Hi, my name is Laura and I’m an adrenaline junkie. I’ve been clean for 0 days now…
Okay so it turns out I’m a sucker for the thrill of extreme sports. Yesterday we did the bobsleigh here in Whistler, then not even 24 hours later I’ve just done the skeleton ride too!
Whistler is one of just three places in the world where the public can access the same track that olympic athletes use for the skeleton, bobsleigh and luge AND it’s the fastest & steepest track in the world AND it’s the exact same one that was used in the 2010 Winter Olympics! So yesterday, thanks to a cheap locals offer ending soon, we tried out the bobsleigh.
Cool Runnings has obviously put the sport on the map so to be able to do it in real life is pretty surreal. I was so excited to do it… then we got there and drove up to the start which was when I realised just how steep and long the track was. The nerves obviously kicked in, the driver came over and made some standard jokes about it being his first time driving then we were all set to go. As the smallest I sat in the second seat behind the driver, then Kyle and our friend Gary just behind him. Helmets on, we were good to go…. feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up it’s bobsled time (we forgot to bring a lucky egg). The first few seconds felt quite timid, then all of a sudden we turned round a corner and picked up pretty fast speeds! The turns on the corners were insane, it’s exactly like you see on the tv with helmets banging everywhere. It was impossible to try see what was happening as as soon as you turned your head to look it would be jolted back the other way. We hit speeds of 126km/h so yup pretty fast!
Video of the bobsled from two cameras attached to the sled is on its way!
Now I wouldn’t usually be that keen to get my next fix so soon, but sadly one of our friends got injured and had the skeleton booked so I stepped in on short notice and took his place. I had wanted to do the skeleton anyway, but don’t think I would have ever booked it myself. After watching Kyle do his I actually said ‘no way, I’m not doing that’, but the competitive and adventurous side in me told me to man up and go for it so I did! I was nervous all day for it and I’m so impressed with myself for going through with it. The walk up to the starting point (not quite as far up as the athletes would go) was ridiculously nerve wracking.
I was 16th in line to go so thank god it only took 30 seconds for each rider to go down. My name was called, so I stepped on the skeleton, laid down and there is literally an inch between your head and the ice. It takes what feels like 10 minutes for the go ahead to be given to set off, so you’re just laying there staring down at the track thinking what the hell have I done. Go ahead received, I hear my name announced on the tannoy and off I go… OH MY F*CKING GOD. This is the fastest I have ever gone and I have no control over anything right now. A few seconds in and I actually start to love it. Felt G forces a couple of times when going round the fastest corners and managed to go through the finish line without bumping into the sides (most of the guys did and it looked painful!) It was an incredible, but very surreal 31 seconds and I got to do it all again! This time I was determined to get a faster speed, which I did. The second run I got to 92.9km/h compared to 91.9 the first time round. My speeds were the lowest of the night, as I realised afterwards that my head and shoulders were too high to get up the top speeds of 96-98km/h. Think I was conscious of my chin hitting the floor too much… so I’ll take my speeds happily! And before Kyle mentions it, yes he went faster than me!
Looking like a pro…
The professional photos are on the way, despite the high prices I had to purchase the photos the professional took as my face is a beauty on them….watch this space!
Now for the zipline and bungee jump with the family next week and I’m all set for the extreme sports (abseil down a building and sky dive are already ticked off)
Our Big Fat North America Travel Adventure! 