Cool runnings
There was no time to be scared. ‘Keep your hands and arms in the whole ride, sit up straight and hold on tight for me,’ said our bobsled’s driver. We had not been at the Olympic Sports Complex for more than 10 minutes before Dylon Zicchino and I were seated in a bobsled, helmeted and ready to go down the half-mile track.
We were scared at first.
‘I wish we could do the whole mile,’ the sophomore sculpture major said.
As the brakeman pushed the sled down the icy shoot, it sounded like the clicks of a roller coaster right before it drops, and then we took off.
During the sets of turns, it was impossible to not rattle back and forth in the sled. Before I knew it, we had flown through all 11 turns and were at the bottom.
‘How was it guys?’ the driver asked. The only thing the two of us could say was ‘awesome.’
Offered through Department of Recreation Services at Syracuse University, the annual bobsled and luge trip at Lake Placid, N.Y., home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games, gives each participant the Olympic experience by putting each of the 29 people on the trip in the place of the athletes. For undergraduate students, the $50 is worth the venture and the chance to feel like an Olympian.
Since February 2006, Recreation Services has been giving students and faculty this chance, Scott Catucci, assistant director of recreation services, said in an e-mail interview.
‘When students come to Syracuse University, they may come from all over the world,’ Catucci said. ‘This trip provides an opportunity to not only learn about the Olympic history in Lake Placid, but also a chance to experience first-hand, the thrill of riding down an icy track in a real bobsled, as well as learning more about the Olympics and in particular, the Olympic connection to Lake Placid and New York State.’
At the Olympic Sports Complex, the half-mile bobsled track is normally completed in 48 seconds, with top speeds between 50 to 53 miles per hour depending on the weight of the sled, said Linda McKiernan, a staff member at the complex. Each sled has a professional driver and brakeman.
‘It’s fun for them (the drivers and brakemen),’ McKiernan said. ‘Some have been approached to compete and turned it down. If they actually had to compete, it would be too much of a job. They enjoy working with the public. The guys have fun.’
Our bus left College Place at 6:22 a.m., and the four-and-a-half hour ride put the entire bus to sleep. By 10 a.m., it was evident we were close to our final destination. But before reaching the high point of the trip, a tour of the Olympic Village got me in the Olympic mindset.
The first stop on the tour was our first Olympic venue – the ski jumping ramps towering at 120 meters (393.7 feet).
Afterward, we visited the Olympic Oval and Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum. Outside the local high school, a speed skating competition was held on the Olympic ice. As I entered Herb Brooks Arena, I was walking in the footsteps of some of the greatest athletes to ever live.
Possibly the most storied moment in U.S. Olympic history took place during the 1980 Winter Olympics when the U.S. Men’s Hockey team beat Russia at Lake Placid in what is known as the ‘Miracle on Ice.’
‘I think that Lake Placid exposes a connection with the world because of the Olympics, and that connection can be felt when students visit the Olympic Venues and the Village of Lake Placid,’ Catucci said. ‘You can really feel the magic of the Olympic spirit when you spend time in Lake Placid.’
The ride went by too quickly. All you could really see besides the helmet of the person in front of you was the ice whizzing by the sled. Through the curves, the sled rides up the sides of the ice-covered walls. It didn’t feel like 40 seconds, it was over in the blink of an eye. Still, the excitement was there.
‘I thought I was going to die in the middle,’ Aleena Majumdar, freshman architecture major, said. ‘Extraordinary.’
Although my thoughts during the ride were centered on remembering to keep my eyes open and breathing, I also still can recall that the feeling of flying down the mountain in a bobsled was unlike anything else I’ve experienced before. Not too many people can say they’ve done that.
Another bobsled and luge trip will be on Saturday, and spots are still open. For more information or to sign up, visit the Recreation Services office on the third floor of Archbold Gymnasium.
Published on February 4, 2008 at 12:00 pm
