I left my tortured hovel one Friday morning a couple of weeks ago and headed up North. Although the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge was to be the focus of this adventure, I had a chance to do couple of other things along the way. Read along as I tell you of the venture to the winter wonderland that is Lake Placid.

Shopgirl will tell anyone that I am like Mr. Map. I like to know where I am going. This weekend, I don’t know whether it was a sense of adventure or if I figured I could find the places I was venturing toward by following my nose, I chose not to plan out my travels.

The folks in my office told me that the new branch of our lumberyard was located on Rt. 208 about eight miles off I-87 in Washingtonville, NY. From previous gazes at maps of the area, I realized I had gone too far when I reached I-84. I pulled out the map, re-routed my trip and ran right into the Orange County Choppers showroom.

The OCC showroom & gift shop is located in a plaza on RT. 17K at the intersection of Rt. 208 in Montgomery. This is the same place that Howie and Flawless brought us pictures from after the North-South Shootout. The place is a tourist trap. However, if one is a fan of the show or if one is a fan of creative fabrication, it is a must see. Shhh, don’t tell Vicki; I bought her a Mikey for President t-shirt.

Down Rt. 208 I found Best Lumber. I said my hellos to the staff, most of who are former co-workers of mine from the Island. Shortly thereafter, I continued my trek North.

I stopped for directions at the first rest area north of Albany. Actually I didn’t stop for directions, nature called. There was a nice elder gentleman behind the information desk who confidently told me that the best way to get to Lake Placid was to take I-87 “straight up to Exit 33, it one hundred twenty-two miles”.

When I saw the signs that clearly indicated that Exit 30 led to Lake Placid and the Olympic Training Facility I smiled. The old guy at the rest area must have given me a shorter route is what I thought. Half an hour later, when I was in the middle of nowhere, I had different thoughts.

I drove north on Rt. 9 looking for signs of life. I was looking for a light in a window, any window, a house with a window or anything else that might be an indication of life. I saw a sign flashing for miles down the road. When I got there the sign was flashing for a buffet dinner that was scheduled to happen in two weeks at a place that wasn’t open, with no one in sight.

I had long run out of daylight, my patience was near its’ end, I was tired, hungry, lost in deteriorating weather conditions and running short of gasoline. I found an establishment that was all lit up! The Friendly Tavern was awash in lights. There were no cars in the parking lot but I stopped there anyway.

The door of the Tavern was unlocked and the place just seemed empty. It was like someone left the place open with all of the lights and the television on just for me. The local News was on the TV showing Boris Said in a bobsled. Boris did a great job with the interview after his practice run and the segment out was “…Todd Bodine is on the pole for tomorrow’s race.”

I walked into the Men’s room and when I walked out I put my map on the bar to try to figure out where in the world is Walter Newcomb? A nice older lady finally walked out to the bar and asked if she could “get” something for me. I asked her if she could get me directions to Lake Placid. Isabelle was a real doll. She told me that she had been “coming here through Lake Placid nearly every day for over forty years”.

The bar could have been anywhere in America. There was NASCAR stuff everywhere. Driver cutouts, hanging blowups, illuminated signs you name it; they had it. Isabelle was quite excited to hear that I had come up for the bobsled race and wished me well as I strode off into the cold with my new travel itinerary.

Isabelle’s directions took me down some back roads and I just hoped I wouldn’t miss a turn and wind up in Canada. The adventure certainly made me think that the next people I was going to meet would be Bob & Doug McKenzie. Those were Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas’s alter egos from SCTV’s Great White North skits.

About half an hour after leaving The Friendly Tavern, I wound up right in the middle of Lake Placid. Were it not for the Olympic Center, the speed skating rink and the hotels, this place would be smaller than downtown Stafford Springs. I drove up to the hotel and checked in.

To say this place was expensive was a dramatic understatement. Part of the bill for my stay probably allowed for the hundreds of children to stay there at a discount and eat the buffet meals for free. Yes this hotel was packed full of children who ran around like spider monkeys on crack all weekend.

Apparently the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project was far from the only thing in town. Canada Hockey Enterprises had a hockey tournament; there was a synchronized skating competition among the dozens of other things to do in this little town. I parked my car in one of the only spots left in the lot, which might have actually been in another county.

I got settled into my room after it took a few minutes to dodge the children at the elevators. The elevators were going up and down and kids were getting in to run downstairs to get on again and staying on just to ride them. “Where are your parents?” I asked a couple of these little hellions. They just ran off to their next adventure without responding.

