STROADing

First there was planking. Then there was owling. Then we had Tebowing. Now we have the latest craze sweeping the internets: STROADing.

STROADing is simple. First one must identify a STROAD, either an over-engineered urban street or a road that is rendered useless for moving traffic due to all of the adjacent strip development. This first step should be simple as STROADS are the default approach for the modern transportation engineer or public works department.

Once the STROAD has been identified, wait until it has no traffic -- again, a common feature of many STROADS -- and then lay down in the middle for a photo.

Here is an image of STROADing legend Joe Minicozzi of Urban 3 out STROADing on a recent trip to Kansas City.

Joe Minicozzi of Urban 3 STROADing in downtown Kansas City. Photo by urban daredevil and STROAD spotter extraordinaire, Eliza Harris.

STROADing can be very dangerous. On the off chance that a car does appear, the STROAD environment ensures that it will be traveling at high speeds. And, of course, the driver will not be anticipating the presence of a pedestrian, something very rare on a STROAD.

If you wish to practice safe-STROADing, it is best to choose a city like Kansas City where there are few cars but an excessive number of STROADS.

And while any photo of a successful STROADing is worthy, style points go to photos that capture the vast emptiness of the STROAD itself. One way couplets with no parking (again, see Kansas City) form the quintessential STROAD environment and are standard for the genre.

As a final note, our lawyers have informed us that we should not be encouraging people to go STROADing and so I'll make the point here that STROADing should only be done by experienced professionals under controlled conditions. Don't try this at home, unless your home is downtown Kansas City, in which case it really doesn't matter.