Yet Another Balloon Jump!

I needed some footage for a reel of mine and so when Jenn called me, I grabbed two spots (1 for Karen for video).  I decided to go in my skydiving gear because I was slider off on my BASE rig and was SO not wasting a packjob. Besides how often do I really jump a terminal object?  Not worth the change-out. So I invited Shawn along if he wanted to get up at 3:30 AM and go. He said yes so off we went!

Luckily there was an observer spot available so Shawn hitched a ride and took some cool video from the basket.  He had never been in a balloon so this was a cool opportunity. Although he said he felt pretty damn nervous watching people jump out when he himself had no rig on his back, lol! I feel ya! I hate being on a cliff with no rig, it completely freaks me out. You can see his concentration in the basket as I jump out.

We had the same jerk balloon pilot who always tries to rush us out. I miss Phil the balloon pilot. He gave us a ton of altitude and would take us to freaking Murrieta if necessary.  So as this new pilot grouchily rushed us out, Karen took over and basically took charge and gave him safety reasons, etc for reasons we were taking our time. Not to mention the sun was in the camera angle. She got him to turn the basket and through communication a 3 yr old, but clearly not this guy, would understand we finally were in position.

And I facked up the exit. As she was outside the basket and I gave the count, I looked at her below me and went headlow.  So instead of waiting for airspeed since I was all scorpioned over, I decided to do a front flip. Without enough airspeed I got caught on my back for a second HAHA!  So I flipped over and didn’t track off too hard because I was trying to stay with her.  Karen is a great photographer and videographer and skydiver. She can put herself anywhere and she is amazing.

But like I said, I am the one who screwed it up. So $225 for 3 flights later, that footage was scrapped. (But the stills were awesome!) Not to mention, my brake lines were taken in and I had to pull higher to test them out. Whew! They were a lot tighter and instead of the usual lift I had more planing and not being used to coming in as hot, with no wind and ”different” brake behavior, I wadded it. Great. But I did have the pleasure of watching a newbie balloon jumper pile in, sreaming in flight.   The idiot actually almost hit a chainlink fence so he instead he decided to front riser it and hook in–hard. He rolled for a while in a cloud of dust, jumped up and said “WOO HOOOO! That was f####g awesome!!” And repeatedly explained that this was his first balloon jump for about the next 2 hours if spoken to.

So, even the landing footage was scrapped. It wasn’t even fun because I was too busy trying to “work” and then we didn’t get the shot.  We met up with Shawn at the second lift site and then went to IHOP, as is customary, for some chicken florentine crepes! Now I just need to schedule yet another jump and try and get some footage again this time. Shawn did get a good pic of me tracking over the Freeway which was pretty cool. I’ll post it when I get a copy. Karen took the pics above and has had a lot of her work published. Again, she is amazing

Balloon Jump In Stormy Weather = Awesomeness!

 

 

I hadn’t jumped a balloon in so long, so when I got the word on an open slot I literally jumped at the chance. Balloons are incredible substitutes for BASE jumps. They are also great for  nailing exits for BASE hopefuls and those seeking recurrency.  Not to mention they are far less effort (no climbing!), but about $75. more lol. But beggars can’t be choosers, so count me in! 

Balloon jumps have 1 drawback–getting up at the ass-crack of dawn.  And this jump was no exception.  The night before, I got my gear together, however it wasn’t that difficult as everything was ready to go as always. I decided to use my skydiving rig instead of my BASE rig simply based upon the fact (no pun intended) that I was slider off and could take about a 2 1/2 – 3 second delay and  no more.   If I am going to use my base rig then I am opening low, which meant I had to get out at about 700-1000 feet. And if you’re paying $75 you might as well get more altitude, lol. I am such a hypocrite .  Anyway, since I was not about to unpack my rig and put my slider on, I chose to go with my skydiving rig instead. 

So I set my alarm for 4 am and hit the bed.   I got up and once it started getting a little lighter outside I saw how cloudy it was. Great. The Perris DZ is 30 min away and I was SICK of having balloons canceled every time I got there for the last 6 months. I was tired anyway and thought $75 is worth it to sleep in, lol. They can have it.  But a friend of mine that I wasn’t going to see for  awhile was there and  I decided not to be a loser and flake. I pulled my Under Armour on and some tac pants (tactical), put my hair back into a ponytail, threw the jacket for my tracking suit on and took off.

I fed the horses at 4:45 am (but only half their ration for breakfast since it was so early),  and got hay on my tracking jacket. I know that sounds odd, but it’s actually not a first.  I stopped at 7 -Eleven and got a 16 oz coffee and a ham and cheese croissant (on special for $3!) and continued my ass to the DZ.

