Extreme Sports Gone Weird

Sure, we've all heard of adrenaline junkies jumping out of planes or rafting through dangerous rapids. But what about skydiving in a kayak? If bungee jumping off of bridges isn't crazy enough, check out these extreme sports that have seriously gone off the deep end. 

 

Artistic Cycling 

Imagine an ice dance routine -- on two wheels. That's artistic cycling -- couples whirling across the stage on fixed-gear bikes. While a bizarre idea, we have to admit these cyclists are pretty talented. It's tricky enough to ride a bike with someone sitting on the handlebars, let alone standing on your shoulders! 

 

Extreme Ironing 

Ironing isn't just another household chore, thanks to the sport of extreme ironing. Competitors iron in cars, trains, and boats, on mountaintops, underwater, while windsurfing, biking, and even skydiving. We can't imagine the freshly pressed linens stay wrinkle-free for long while tumbling 100 m.p.h. towards the ground. 

 

Wife Carrying

Talk about a way to test your marriage! Show your wife how much you care by...carrying her upside-down on your back through an obstacle course race? Yes, this is a real, international sport. The 2012 World Championships were held in Finland, the country most well known for "wife-carrying." The prize? The champion's wife's weight in free beer. 

--photo by iStockphoto/BrianAJackson

 

--Allison Montroy is an editorial intern for Sierra and a journalism student at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.