My Big Bobsled Adventure with the New Zealand Bobsled Team

We hit so hard that my ass hurt. At first I was like "I can handle this" and then we hit the wall and started going faster and it was like, "I guess I'm religous."

Who knew there could be as something as deeply personal as bobsledding, or maybe better put, that bobsledding could be deeply personal. That it would be the kind of thing that would spelunk you to your depths and just leave you whirling on the end of your line. The funny English guy from South Africa saw my face and knew what had happened. "You're still trying to download it, aren't ya?" he stated in the interrogative way that only the English can. I was touched. I couldn't believe he'd nailed what I was going through. That 80 mph run down the hill had kicked the ant pile of my brain cells and left me wondering what in the hell I'd done. 

I would have prepared better. I would have gotten into better shape. You know, so I could have actually fit in the sled. The captain of the team had asked if I could fit, and I said "yes" because there was no way in hell I wasn't going to do that run. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I was really wanting to get that GoPro footage. I wasn't going home without it. Anyway, I should have been better equipped, but I was also working on getting the right video shots and charming anyone who had anything to do with getting me down that hill. When the time came I didn't even have the right gear and I even forgot to put in my mouth guard. If anything, I've got to have the record time for a bobsled run in khaki pants and pea coat.

Here's the one thing I don't say: I'd totally do it again. I saw the Olympic sledders (slopesliders to us in the biz) and I bounded home to tell Sarah I was going to get ready for the 2018 games.

Here is the full series of the trip, with a big "thank you" wrap up coming for our sponsors and including the funny English guy from South Africa.

Sliding with the New Zealand Bobsled Team, day 1

The thought of bobsledding seems like a lot of fun until you tell someone you're going to bobsled. "Didn't a guy die doing that?" asked one well-meaning friend. Another pointed out that I'd be going 80 miles an hour without a seat belt. I like seat belts. One once saved me in a wreck when I was going about 65. The car had a roof, too. And soft seats. Wrecking in a bobsled, it turns out, can melt your underwear to your body

The bobsled looks really good on the outside. It's a sleek missile that makes this awesome/daunting rocket noise as it glides around the turns of the track. On the inside, however, it's a bit like a modified port-a-john with the cushioned amenities of a coral reef. The captain of the team, an athletic horse named Martin, asked if I was sure I could fit into the bobsled. I told him yes, as I couldn't imagine that I wouldn't. Also, in my head I still see myself as I was when I was 19.

Coming up: The story behind name.com and the New Zealand Bobsled team, Daniel Negari of .XYZ makes a bet...and then it goes downhill fast.*

*It should be noted that Whistler's bobsled track is the fastest in the world.