By Nathan Call
A former combat pilot in the Air Force during the Vietnam era, Dick Jarman of Kansas City has been in some intense situations.
With the wise voice of a seasoned veteran, Jarman recalls feelings of high G-forces, sloshing from side to side and being pulled down into his seat. As if just climbing out of the fighter jet, he is describing sensations that have occurred only minutes ago. Only, he had those feelings on the ground. Jarman has just completed his first run down an Olympic bobsled course at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City.
'It was an absolute blast,' Jarman said. 'It starts picking up speed and it''s like a sled ride, and then all of the sudden you hit the turns and it''s like a combat aircraft.'
The UOP offers the only opportunity to take a bobsled ride from the top of an Olympic track all the way to the bottom in North America. Bobsleds converted to go down a concrete track are equipped with wheels instead of blades.
Riders race down a track that is eight tenths of a mile long, UOP Comet Store lead Jody Meisel said while conducting the orientation. The 400-foot vertical drop from top to bottom is the equivalent of a 30-story drop.
'You are going to be hitting up to four Gs going around some of these bigger corners,' Meisel said. 'So what that means is if you normally weigh 200 pounds, it is going to feel like you weigh 800 pounds going around that particular corner. It is pretty intense.'
Meisel and Jarman are not the only ones who think this is a sensational ride. As the bobsled came to a slow halt, Tim Chaney, on vacation from Ohio, remarked on the incredible rush.
'You don''t see what is in front of you,' he said. 'You''re just going full speed and it''s just an adrenaline rush ... If you like adrenaline, this is a good place to be at.'
Chaney said everyone in Park City has been talking about it.
So how much is this like actual bobsledding on ice, like the Olympics?
It is as close a simulation to the actual bobsledding on ice at the Olympics as you are going to find, said Lars Peterson, UOP track crew member and national team bobsledder.
'You get up there in speed,' Peterson said, 'Especially from the passenger''s perception, it is a real close simulation to what it is like. It''s about as close as you can get.'
The only significant difference is that the public riders are not running and jumping into the sled like the Olympic athletes, Zang said.
Peterson began working at the UOP during the fall of 2001 and has been working there since.
The winter after the Olympics he became interested in bobsledding. Then he started doing some training, went to some tryouts and got more involved with the sport.
'I love training,' Peterson said.' I like competing. The sport is something I have acquired a taste for.'
Last winter was Peterson''s first season competing at the national team level. He competed in the national team trials as a side pusher in the four-man competition. He also competed as a brakeman in two America''s Cup races in Park City. Near the end of last winter, he got into driving and now hopes to compete as a driver next season and throughout his bobsledding career.
'It''s an exhilarating experience each time,' Peterson said. 'It never gets old.'
As one of the drivers, Peterson can now experience this daily as he takes public riders safely down the track.
Meisel assured the group of anxious riders Each of the drivers have gone down the track hundreds, if not thousands, of times. In fact, the summer bobsleds were designed to go down the track without drivers in them.
'I wasn''t scared,' Jarman said. 'It was fun. We are caged and you have a nice helmet on, so I think it is pretty much risk free.'
In the fours years the UOP has been doing bobsled rides on concrete, there has never been a crash.
Zang said even though the bobsled may not crash because the wheels are going down on concrete, it is a bit of a bumpy ride.
'Your body is going to be shifted around and bumped from side to side and the G-forces are going to push you around,' he said. 'It''s quite a physical experience; you can be a little sore because of the intensity of the moment and the adrenaline that you have got rushing through you.'
Neither of the two other bobsled tracks in North America, located in Calgary, Canada, and in Lake Placid, N.Y., allows public riders go down the whole length of the track.
'This is truly a unique experience,' Zang said. 'We call it the ride of a lifetime.'
The track attracts riders from all over the country.
Driving to Utah from Indianapolis, Ind., Mike Glick said they could see the UOP as they got off the I-80 interstate. They came up to the UOP and said they just had to have a part of it.
'It''s kind of the opportunity of a lifetime since we are from the flat wonderlands of Indiana,' Glick said. 'Just to be down what individuals in the Olympics competed on, being down that type of course is just going to be neat and a good experience.'
Generally, bobsledders have a background in sports like football or track, but other athletes in sports such as soccer, baseball and basketball can be successful bobsledders, Peterson said. Key components for a good bobsledder are explosiveness, speed, strength and power.
Peterson does recruiting at different universities, colleges and even high schools to try to get athletes involved.
'Anybody who is interested in staying involved with something, bobsledding is a sport that you can stay involved with for a long time, if you are healthy,' he said.