Bang! Bang! Bang! That’s all I could hear as my helmeted bobbled around inside of the bobsleigh. It didn’t hurt, but I couldn’t control the way that my head moved with all of the strength in my neck. It bounced off the sides of the sled with each turn and into the helmet in front of me. I managed to lift my head in between corners, where I giddily laughed and strained to tilt my head upward.
I was at the Whistler Sliding Centre and taking part in the public bobsleigh ride. While the track may have been the host venue of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events are now a legacy enjoyed by residents, visitors, and athletes alike. And, I was one of them.
My bobsleigh ride experience began with an orientation session, including helmet fitting, track etiquette, and safety guidelines. After orientation, we were shuttled up the road to the starting position, where we met the track crew who walked us through the final safety checks. From there, it was all up to gravity. Our crew pushed us down the track and we took off like a bullet.
The bobsleigh began to pick up speed, going faster and faster around each corner. Everything flew by my field of vision in such a blur that I could hardly focus on what was up and what was down. I never felt unsafe, in fact I enjoyed the loss of control. It was up to the track to guide us, and when a gravitational pull of 4g took over at our top speed of 124 km/hr, it was up to sled to keep us tucked inside. I couldn’t help but let out excited “wooo’s” each time my stomach dropped and one last disoriented cheer as we slid up the final stretch.
I felt absolutely intoxicated with adrenaline.
I’m disappointed that I had only just learned that this was something that is available to the public. Had I known sooner, I would have tried it out a long time ago. It’s totally worth it and I hope to try more tracks around the world. Who knows, maybe you’ll see me at the 2018 Winter Olympics ;]
Our team with a time of 41.27 seconds.
The groups, we were the very first ones to go!
On the track, about to climb into the sled.
A memorial bench for Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, who sadly crashed on the track during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
About to slide! (me in the back)
Photo by Tom Ryan. (that’s me taking a photo and video simultaneously)
That’s Pat, as in Pat Brown the coach from 1988’s Jamaican Bob Sled team. Pat is now a pilot at the Whistler Sliding Centre and you can meet him yourself.
Here we go!
This trip was made possible by
Destination British Columbia and Tourism Whistler.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I would totally do ride the bobsleigh. Have just now added it to my Canada itinerary as I didn’t know it was possible to do this. Awesome!!!
Jen Seligmann recently posted..Destination of the Week – Berlin
Yuss, you have to do it! I know there are other locations, like Calgary, if you can’t make it to Whistler. Though, Whistler itself is worth the visit :]
I have been wanting to try this out for some time, along with other winter Olympic events like curling. Looks amazing!
Angela (@angelatravels11) recently posted..Hiking in Muir Woods
Haha yesss curling would be fun to try too 😀