Just back from my 2nd day of training on how to pull a wheelie, at the Jimmy Fireblade Wheelie School. First off this is taking longer to type than normal as my arms and particularly my left wrist are hurting very muchly :-( This isn't due to the front wheel coming down to hard, although that did happen on occassions but more due to the constant use of the clutch for 6 hours. Pulling it in, flicking it out, pull in, flick it out, in, out, doing that for any considerable amount of time, certainly takes it's toll on the tendons in the wrists and arms. Ouch!
Other than that the day went really well and I can now consistantly lift the front end pretty much at will. The other guys that were there were great and we all got on and encouraged each other. The weather stayed fine all day but it did get hot out on the airfield in our leathers, as we were only moving along at 50mph tops all day.
I have certainly improved from day one and my confidence is a lot higher and I feel more comfortable on the bike with the front wheel in the air. I now need to concentrate on being able to change the gear while the front wheel is up! It is only 2 weeks until I attempt to travel as far as I can on the back wheel and I would like to do 25 meters or more. I am going back to see Jimmy next week for a little further tuition on my own bike and will be getting in as much practice as I can, between now and the 7th September.
To Sponsor Me Per Meter Click Here State the amount you would like to sponsor (per meter) and I will then contact you after the event to let you know how well I did and give you the link to make your payment. Thank You.
That's it for now as I really can't type much more. Look forward to hearing from you and I will post another video shortly.
On Friday 7th August, 16 anxious looking, first-time skydivers arrived at Old Buckenham Airfield near Attleborough in Norfolk. The Briefing was scheduled for 9am and with the sky very overcast, there were rumours that the dive may not go ahead. This brought a short lived look of relief to some of the faces. Following the brief, we were then told to be back at the 'take off' point in an hour. This gave us chance to descend on the cafeteria for a calming cup of tea. At 10.30am and with the sky clearing, we were divided into 4 loads. The loads consisted of the divers, their instructors and the cameramen. The first load boarded the aircraft and as the rest of us looked on in anticipation, it took off up into the sky. The climb to 10000ft takes approximately 20 minutes, at which point we heard the first parachutes opening above the clouds. There was a cheer and some light release of anxiousness, as the first divers came gliding through the blanket of cloud, landing safely back on the ground. As they walked from the 'drop zone' towards their family and friends , the smile on their faces said it all. There were words like 'amazing', 'woohoo', and 'I want to do it again'. This certainly eased the nerves of those still waiting to jump.
Then I heard my name called. I got myself into a jump suit and was then strapped very tightly into a harness. 14 people then squeezed themselves into the light aircraft ready for the ascent. My instructor gave me another briefing on the way up and I could now feel my heart pumping. The view between the clearing white clouds over the Norfolk countryside was fantastic and helped take my mind off the inevitable for a short while. The door of the plane was opened and my camerman was now hanging out of it ready to film. My instructor and I now moved toward the door. Oh no, this was it, I was about to jump out of a perfectly working aeroplane. 1 2 3 GO.... 'Waahoo', I had now left a perfectly working plane and was falling though the sky at around 140mph. The sound and the feeling of the wind rushing past was phenomenal. The cameraman was in front of me , so I gave him the thumbs up and a wave. And then, wooosh, he disappeared beneath us and all went still and silent, as the parachute opened above us. It was at this point I remembered I was frightened of heights and there I was hanging around at 5000ft, with everything below looking so small and insignificant. It was so peaceful and calm gliding back towards earth. As we got closer I waved to my family who looked ecstatic to see me land safelyin the drop zone, just as I was. Skydiving is the most craziest, extreme experience ever, going from the noise and rush of falling at such speed to the calmness and serenity of floating along with the clouds.
The staff, instructors and cameramen at UK Parachuting were very friendly and helpful, although slightly mad. I suppose in this sport that helps. The whole day was a huge success with photos being regularly broadcast on twitter. Everyone enjoyed it and not forgetting it was all for 4 great causes. I would like to give a massive thank you to all the skydivers -
Jas Sandhu, Jon Wells, Daz Shaw, Ricky Aspinal, Rob Daubney, Annie Gates, Dave Orrey, Jordan Kingsley, Bob Robinson, Rebecca Robertson, Howard Edwards, Maggie MacDonald, Prash Patel, Andy Kitching and Paul Garrigan.
as without them we wouldn't have raised over £3500 for the charities. Also a big thank you to all those that sponsored them and everyone else that has donated so far.
THANK YOU
This was the first of the 3 dangerous events I am attempting to pull off, to raise a total of £10,000. 1 down 2 to go and over a 3rd of the way there to raising the the full amount.
You can make a donation Right Now by clicking on the button below
There was one slight hitch on the day and that was the twitter updates. For some reason the pictures were broadcast but the twitter comments were not. This was a shame as those following on twitter would have had more information as to what was happening had these gone live as well.
There will be a video of the day available to watch later in the week, as long as the editing goes to plan. I would like to also thank Mark Wells of Logic Video for filming the happenings on the ground.
So that's that out the way, Phew! Check back at the end of the week and the video should be live.
We'll have pictures and comment updates throughout the day. See the skydivers as they land back on earth and find out how they're feeling! Are their heads still in the clouds?
Click Here To Check In With What's Happening...
If you haven't got a twitter account you can sign up for FREE by clicking on the logo. Once you're signed up, just click to follow me.
Here is the FINAL video before we all take the leap into the unknown on Friday!! Excited - Yes, Scared - Yes, Clean Underpants - so far, Yes! Find out more about the 4th Charity the WCS and get to know who the final team of skydivers are...
Please tune in again soon as I will be posting the video of the Skydive and you'll see the reactions of the skydivers as they land back on earth.
I hope you find it informative, entertaining, funny and above all see that we can all make a BIG difference just by giving a Little. Click here to read my very first post which explains everything!
I'm very happily married to Julie and I have 3 wonderful children. I run my own property solutions business. I love keeping fit by running, cycling, swimming, gym and have competed in Triathlons for mthe first time this year (2011)
In Aid of
