I ended up 2nd in Sport class. For my first time flying this league, I was pretty pleased with this result!
I had thought there might be a chance I could win Sport Class this year, but Russ Detwiler flew more consistently than me, no question. I spent time chilling with Russ while camping at the Owens Valley. He is such a humble, considered, thoughtful person that it was a privilege to spend that time with him.
So what was the learning, the highlights, and where is my flying going?
- My first year flying around the amazing sites here in Southern California didn't disappoint
- Every day I drove the hour from my home in Vista to San Bernadino to fly at Marshall, it was flyable! That's nearly unbeatable consistency for a flying site anywhere in the world
- The SoCal league was the perfect way to get to know local pilots and make great new friends. I had wonderful shared flying and non flying experiences with Aaron Price, Jai Pal Khalsa, Tavis Gustafson, Russ Detwiler, Joe Popper, Dimitri Soloviev, Angela Abota, Steve Rohrbough and Doug Poirier.
- My 'after work soaring' sessions at Torrey Pines were a delight, and represent a type of relaxed flying in a scenic location that for me epitomizes what is special about paragliding. For me paragliding doesn't always have to be the big cross country flying or competitions. Torrey is a unique place, where easy cruising over the ocean is a constant scenic parade, of multi-million dollar mansions, dolphins, surfers, nudists, perverts and pelicans...
- Won my first paragliding race - admittedly one of the shorter SoCal league events, but still a significant milestone!
- My first and only flight at Elsinore resulted in one of the most epic flights of my flying career, with climbs to 13,000 ft and an distance of 77km.
- My increased flying consistency resulted in placing 15th in the Rat Race Sport Class. The Rat Race is the most well attended race in the US paragliding calender.
- My overall US paragliding competition ranking was 64th
- Next year I will go to the 2015 US Nationals in Utah, perhaps getting a new glider before then, as the SoCal dust is certainly making my 2010 Delta start to look well used.
- My tolerance and knowledge of the strong midday SoCal air went up, making me a better safer pilot.
- I only had one major collapse incident this year, no bad landings and very few aborted launches
- In the Rat Race, we had strong windy conditions on many days, with ample opportunity to test every flying skill I had, from blasting downwind in the Medford valley, sniffing out thermals deep in wooded valleys, and landing next to Vineyards!
- I logged 75 flights since July 2013 when I moved from Michigan - more than three times the amount of flying I did in the whole previous five years! 34 flights were over an hour duration, and three flights were over three hours.
- I loved doing the writing for this blog, and will shortly pass 25,000 hits since I started some years ago. I take that as confirmation that I should keep sharing my love for this sport!
New friends and happy times. Thanks to Nicole Boggs for this wonderful photo!