Grounded
Another day trying to fly, another day grounded.
My third last shift at the casino last night left me tired this morning, but I was still game to fly off Prairie and was happy to receive a text message that said some of the guys were heading out.
So, the four of us headed out to Bragg Creek and noticed there were some pretty strong cycles and the wind was kind of all over the place. Wisely, we decided not to hike up Prairie but instead checked out the base of Moose Mountain flying site. We sat there for a while, and even at that elevation (couple hundred feet up or so) the wind sometimes came in strong, and was coming in from one direction one second, the other the next.
Enjoying where I was, I didn't really mind not flying. Bragg Creek is a really beautiful place, and the more I go to the mountains, the more I realize how lucky we are to have them. They really are spectacular. I always feel at such peace looking at them - so majestic.
After a bit, we figured things wouldn't get better anytime soon, so we headed home. I barely walked through the door when I decided to call the windtalker to see what was happening out in Cochrane. It sounded decent, so I waited a bit and called again later, and the conditions still sounded good.
I drove out there, and just past the 1 kilometre sign to Cochrane my jaw dropped - 3 paragliders high in the sky! I've never EVER seen that in the last 2 years driving out there. I really am going to start making a habit of taking my camera with me everywhere...what a sight it was to see!
So I got to the hill and some of the pilots were sitting around. I was told that the air was somewhat choppy, and to give it some time. The wind was coming in pretty much straight and fairly strong, and I didn't mind waiting for things to settle a bit.
So I waited, watched some of the pilots in the air, and then decided to get my wing out. The pilots who were sitting around were getting ready to launch, and once airborne, either gained a couple hundred feet of height, or at least maintained.
I geared up, got the wing up, turned around and started pushing forward. The wind was pretty strong, so I used my weight to push my glider ahead. I read somewhere it's best to load the harness downward instead of kind of trying to fight it forward, so that's what I did (basic physics apparently). I felt the pressure on my ribs, and just tried to gain some ground. Well, I really don't mean to be negative, but I either just plain suck, or ....yeah, that was it. Basically, I couldn't do it. The wing was all over the place, and when I actually got about 3 feet or so in the air (I got lifted up before getting to the edge of the hill), the wing was still kind of shakey and I started getting pushed back a bit. I quickly realized my lack of control, messily killed the wing, and got the leading edge out of the wind. LOSER!
Ugh, I hate feeling out of control, and that's exactly what it felt like today. It's one thing not to fly when nobody else is, but it's really hard to watch somebody else fly in conditions that you should be able to. I know it was me who messed up today, and yes, maybe trying only once and giving up sounds unreasonable, but it wasn't. I knew that trying again wasn't safe, and frankly, I didn't want to get dragged infront of an audience. I may have my blonde moments, but I'm not stupid.
I sat there for a while, contemplating what happened, and decided to call it a day. I then decided to give it another hour, so I took a break from sitting out there for a bit, and then went back to try groundhandling. The wind just got stronger, and the PG pilots landed, while the hangies got ready. The paragliders seemed pretty happy - who wouldn't be getting above launch out in Cochrane?
Heading out to Bragg Creek and not flying was fine today...it really didn't bother me. With good company, getting out of the house to a really beautiful part of the Rockies is awesome. Moreso with flying, but lovely nonetheless. What makes me mad is having an open flying window, and being grounded. Maybe "mad" isn't the right word..."defeat" probably is.
Did I want to be caught in super-strong winds in the air? No, but I think at one point there was a safe flying window, and damn it, I missed it.
I'm too stubborn to give up - I never do when I want something bad. I always work hard to make things happen, but man, paragliding is hard. I'm not a complainer, nor am I looking for sympathy, but sometimes you wonder why things are the way they are. Maybe I should have tried launching again, but I have my pride - I didn't want a repeat of that charade.
Times like today make me realize how ignorant I really am about this sport and how I have SUCH a long way to go. This sport seems to be teaching me over and over again about patience and sticktoitiveness (yes, that's a word!)
Nothing worthwhile comes easy, right? I'm sure next month will be great - god I want progress.
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY THOUGHTS! I think it's time for some mindless comedy entertainment provided courtesy of YouTube. MadTV, Colbert Report, South Park here I come.
