[jbrewer]

That sounds really terrifying . I bet she was not ever anxious to get on the mower again even if she did have permission.

Once , in my teenage years, I was working at a golf course and was driving a Ford tractor with a backhoe in back and a loader in front back from the shop where it was getting serviced. I was taking the bumpy back dirt road and at one point I had to cross a large arroyo (think....300 yards wide, 50 yards deep). I got about halfway down when I concluded that this trip would go faster if I just put the thing in neutral and coasted down.


This was a pretty good sized tractor, and with all the weight in front and back , it bounced. A lot. I learned you can not effectively steer or brake when the wheels are in the air.



There was a moment where I distinctly remember thinking "is it time to bail out?"


I kept it together , but I probably hit the all time top speed of that particular tractor, half of it in the air. I was shaking when I reached the bottom of the hill and got it stopped.