Thursday Video - Mountain Biking Down an Olympic Bobsled Track

Mountain biking down a bobsled run

The Winter Olympics will begin on February 9 of 2018, so I thought this video was timely. Unfortunately, they don't yet have an Olympic event that involves mountain biking down a bobsled track, which is what this guy is doing. This activity belongs in the "Don't try this at home" category. Of course, unless you live in Lake Placid, New York, you don't have a bobsled track nearby anyway.

A couple things you should know about bobsledding - It looks like it's just sledding you did as a kid but on a bigger, faster sled. Bobsleds can hit top speeds of 90 miles per hour, well above highway speeds in your car. They also go through turns that can produce accelerations up to 5 g. This is the point that fighter pilots begin to black out. Pilots use special suits and techniques to counter this. In the video, you can't tell how fast they are going, but they don't go up high in the turns like the bobsleds do. Still, when the guys high five at the end, you can tell it was quite an experience for them.