WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- The guy next to me appears pensive when he glances over as we watch the video showing how it's going to feel to hurl down curving sheets of ice at speeds of 125 kilometres an hour.
"Ginger candy," I say, attempting to hide my worry with a reference to a stomach-soothing treat.
It doesn't work. He looks even more worried and gulps nervously. Each of his next nine words contains a universe of regret: "I had a whole plate of fish and chips."
We are in a briefing room with a dozen or so others sitting at the Whistler Sliding Centre, located in the southeast slope of the Fitzsimmons Valley in Blackcomb Mountain.
Around us are a family from Alabama who had first made plans to visit Whistler after the 2010 Winter Olympics, a couple on a day-trip from Vancouver, and a group of hard-charging executives from throughout Canada and the United States on a corporate retreat.
We are here to prove our mettle and earn some bragging rights. We all willingly agreed to squeeze into a bobsleigh and take on the fastest track in the world, following in the icy footsteps of Olympians and world-class athletes.
At the front of the room, the instructor tells us there's still time to change our minds.
No mincing words now as she teaches us how to brace ourselves if something goes wrong along the 1,700-metre track (5,577 feet). We are to keep our head down and hold on to the cable beside us. That kind of trouble rarely happens, we're assured.
What we should expect is a g-force experience so powerful that it will feel as if our internal organs have been compressed. It's the g-force briefing that causes a few of us to anxiously share details of our last meal.
"Be like the Hulk," the instructor advises.
Put simply that means we should hold on tight and puff ourselves up like the Incredible Hulk. The more we expand, the less likely we are to fall out. Some of us, though, emulate the Hulk by turning green from the thought of a nauseating ride.
Story by Petti Fong, Vacay.ca Contributor. To read the rest of the story on Vacay.ca, click here.
