farther back in the train was like, "Did anybody lose a hat?" My dad, excitedly said, "Yeah, did you catch it?" and the guy goes, "No, but it hit me in the face!"

I wonder if Mr. Kinzel can find a way to charge extra if you catch muffleheads in your teeth. Its a form of protein afterall!

I've had a hat, a bill (as in money) and a pack of cigarettes hit me on MF. The hat zipped over my head and clipped my forehead with the back. The money didn't hurt at all. (I was trying to catch the darn stuff) And the pack of cigs didn't hurt too much when it nailed me in the right eye. It wasn't the corner, so I was ok. However, I would advise caution when riding any high speed ride. (Duh)

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Oh yeah, if there's bugs on your shirt, you had a good ride.

Thank you Jeff for your work to make and run this site!

*** This post was edited by screammachinekid 12/3/2002 4:56:44 PM ***

Everytime I've been to CP in the last two years it has been over cast with a light drizel of rain. Coming off MF you face just stings from that light mist pelting you at those speeds. Yeah the fastest parts of dragster my be right at the base of the tower on each side but still, you are going to be goig fast before taht on the way up and still coming down, that a lot of time to be pelted by rain. Going up would be the worst being face first in it while going down you would probably be faster than the rain.

I think from now on I will just bring goggles so whether it be bugs or rain I will be protected.

I remember riding the BS in 5/80 and eating a enough muffleheads to make me want to lick old flypaper!

Maybe they'll put a little roof over the launch like on Wicked Twister, it'll prevent some rain from hitting the riders.

You're talking about objects and mayflies hitting the riders during the ride but what about the guests walking on the midway just next to the 400 ft. tower? If a camera fell from that height and hit someone, Im sure it will cause an injury. Even a quarter will hurt a bit.

What do you think, nets anyone? It may not look good but if it prevents injuries, CP may have to put them up.

CP can make the rules to get on the ride very strict but the employees have to enforce them. With thousands of riders a day, it is tough. Remember, MF's rules were strict and there are still objects falling out of the trains.

Take a look at this pic. Is this what you CP regulars have to deal with? My god, it looks like a tornado.
http://www.ickle.org/archive/midges.html

We dont have this problem along Lake Michigan.

I was at CP when they opened on a weekday a few years ago,I think it was May,they were sweeping these things off of the walls of the buildings,off of seats and shoveling them into rolling dumpsters. When you got a pop,the bottle came out caked in them,it was pretty bad.

Sandcastle Suites has tan walls. I have seen the hotel when it looked like the whole thing was painted black b/c of the muffleheads.

That is the biggest reason they have screens on their balconies now.

Actually, the mayflies were disappearing from Lake Erie up until about a decade ago, due to the high pollution levels in the lake. Some scientists actually thought they were extinct! Then, a little thing called a zebra mussel hitched a ride in the bilge water of a Russian freighter or two headed to the Great Lakes. Suddenly, Lake Erie has a major proliferation of zebra mussels that clean the lake up so much, other native species are affected - some in a very positive way. The clean lake water makes a much more hospitable environment for mayfly hatching. Thus, you have mayfly clouds as far south of the lake as Parma Heights (a good five to ten miles from the nearest shore) and probably farther than that. I remember the first time I really noticed them...I was walking out of work one night and looked down at the sidewalk, which was completely covered with them.

Just a bit of an educational post for those who aren't lucky enough to live in NE Ohio... ;-)

Zebra mussles are the devil. Those little bastards cut my foot...nobody told me that I shouldn't jump into the water. (this was a few years ago)

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Launch: Tophat: Twistage: Brakes...

...Denial is an ugly thing.

My son's dad has a cottage out on Marblehead, and after spending a week out there, my son, who had been swimming in the lake, came home looking like his feet had gone through a cheese grater! They are nasty...and have you seen the gobies (another invader species) yet?? I actually caught one fishing last year!

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kmn4 said:
Actually, the mayflies were disappearing from Lake Erie up until about a decade ago, due to the high pollution levels in the lake. Some scientists actually thought they were extinct! Then, a little thing called a zebra mussel hitched a ride in the bilge water of a Russian freighter or two headed to the Great Lakes. Suddenly, Lake Erie has a major proliferation of zebra mussels that clean the lake up so much, other native species are affected - some in a very positive way. The clean lake water makes a much more hospitable environment for mayfly hatching. Thus, you have mayfly clouds as far south of the lake as Parma Heights (a good five to ten miles from the nearest shore) and probably farther than that. I remember the first time I really noticed them...I was walking out of work one night and looked down at the sidewalk, which was completely covered with them.

Just a bit of an educational post for those who aren't lucky enough to live in NE Ohio... ;-)

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Thats why we need to start pumping more raw sewage into Erie! Darn Mayflies and Muffleheads...I am sure that Cleveland would be happy to pump their waste products;sewage, heavy metals, cadnium, nitrates, phosphorus, mercury(like they dont already) and then use Erie as the worlds largest landfill! Heck it would take thousands of years to fill up with trash!

And just think on the beaches there would be an array of many colorful and intricate articles, dead fish, pop bottles of all colors, soap suds, mutated sea creatures of all shapes and sizes, medical waste as well!, needles and syringes, organs.

An entire league of kids games could arise simply from a tiny bit of pollution. Just think of all the positive economic effects!START THE DUMPING NOW!!! LOL

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People starve in the desert because:FOOD DOES NOT GROW IN SAND!

Whatever it is i WOULD NOT WANT TO WEAR GOGGLES!!!