Tues26…rocky
I get up early and eat…load lill suzy with wing boots water clothes and dr superflys now patented wind speed and direction assessment guage/fish catcher…I begin to calculate the takeoff equasion…wind speed over direction times height of terrain minus hours since sunrise…or is that direction over wind speed…I drive to the mountain…I study hard everthing I can think off on the way and stop a few times to check the wind…I see a couple of bombout spots but they are small and you still need to get it right…i look for a place high enough up the mountain road to spread my wing…I find something…some young passers by stop to see if what my story is…the bloodthirsty fiends ask if they can watch…no pressure then…I say they can if they are as willing to help if it all goes wrong…I have chosen a quiet observation point on the roadside about 7or 800ft(250m) up…I wander around sucking my finger and holding it up…I check the w.s.d.g.f.c…everything seems fine…still no fish but I clip in anyway…the small audience is indifferent…not much wind cos of the way the road is cut where the wing is… on the third attempt I am over the side plummeting towards the rockface below...no…actually im fine and soaring up the rockface tentatively probing the morning thermals…I scream inside and fall in love again…I begin to soar up the rockface…I go up quite easily a thousand feet or so and see if I can come down again…I can so I stop feeling quite so nervous and begin to enjoy the flight and climb again…it gets rougher the higher you get and I suspect the influence of a light west wind over the top I saw on a weather report online…I fly on till about 1.00 and although nothing is really making my spider sense tingle there are big sink areas as well as lift…I decide not to push my luck any more and effect a safe landing on the roadside after an hour or so in the bumpy thermic conditions…and so ends my first owens valley flight…nothing epic but lots of fun and at least for me a cool challenge which is why i came

Monday 25…approaching
Hmmm… much weather nicer this morning… however I cant get a signal anywhere on my phone…the local flying guru kari castle has a website that’s down so I cant email her…there is no answer on the number I have for her…there are no pilots around…I decide to spend the day watching the weather…its really quite nice now but I am only too aware how quick conditions can change in the mountains…I decide on the advise of one of my temporary neighbours to go fishing…this I reason will give me a chance for an extended site and weather survey…I go into town…lone pine has a real western look…the type of place that only has one set of traffic lights and a 25mph speed limit nobody breaks…where im sure where everybody is on first name terms with the sherrif and ill bet somewhere close by the same guy pumps gas runs the post office and delivers calves.. .from the same store…still no phone signal…I buy a fishing rod and a roll of ribbon…who says men cant multitask…I drive up whitney portal road which leads to arguably the highest point in the us…I think it would be cool to see how many continents I can fly off or over the highest point of before I die…heres a start…I see a couple of potential take off s on switchbacks and overtaking points on the road up…I stop a few places and check the wind with my newly invented multipurpose wind speed direction gague/fish catcher…nicely up the hill…but no fish…hmmm…I look at the position of the sun…on the slope…hmmm…there a some very high clouds again but not as crisp defined and tall as yesterday…I go to a small pond at the top of the mountain and make like a gnome with the other gnomes…the water is crystal clear and we can see every fish in there…and they of course can see us …unsurprisingly none of them decide to ram my hook through their lip on the off chance of a dead worm and elect to stay out of the sun in the cool water drinking beers and laughing at me today…come back tomorrow they call…well see what we can do they giggle…on the way down this side of the mountain is now in shade and the wind has done a 180…hmm…better make it a morning flight…chill…zzz