The room had amenities I did not require. Although I didn’t need a fireplace or a whirlpool bath I took full advantage of both. Even as the children kept running up and down the hall, the local flavor was incredibly Canadian. The sports on the local news included local college and even some high school hockey scores. I thought aloud, “Where are Bob & Doug to give me the weather you hoseheads?” They came on after the news. “Strange Brew”, the movie based on the fictional lives of Bob & Doug McKenzie aired right after the news. You can’t make this stuff up.

Saturday morning, it was cold (–2F). I got to the Verizon Sports Complex around 10AM. On the way to the venue, which is actually at Mt. Van Hoevenburg, about eight miles south of Lake Placid, I passed the ski jumping facility and thought to myself that those ramps were pretty high. The NASCAR guys were getting a few practice runs in as I arrived. My name wasn’t on the guest list so I just bought a ticket and started walking up and up and up and UP. It is a long way to the top of the bobsled run.

Along the way up I stopped at several locations to watch the bobsleds fly down the track. One of the great places from which to observe was where the track crosses over. Turns seventeen, nineteen and the Chicane can clearly be viewed from there.

I stopped where many of the spectators had which is an area opposite the first exit dock where the competitors were finishing their runs. It was kind of odd to see so many people standing around in the snow decked out in their latest NEXTEL Cup regalia. It was even stranger to see how they pleasantly interacted with those from the bobsled community who were easy to identify from their attire which was more suited to the cold climate and the bells that they rang every time a bobsled would pass.

Each time I tried to take a short cut to get to the top, I found I had actually taken a longer route. Finally I reached the spot where everything was getting started and met some of our friends. The place had been surrounded by a bunch of people who all cheered as each driver got into their bobsleds.

Bob Cuneo was there to greet me with a big smile. Bob, who is famous for designing and producing the Bo-Dyn bobsleds and Chassis Dynamics Modified racecars, was ecstatic. He told me, “This is going to be great on television!” and that I should “Watch Dick Trickle…he is flying!” Chassis DYNamics is the Dyn in Bo-Dyn.

Bob found Phil Kurze who helped me get access to the start point building and everywhere else for that matter. Phil, in addition to being the Director of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering, is the President of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. Whelen did sponsor a bobsled at the event for driver Boris Said.

Our U.S. bobsled competitors have had to provide their own bobsleds for competition. When Geoff Bodine heard about this and the fact that the bobsleds that our American competitors were using were actually used European sleds that those teams had sold when they got their newer equipment, he took action. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project is a non-profit organization that provides American built and designed bobsleds for our U.S. athletes for Olympic and other International competition free of charge.

The Bo-Dyn Challenge competitors didn’t actually start from the top. They started from start point #3, just above curve #4 and Devil’s Highway. There were two races that were each comprised of two runs. The morning race was shot for television and is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN January 29th at 5PM. The afternoon race is scheduled to be broadcast on SPEED February 4th at 2PM. Allen Bestwick talked to the drivers at the top before each run and Ray Dunlop interviewed them at the bottom for both broadcasts.

Each time a different bobsled launched, Geoff Bodine would wish the driver well and dash back inside the warming hut at start point station. The fans in attendance might have thought that Geoff was doing this to keep from getting cold. In fact the live video feed from each run was displayed on a television there.

Do you know how a stock car fan can see something coming when they are watching a race on television and folks who are not familiar with auto racing might be watching along with them that might ask, “What are you ooohing and aaahing about?” With veterans of bobsledding in that room, we got to listen to the ooohs and aaahs. Even those of us who had been watching bobsledding for years had no idea what was really happening.

I watched Dick Trickle, just like Bob Cuneo had told me to. Dick was one of the fastest drivers through practice as he had piloted his bobsled (that looked prepared for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) quite smoothly. He had one of the fastest runs going out of the first group when he got behind on his steering coming off turn seventeen. This put Dick and his brakeman, Kelly Weaver in quite a pickle. They got a late entry into turn eighteen, kind of like going into turn one at Talladega on the apron, and flipped the sled.

I had the privilege of speaking with one of our U.S. athletes who we might hear from in the future. John Napier is a lanky and lean 19 year old who has Olympic dreams for 2010. Napier is from Schenectady, NY and has recently risen to a level on team U.S.A. that has him traveling to Europe for competition this month. John helped a lot of the NASCAR drivers become bobsled pilots and this quiet young man was very appreciative of everything that was happening over the weekend to benefit the Bo-Dyn Project.

When the first race had been completed, the participants, organizers and media types were treated to lunch at the warming hut at the top of the run. From up there the ski jump towers I had seen earlier looked miniscule. The view from the top was amazing.

