With nothing happening in my startups all that has taken place without my hands on the wheel was, well… nothing at all. I need to reconnect. I started working with my charts, annotating and digging in. However, there's nothing to do just now, too many unknowns, nothing over-bought or over-sold. I dug into kapsize a bit. The code to be written there is staggering. I'm hoping to merge that project with another in SF with some highly-talented programmers. We've got a meeting next week. Still nothing to hold on to, or move forward on.
I felt "in orbit" : close to earth, not really part of it, spinning in circles.
Perfect antidote: head to the gliderport.
Photo of me kiting by Antonelle Zampolli
On arrival I met up with Ivan (pron: EE-van) who remembered me by name which cheered me up right away. I certainly remember him. He's a great pilot and teacher. I also met up with Antonella whom I befriended at the SIV clinic. She introduced me to a new guy named Joe who was leaving for tomorrow's SIV clinic in Lake Chelan, WA. Joe told me he read my blog with some care as he purchased the same equipment as I and was heading to the clinic.
The wind was light – Ivan warned that a flight might be to the beach. It was quite south and shifting. I said I was happy to kite. Ivan joined me for most of my kiting, showing me quite a few new things. He showed me how to grab the D's to drop the wing in an emergency, quite useful. I spent an hour or so just launching - trying to keep the wing perfectly above my head - and kiting back up to the top of the hill.
My wing's starting to show some age. The red is fading. It's a great color and I think I'll stick with it on my next wing, though I'm sure that's at least a year out.
Flight 48:
At one point the cycles started picking up. Ivan encouraged me to take a run and I eagerly accepted the invitation. I was kiting for so long that I didn't do the usual "checking in" with my intuition. As I was running for the ledge I did a quick check. All systems go.
I've had quite a few experiences with my intuition lately that seem to indicate that I'm getting a better read. Nothing ground shaking but worth sharing.
The other day, all of the sudden and for no reason, we couldn't find Trinity, my 3-year-old. She was playing with us as we were unpacking our suitcases. Then after a short time there was no sight or sound of her. I started walking from room to room calling "Trinity!" No response. My wife saw me and the search became a bit more panicked. As I finished looking in the garage I checked in: it's mostly a feeling in my heart. There was nothing wrong.
I went to our neighbor's home to see if she wandered over there and heard my wife calling me back, "I found her!" She was soundly asleep under the sheets in our bed. She crawled up there while we were busy, cuddled up and fell asleep.
I'm not saying that the intuition is a genie or a magic device. It's just that when something's wrong you can usually feel it, or you somehow know it. I seek the advice of my intuition daily and trust it implicitly.
Moving on… I bought a watch with an altimeter: the Suunto x6. I used it for this flight rather than my vario. There's far less information, it's harder to read and doesn't beep, but in general I was glad to have it. It's one less gizmo to worry about before launch. The readings seemed accurate or at least in line with what I know about Torrey. I like it.
The wind was light and lift came in bursts, puffs actually. I noticed a number of crows sitting it out on the ridge and took that as an indication I should probably head back and work on my kiting. When I came in for my landing I turned into the wind a bit late and ended up over compensating as I approached the ground. I kind of did a pendulum drop. It didn't look or feel that great. Lesson: start the turn into the wind earlier and keep it consistent.
Some comments about my blog: this is a beginner's blog. I don't try to be anything other that what I am here. I have found a few blogs by some serious acrobats and competitors and I have to admit I feel a bit embarrassed when I return to my own site. However, at this point in my life, with work, family and other demands I know I can only do so much paragliding. There's a limit. I love it. It's a passion, but I don't think I'll be anything but a part-time warrior. (I say part-time as I never paraglide on weekends. That time is reserved for my girls.)
So unlike Brett Hazlett and few others I've found along the way I won't be cutting too many leading edges. I suspect I'm much like most paragliders though who do this for love but aren't going pro. I hope that I can maintain some degree of interest in this blog expressing my growth as I progress.
One more thing – I suspect tomorrow will actually be my first full day of work. ;-)
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