Originally Posted by goodcatjack
My honest reaction to skydiving was, well, kind of a letdown. For me, the best part wasn't the 140 or so mph we went during that 30-40 second freefall from 10,500 feet, nor the hard spinning we did during the canopy ride nor that swooping, faster-than-I-thought-it'd-be landing. No, for me, the best part was the experience of making the conscious choice to step out onto the wing, then choosing to just ... let go. Oh yeah, baby, that part was sweet. Except it was over pretty quickly.
So, the reason why I'm posting this thought here: you know what I really, honestly felt was a more terrifying, thrilling, lusty experience? That one time I took my Bianchi Axis down a deserted highway's hill to somewhere between 55 and 60 miles per hour. I'm not kidding! For me, that joyous terror I felt while tearing down that hill -- for me, that white-knuckle rush was ten times scarier and more exultant than jumping out of a plane.
I just wanted to say that ...
cheers,
-alex.
p.s. I remember, there was this poster in the hangar that said, "Our sport can eat yours for breakfast." You know what? Heh. I don't think so.
Try jumping out of a Boeing 727 jet at 175 mph sometime (as I have), and then tell me your new opinion. Try a high altitude jump where you have to suck oxygen, but then get over a 2 minute freefall. try head down skydiving where you reach speeds over 200 mph, and if you don't flair in time to pull at terminal velocity, you will probably kill yourself when your chute opens. Try jumping off an antenna, a cliff or a building. What I love about skydiving is you have to save your life everytime you do it! Unfortunately, I have personally witnessed three people fail to save their lives. I also presume that you were on a tandem jump where you had an expert to wipe your nose, and take care of you. Try it when you have the reponsibility to properly open the chute and land without pranging yourself! Different ballgame then.
Let's see, I have had some high speed runs down incredible grades and I have 659 skydives and about 12 hours and 40 minutes of freefall time. I vote for the skydiving!