Sun24…do not approach
I wake early…its not that hot yet…I explore death valley a little…its actually quite hospitable with a free public pool and a general store and compared to what you might think quite popular…I get the t- shirt…the settlements here have names like see furnace creek and stovepipe wells...by midday I am simmering gently in the pool…its like a hot tub…death valley is 280ft(80m)or so below sea level and as the weather watchers amongst you will know hi pressure hot air sinks…and at this depth it can get higher and hotter than anywhere else on earth…some of you know me well enough to know I love it hot and even when not in the pool im not that uncomfortable here…neither however did the French endurance runner who came here some time ago to run across the valley floor…he took a wrong turn…a death sentence out here …it took the rangers a while to find his body… the sun had a week to dry it out and he weighed 15pounds…I head out after lunch…don’t want to get caught in rush hour traffic….the desert has dozens of different types of terrain that’s morphs itself around me as I munch the miles…owens valley is my next stop which is next to death valley…owens is a world famous site and many records have been set there…it has a fearsome reputation…to say it can be strong in owens is like saying the germans overstayed their welcome on their french holiday in 1939…its still august and I have been repeatedly warned nobody flies paragliders there till september cos its too strong… it has been known to snap hangliders in two…its about 4.30pm…as I clear the death valley terrain some of the biggest sickest stupid bare jagged gnarly rock ive ever seen comes over the horizon…and I my friends have seen rock…I descend into owens…the sky is a beautiful clear blue but a ferocious late afternoon valley wind is bending the trees and gusting to about 45 miles an hour(27m/s)…there is what i think looks like cumulous converegence cloud way over the peaks at about 17/18000ft (5500m) and im starting to wish I had my mum with me…its dark when I find a spot in a place called lone pine to park…I can hear the wind whistling and shaking the trees outside as I go to bed…I curl up in a ball with teddy and suck my thumb… http://everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=4844

sat23… why rush?
Just for a change it looks flyable so deer creek it is…I am supposed to be starting my journey up the west coast today but why waste a flyable day driving when I can drive at night…it gets windy….its really cool though…we fly for 2 hours in an ideal wind direction for a cliff run down the coast but we spend so much time soaring around the creek by the time we push down the coast its too windy…we land at the lower take off and decide if I can get back off they will follow as I have the fastest wing…see what happened for yourself here… http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fSJpHryPu3Q …leave deer creek for the last time… back to vics …start up the rv and head out of town…as he watches me drive away im sure he must feel like one of his kids has left home…I intend to head to new York via the west coast mountains to ship it to the uk… then to drive across Europe and asia to find the best paragliding in the world or die trying…the first leg is a 250 mile drive to death valley…I camp there late that night and wonder how hot the hottest place in the world really is…crash

fri 22…fond farewell
wake up… brekky… chill …feed rv…go to vics…he has some rv related paperwork for me…he really has been a huge help to me since the time I arrived and we have enjoyed each others company immensely…though im sure id have got what I wanted without him hes made my beginnings infinitely easier…I am hugely indebted to him…any time you want to collect let me know my friend…we decide there is no need for me to leave this evening and drive to deer creek…we get stoned on the way and talk amongst other things about angels and aliens…we agree if one can exists so can the other and if they do they are probably even the same thing…some of you will relate to this better than others…we stop for a munch…some of you will also relate to this… we have a cool couple of flights for a little less than an hour …it’s a little weak but thermic… heres what goes on at deer creek every day...http://www.livevideo.com/media/playvideo_fs.aspx?fs=1&cid=C111348A0B114FF5BF2AF6565C7140F2 go for a Barbie at his… crash

Thurs 21…north by norh east
Breky…as much as ive loved it here I must bounce north soon but decide to get a quick couple in before I go…wild stallions once again kick the stable door down and launch me into the stratosphere…its even stronger at times… the microclimate is on an upward trend I think…carefull…I don’t fly for as long today as days like yesterday tend to get it out of my system for 48hrs or so but still loads of fun but with an even bigger collapse… I actually loose another life when both sides of my wing deflate at once 40/20% in an area of the mountain well known for rough times by some as the crumple zone…I don’t exactly see my life flash but…definetly wondered which way to weight shift first…packing up on launch joe arrives and I agree to drive him up if he flies to the landing field…we chill out for a while when we arrive back on launch…I bid him adieu et bon chance and leave elsinore…I recommend it to anyone who likes to fly big air in the mornings everyday and chill in the afternoons with friendly locals but bring your pampers…I drive to Malibu canyon rv park back in whats becoming familiar territory…crash

