A couple weeks ago I got an invitation "to be one of the first to experience" Silverwood Theme Park's new thrill ride - the SpinCycle.

The invitation arrived by mail, along with a complimentary barf bag. The sticker on it said: "Wanna Ride? It is highly recommended you keep this bag!"

I put the invitation aside, thinking maybe it'll be raining (even snowing) by the time May 24 rolled around. Mother Nature might save me.

The days ticked by and the bag sat on my desk playing with my mind.

By the time Friday rolled around, it was sunny, with a bit of a breeze. No chance of backing out now.

Before I left the office and headed north, a couple people in the newsroom told me they don't do spinning rides. I honestly couldn't remember if I did them or not.

I figured if I had a motion-sickness problem I could plop down into one of Silverwood's soft, well-manicured flower beds. I could wait there after a terrifying spin and let my stomach and brain find peace again.

I took the precaution of a light breakfast, and decided a little motion sickness at the theme park beats even a great day in the office, right?

Well, as it turned out, I do enjoy spinning rides. The SpinCycle, definitely.

In fact, I hardly noticed the spinning compared with the speeds and heights the ride reached. There's simply no time to worry about spinning.

"You get a lot of variations, so you don't get the constant just-spinning-in-a-circle feeling," said Jeff Savelesky, the SpinCycle project manager. "The way this ride works, you're always in a little different spot feeling a little different force, and it tends to make it a much more comfortable ride."

The heights seem taller than you think as you size the SpinCycle structure up from the ground. At its peak, 104 feet, the ride provided me with a thrilling sensation of dangling in the sky.

I made a couple of fear sounds no brave thrillseeker would claim, but none of the Silverwood employees - who were testing the ride with me - either noticed or held it against me.

The gliding speed up and down is exhilarating, with top speeds of 40 miles per hour.

The ride is squeezed into Coaster Alley, between the Timber Terror and Tremors roller coasters.

"We wanted to keep it tight so that you got that additional thrill that while you're coming over the top you're looking straight down at the coaster track," Savelesky said. Coaster cars roaring by at the same time amplifies the thrill, he said.

I can't say enough for how secure, comfortable and smooth the ride feels, while simultaneously providing every bit of the extreme sensations riders who get on these rides crave.

I was lucky I got a chance to test the SpinCycle for the people, who get to try it themselves for the first time today.

My only regret Friday was the choice to only have a light breakfast. I strolled out the park, wishing some of the concession stands were open.

The brass tacks

- Silverwood spent $2 million on the SpinCycle. It was shipped from Italy, making its way in five shipping containers.

- It has a cylindrical-shaped vehicle with 24 seats facing outward, and it rotates 360 degrees at 13 revolutions per minute. While the vehicle spins, it also is swung like a giant pendulum. It swings all the way around.

- Riders feel three and a half times the normal gravitational pull.

- The manufacturer was VISA International.