Check out my glassy water landing on Frog Pond

The First Ride in the Multi

Today was my first ride in the Duchess. There have been some restless nights the past two days thinking about flying this machine. Going from one engine to two with a retractable landing gear was going to be a lot to master. It was. I was behind the aircraft the entire flight. Simply things like holding altitude and heading were difficult. I sucked; but, I loved it! There were no paying passengers so it didn't matter. Plus, just like my former triathlon career I suck in training. I always did and seem to excel at it. Prior to my last two flight tests (private & commercial) I failed the practice tests; yet, on test day I scored in the 90's.

My new favourite machine!

Ah! My new love: a 1959 Cessna 180/182 Float plane.

I wanted to push my float flying training so I booked a week of training with Micheal Seib of Island Air to learn how to get to and FROM small alpine lakes. Mike pushed my limits. I learned a lot from the young float guru.

One of my highlights of the week was a tour of some remote communities and docks along the Inside Passage. The trip re-enforced my dream of becoming a float driver.

NYC

In my former career I traveled the world for work. I must say that I have never been much of a tourist.

Well not this year! Malaika and I did some fun tourist stuff in NYC this year: Empire State Building, attended a play (Spamalot), Times Square and long long walks around the city. I guess it all depends on who you are with on trips. Thanks M for the great trip to NYC. Also, Thanks PowerBar for treating me so well. You guys are the best.

What are you doing these days?

The number one question I get when I do triathlon gigs these days seems to be "What are you doing these days?" I was recently at the Clearwater 70.3 with Specialized promoting the new Transition TT machine which I must say is a true gem. We had a lot of curious cycling enthusiasts drop by the booth and for those who recognized me asked the question. I always respond with my generic "A little bit of this and that". It is a decent answer and quite true. For the past year I have been doing a lot of promotions for Specialized and Powerbar, coaching 5 athletes, working at triathlon camps in Tucson, Monaco, and Fuerteventura; yet, my number one activity has been aviation.

I have always wanted to be a pilot. I love to fly. Any chance I get to greet the pilots or observe what they are doing I take it. When I received my first big triathlon prize money paycheck from a 3rd place at the ITU World Long Course Champs in 1995 I used the money for an intro to flying flight at the Victoria airport. Unfortunately, the dumb ass instructor who took me up put the plane into a stall without telling me and I never went back. My dream of learning how to fly was killed by that one moron.

Last year when I retired from triathlon I had a lot of time to kill. I saw an add in the local paper advertising into flights. I decided to give it another shot. This time I had a guy who was patient and had a huge love for flying. What a difference - I was hooked.

18 months since that second intro flight and I am now a Commercial Float pilot.

I trained for flying the same way as I did for Ironman. I had many bad days while training in my search to be the best pilot I could be. It worked! I set a school record for my private pilot flight test and received a great mark on my commercial flight test.

I was a never a great student in school; yet, triathlon taught me that hard work with a focus to excel can be channeled into other avenues. Learning is not easy for me; but, working hard is.

Iron Maiden

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high.
Fly, on your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun,
on your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun.

Iron Maiden 1985

The First

It has been ages since I posted a blog on the net. It's time that I get back to posting.