Adventures
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Its been a few years since I wrote my last adventure blog. After breaking my arm back in 2007, I had to take few years off rehabing my elbow. Some times you have to travel a few side roads to find your next life adventure.
And here it is!! Free Diving in the Cayman Islands, Deja Blue II event.
Back in Dec of 2009 I took a beginner/intermediate freediving course in Kona Hawaii with International instructors Kirk Kracken and Mandy-Rae Cruickshank. Learning all the safety and performance techniques in the art and human performance of the sport Freediving. The sport competes in many disciplines the 3 main being Static Breath hold (Time), Dynamic (Lateral distance), and Constant Ballast (Depth with Finns).. To learn more about freediving and The Deja Blue competition go to www.performancefreediving.com
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Personal best so far
Static Breath Hold - 7min 27 sec (Canadian Record)(May 4th, Deja Blue II 2011, Grand Cayman)
Dynamic - 68 m (Feb 2011, Vancouver competition)
Free Immersion(depth pulling down a line) - 40m (131ft), (Deja Blue II 2011, Grand Cayman)
Stay tuned for a full adventure update
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March 2009 I did a solo adventure trip to Baja California, Mexico.. While the trip was full of great weather, adventure and good people, the highlight for sure was the half day I spent at the Open Wide Baja 1000 training track. As much as I do enjoy the basic outdoors for its beauty, I am an adrenaline junky and couldn't resist the opportunity to experience the rush of a $100,000 Baja1000 dune buggy..
About 1 hour north of Cabo San Lucas is a 2.2 mile track with 10ft high sand berms, dust filled straights, and jumps that launch you through the air at over 60mph, all in a full-on off road Baja 1000 buggy. And you're driving it.. Originally though, I thought I would just be a passenger, because of my paralysis and my crazy feet.. But the instructors were keen on seeing if I could work the clutch, brake and throttle despite my limited control.. Which for those that don't know, I have no feeling or movement in my lower legs.
The instruction from them was simple and straight forward indeed, just fumble your way to third gear and let it rip from there. Ninety percent of the course is raced in third anyway.. Obviously, they weren't quiet aware of my need for speed when given the right opportunity and the mess I could make with my feet if they were to miss or get stuck in the pedals.. ..Never the less, a sly smile went across my face, and I said "okay I'm in, lets do it". Heck I am wearing a helmet and the Buggies have good roll bars on them. . So the ole travel adage and my personal motto when traveling "Where ever you go, there you are"..kicked in, after all I was in Baja Mexico.
After a few nervous moments thinking about the last time I injured myself, I geared up, got in the drivers seat, strapped in the four point harness, waited for the green flag, and pinned it. Awkwardly fumbling my way to 3rd gear I got the machine up to 60mph and ripped the course from there, bouncing around, burning through turns and major air time across the jumps, with my feet flying off the pedals missing the brake every once and awhile making it that much more interesting!. . Seven laps of adrenaline, each lap gaining confidence as I dreamed of what it would be like to really be in the Baja 1000 race.. Of course I'm a long way from that possibility but I did do pretty good for a guy who had to reach down with one hand to hold his foot on the throttle, the other hand on the stearing wheel hanging on for dear life, while blasting through the sand berms sideways,..Sand & dust flying every where.. Truly awesome .
Where ever you go, there you are. Holds true to yet another Baja trip..
Thank you Wide Open for letting an adrenaline junky, who can´t control his feet, jump into a full on off road buggy and rip it!!!!. Looking forward to coming back for the 7 day Tijuana to Cabo drive..
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After suffering a broken and dislocated elbow, last November, from my mountain biking crash, I have had to put the kiteboarding aside. The surgery went well, so now I am rehabing the elbow and looking forward to getting back on the water.
Skypilot instructor Richard gives me some input on my trial flight.
Kelly flying kite while Richard gives instruction. Photo courtesy: Ed Dubois
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Mountain biking down the back side of Haleakala Crater in Maui.
Quotes from Vancouver Sun Paper, after racing in 2009 Vancouver Sun Run 10k
“I decided to go back to strapping my feet into a mountain bike — full suspension, downhill bike,” says Smith, who was paralyzed in a 1991 rock climbing accident. “Got to the top of the hill at [an altitude of] 10,000 feet. Got clipped in, strapped in, and they gave me a push. We were going from 10,000 feet to 3,000 feet on a straight downhill dirt trail with switchbacks. I was having a blast.
“Halfway down, got a little too confident and cocky — I had whipped by everybody going ‘YEAAHHH! I got it’ — and next turn, I crashed and go over the handlebars. I go ‘Guys, I might have hurt myself.’”
He fractured two bones in his right elbow, though he didn’t know that at the time.
“I said ‘Look, we’re not getting medivac-ed out of here.’ They put a stick and a spare rubber tire around my elbow just to support it. I got back on the bike, rode the rest of the way down, taken to hospital and put in a sling cast. Then we go to a pub the next day and this guy comes up to me and goes ‘You’re the dude! You’re the dude!’ I’m like ‘What are you talking about.’ He’s like ‘I heard all about you, the crazy paralyzed guy who went mountainbiking down Haleakala Crater, broke his arm, got back on the bike and kept riding. You’re awesome!’
“So, if you’re going to hurt yourself, you might as well create a legacy, eh.”
Unfortunately for Smith, the fractures didn’t set properly — “the first doctor told me things would be fine” — and it wasn’t until he saw Vancouver Canuck doctors Bill Regan and Mike Wilkinson that he got proper care. “Those guys took care of me.” Even so, he couldn’t get in for surgery until August 2008.