Weds20…approach with caution
Wake up on a rv plot next to beautiful lake elsinore and go to disconnect my geny and connect up my lecky…i find a couple of spiders in the lecky box which dosent usually bother me but something about the bigger jet black one made me look twice…i call again on my sas training…I think its a black widow so i poke it with a stick to see its bright red belly…it is..i bet that’s not in the camp brochure…my first close encounter with a deadly poisonous anything…cool…I poke it again so it knows whos boss give it the middle finger and weight shift away…I decide to break my habit of leaving my boots outside the rv…they obviously like the shade and a bite from one of these will make you fall right out of your thermal …drive to the landingfield after brekky…its empty so I drive to launch and joe is there set up and ready to go…but he has no real time to fly and only came for a quick sleddy…I bid him bon chance and drive to the slightly higher launch where because of its size there is a better chance to top land…I have the mountain to myself and decide its safe to surf this beach(apocalypse now…there is no beach)once again house works and I am hoisted up for a lovely first 45 min flight 1500ft(450m)over launch and its tres thermic…I land for a rest and a drink for 15mins and the bell goes for round 2…I launch…I scratch past where the house thermal is with no joy…i scratch along the spine…I am 300ft below launch…I am going down…much disapointment…at least there was wind at marshals…I scratch some more…almost at the end of the spine i find a bump and decide I better try to work it cos going down alone with the little jeep on launch will be a real pain…after a 6 or 8 beats it breaks away giving me a small 25% collapse which I deal with easily thanks to the freex arcanes stability…this may not sound like much but I hardly ever get collapses and this thermal has snapped my head back like a rodeo bull out of the trap and im cranked over on my wingtip trying to stay in the core…never back down from a bully…as I clear takeoff height for some reason the croaky voice of master yoda before he uses the force to lift skywalkers x-wing out of the swamp are in my head…”always with you it cant be done”…I ride it up 2500ft where it slows down and gets bumpy…it then smashes through the inversion into the beautifull blue above taking me up another 1200ft…I cannot describe the feeling of elation this kind of flying gives me…better than any dope…only the love of a good woman can top it(and I do mean good)and only a free flyer would understand…its why im hooked why I go to big mountains and why I never want to go home…(well I mean…bloody croydon)I land after 45 mins or so and just sit alone on takeoff gazing over the parched flatlands with an indelible grin…I long for someone who will understand to share it with…anybody seeing me sit there alone with this expression would think I was certifiable…what can I do to top that?…oh…of course…I put my harness back on…an almost identical flight follows this time with the sea breeze marching in a while after I launch causing convergance lift all over the mountain…I now cannot miss and for an hour it goes up everywhere I fly…my adrenaline spikes and i loose it completely doing spirals wingovers and anything else I feel…I love to fly…when I eventually land the wind is blowing down the mountain and another take off is impossible but its 3.30pm…ive been there since 11am… what a day…I cant remember anything else after landing…my mind only replay the days flights…I don’t know what I ate or when I slept…simply the best…

Tues19…medium rare
Brekky…drive to launch…no paragliders are there(“its too strong”…not that old chestnut)…only hangies…its windy but I fly just to spite them…mediocre day …a bit thermic but inverted with the ceiling only 300ft over launch…spank a few wingovers and stuff which is always fun landing but decide to go back to elsinore where I had more fun and friends…arrive v.late…crash

