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Kick Up Your Heels On A Viking Kick Sled
"They run on calories. There's no motor, and no battery to go dead," says Ruth Gibson, North American importer of Viking kick sleds made in Norway.
To make a kick sled go, you simply stand behind the front-mounted chair, hold onto a crossbar behind the chair, and plant one foot onto the footrest (there's one on top of each runner). You then kick on the snow or ice with the other foot as you ride and glide, much like a scooter.
"In Norway and Sweden, where the price of gas has zoomed to more than $4 a gallon, kick sleds are used during the winter months as a second car," Ruth points out. "About 70,000 are sold each year in Norway alone. Children use them to get to school. Young mothers go shopping on them, with one or two toddlers strapped to the chair seat. I've seen a family of four on a kick sled the mother with two toddlers on her lap, sitting in the chair, and the father behind doing the kicking and driving. Senior citizens drape handbags over the handles and walk between the runners, using the handles for support and protection against slipping and falling on slippery ice or snow."
Kick sleds steer by leaning to the side and twisting the handlebars. To slow down, you drag your feet. For extra propulsion, optional spikes are available for the "kicking" foot. Optional wide runners make for easier sledding in deep snow. The sleds can be used with conventional or wide runners as one-dog dog sleds. Latest new accessory is a set of wheels, allowing you to kick up your heels on a Viking kick sled even when there's no snow.
Viking kick sleds come in three sizes: Large (7.5 ft.. long and 15 in. between runners), medium (6.5 ft. and 13.5 in.) and, for children, small (4.5 ft. long and 11 in. between runners). Retail cost, not including shipping, is $105, $95 and $75, respectively. Wood parts are Birch and the runners are made of Swedish spring steel. The seat can carry 300 lbs.
Viking kick sleds fold flat and are easily and quickly disassembled for transport in a car, van or pickup.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ruth Gibson, Viking Imports, 3947 Lakewood Ave., White Bear Lake, Minn. 55110 (ph 612-429-5572).


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1991 - Volume #15, Issue #1