All within the month of July, 2012
by land, by air and by sea
air - tandem parachute ride at 14,000 km.
land - iron butt ride - great lakes - 16,847k in 19 hours
sea - scuba diving certification -- my open water certification to be completed asap.
all at the young age of 63
we don't get older we get better.
July 24, 2012
The second of my "triathalon" ----
GOING FROM TORONTO TO KINGSTON VIA SARNIA!!
the final tallies for the Iron Butt Ride -- a Saturday July 21, 2012 ride are:
started at 2:54 am and ended at 10:44 pm. -- way too many cigar breaks; leisurely trip along the seashore parkway in pa; texting; and having to pay cash for gas
odometer: 1684.7k
overall average 86.6k
moving average 101k
max speed - I forgot to use it ; or I deleted it (sorry your honour, really)
total moving time 16:38 hours.
hardest parts -- I-75 is a mess; Buffalo to I-90 is a mess; 401 is a mess all the time
conversations with Customs -- priceless
at Port Huron -- the officer heard of the ride -- he didn't think he could do it on his Harley -- since he was wearing a gun I merely gave a non-committal nod without any other comment.
cost - about $110.00 not including the cost of Gold Balm
temperature -- 12(not including wind chill) in the morning 87 in the afternoon
amazing: I did not use my air horn even once!!
what I learned -- I do not have an iron butt.
That ghost is gone forever!!!!!
Now that I have done the “air” and the “land” time to do the “sea”
allan
GOING FROM TORONTO TO KINGSTON VIA SARNIA!!
the final tallies for the Iron Butt Ride -- a Saturday July 21, 2012 ride are:
started at 2:54 am and ended at 10:44 pm. -- way too many cigar breaks; leisurely trip along the seashore parkway in pa; texting; and having to pay cash for gas
odometer: 1684.7k
overall average 86.6k
moving average 101k
max speed - I forgot to use it ; or I deleted it (sorry your honour, really)
total moving time 16:38 hours.
hardest parts -- I-75 is a mess; Buffalo to I-90 is a mess; 401 is a mess all the time
conversations with Customs -- priceless
at Port Huron -- the officer heard of the ride -- he didn't think he could do it on his Harley -- since he was wearing a gun I merely gave a non-committal nod without any other comment.
cost - about $110.00 not including the cost of Gold Balm
temperature -- 12(not including wind chill) in the morning 87 in the afternoon
amazing: I did not use my air horn even once!!
what I learned -- I do not have an iron butt.
That ghost is gone forever!!!!!
Now that I have done the “air” and the “land” time to do the “sea”
allan
July 17th
Every so often I review my bucket list and wonder if it is time to strike another adventure off the list. So it was in the last week or so.
I could tell the story as follows: I decided to go for a plane ride over York Region, Ontario. I booked the flight, paid the fare, got on the plane but after reaching 14,000 feet I was very unhappy with the plane ride - so there was only one thing to do - I left out the back door.
But really, the exit was planned -- as in -- jumping out at 14K as a tandem jumper meaning that attached to my back was a professional parachute jumper. They made me sign a five or six page letter containing numerous acknowledgements and waivers -- but nothing about hijackers. They then put the harness on me and started giving me the details of the flight.
About 12 jumpers and 3 photographers started off in the plane. It took about 12 minutes to get to 14K feet -- above the clouds. We walked off the back of the plane -- did a somersault; did a free fall; flew with a mini parachute to keep us at 200 k/h and then after about a minute the parachute opened and it was another 5 minutes of a slow descent and then a soft landing.
The only thing I forgot was to ask what happens if my tandem partner blacks out. Oh well -- it turned out to be an unnecessary question.
Two things -- on the plane they asked me two questions -- how was I doing. I gave the answer about a dozen times with my head nodding "bad idea", "bad idea". Then they asked me if I had any last words. I said "amen".
With that I walked off the plane.
Next time I will get a better seat !!!!!
Every so often I review my bucket list and wonder if it is time to strike another adventure off the list. So it was in the last week or so.
I could tell the story as follows: I decided to go for a plane ride over York Region, Ontario. I booked the flight, paid the fare, got on the plane but after reaching 14,000 feet I was very unhappy with the plane ride - so there was only one thing to do - I left out the back door.
But really, the exit was planned -- as in -- jumping out at 14K as a tandem jumper meaning that attached to my back was a professional parachute jumper. They made me sign a five or six page letter containing numerous acknowledgements and waivers -- but nothing about hijackers. They then put the harness on me and started giving me the details of the flight.
About 12 jumpers and 3 photographers started off in the plane. It took about 12 minutes to get to 14K feet -- above the clouds. We walked off the back of the plane -- did a somersault; did a free fall; flew with a mini parachute to keep us at 200 k/h and then after about a minute the parachute opened and it was another 5 minutes of a slow descent and then a soft landing.
The only thing I forgot was to ask what happens if my tandem partner blacks out. Oh well -- it turned out to be an unnecessary question.
Two things -- on the plane they asked me two questions -- how was I doing. I gave the answer about a dozen times with my head nodding "bad idea", "bad idea". Then they asked me if I had any last words. I said "amen".
With that I walked off the plane.
Next time I will get a better seat !!!!!
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