Orienteering race 1:50:00 [3] *** 11.2 km (9:49 / km) +505m 8:01 / km
spiked:18/20c shoes: VJ Falcons #1
A really excellent race. Moving pretty well, and navigating very well. There is the slight detail that I made a clerical error and neglected to go to #9, so I was DSQ, but I'm not going to let a little detail like that interfere with that fact that I had a great run. For details, see my split comments.
Hang gliding! (The Pulpit) 1 [0]
shoes: Wal*Mart Carson
McConnellsburg, PA, with Clint helping out on driving duties (pretty slick site, with automobile access at launch and at landing). Got there in time for a late afternoon flight, and it was blowing fairly hard when we arrived, but by the time I got my glider set up it had abated, and I'm told that just after I launched, the wind died completely and the streamers went limp. I managed to scratch along the ridge in zero-sink conditions for about 10 minutes, then had a three-minute glide down to the LZ, where I did a remarkably poor job of setting up my landing, resulting in some excitement for the spectators when it looked like I might do something really unfortunate, since I was running out of room. There were several ways I could have handled the situation, and the one I came up with (flare high and hold it) was pretty inelegant, but it got me on the ground in one piece with no damage to the glider, though feeling like a dope. An educational experience, but an embarrassing way to introduce myself at a new site. No serious damage to me either; my left shoulder is a little sore, so I'll lay off the pushups and pullups for a few days to give it a rest.
Note
Received a really fine compliment after the race: I ran into Eric Weyman, and he said that he saw me in the woods, at a point when he wasn't sure where he was, and hoped that we had a common control so that his location would become obvious (which we apparently didn't). Nice to know that Eric is under the impression that I might know where I am in a place that's capable of confusing him!