Mon 18…high adventure
Usual start to the day with breky and stuff…less fat more fruit…be good to yourself…marshals is a well organized club /teaching site with the only irrigated grassy landing field I have seen since being stateside…it is very professionally run by the an outfit called high adventure http://www.flytandem.com/justmaps.htm and the crestline(a higher launch over the back)soaring society…they are fulltime instructors and have big site overheads borne out by the fact that almost the first words out of the proprietors mouths are their prices…this is the first place I have had to pay to fly since being stateside but with the setup here you can see why and I have no problem with it…I feel however that a long time running a full time school has taken some of the fun out of flying for them and they seem a little disintrested after they realize I am doing my own thing and they will only be getting minimal daily charges from me…because of this I make phonecalls to the e team to get directions to launch(saving $10)..which is up a small unmarked dirt track on the left about 7 miles or so from 40th st out of san bernadino up the mountain on highway 18…hard to spot so watch out if you are going there…I arrive on launch at around 1.30 at the strongest part of the day to find 3 or 4 paraglider pilots sitting waiting for a wind dummy…dummy is my middle name so I get straight off after sussing out the conditions… top land to get my new vario(thanks to andy at green dragons http://www.greendragons.co.uk/ )and fly again…its windy and inverted… this breaks up the thermals that are there quickly spoiling the fun about 200ft over the 3500ft(1000m)launch…predictably they all launch within 10 mins of my takeoff…come on guys…no guts no glory…I land early as despite the wind there is no real lift I have the skill for away from the mountain despite its size and I chill for the afternoon watching the hangies come in to land…lazy day with an exelent pollo loco(mad chicken) dinner…crash…

Sun 17…on the road
Early morn wake up and brekky…pack up and get ready to move but off to launch first…have to fix my priorities after all..meet some e (elsinore)team members on launch and loaf around watching the hangies rig and study conditions…this really is a great spot to fly and I am once again almost 2000ft over launch a couple of mins after takeoff with vultures circling close by…most e-teamsters are old school hangies but a few baggies pepper their ranks…the flying conditions are for intermediate + pilots… a wide but short and steep launch runoff with a large and hotly contested landing field…so the story goes 25 or 30 years ago when free flight first started in the area there was nothing much around and the landing field was just a worthless patch of scrub…the landowner at the time gave legal permission in writing to the e-team to land there with impunity…times change though and the 40 acre site is now worth something like $30million to its current owners and the amount they can make scrapping empty e-team beer cans dosent quite cover it…they are being badly out laywered as this goes to press and it may even be gone within 12 months…the ugly face of capitalism taking the free out of free flying…the performance of the hangies makes me jealous…pushing forward over the lake anytime they are ready to escape the sea breeze and find lift on the other side…a glide which would leave me swimming the last few hundred meters im sure...hmmm…i top land after chasing two bags in and out of the abundant thermals but never catching them…how do they do that…I top land next to the little suzuki after playtime shortly followed by the twin taunters and see one is everyday (flys everday)mike with whom I spent an enjoyable après vol emptying the cooler…the other is mitch(no nickname nessecary)mcaleer a 30 year vet legendary in these parts who has so many national level acro trophies he keeps them in boxes all over his house…so that’s how they do it…we are joined by joe and eric…we chat on launch and I get the skinny on my next stop…marshals about 40 miles away…I am hoping to get there in time for the evening glassoff but my crappy navigating means I wont do much but get set up tonight…ah well theres always tomorrow…and that’s about my biggest problem in life right now ...eat… crash

Sat 16… loving it
Wake up to another beautiful morn eat breky and meet erik and another mike… two more hangies in the landing field and ponce a lift up to launch…another great day so I sky out for another hour and see joes glider top land…I top land to say hello… it blows over the back about 10 mins later… I cant get back off and I have to do the drive of shame down the mountain…I repair a couple of holes I have noticed in my wing and pack at rv…on the ground by 2pm and kicking myself for wanting to be sociable…defo marshals tomora…its an afternoon site and is meant to be bigger and stronger than here and work till it gets dark…bring it on baby…

