EXCEL Challenges

Arrived in Oklahoma City for indoor climbing. It is located on the outside and inside walls of an old grain silo near downtown OKC. Rolling into the parking lot it was both impressive and intimidating. I met Maggie in the facility and completed the safety orientation and tour of the silos. She said the silos were 90 feet tall. Maggie got me rigged with a harness, climbing shoes, and chalk bag. She gave me a climbing demo, training on the auto-belay system used when you don’t have a human belayer and told me to have fun. There were multiple safety signs on the walls as reminders to climb smart. This helps, especially when you are a little afraid of heights. I attempted climbs in 4 different silos of varying difficulties. There was a bouldering area, which seemed harder to me than vertical climbing. It had been a minute since I had climbed, so I was a little bit anxious. I was the only one there when I got there and spent about 1.5 hours climbing. 

I took a short practice climb to get a feel for the wall and see how the auto-belay worked. Then I started the first climb, and about halfway up the heart was pounding and starting to sweat. That didn’t take long at all. I decided that my first climb might be my best so just pushed through to the top. That proved to be correct. I learned that climbing is an activity requiring flexibility and leg strength.  You can’t be good mainly using your arms. I had super tight forearms when I called it a day and know I should put in some hip flexibility and hand strengthening exercises. Also, you have to make sure your equipment is in good condition, worn properly, and then trust your gear. It’s a little unnerving when you drop a couple of feet before the auto-belay catches you. I have a bad foot, but it held up OK with the help of the climbing shoes. This was a heart thumping, sweat through your shirt kind of activity, but I think I would do it again.            

Arrived in Cranfills Gap, Texas to serve as judge for Bacon Bash Texas. They shut down the only street in town for the largest bacon contest in the state. I checked in at the community center, received my credential, and listened to the judging guidelines by Creed. My judging partner was Dean, a cool guy from Australia. It was fun to talk and get to know him while we were judging. I eat like a 1st grader, so I was a little nervous about this, but who doesn’t like bacon right? Nyla, Ryan, and RJ attended with me to help document the experience. We walked the area before the judging began to get a feel for the event, and even saw several people that we knew. There were a variety of activities besides the contest including music, corn hole, cards, and of course dining on the variety of bacon entries. Contestants had to provide samples for the public to taste after the judging ended. When the gates opened to the public, it got a little crazy. 

When the horn went off, it was time for Dean and I to get started. We had 10 minutes at each site to judge the entry. We tasted a variety of sweet and spicy dishes. I learned that there is a detailed scoring system that is used to grade the dishes and the contestants take it seriously. They were very competitive, but were also having a great time. We judges had the benefit of their best efforts! I also learned (well I already knew) that I really like bacon. It can be used in almost anything! Dishes included bacon peanut butter pie, bacon brats, bacon jalapeno cheese grits, fried bacon wrapped oreos, bacon donut grilled cheese, apple pie bacon, and of course bacon poppers. These were just a few. Some of the dishes tested me a little, but I got through it and learned that I could try new things without any short-term effects, other than fatigue. We left Bacon Bash with a full belly and took a couple of TUMS just in case. Overall, a good time was had by all, and I would try this again.         

I arrived in Killeen, Texas for my first tandem jump. It was a 50* and partly sunny day, but much colder in the sky. Anthony was my instructor, and I very much appreciated the safety procedures he went through with me. Signing paperwork that includes the statement that the instructors are not responsible for your death, and the opportunity to purchase life insurance at the same time is interesting. We went up 2 miles in the plane, had a 1-mile free fall, a 1-mile drift and reached 120 mph. When you are watching others from the ground, the jump looks nice, slow, and soothing. It is not!  It seemed like we rolled 10 times out of the plane before we settled into position, but probably not. At one point I was told to pull on a cord and we proceeded to spin 360’s, then the other direction.  I like speed, so the freefall was the most fun, although the drift was as well. It is intense when the ripcord is pulled to release the chute, especially when you don’t know it’s coming. The landing was a little rough, but we did fall 2 miles.  We finished with an interview with instructor, owner, and veteran Scott about the role of character in his military and business life. A great day.   

This adventure was tough emotionally. The fear factor of height was one reason and letting go of control as well. I learned to keep my mouth shut and listen to the expert, especially when it is concerned with your safety. The instructor took charge as he should. And if you don’t keep your mouth shut, you will also get a mouth full of grit. I did for the rest of the day from the air pressure while jumping.  I did get a little nauseous, dizzy, and got a headache. But sometimes you get uncomfortable and just must move on. I didn’t sleep much for a few days before the jump, but it was just not ever having done it before. Finally, skid marks are good, in this case anyway. That meant that we landed properly and safely. It did take a few days to process this, more than the other activities. I’m still deciding about a return jump, we’ll see. 

Arrived in Cresson, Texas for a lesson on track driving. We met with the staff and completed the paperwork and the safety and training video. Then we met the instructor, Ryan. He fitted me with a helmet and then he drove me out on the course in a Mustang to get a feel for the track. The course was designed to simulate a canyon road. It was 1.3 miles, 12 turns, a blind hill summit, and 70 feet of elevation change. There was a quarter mile straight away along with hard braking and hairpin turns. Then we went back to the garage, and I had a choice of cars including Ferrari, Mercedes, Corvette, and Shelby, but decided on the $210K Lamborghini, gray with orange stripes. We started the track session and Ryan gave me a lot of prompts during the lesson such as “hit gas”, “hit brakes”, “brake harder”, “cut corner”. I experienced positive and negative G forces, and more adrenaline than I expected. The instructor was very calm and specific with his instructions. After the session we interviewed the owner, Jack, about character in business and racing and he took us on a tour of the movie car museum on site.   

I learned and sharpened my skills and proved that I can still do it and react quickly.  This was more mentally tiring than I expected. I learned that you must deeply listen and focus hard to perform at that level. I drove with white knuckles but was able to increase speed with each lap. Big acceleration and high speeds. I was taught that performance cars respond very quickly and easily.  They hold so tight and stick to the road so well. Ryan kept reminding me to trust the car. I had a blast and would do this again. 

Arrived in Waco, Texas for a surfing lesson. It is one of the largest inland surfing parks in the USA and can be used for beginner training to pro level. Surfers from all over the world come there to practice. It was 61*, raining, and 59* water temperature. We checked in and I was issued a wet suit. If you have not put one on before, it is a blessing. After squeezing into the wetsuit, I worked my way to the lake and met the instructor. There were 10 students in the class, and I was at least double their age. Most of the other students had experience. We practiced land drills on safety and moving from the prone position to standing on the board. Next, we moved to shallow water drills while there were a couple of surfers stunting with very high waves. We finished in shallow water and moved to the wave pool. It turned out that those high-level surfers were now our instructors. They were very experienced and very good with their instructions on catching the wave and getting in position on the surfboard.

I learned that two hours in cold water is tough. My hands and feet were numb, and I couldn’t feel where my feet were underneath my body. Not good when you are trying to balance a 10-foot board on moving water. Surfing was a lot more physically tiring than I expected, requiring strength, endurance, and balance. I learned to keep your mouth closed or you will swallow a good amount of water when you hit the water coming off the board. I was exhausted and starving when I finished but was satisfied that I made it through the class. Our class spent a little time together in the hot tub in the rain after to warmup, but it still took me a few hours to thaw out. Overall, it was a good experience, and I want to try again, in warmer weather.