Summer 2018, Day 26: First Paragliding Free-Flight

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Ben

After a second night at the State campground in Half Moon Bay, it’s time to leave. While waiting for everyone to get ready, I partially disassembled the motorcycles to tighten up some bolts that had vibrated loose. I applied threadlock compound to the bolts, then reassembled the bike:

We said goodbye to the beach:

We drove over to the day use area and unhitched the RV:

I drove up to Pacifica to meet Mark for a tandem flight. Mark flew over to our launch location:

We hitched up to the wing and ran off this cliff:

With no engine, we relied on updrafts from on-shore winds deflecting upwards along the cliffs:

We flew north towards San Francisco:

We had some company:

We flew past the Olympic Club, where my grandfather was a member:

Remnants of the old Route 1:

Thanks Mark, that was amazing!

Meanwhile, back at the RV….

A kitten stopped by to say hello. I found its sibling under the hood of the truck this morning, keeping warm:

I drove the truck south a bit and launched my PPG for flight #120:

Right after I launched, a wall of fog moved in and the temperature dropped dramatically. Since the air mass below the fog was still warm, it began to rise through the colder upper layer, essentially generating thermals. It got a bit bumpy, so I landed:

Views of the beach from the day use area:

We hitched up at sunset and drove north over the Bay Bridge:

We continued north to overnight at the Walmart of Willows, California. See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2018, Day 20: Flying Tecopa Hot Springs

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Ben

Were being hosted at the Tecopa Hot Springs Campground by PPG pilot Ryan. We went for a flight this morning, but unfortunately my helmet camera was dead. The scenery was beautiful, and we had a great flight:

After landing, M and I went for a ride:

We stopped by a local hot spring:

It’s really hot here just outside of Death Valley. It was in the 90s at dawn.

We picked up this portable grill in Las Vegas. I boiled up lunch outside since it was already approaching 115 degrees. We had all three air conditioners plugged in, hence the group of extension cords in the photo:

I also put out an extra awning:

Oh, the humiliation:

It got up to a hazy 117 degrees today:

Good Shabbos from Tecopa Hot Springs, California!

Summer 2018, Day 19: Flying and Motorcycling Jean Lake

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Ben

This morning we got up early and drove out to Jean Lake:

Getting ready to fly and ride:

Nice to get back in the air after 11 months!

On the way back to Las Vegas, we checked out Seven Magic Mountains:

We hitched up the RV and headed west:

Tonight we’re overnighting at Tacopa Hot Springs Campground. See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2018, Day 13: Tire Upgrade and Radiator Repair

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Ben

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise at Paramotor City:

I tried flying, but the wind kept shifting directions which foiled my launch attempts:

In the afternoon we relocated to the Chabad of Albuquerque:

I drove over to a building shared by a tire shop and a radiator shop, which was convenient as I upgraded our other two RV tires and our spare, one of which failed yesterday, to 14-ply tires so they now match the other two we upgraded a few days ago. While that was being done, the radiator shop replaced a leaking coolant hose on the truck that’s been causing us trouble for the past few days: