After two days of covering the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge in freezing temperatures, and climbing up and down 35 degree hills with enough layers of clothing on to keep a dozen people warm, I was really looking forward to Sunday. Not because I was going home but because Sunday was media day! The day the media got to drive the very same bobsleds used by the NASCAR stars.
The Media Advisory letter we received said: "...hop in a sled, grab the ropes and guide these same sleds down the track. Or you may opt to have our professional driver or brakeman do it for you". Excuse me? Are they kidding? This was a chance in a lifetime and nobody was even thinking of using a professional driver or brakeman.
They took us up to the 1/2 mile starting point instead of the 3/4 mile point the NASCAR stars used earlier. After a brief orientation on steering, braking and what to do in the event of a crash, we paired up. I chose Lou Reuter, a photographer for the Lake Placid News/Adirondack Daily Enterprise. I would
brake for him when he drove and he was to be my brakeman when I drove.
Since Lou drew an earlier starting spot, my first run down the hill was as his brakeman. We glided out the starting gate, through the first curve, and I began to think "this isn't so bad." But as the speed picked up, so did the thrashing. Each corner entry and exit would literally throw me into the opposite inside wall of the sled. I spoke with Eric Morse in the Media Center earlier and asked how he felt after riding down the hill with Steve Park about a dozen times. He said he was sore. Now I know why!
Lou turned in a respectable 51.91 second run. After high-fives and pats on the back, we loaded the sled on the truck and rode back up the hill. It would soon be MY TURN!
About 20 minutes later, Lou and I climbed into Tim Fedewa's former sled, I grabbed the steering rope handles and off we went. I learned very quickly that trying to steer in the straightaway was useless. I also learned that it was a much more comfortable ride up front. There was very little of the thrashing I experienced while riding down as Lou's brakeman. Was this the same course?
I couldn't believe how fast the curves were coming up on me and tried really hard to concentrate on the course layout so I could anticipate the remaining curves. At one point, I remember looking up seeing the last sweeping curve and the finish line. Already? It seemed like we just started!
Before I knew it, we were coasting to a stop and it was over. My time of 52.32 seconds was nothing to write home about but I was more concerned with survival than speed. It was truly a fantastic experience that I would love to do again... preferably as a driver.
Jud Bleser - Webmaster
Geoff Bodine Fan Club
Allen Bestwick (red jacket on r.)
waits for his turn to drive |
Geoff gets ready to show
us how its done |
Me doing about a gazillion mph
(thanks David - great shot) |
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