“Ghost riding was invented by the gods and is performed by their loyal servants.” This statement was provided by a famed ghost rider, on the condition of anonymity. Ghost riding has existed ever since cavemen invented the wheel, and not much has changed since then. The main component of ghost riding is to keep an object (for example, a car, bike, or lawnmower) moving while not steering. Ghost riding was popularized in Oakland, California’s Bay Area, and is the centerpiece of a movement known as “hyphy,” which was originated by Bay Area hip-hop artists in the 1990’s. The hyphy movement consists of high energy attitudes combined with drugs, bass-filled music, and car tricks such as ghost riding. The purpose of the hyphy movement is for people to have a fun time by acting as crazy as possible. This movement has traveled across the globe thanks to websites like youtube.com, where one can find videos of people ghost riding anything that can be ridden. Thanks to this exposure, ghost riding has reached new levels of popularity. The world record for the longest ghost ride is held by Daniel Baumgartel, who set his record July 16, 2006. Daniel rented a motor home and took it to a straight stretch of Interstate 90 in Butte, Montana that features a slight decline and ghost rode it for 55 miles. For most aspiring ghost riders, the first step is to find a long, flat surface to ghost ride on, preferably an empty parking lot of some kind. Step two is to get the car moving at around five miles an hour, when it is safe to ghost ride. Any faster, and it can become dangerous, and any slower will dampen the experience more than a morning dew on a blade of grass. When the car is at the desired speed, ghost riders agree that it is essential to put the car in neutral to eliminate the chance of it speeding away. Once the car is in neutral, the driver and all passengers secure of their masculinity (or femininity, I suppose) are free to get out of the car and show off their moves. This is the part where creativity can make or break the experience. Many beginners say that it might be the most fun to just run around the car and do some dances such as moving arms like a hawk, doing an Irish jig, etc. The possibilities are endless! For the more experienced ghost riders, a choreographed dance of some sort might be in order. After the fun comes the most important and difficult part of ghost riding: getting back into the car. The difficulty of this is getting back into the car BEFORE it stops. If this cannot be accomplished, then the whole ghost riding experience is considered a failure by experts. When everyone is in the car, the driver can then put the car back into drive and leave the scene happily and safely. That is ghost riding in its purest form. “If accomplished correctly, one might feel feelings never felt before, or one might forget all the things wrong in with the world; famine, war death, and, for one moment, have complete peace,” an anonymous ghost rider said. “This is the magic of ghost riding.” P.S. – For the greatest ghost riding experience, one must play the E-40 song entitled, “Tell Me When to Go.” WEB exclusive: Ghost ridin’ testimonial [Editor’s note: Your faithful WEB staff went to work one morning to find a crumpled up sheet of paper lying near the door. It was a riveting description of an anonymous person’s ghost ridin’ experience. The entire text appears below.] It was a Tuesday night and I was sitting around with the boys watching videos on the computer. All of sudden, we came across something that changed my life forever. Taking over the screen was a video of teenagers ghost ridin’ the whip. As I watched them spin heroically around their cars, I wanted nothing more than to put my stunna shades on and gas, break, dip. I didn’t realize at the time that I wasn’t quite ready to take the plunge into the world of true athletes. About four of us made our way to the empty parking lot where one car waited eagerly for what was to come. Excitedly, we got into the car and turned up the music, letting the words “ghost ride… ghost ride…” soar through our bodies. We concentrated all of our energy on the feat we were about to attempt. I was in the passenger seat, and since I had claimed shotgun, I knew I had to perform something crazy. The car began to pick up speed, and, under my breath, I let out a little yelp of anticipation. The big moment finally arrived as we chanted “ONE, TWO, THREE” and threw open our car doors. I glanced down and hesitated. The car seemed to be moving awfully fast. But as the thought crossed my mind, I was immediately ashamed by my cowardance. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my fears aside, and flung myself out of the car. Instead of landing on my feet, I landed on the ground and rolled around. I stood up briskly. As I rubbed myself off, I looked around confused. No one else was anywhere in sight. I squinted my eyes and saw the car coming back toward me with all of my friends still in it. “The car was going too fast so we didn’t get out,” they called at me. With some resignation, I got back into the car. I sat there for a few seconds thinking disappointedly about my shortcomings. I then realized how ignorant I had been. To be a true athlete, I had to learn to utilize more than just my guts. Ghost ridin’ was about using the body AND the mind. Armed with this knowledge, I felt sure I was ready for any future adventures ghost ridin’ would have in store for me.