Ford Bucket List Adventure: Bobsleigh in Whistler with Robin Esrock
What’s a bucket list? It’s a list of goals and experiences you want to accomplish during your lifetime Some of my bucket list items are see the Northern Light, run a marathon, fly a hot air ballon and scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. When Ford Canada invited me to meet global adventurer and travel writer, Robin Esrock for a Whistler escape, without any hesitation I said YES! Robin Esrock is a best-selling author of The Great Canadian Bucket List, co-host of World Travels and has traveled to more than 100 countries.
On a cool Thursday morning, I’ve meet up with Robin and team of bloggers to pick up our vehicles – Ford Escape, Ford Mustang and Ford Fusion. Lee Anne and I chose the 2015 Ford Escape SE with 1.6L EcoBoost Engine. It’s the perfect road trip SUV with plenty of room for 5 and lots of storage space.
Our Escape was equipped with SYNC with MyFord Touch. It’s the in-car communications and entertainment system.
MyFord Touch provides instant access to phone, navigation, audio and climate control status and functionality. The media hub houses two USB ports, an SD card reader, and audio/ video jacks. When paired with SYNC “Do Not Disturb†feature blocks incoming phone calls or text messages. Calls are diverted to voicemail and text messages are saved on the device for later viewing. You can still make voice-activated outgoing calls, and SYNC 911 Assist is always on in case of emergency.
Set in our destination address into the Nav System and on our way to Whistler!
After a 2 hour scenic drive, we arrived at the top of the Whistler Sliding Centre.
During lunch, Robin Esrock shared his bucket list journey. For the past decade traveling around the world, Robin has wash an elephant, host a National Geographic TV show, sandboard on a volcano, went dogsledding, bungee jump, heli-yoga in the Rockies, went paragliding and skydiving.
One of his memorable adventure was driving through the Trans Labrador Highway. The Trans Labrador Highway stretch from Eastern Quebec to Labrador for 1,247 km in one of the most remote area in the world. Labrador is the same size as Japan with a population under 30,000.
Here’s more photos of Robin’s Trans Labrador Highway adventure with the Ford Escape.
After hearing all the great travel stories, we were ready to check off bobsledding on our bucket list. Built for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games, the Whistler Sliding Centre is home of world’s fastest and steepest track.
After a brief safety orientation, we were split into 2 teams based on weight. My team was Robin, Vanessa, Ashley and our pilot, Caine. The other team was Dennis, Lee-Anne, Stephanie and Will and their pilot, Crowbar. It was Bucket List Bob vs Squishy Face Bloggers.
We strap on our helmets and brace into our bobsleigh on wheels.
As an adrenaline junkie, I love all things speed. I was super excited to ride the world’s fastest track. The Roller Thunder track goes through 10 corners including the famous Thunderbird Corner, where you will reach your top speed and maximum G forces. You get to experience what it really feels like to be an Olympic athlete and sliding down on the legendary track.
Unlike a roller coaster, your head gets knocked around through the turns. It’s a good thing we are wearing helmets. The ride was fun and intense as we reached a top speed of 91 km/hr and experience 2 G forces. That’s two times your body weight is pushing down on you. We cross the 1,450 metre track in 55 seconds. What a rush! In the winter, the bobsleigh on ice can reach speed up to 125 km/hr and 4 G forces. I can’t wait to go back and try it on ice.
The bobsleigh track is open year around, 5 days a week. Visit Whistler Sliding Centre for more info.
As an avid traveler, it was awesome to spend a day with Robin and go bobsledding. Thank you Ford Canada for crossing it off my bucket list. Looking forward to the next Ford adventure.
What’s on your bucket list?