I got there about 15 minutes late and it was cloudy as hell.  It looked nasty.  It turns out there were going to be 2 balloons! and two friends of mine (Karen and Hannah) were on the other load.  Hannah was filming for the Swedes and Karen was jumping out with her wingsuit to practice for the valley the following week (lucky!). Also a BASE jumper I know, Andy, was there as well. I had not seen Andy since the last balloon jump.  Interestingly there were two paragliders on the load as well. I have never gotten to see them launch from a balloon, and I still missed out since I was third to leave.  But I get ahead of myself…

It turns out that for some reason the balloon company didn’t want to (or could not) take off from the DZ (weather??) so we all piled into vehicles to drive off-road someplace in Menifee to lift off. The weather was not looking any better so we were all pretty worried if this lift was going to happen.  

We followed the two balloon trucks and the chase vehicle onto a county dirt rd where they pulled off into the field and begin to lay out the tarps. We all just sat around as they debated the weather, sent up an indicator balloon to test wind directions and  speeds at the different levels.  Lightning had begun to flash in the distance and a few raindrops started to pound our vehicles sending everyone rushing to get their gear under cover and the balloon company started putting the balloons back in the truck. Great. I sat back in the car and Twittered.

Well the Sky Gods smiled on us, briefly, and the rain stopped after about 1 minute. Out came the balloons again and we all had renewed hope. Then all of a sudden they started inflating the balloons.  More than renewed hope, this meant we were probably going up. And it was lightning about 30 miles away, holy crap!  I had never been on a load that went up this fast. They essentially inflated and BAM! we were rushing to board and lifting up.

The balloon pilot was not one I had flown under before. He told us at 1,800 feet, over a subdivision mind you, “do you guys feel safe getting out here?” Um, NO. WTF?  SO on we pushed. Towards the storm and lightning.

The second balloon dropped pretty fast below us, presumably to let us go first so they dropped out of that slice of wind. We were expecting only 3K feet, but 4 grand eventually came along and one of the guys got out.  My turn was coming up.  The pilot was actually irritated with me when I was trying to get up on the side of the basket to jump out because it took me three very short tries with my mini wing in the way. It is very difficult to climb up onto a basket with your legs sewn partially together and booties on.  So I simply said, “I have a wing, give me a break.”

Then JB got out and I got out a second or a little more after him (we were pretty much 500 ft in altitude apart the whole time).  I did a standard BASE exit and then about 2 1/2 – 3 seconds later went into a track and waited for the forward speed to kick in. 

 It was beautiful.  As a zero G exit always is.  The first 1 1/2 seconds is the moment of absolute perfection. The quiet time. The time that is neither here nor there, yesterday or tomorrow, you nor me. It is the reason to BASE jump, or in this case, jump from a balloon. It lasts until the wind begins to rush up against your face and you begin to feel gravity take its effect. Then it is over.  I was tracking.  I could see JB tracking under me about 500′ and then I realized he was going away from our intended landing area. So I did a quick 120 degree or so turn and then he followed suit after seeing my change.   He sucked it low (as usual). Then I kept tracking and eventually opened at about 3K.  I know I could have gone lower, but I don’t like going low with my skydiving rig.

I saw his canopy as he headed for the fairway of the Menifee golf course, and the first jumper was getting ready to land near the clubhouse. I set up but with no wind I was at risk in overshooting my landing area so I continued to spiral to bleed off altitude. At 500 feet I still had too much altitude, another spiral and over the pond I went and ducks took flight. Ooops *please no bird strike* Still too high so I sashayed a bit and then passed JB and came down ever so lightly literally skiing on the thin layer of moisture on the perfectly manicured green.  There was no way I was going to stand this up I had pretty good tread on these shoes and I was still skiing so I gently went onto my butt and slid into an eventual stop. AWESOME!!

JB packed while I spoke with the marshal. He wanted to know if we landed off course. We told him yes, the winds were weird and the lightning was scary. Every golfer-filled cart that passed was shocked at the lightning that had started dancing around us. Off in the distance the balloons  were still traveling towards the storm. Eeek!

Dawn (from the balloon co) called me wondering where I was and I told her three of us were on the golf course. We were told to go to the clubhouse so we started walking and had the weirdest looks

Here is a self-portrait from the bathroom near one of the tee boxes

Rode the Wildomar OHV Park

I can’t believe this place is only 10 miles from my house!!! I have truly been missing out!!  I was grabbing a lot more air than I usually do hopping rocks and the little ramp at my place. Not exactly fat air, but hey,  it is high enough for now (until I go back and try it again).  Thinking about hauling some dirt into the middle of the TTR track at my house. Enough to make a double at least.

Got a good wipeout in as well, jacked up my ribs a little bit. But hey, no bones are stickin’ out so I’m good.  While out there I vastly iproved my riding skills, decreased my times, and am riding up higher on the berms.  I still got lapped like crazy while riding the jump loop, Shawn was on the pipe the whole time and I am always so skittish about downhill on gravel, as well as this first left before the double jump.  Still, riding the pegs helped my stability and I did close the gap a little more as the day went on. 

Anyway, it was a good time.  We plan to go back pretty soon. There is a camping area as well, and it only costs 5 bucks per vehicle for day use. If you don’t know where it is you can get there off the 74 (Ortega Pass) and then drive about 9 miles down Killen Trail. It’s worth it! Bring fluid, however, there is nothing out there but high desert and rattlesnakes but there are trails for all levels, mostly internediate to advanced though. I get anxiety thinking about getting lost out there but everything pretty much loops back to the main trails. 

