Me with my mystery man- can't even see his face!
I saw a local deal for Bobsledding at the Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. In the spirit of trying new things and always chasing my next adrenaline surge - I jumped on it! It was a complete whim, nothing I had particularly ever wanted to do but why not, right?!
I picked the first available day and told my hubby he was coming along for the adventure. I wasn’t nervous because I’m not smart like that! I didn’t do any research and I didn’t have the vaguest idea what I had signed up for other than the fact that it goes really- really fast-which is great for me!
We arrived at Olympic park in the beautiful mountains that are turning orange for Fall.
I picked the first available day and told my hubby he was coming along for the adventure. I wasn’t nervous because I’m not smart like that! I didn’t do any research and I didn’t have the vaguest idea what I had signed up for other than the fact that it goes really- really fast-which is great for me!
We arrived at Olympic park in the beautiful mountains that are turning orange for Fall.
We signed in and were escorted to a room to watch a video about bobsledding, the history and safety precautions we would need to be aware of. Nervous? Nope! We then walked out and signed the release it warned:
1) We could die
2) If the bobsled tipped over, we should not move while we waited for the EMT’s to arrive.
Hmmm… I think I should be scared but still- nothing. I really don’t think I was born with much fear.
We took a shuttle up to the top of the slide and were given a safety talk and asked to choose a helmet. I looked at the course as we were being prepared and thought it didn’t look that steep or exciting. I wondered what all the fuss was about. When they explained that the 4th seat was the scariest place on the ride my hand shot up, now they were talking my language!
1) We could die
2) If the bobsled tipped over, we should not move while we waited for the EMT’s to arrive.
Hmmm… I think I should be scared but still- nothing. I really don’t think I was born with much fear.
We took a shuttle up to the top of the slide and were given a safety talk and asked to choose a helmet. I looked at the course as we were being prepared and thought it didn’t look that steep or exciting. I wondered what all the fuss was about. When they explained that the 4th seat was the scariest place on the ride my hand shot up, now they were talking my language!
As we got into the bobsled I thought about how small it was and wondered how the Olympians were able to get in and out of a moving bobsled? Then they instructed me on how to hold my arms out to push against the sides of the bobsled to keep me in position and how to hold my head so that it wouldn’t be forced down by the G-force. My hubby sat in front of me and he seemed to fit a lot better than I did and seemed much more secure than I was (I’m only 5’2). This is something that should have been of concern to me but I didn’t figure that out until much later.
It ended up being a beautiful fall day. We were riding in the bobsled with wheels on it on concrete, not on ice. We started down the hill slowly, gradually we took the first curve and we started to gain speed. This was looking like something I was really going to enjoy and then… SLAM! We hit the first curve going about 60 MPH and BAM! We hit the next curve going the other way. All fun flew out the window as I just tried to hold on and keep my spine from separating from my head. I couldn’t see the track ahead and even if I could it was going so fast and slamming me around so much I think my eyes were rattling anyway. The entire ride took less than 55 seconds and when we stopped I checked my teeth to see if they were all in place and rotated my neck to see if it was still connected. WOW! This was a wild ride- and not in a fun way! I was never afraid, I don’t think I had enough time to be. This was ROUGH!
To be fair the hubby loved it! He had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it. I’m not sure if his muscular build helped hold him in place or if there was a big difference between the 3rd and 4th row seats. Either way, he was really glad we had tried this adventure. Three days later, I still hurt and will not be trying this again.
You only live once. I’m glad I did it and I am glad I don’t have to do it again. Put another check mark on my life list. Bobsledding- CHECK!
To be fair the hubby loved it! He had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it. I’m not sure if his muscular build helped hold him in place or if there was a big difference between the 3rd and 4th row seats. Either way, he was really glad we had tried this adventure. Three days later, I still hurt and will not be trying this again.
You only live once. I’m glad I did it and I am glad I don’t have to do it again. Put another check mark on my life list. Bobsledding- CHECK!
