If you are anything like us, then you used to watch the Extreme channel on TV and wish you could try your hand at some of that stuff. Well, it turns out you can because extreme sports are reserved for the most hardcore adrenaline junkies. Average Joe’s can get a piece of the action too.
Obviously, we don’t mean you should go and buy a parachute and jump off the tallest building in your local city because that would put you in both the insane category and possibly the past tense. But there are some activities that everyone can do, activities that will get your heart beating faster and louder than a pneumatic drill.
Mountain biking
You may not think this is much of an extreme sport, but that gut-feeling will change the moment you type it into Youtube or sit on the saddle. Mountain biking is all about riding on turbulent terrain and off-road paths at high speeds. Okay, the latter part of that statement isn’t necessary, but that is the endgame for most riders.
White Water Rafting
There is no better thrill than working as a team to battle the current. It is you and your friends versus the undefeated boss that is nature. It is physically and mentally demanding, and an absolute assault on the senses. But stepping into an Intex Mariner 4 and having no choice to kick your workload up a few gears is one of the most heart-pounding experiences ever. Just make sure you pick a guide who knows what they are doing, okay.
Skydiving
Jumping out of a plane mid-flight has to be one of the most ludicrous things anyone can ever do, but people love it, and rightly so. There is just something amazing about falling thousands of feet towards the earth’s crust, with just a thin bit of material to stop you from becoming a pancake of pain. What’s more, it is never too late to do it, just ask George Bush Snr, who did it when he was 90.
Bouldering
Bouldering is exactly like rock climbing just with no ropes, or harnesses or any safety gear of any kind. You simply roll out of bed, walk to a cliff and start trying to climb it. Don’t worry, though, because most bouldering tends to happen on small rocks that stay under the 6ft marker. Of course, there are certain bits of equipment that will make your ascension through the ranks much easier, such as special shoes and chalk, but that is about as far as the technology goes in this sport. Other than that, it is just an almighty workout.
Snowboarding
Not much fun when you start, but unrivaled adrenaline once you get the hang of it. The idea of being strapped to a board and careering over a mishmash of snow and ice at 84 kph plus should just about put hairs on your eyeballs, that’s for sure. What’s more, once you’ve completed a day of hair-raising runs, you get to kick it with a beer and a sauna, what’s not to love about that.