You Know You’re A RoadRacer’s Girlfriend/Fiancé/Wife When…

1. You can change out a shock in a racebike.
2. You have picked up their leathers and team shirts from their sponsors, and are now wanting custom leathers of your own.
3. You know what DZUS clips are.
4. You know the AMA rules and guidelines for each class and regularly monitor any last minute supplemental regulations.
5. You actually have been an umbrella girl even though you swore you’d never do it.
6. You look down at your filthy, greasy hands and understandably think to yourself, “well at least it’s not anti-seize”.
7. You find yourself thinking of ways to reduce the weight on everything by removing redundant or useless parts, or replacing them with lighter materials, even if it is just your toaster.
8. You can put on and take off tire warmers faster than you can tie your shoe.
9. You know the difference between tensile strength and tear, or bend, strength.
10. You can work a pop rivet gun and can think of a thousand uses for it
11. You know the difference between VP-U4.2 and-VP 113 fuels. But you also know the benefit of using Sunoco 260GTX Racing Gasoline (98 octane unleaded) is that the fuel performance is equal across the board, less cost (but still higher than street gas), and results in less wear on the engine.
12. You have used a stop watch for an alarm clock.
13. You have used a stopwatch to time him taking a shower, mowing the lawn or when changing his oil so he will be more competitive, ergo FASTER. Plus you appreciate the value of 1/10th of a second.
14. Being passed on the inside or outside, rev limiters, redlining, and keeping your line can be applied to any situation in life.
15. You have a ton of credentials from past races since you figured you weren’t going to attend enough to justify buying a ”hard card”. Ooops.
16. You are worse than a soccermom for performance expectations.
17. You know post-race sex is beyond what most human beings can comprehend.
18. You have actually raced shopping carts at the grocery store. Furthermore, the staff at the Daytona Target is actually used to it.
19. When a car comes over into your lane on the highway you react by sticking a knee or an elbow out, even when driving your car.
20. You know the sound of his bike and can tell when he passes, even from the race trailer.
21. You know something is wrong if he takes more than 2 seconds over his average to come into sight when you’re timing laps.
22. If he’s not bleeding or damaged, you’re more pissed about the damage to the bike that you now have to repair.
23. You know that trackfood can be a Godsend, and your demise.
24. You believe that if you double the racetime (doubleheaders), you should double the purse.
25. You think that Barber has the best bathrooms of any track out there. Willow is definitely the worst, although you have seen the port-a-potty in pitlane filled to just under an inch of the seat with urine. Those boys stay hydrated!
26. You know male racers can be cattier than an Orange County sorority house during PMS week.
27. You feel that carbon fiber, duct tape and zipties are the best inventions on the planet
28. Gorilla tape makes excellent fairing repair material as well. Really.
29. You can put up a pop-up tent in less than 60 seconds, and break it down even faster
30. You are on a first name basis with some of the AMA officials
31. You have parted out a brand new streetbike for use on the racebike. Even worse you have actually traded parts off of it with other teams for parts you, or they, don’t have.
32. You think Moe Burgers are tasty.
33. You can live off of coffee, Energy Drinks, and Powerbars and think nothing of it.
34. You can change a rear sprocket, and you’re not too bad at changing front tires either.
35. You have ziptied on bodywork.
36. You can work a pitboard and run split-times simultaneously
37. You’ve mistakenly ruined a windscreen using brake cleaner. And you will never do it again.
38. You have done doughnuts in the parking lot on the pitbike. Especially after a good rain.
39. Blisters are a given at any race event, and Gel Soles don’t work.
40. You don’t even get mad anymore when you step barefoot on metal shavings in the garage. It’s probably from your bike anyway.
41. You’ve stopped riding on the street and leave your race plastics on in the event a track day comes up.
42. You check the average temperature forecast for the track the week before each race. Then brainstorm for alternate ways to reduce engine temperature.
43. You own workboots. And your own Mechanix gloves.
44. You have ridden the racebike back to the garage after a race and could not help but be a throttle jockey the whole way.  And prayed to God you didn’t drop it.

45. You have slept in a race trailer for 3 days straight across the US, without a shower, or a decent meal. And would do it again.
46. You have bought silicone tubing from the aquarium section at a 24 hour Wal-Mart so you could make in-helmet drinking straws. 
47. You have burned your hand endless times on a brake rotor.  But still feel you can do a faster job without gloves.
48. You f*cking HATE carting around a generator on the grid for the tire warmers
49. ”Safety Cars” are bullshit. Bring on the bikes.
50. The first racelap and last 2 minutes of a race seem to be the most unnerving.  In fact you REALLY wish you had not drank that case of Monster before all of this started. 

51. And last but not least…you have chosen Pirelli race compounds over Tiffanys for your birthday!

All in all, it’s worth it!