Paragliding
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Feeding Your Fire: Nutrition for Training, Competition, and Adventure
Featured photo: Bob riding the world famous Slick Rock Bike Trail, Moab, Utah. The heat from the rising sun activates the sweat glands on the back of my neck; drops of sweat snake down the center of my back. It is 6 am on a clear June morning. The deep blue sky outlines the desert…
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Solo
Photo: Chillin’ on the summit of the South Teton 12, 519 feet with a view of the Grand Teton, Wyoming, July 2019. I stepped onto the steep snowfield, beginning a traverse to the Northwest Couloir and my goal: the summit of the South Teton. The bright, early morning sun of July 16, 2019 had touched…
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A Gift
Photo: cloud-base at 8000 feet msl, June 2, 2019 The soaring forecast was marginal, the day…exceptional. My favorite gifts are unexpected. Though receiving such a gift can be uncomfortable. Yesterday’s paragliding flight was unexpected, at times uncomfortable, but most certainly, a gift. The sky was hazy, tainted by smoke from Canadian wildfires in Manitoba. The…
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Commitment: The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself
Photo: Looking down at the Wacouta Launch, Frontenac, Minnesota Facing my paraglider on the ground, I step back and pull up my wing which catches the wind flowing over my back. The cells fill with air and it shoots above my head. Ten feet from the edge of the bluff and 400 feet above the…
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Destination Unknown: Cross Country Paragliding
Photo: altitude 7518 feet; ground speed 29 mph; glide ratio 40.6 Cross country flying is always an adventure. It’s the uncertainty, and questions in your mind. Is it safe to fly? How far, long, and high will you fly? Where will you land? How will you get back to your car? All questions are answered in…
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Chasing Ghosts: Hang Gliding and Paragliding Magazine, January 2018
It is June 26th, 2017, six days after the summer solstice. Thad Spencer and I are chasing ghosts across Southern Minnesota. The ghosts are of course, thermals, stepping stones for cross country pilots travelling down a river of air. Thad is my mentor. Flying paragliders since 2002, he is an excellent cross country pilot and…