#4 - Go for a Ride in a Glider

June 27, 2009 - Boulder, CO - After the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, CO, I visited family for a few days in Colorado Springs. After that I went to Denver to stay with the Jason and Amber Rossi (and Aaron and Laura). Amber had purchased a glider ride with Mile High Gliding for Jason for Christmas (I think), and we decided it would be fun to cash in on it that weekend. Since it was also an item on my list and a super-fun thing to do, I also wanted to go for a ride. We drove up to Boulder with Keshava and Lindsay (Coe) for the day. It was only $40 more for a second person, so I invited Lindsay to ride with me.

Needless to say, it was amazing. A beautiful, warm day. The pilot took us up over the Flatirons on the western side of Boulder. We caught some thermals and at one point were about 1,000 feet above where we detached from the tow plane. It was louder than I had expected because there are vents that allow air to circulate through the fuselage and the canopy is not as airtight as I thought it would be. Ironically, the Mile High website claims "It's silent!" We did a couple of steep roller-coasterish climbs and dives, followed by some really tight banked turns. Nothing more acrobatic than that, but it was still an awesome ride. I highly recommend it.