Triple-Play Day with
Bicycle, Kayak and Hangglider
Pedal, Paddle, Glide!
The
weekend was forecast to bring lots of sun and fun to South Florida. On this day
race horse “Big Brown” was highly favored to win the legendary Triple Crown in
Belmont. No horse has done this in the last 30 years since Affirmed won in
1978. And Big Brown didn’t either. But we went for a Triple Play of our own.
Saturday,
June 7, 2008
We
get up early as usual around 6:30am for our typical weekend tandem bicycle ride
up to Hobe Sound. We leave around 7:30am.
After
½ hr we reach the Jupiter Inlet, here crossing over the bridge to get back on
A1A and to Jupiter Island. For a detailed track log of this route, check my report on
the TrackStick from June 2007. It’s a great ride this morning, albeit
already very warm with temperatures in the mid eighties.
This
picture was taken while crossing the Intracoastal bridge in Hobe Sound aroudn
8:30am. Little did I know at this moment that I would be back here some 11
hours later (and almost 3000 ft higher…)
We
reach the Bagel shop and stop for coffee and bagels.
We
enjoy a leisure time here at the coffee shop and linger for about 1 hour. The
ride back is similar to the one coming up with the wind blowing from the East,
so side-ways both times.
We
cross the Jupiter Inlet bridge around 10:00am. On Donald Ross road we go West and
reach our top speed with the East tail wind going down the IntraCoastal bridge
at about 32 mph (52 km/h). We are soon back in Palm Beach Gardens at 10:30am.
Usually
we shower after our morning ride to wash off the sweat. Not so today! Why?
Well, we decide to paddle at the near MacArthur State Park. After all, Jill had
bought me some brandnew Kevlar paddles just like the ones she has owned for two
years now. Besides, high tide is around noon, so we hope to rent some kayaks there
(free with our annual membership as friends of John MacArthur State Park). This
makes it a lot easier as you don’t have to load kayaks on the car; instead you
take the paddles apart, fit them in the trunk and ride the 10 minutes to the
State Park to arrive in style:
We
find out that all single kayaks are already rented, so we need to go with a
tandem. Unlike on the bike we prefer singles when it comes to kayaking. Double
kayaks are heavier and slower than singles.
We
take our usual route out under the A1A bridge and around Munyon Island. This is
an interesting paddle as initially you’re still close to the road and the high-rise
condos of Singer Island, but later you’re inside a bird sanctuary in the middle
of Munyon Island.
There
is also an opportunity to drag your kayak on a sandy beach and pretend you’re
in the middle of nowhere and got away from it all.
I
go for a quarter mile swim while Jill moves along in the double.
Soon
we are back at the ranger station and return our kayak at 1:15pm. The sun is
nearly vertical and the heat is very intense.
We
get home and take the now well deserved shower. The next 2 hours are spent
inside the cool of our home. But the day is far from over. I decide to give
hanggliding a try again today for the first time in more than a year. After
having had little luck and poor or no flights due to engine problems and lack
of take-off fields I spend one hot hour to sort all my equipment and load it on
my car once again. At 4:30pm we’re ready to leave.
First
we stop at the Downtown by the Gardens mall for a Starbucks Frappucino to stay cool,
hydrated and caffeinated. Then we part for Jill to do some shopping and me to
get some gas for my motor-powered harness engine and then head North to the Hobe
Sound area. There are some open roads and fields which can serve as take-off
and landing strips given the right wind direction (from East). I start setting
up my glider at around 6:00pm.
It
takes a few minutes of fiddling and coaxing my Gocart racing motor on my
Airtime Explorer harness into operation. After more than 1 year all the fuel in
the engine and carburator had been evaporated and I need to pump it back in.
Also this would be easier to do with a helper, as you need to hold the glider, get
into the harness, untie the glider, walk into the wind, then kickstart the
engine, and control the throttle with a mouth-piece. It takes quite some effort
(and sweat) to get everything ready. But the conditions are perfect: A steady wind
from the East at 10mph (15 km/h) allows me to launch straight down the road –
it takes only 2-3 steps and I have lift off J
After
a few minutes of slowly climbing out I get the camera at 500ft (150m) and look
back at the launch site (my car in the center next to the road).
I
catch a light thermal and circle it up, thus helping the small engine to lift
me faster to about 1500ft (500m). From here the view gets much better and I can
see both the Turnpike and I95 intersection below as well as the beach to the
East.
It
is 7:00pm and I need to head East into the wind if I want to get to the beach
and back in time before sunset (around 8:15pm). The wind is NE with around
20mph+ (30km/h) up here, so I need to fly fast to penetrate into the wind. Even
though I fly at 35-40mph (60km/h) the GPS often only registers ground speed of
meager 15mph (25km/h). With that it takes a while to get closer to Hobe Sound.
But I enjoy this time flying above 2000 ft and taking in the view in the mellow
evening light. After ½ hr I am practically on top of the plaza with the Bagel
shop we had breakfast this morning and look down East towards the IntraCoastal
and the beach. What a view!
I
fly over the bridge over the IntraCoastal which we had crossed at 8:30am in the
morning. Shortly thereafter I reach the parking at Hobe Sound beach. I always
wanted to fly here after having paused here during so many bike rides. Even
after having lived for 12+ years in Florida this is the first time I am flying my
hangglider on the Atlantic Ocean.
Looking
East there is nothing but the endless blue of the Atlantic. The view to the
South reveals the IntraCoastal waterway and A1A as well as the Golf Courses and
luxurious homes of Jupiter Island, one of the most expensive real estate areas anywhere
in the world.
The
view to the North shows the Stuart Inlet and Hutchinson Island. This reminds me
of some of the previous rides with Jill as well as the recent deep water
fishing trip with my son Philip. Should also be fine kayaking territory up
there…
After
1 hour of flight my gas tank is near empty and I need to head back to the
landing site before I run out of gas and daylight. However, with the East wind
pushing me I can fly at slow airspeed but good ground speed and still climb –
as can be seen from the flight log (altitude, climb rate, air speed):
After
only 15 minutes I’m back near the landing site and can relax. I play with the
camera and the last evening sun.
I
turn off the engine with only a few drops of fuel left in the tank. I enjoy the
silence after more than 1 hr of gocart racing engine hardly muffled behind my
feet. This quiet, unpowered flight is one of the reasons I was attracted to
hanggliding in the first place. Close to mother nature, playing with the sun
and the wind…
I
need to focus on the landing now. Not having done this in 15 months makes me a
bit rusty. Luckily there is no traffic so I can set up to land perfectly beside
the road. I only need to walk a few yards and am back at the car. It is 8:00pm.
I
realize the sun is about to set in the next few minutes. No time to waste now
as it will take 20-30 mins to break down the glider plus harness and there will
be very little daylight left.
After
disassembling all gear and the glider I need to get my windsock from the fence
across the street. It is 8:30pm when I take this last picture, 13 hours after we
had left home for the morning bike ride.
I
call home to let Jill know about the successful conclusion of Part 3 of today’s
Triple Play. 20 minutes later I’m back home, starting the long process of unloading
and storing the gear as well as loading all pictures, flight log and GPS
tracklog to the computer…