Riding high on speed

Riding high on speed

The first thing that struck me after riding the Olympic Bobsleigh at the Trocadero was a wave of relief that, like the 23 other brakemen in my bob, I'd somehow managed to guide myself to safety. This was swiftly followed by a wave of nausea which lasted right up until I joined the back of the queue for the next run down. At £3.50 a go, the experience is not cheap and is certainly not cheerful - gone are the days of enjoyable family entertainment but the sheer relief afterwards is well worth the trauma. To keep the reality factor high, the ride itself is jarringly real, seatbelts are obligatory as the four-man cars move around in sync with the course and the wrap-around sound leaves no room for escape. I defy anyone to keep their eyes open as the bob shoots into the vertical walls on the two-mile descent. In fact, Olympic Bobsleigh is not the best ride on the Emaginator (try the stomach churning Cosmic Pinball which is true lunch-on-your-partner material), but it definitely beats watching Cool Runnings, again.

Showscan's Emaginator, Trocadero, Piccadilly Circus, W1, open from 11am- 12 m'nt seven days. Tickets £3.50