jumping....
/me is crazy. crazy, i tell you! :-D
yesterday we went to jump off a bridge. literally. and it was ~120m high (400 ft), highest bridge in bulgaria.
still alive, though.
i am still having troubles believing it... it has only been what, 17-18 hours ;)
so....
first, there is the really scary part where you look from the bridge at other maniacs jumping. really scary. from above, it looks like they almost touch the ground at the lowest point.
then, there is the really-not-as-scary-as-it-should-be part where you are standing on the bridge railing, and you have to jump.
then there is the jump. i'd imagine objectively it only last for a couple several seconds until the first pull of the rope, and about half of that it's really exhilarating. then it seems like it has been way too long, and that something is wrong, and it's never going to stop you, and DAMMIT WHY IS THIS ROPE NOT DOING WHAT IT SHOULD BE DOING ALREADY??? this is when i screamed. i don't really remember being afraid, but i felt like letting something out :)
several bounces up and down, hanging by the feet, then there is the securing rope that they will use to pull you up. catching it isn't exactly easy, but eventually happens, tie yourself, give the sign, feel it tightening, get pulled up a few feet. then stay there. and hang. and hang.... and hang...... AND HANG! you don't hear anything, you don't really see anything (short of beautiful scenery upside down, and the occasional top of someone's head showing from the bridge above, at least showing they didn't forget you entirely). feet go completely dead after a while, as you hang by them, and they were bound pretty tight as it was. still no sign of you going anywhere. hey, did you just move a couple inches up? no, not really, everything is at the same place, just a little wind moving you sideways. still hanging... the sun in your eyes... a little bounce again... what the heck is up up there? getting a little nauseous already. still no sign of anything good or bad happening. i should be able to make it. look this way, look that way. there is now a car stopped on the road below, tiny people out looking up.
after about a million years, the rope tightens again, and the pulling up starts. finally after a while, head is above feet. the prickling starts as blood tries to find its way there again. eventually, go back on bridge. can't stand. find out that the friggin' gas in the friggin' winch ran out, and they had no extra stored anywhere, and you can't really take any from a car, and good thing there were a couple guys with motorcycles out there, willing to donate some fuel...
going back on the highway, average speed was approximately 30km/h (~20mph) faster than going out. for some reason. hardly noticed, too.
just my luck. it was a really beautiful and good day otherwise, too :)
feet still not quite okay today either, but they'll be fine. and the muscle pain will go away too. but the memories? who knows. i am definitely not doing this again this year. perhaps the next one too.
[edit] due to popular demand, i managed to figure out how much time i hanged there, upside-down (by the time-stamp on pictures i can't post yet). it was somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes; i jumped at 4:25, 4:26 i was already tied to the second rope, and the first picture when i am getting pulled already and my head is above my feet is at 4:38. i still say it was closer to a million years, though.
yesterday we went to jump off a bridge. literally. and it was ~120m high (400 ft), highest bridge in bulgaria.
still alive, though.
i am still having troubles believing it... it has only been what, 17-18 hours ;)
so....
first, there is the really scary part where you look from the bridge at other maniacs jumping. really scary. from above, it looks like they almost touch the ground at the lowest point.
then, there is the really-not-as-scary-as-it-should-be part where you are standing on the bridge railing, and you have to jump.
then there is the jump. i'd imagine objectively it only last for a couple several seconds until the first pull of the rope, and about half of that it's really exhilarating. then it seems like it has been way too long, and that something is wrong, and it's never going to stop you, and DAMMIT WHY IS THIS ROPE NOT DOING WHAT IT SHOULD BE DOING ALREADY??? this is when i screamed. i don't really remember being afraid, but i felt like letting something out :)
several bounces up and down, hanging by the feet, then there is the securing rope that they will use to pull you up. catching it isn't exactly easy, but eventually happens, tie yourself, give the sign, feel it tightening, get pulled up a few feet. then stay there. and hang. and hang.... and hang...... AND HANG! you don't hear anything, you don't really see anything (short of beautiful scenery upside down, and the occasional top of someone's head showing from the bridge above, at least showing they didn't forget you entirely). feet go completely dead after a while, as you hang by them, and they were bound pretty tight as it was. still no sign of you going anywhere. hey, did you just move a couple inches up? no, not really, everything is at the same place, just a little wind moving you sideways. still hanging... the sun in your eyes... a little bounce again... what the heck is up up there? getting a little nauseous already. still no sign of anything good or bad happening. i should be able to make it. look this way, look that way. there is now a car stopped on the road below, tiny people out looking up.
after about a million years, the rope tightens again, and the pulling up starts. finally after a while, head is above feet. the prickling starts as blood tries to find its way there again. eventually, go back on bridge. can't stand. find out that the friggin' gas in the friggin' winch ran out, and they had no extra stored anywhere, and you can't really take any from a car, and good thing there were a couple guys with motorcycles out there, willing to donate some fuel...
going back on the highway, average speed was approximately 30km/h (~20mph) faster than going out. for some reason. hardly noticed, too.
just my luck. it was a really beautiful and good day otherwise, too :)
feet still not quite okay today either, but they'll be fine. and the muscle pain will go away too. but the memories? who knows. i am definitely not doing this again this year. perhaps the next one too.
[edit] due to popular demand, i managed to figure out how much time i hanged there, upside-down (by the time-stamp on pictures i can't post yet). it was somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes; i jumped at 4:25, 4:26 i was already tied to the second rope, and the first picture when i am getting pulled already and my head is above my feet is at 4:38. i still say it was closer to a million years, though.