76. Bobsled
A) Take a few lessons—mandatory, as you might expect.
B) Hurtle at a death-defying clip down the novices' run at the permanent Olympic site in St. Moritz, Switzerland—call ahead at 011-41-81-833-3117. Lake Placid's Olympic Park's bobsled run is also open to the daring.
C) Scream.
77. Bike Your Own Private l'Alpe d'Huez
Nine miles up at an 8 percent grade with 21 switchback turns. This year, the pros didn't have to brave this ultimate test just east of Grenoble, but you can triumph in your own private leg of the Tour anytime. Right? Right?
78. Hit Mach 1
You're hankering to speed through the atmosphere faster than most humans will ever go, but you're too old for boot camp. All is not lost. If you have a pilot's license (step one), Larry Salganek, at a New Mexico outfit called Jetwarbird Training Center (505-471-4151), can help you log the hours in a MiG 15 that the FAA requires before you can solo (step two). Two cautions: Your MiG time costs about $1,700 per hour. And it's illegal to exceed Mach 1 in U.S. airspace, so watch out for radar traps.
79. Compete in an Endurance Event. Then Again, Finish One
80. Sink to the Bottom of Truk Lagoon
In 1944, in Micronesia, the U.S. military bombed into existence a haunting underwater scene: more than 70 coral-enshrouded Japanese shipwrecks, fighter planes still attached to some decks, waiting for sorties that will never come. To join the maximum of six divers allowed on each site at a time, you bunk aboard a ship, such as the palatial S.S. Thorfin (Seaward Holidays Micronesia, 011-691-330-3040). Bon voyage.
Nomads Have More Fun
Get out, get wild, with these 53 awe-inspiring, soul-soaring journeys.
The Man Who Knocked the Bastard Off
Edmund Hillary, a self-described "average bloke," made one of the 20th-century's landmark feats seem properly human and straightforward.
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