I sat down with a sandwich and a bowl of hot chili with a couple of the people from the bobsled community and was soon joined by Denis Morgan. Most of the people in our little corner of the world just know “Denis” from the Message Forum. Denis told me he had attended the fundraiser dinner the night before and worked security. As it turns out, the place they held the fundraiser was directly across the street from my hotel and I had missed it.

The meal hit the spot and Dick Trickle’s comments were heartfelt and humorous. I only wish they had that for television. Then we headed back to station #3 for the second race. Each of the broadcasts will start with the singing of our National Anthem by “Cowboy Crush”. This five member all female band performed at the fundraiser and I was told put on a great show.

Dick took Kelly all the way to the bottom on both of his second race runs. Trickle complained that his sled wasn’t going fast enough. Weaver was just glad the runs didn’t end with another ambulance ride. As each of the competitors took their second runs the population of the warming hut began to dwindle. I walked down to the finish where Denis had been for most of the day.

We watched as the lead changed hands. Each of the NASCAR drivers that piloted their bobsleds to the bottom got out with smiles a mile wide. It may be difficult for some of these guys to get a chance to come back. When they get back to the Charlotte area with smiles permanently affixed to their faces, it might be impossible to have any drivers other than those in the championship chase get into this event next year. That is if the organizers keep the event limited to ten bobsleds. It could be a privilege just to get an opportunity to take a run.

The day ended with an awards presentation hosted by Ray Dunlop. Geoff Bodine and the Godfather of American bobsledding, John Morgan also spoke. The NASCAR drivers stood on the athlete’s podium near the welcome center and were swarmed by fans. There were plenty of “Said heads” there. Boris’s father Bob was a U.S. Olympic bobsledder back in 1972. By the way, there were twice as many spectators for this event as there were for the World Cup bobsled races at Lake Placid just two weeks before.

The first race podium finishers were Boris Said, Todd Bodine and Stanton Barrett. The Second race went to Kevin Lepage followed by Stanton Barrett and Tim Fedewa. The podium finishers received specially made gold, silver and bronze medallions. These medallions will also be available, along with other Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project products, from the Whelen Motorsports Store. All proceeds go to the Project.

There was a privilege of which I planned on taking advantage Sunday. Sunday was media day. I was scheduled to take the fourth run in the media race. Unfortunately, my larger than normal size shot down any opportunity for me to pilot one of the bobsleds. When I got seated, I couldn’t reach the D-rings, which are used to steer the sleds.

Todd Bodine had me try another sled to no avail. Denis was there too. He was just looking for an opportunity to go for a ride as a brakeman. Just to clarify things, in a bobsled, the pilot sits in the front, the brakeman sits in the back. That’s simple on two-man sleds. On four-man sleds the same hold suit plus two additional pushers sit in the middle that are called “bobbers” the name from which the whole sport came.

The media folks were asked to pair-up and be each other’s brakeman. As the numbers worked out, it didn’t look like Denis was going to get an opportunity to take a ride. I told Denis that he was going to pilot a sled for me. He kind of looked at me “Huh?” I told him, “I’ll be your brakeman.” We got on the list and waited.

There were a couple of people who were nervous about us being in one of these sleds together. We outweighed the competition by at least a spin and a half, probably two. Some of the others got a push, no such luck for us. Denis might have been a little apprehensive but I’ll guarantee everyone he was ready to do it again. That thing picked up a lot of speed toward the bottom. It felt like we went through the heart section (turns seventeen through nineteen) in less than a second.

No we weren’t the fastest. Whatever advantage we had because of our mass we lost with aerodynamics. My shoulders were like a big spoiler on the back of our sled. At least we were faster than the biggest celebrity there, Allen Bestwick and his brakeman. Denis and I would like to thank Bob Cuneo, Don Barker and Phil Kurze for the opportunity. That was a ride we will not soon forget.

Allen was a good sport. I told him that he was the most under-appreciated television personality in motorsports. Bestwick’s reply was typical. He is just glad to be able to make a living the way he does. “It would be terrible to have to get a real job.”

Pretty soon it was all over. Jen George, who is a volunteer in the Verizon Sports Complex media center won the Bo-Dyn Media Race. Liz Reiss probably did the best job piloting her sled. She had one of the worst start times and skillfully steered her way to a top-five finish. Officially, I was given a DNS. The time that Dennis turned would have put us twelfth out of twenty-two. It didn’t matter; we all had a great time.

Before I knew it, I was behind the wheel, heading home. I used my wipers as I stared through my salt covered windshield into the sun until I ran out of fluid. People cut me off. Gas pumps were broken. Stations had no washer fluid. I remained afflicted with a new disease. One of the side affects of this new disease is perma-smile. Make sure to get to this event next year; Have a nice day!