Bungee!!!
Every year since I started at Quest Software in 1999, I have organized the Quest Technical Support Extreme Challenge (not affiliated with Quest Software). In 1999 and 2000 we went skydiving with 9 and 5 people respectively. In 2001 3 of us went Hang Gliding. Each year the numbers get smaller and smaller as the company gets bigger and bigger. To bad for the people that don't go. We always have a blast. This year was no exception. As you already figured out, we went Bungee Jumping!
I started lining things up in February. I called Bungee America and talked with Ron Jones. At the time, their website showed package deals for 1,2, or 3 jumps. Ron informed me of the "Costco" package for 5 jumps. Easy decision for me, more for the money. After months of harassment at the office and making clucking sounds, I was only able to get 1 other person to sign up with me, Ray. Ray went skydiving and hang gliding during previous Extreme Challenges and wasn't about to miss another one.
On May 11 we all met in Azusa. There were about 30 jumpers in total, Ron and Alex from Bungee America, and several observers including my wife Kathie and Kris from work.
We drove up to the trailhead and walked for about 2 hours. We finally reached "The Bridge to Nowhere".
Ron went through all the procedures for about 45 minutes and then we started jumping.
Above is the view from the bridge. It's about 80-90 feet to the water I believe. In the bottom right of the picture you can see one of the platforms we were jumping from. It's the red thing.
After a few jumpers, it was Ray's time to fly.
You can tell how close a jumper is getting to the ground by watching their shadow and their body. The closer the shadow is to the jumper, the closer the jump is to the ground. Ray started off with a standard backward jump and followed it up with an "elevator" jump. For the elevator, you keep your eyes on the people standing on the bridge and just hop of the platform so your headed feet first towards the ground. It really messes up your head, it's great. Ray then took off as he needed to get home.
Next was my turn:
I started with a backward jump, followed by an elevator, and then a forward jump. The actual jump was different then I had pictured in my mind. I always thought you jumped, sort of slowed down, and then came back up accelerating slowly. I thought the bungee would control the velocity more then it does. In reality, it was more like a jump, then all of the sudden stopping and being shot back up in the air, and repeating. It was really smooth though, it didn't jerk you at all. If you are worried about your back, I don't think you need to be in most cases. During a large portion of the jump, there is not tension on the bungee so it is not controlling the velocity. You decelerate and accelerate quickly when the bungee does have tension. It's great. The first rebound brings you pretty close to where you started.
I was having a great time and wanted to keep going. I still had two jumps but took a small break in between so others could jump.