My third last shift at the casino last night left me tired this morning, but I was still game to fly off Prairie and was happy to receive a text message that said some of the guys were heading out.
So, the four of us headed out to Bragg Creek and noticed there were some pretty strong cycles and the wind was kind of all over the place. Wisely, we decided not to hike up Prairie but instead checked out the base of Moose Mountain flying site. We sat there for a while, and even at that elevation (couple hundred feet up or so) the wind sometimes came in strong, and was coming in from one direction one second, the other the next.
Enjoying where I was, I didn't really mind not flying. Bragg Creek is a really beautiful place, and the more I go to the mountains, the more I realize how lucky we are to have them. They really are spectacular. I always feel at such peace looking at them - so majestic.
After a bit, we figured things wouldn't get better anytime soon, so we headed home. I barely walked through the door when I decided to call the windtalker to see what was happening out in Cochrane. It sounded decent, so I waited a bit and called again later, and the conditions still sounded good.
I drove out there, and just past the 1 kilometre sign to Cochrane my jaw dropped - 3 paragliders high in the sky! I've never EVER seen that in the last 2 years driving out there. I really am going to start making a habit of taking my camera with me everywhere...what a sight it was to see!
So I got to the hill and some of the pilots were sitting around. I was told that the air was somewhat choppy, and to give it some time. The wind was coming in pretty much straight and fairly strong, and I didn't mind waiting for things to settle a bit.
So I waited, watched some of the pilots in the air, and then decided to get my wing out. The pilots who were sitting around were getting ready to launch, and once airborne, either gained a couple hundred feet of height, or at least maintained.
I geared up, got the wing up, turned around and started pushing forward. The wind was pretty strong, so I used my weight to push my glider ahead. I read somewhere it's best to load the harness downward instead of kind of trying to fight it forward, so that's what I did (basic physics apparently). I felt the pressure on my ribs, and just tried to gain some ground. Well, I really don't mean to be negative, but I either just plain suck, or ....yeah, that was it. Basically, I couldn't do it. The wing was all over the place, and when I actually got about 3 feet or so in the air (I got lifted up before getting to the edge of the hill), the wing was still kind of shakey and I started getting pushed back a bit. I quickly realized my lack of control, messily killed the wing, and got the leading edge out of the wind. LOSER!
Ugh, I hate feeling out of control, and that's exactly what it felt like today. It's one thing not to fly when nobody else is, but it's really hard to watch somebody else fly in conditions that you should be able to. I know it was me who messed up today, and yes, maybe trying only once and giving up sounds unreasonable, but it wasn't. I knew that trying again wasn't safe, and frankly, I didn't want to get dragged infront of an audience. I may have my blonde moments, but I'm not stupid.
I sat there for a while, contemplating what happened, and decided to call it a day. I then decided to give it another hour, so I took a break from sitting out there for a bit, and then went back to try groundhandling. The wind just got stronger, and the PG pilots landed, while the hangies got ready. The paragliders seemed pretty happy - who wouldn't be getting above launch out in Cochrane?
Heading out to Bragg Creek and not flying was fine today...it really didn't bother me. With good company, getting out of the house to a really beautiful part of the Rockies is awesome. Moreso with flying, but lovely nonetheless. What makes me mad is having an open flying window, and being grounded. Maybe "mad" isn't the right word..."defeat" probably is.
Did I want to be caught in super-strong winds in the air? No, but I think at one point there was a safe flying window, and damn it, I missed it.
I'm too stubborn to give up - I never do when I want something bad. I always work hard to make things happen, but man, paragliding is hard. I'm not a complainer, nor am I looking for sympathy, but sometimes you wonder why things are the way they are. Maybe I should have tried launching again, but I have my pride - I didn't want a repeat of that charade.
Times like today make me realize how ignorant I really am about this sport and how I have SUCH a long way to go. This sport seems to be teaching me over and over again about patience and sticktoitiveness (yes, that's a word!)
Nothing worthwhile comes easy, right? I'm sure next month will be great - god I want progress.
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY THOUGHTS! I think it's time for some mindless comedy entertainment provided courtesy of YouTube. MadTV, Colbert Report, South Park here I come.
posted by Veronica at 8:29 PM
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