fri …is it a week already?
Wake up in elsinore …how did I get here?have to stop drinking like that…named apparently after an English kings mistress…a huge basin with an equaly huge lake about 5 miles(7k) by 3 very popular with powerboatowners whos wakes look like vapour trails from 5k ft above it..i meet vics friend in these parts joe…hes a likeable old school smiler who lives in a 45ft steel cargo container buried on the mountainside…the doors open to a magnificent view of the lake and valley below and it maintains a constant and comfortable temp in the 70s when its well over 100 outside…inside the setup is simple solar powered and secluded he hasn’t neede to paid a bill in years … I can see why he loves it …we take a tour of the launch and landing areas and decide to use the east facing top one…we fly…conditions are hard to read on the ground cos the sky is blue everywhere but its blowing nicely up the face and once airborne it is plain that its gonna be a good day… im on my way to 2000ft over launch shreddin thermals in the first minute and light aircraft begin pass under me … its located about 40 miles southeastish of l.a just of highway15 here http://www.paraglidingearth.com/en-html/resultats_recherche.php …you can see the sea about 15 miles away from this kind of height and its onshore wind blows over the back of the launch by 2 oclock almost everyday making it useless every afternoon… I land after a beautiful hour and a bit but in the wrong field …pack and get some good exercise tabbing back for 45mins or so…drowning in my own sweat I am welcomed by mike spike and geof …three hangie pilots who are chilling on a medium sized sofa under a large oak tree with an extra large cooler of beer … we proceed to ruin it the way god intended for the rest of the afternoon…outstanding…this is why we came…swerve back to the rv…what was that about drinking?eat…crash

Thurs 7 pause
There now follows a brief intremission where I pause to surround myself with pink fluffiness ,wear a red nose and hit myself in the face with pies to entertain my 4 year old daughter …also a most rewarding pastime…refreshments will be served in the lobby…please return to your seat in the main arena five mins before act 2 commences so as not to disturb patrons seated in front…in a week …or so…thank you

Wed 6… vips
Spend the morning chillin on the beach waiting for the wind to pick up…it does by lunchtime and I go to fly sand mountain again but its too cross so I just get a workout kiting around…angelo…one of the local pilots calls to see if I want to go fly deer creek but the wind is too strong by now…one of the best things about this beach spot is you know exactly when to leave and fly…and the direction…must go to the airport this eve to pick up my daughter who is coming with her mother to visit…don’t want to be late so make a move… meet them with no probs…the little Suzuki is performing well so far…they are v tired and crash as soon as we arrive back…

Tues 5… ying and yang
Have to go shopping…all day sortin out nonsense ive got to have…haven’t even got bedsheets or cutlery yet…boo
The wind picks up and by 5pm I Fly sand mountain…hurray…more lovely smooth coastal soaring…you could almost go to sleep…apparently im only the second one to fly it…ooooohh…it’s a cool site right on the pacific coast highway (highway 1)near a place called point dume and although very unofficial no one official seems to care as long as you don’t wipe any tourists out… you can kite up the dune and get over the mountain from there…it’s a beautifull spot…followed by a standard evening on the beach in paradise…its hard being me…Nuff said

Mon 4 …blink in the hood
Make another humugus brekky…will have to stop that…chill in the rv playing with the tv and sterio for a bit and decide it may be windy enough to kite up the dune and try to fly the ridge …its not quit strong enough and although I kite up it’s a real workout and I only manage a handful of beats before im back on the ground…boo….vic rings …hurray…he is coming over and we decide to go see a little suzuki samurai jeep I found online…its on 105th street in l.a…1st street is in the plush uptown part of the city and as the numbers get higher the territory gets more suspect… when we arrive its deep in the notorious south central district…this could get intresting…we first park up on 107th by mistake in one of americas most neglected neighbourhoods in a blue 2006 v8 corvette…its worth more than the houses…every last one has barred windows…the church is vandalised boarded up and closed down……there are no whites…unsurprisingly we have not gone unnoticed…people slow down on cycles on their way past…others begin to loiter close by…after 5 minutes of increasing tension we decide that discretion is most definitely the better part of valor and make a discreet exit before we are shot as d.e.a…we discover our mistake and go to 105th where we are greeted by altogether more sociable people fronted by a cheery chappie named blink…”blink and the deals done…blink and its gone etc”…who shows us first the Suzuki and then a yard with a half dozen more in various states of (dis)repair and after intense negotiations a deal is struck…lets hope it carries on doing what its supposed to…we stop at a garage for petrol close by but no longer with a brother in the car vics ghetto pass is revoked and he is almost immediately made to feel most unwelcome and makes steam…everyone ignores me completely…im black and im proud…I am also lost here but follow his parallel black rubber lines all the way back to his house… chill for a few…drive back to the beach...get lost…get back…the gate to the beach is locked…get stuck in the sand…curse…remember my sas training and let some air out of the tyres…it works!...i get loose and crash in the rv

