Our last big adventure before heading to Vancouver to veg out for a few days was hang gliding lessons. Sounds intense, right?! As we made our way up the rest of the Oregon coast, I kept mentally preparing myself to be soaring over mountains! But actually, we ended up just running down a small sand hill on the beach with a hang glider harnessed to our backs. Although, the hill didn't seem so small after we had to haul ourselves and the glider back up several times. Most of you guys know about my aversion to stairs. This was brutal! We found these hang gliding lessons on accident. We picked out a simple airbnb to crash at for the night and John, our host, happened to be a hang gliding instructor! He offered discounted lessons to his airbnb guests. Mitch and I just couldn't say no.
We started off the day with a presentation learning the physics and history behind hang gliding. John was clearly passionate about building and supporting the hang gliding community. There was of course, a huge emphasis on safety. It takes on average 14 hang gliding lessons to really solidify your skills as a hang glider. I naively didn't understand that this not something you can just pick up and do right away. And after the initial lessons, I totally get that this is something that requires commitment and dedication. You don't just casually hang glide :) I have even more respect for the folks that do it now. Also, mad props to Mitch for catching these awesome action shots on his point and shoot!
We started off the day with a presentation learning the physics and history behind hang gliding. John was clearly passionate about building and supporting the hang gliding community. There was of course, a huge emphasis on safety. It takes on average 14 hang gliding lessons to really solidify your skills as a hang glider. I naively didn't understand that this not something you can just pick up and do right away. And after the initial lessons, I totally get that this is something that requires commitment and dedication. You don't just casually hang glide :) I have even more respect for the folks that do it now. Also, mad props to Mitch for catching these awesome action shots on his point and shoot!
Setting up the glider was half the fun. It was quite similar to pitching a tent. I couldn't help but think of how serious one should take setting up their hang glider. If you were preparing to take this thing off a cliff with you, you absolutely need to be careful and mindful while putting it together. Not gonna lie, I don't do safety checks before getting on a motorcycle or getting into my car like I probably should, but you can bet all of your bananas I'd be safety checking the shit out of my hang glider before I jump off a mountain with it.
Mitch and I were absolutely exhausted at the end of our lesson. And to be honest, I don't think either of us will be pursuing a career in hang gliding. However, it was a pretty unique experience and I'm glad I can add it to the list of crazy things I've tried. If you'd like to try yourself, John was pretty awesome and runs the Oregon Hang Gliding School out of his own home. Phew! Mitch and I have agreed that our next vacation should include more lazy activities :)
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