I always wanted to compete in the Olympics. But I had hoped it would be as part of the women’s gymnastics team a la Mary Lou Retton. Well, I never did make it past a back handspring. Thankfully, I had a chance to live out some Olympic fantasies at the sliding centre in Whistler.
We were like the Jamaican bobsled team – no idea what we were doing, but ready to hurl our bodies 70+ mph down an icy track.
Yes, this is the same course used in the Vancouver Olympics, but we started a bit lower on the track. We weren’t going to be seeing Olympic level speeds (thankfully).
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an introduction and informative briefing by our trusted teacher, we were ready! The big takeaways? Don’t let go. Sit up straight. Shrug your shoulders to keep your head from bobbling. I was ready!
Our industrial strength helmets. Safety First! We had to tell them what size helmets we were fitted with. She made me repeat it – in front of the whole group – because she couldn’t believe such a small girl had such a big head. Wah wah.
They took us to the start of the track and then we all filed in. Slowly. We were not going to be doing the run and jump maneuver you’ve seen before. No. Which was a HUGE bummer because I was TOTALLY ready for it! Blast! I road the equivalent of shotgun – #2 behind the driver. Which was perfectly fine with me. Nick road behind me and Steve behind Nick. We decided the last guy has it the worst. He could totally fly out the back if he let go. But that would have been on him. Since the first rule is to not let go!
Jody caught a shot of us around the last corner. Things were getting a little fast at this point.
We finished in 5th place – out of 8. I blame the driver, Matt. Just kidding! Matt got us safely down the hill (albeit a little slow). I just joked that we got our monies worth out of the ride. The guys that finished 1st had the shortest ride out of all of us!
If you’re headed to Whistlery, definitely recommend the bobsled experience! If you’re super daring, they’ll even let you learn skeleton – flying solo on a tiny sled, head first. We opted for the “safer” option. Happy Tuesday!