Sunday 3 …beachfront real estate
I hate shopping mostly but I was able to treat myself to a handsome first self catering brekky in the rv because of it…lovely…vic comes by…im still parked outside his house for now and hes already eaten…drive the rv to the beach…steering it is like helming a spanish galleon but im getting used to it…will fly deer creek again which is still a lot of fun cos as the wind direction changes different parts of the terrain work and its actually a technical place to be with lots to learn…you need to think to get the best of it…so im in trouble…vic has a golf date with a new chick so hes all exited and brings her to see how cool we are before they go…I land on the beach after having a great time thermalling for an hour or so well up over take off and around the canyon until I fall into one of the sinkholes that move with the wind direction and speed…like I say…you have to think…vic has shot off but as im packing traig arrives and takes me back up…nice…more of the same with beautiful conditions as the day wears on…find a spot to park the rv for the night and make Malibu beach my front yard…my back yard is a ridgeline peaking at around 600ft(200m) with a dune up the first 150ft…cool…cook dinner and watch the sunset with a beer…read and go to bed…I listen to the sound of the waves caressing the sandy beach and like a lovers hands in my hair they put me to sleep…you get the picture…it’s a bit shabby but ill manage…zzz

Sat 2 …well almost
Need a blinkin car…have to make more effort…tinker in the rv and vic calls…we drink coffie and hang for an hour or so then go to fly deer creek …weekend today so a few of the local boys are there already…things are pretty flat when we arrive but the coastal winds come up later in the day here quite consistently…you have to run like a madman to get off but its thermic when you do already…small and tricky even with tight turns but are lots of fun… people are having mixed fortunes…its easy to get back up here tho with all the cars on hand…even in the week friendly beach types have been known to run you up to take off…there are assorted takeoffs at deer creek and we fly from 2 today from the 1300ft(400m)one…they aren’t much more than extended sleddies but as the day goes on the sea breeze picks up and the cliffs start to work…Barbie at vics again…send some emails and stuff…crash…

Fr1 1… free at last
Brekky in subway…borrow the truckasorus…get waffle in the bank…look at car…go to fly …cool day with plenty of wind …good to get further up the coast so go for a shuftie …land on a different beach after an 40 min flight with a cool wingover session with vic up on the coastal cliffs…do 3 flights like this screemin into the beach downwind wing over wing with big 180s to land…loads of fun… watch the kitesurfers…vic has a go…he rocks…meet a hanglider pilot passing through on his way to some cool soundin place I forget but is on route so will get a mention later on…barbie chicken at vics…tasty…start testing bits in the rv…so far everything does just what they said it would …nice…watch t.v…technowrestle….crash

Thurs 31..viva las vagas
Check out of my room when vic arrives and eat too big brekky…head for rv pickup at warp speed in the vet…we are early…of course…I think we arrived before we left…vic is the best…they give you a walk through for an hour or two and show you how it all works ... cool…more red tape…meet the delivery driver…nice old fellah and drive with him to get an out of state stamp from a notary 250 miles away…this is necessary to avoid california state sales tax and is the same in every state andpossible because we are leaving america…eventually… determined not to spend my first night in the r.v at a truck stop I arrive back at vics and crash by 2:30 am…hit switches…smile…read…crash

Wed 30…big smile
Meet vic for an early brekky…we will drive around looking for a car in the vet today…it has enough power to run a small village and vic enjoys using it…car hunting is very uneventfull aside from the tyre shredding route between them…the r.v dealer calls to say its ready for collection…so that’s me in vegas tomorrow…a indelible grin spreads across my face…the red tape has taken ages…find no cars to buy as I need something really cheap and the original jalopy I wanted sold…keep lookin…boring day..eat steak dinner to cheer myself up…crash