July 29

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

more bucket list


jumping out of a plane - at 14,000 feet

being a motorcycle instructor

more to come
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 !!!!!