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| Getting ready for an Adventure |
About a year
ago, the Aeries Winery in Grafton Illinois added a Zip line to it’s activity
options. I thought about going a few
times, because you know we adventure racers are always up for something
new. I had zip lined in various places,
from the Wymann center in Missouri to the jungles of Mexico. Of course Mexico was the largest, coolest and
most dangerous of all the zip lines.
For
instance, in Mexico, we were not given helmets and the brake we used was a V
shaped stick that we had to find in the woods.
The towers to get on the zip lines looked to be built out of scrap wood,
they were very shaky and felt as though they might fall at any minute. At the end of the landing platforms were old
mattresses and there was no mechanism to slow down a rider if he/she was coming
in too fast. The day we went, it was
raining and the lines were fast and the stick brake did not slow you down no
matter how hard you pulled down on it. The
ride was a scary rush of excitement, but we found it to be very dangerous and
no one knew that better than my mom. She
flew in on a line of about 2000 feet from I don’t know how high, it seemed like
4 stories, her stick brake did not slow her down, so she hit the mattress hard,
flipped backwards and hit her head on the platform, creating a big gash in her
head with lots of blood and I’m sure a concussion. We had to take her to a hospital on the
resort we stayed at and have her head stitched up.
The other
zip lines I have been on were at climbing camps and during adventure races,
they were much safer with all the correct safety equipment.
So when I heard
about these new zip lines, I wondered how safe they were, how big they could
possibly be and how much it cost to try it.
When I found out the price, I thought it was really steep compared to
other lines I had been on, plus I wasn’t sure the hills were big enough for
them to be very long or very high. I
really didn’t think I would try it, but then my some of my family started
working there and a friend also went and said it was great, which made me want to
try it.
So last
week, my girls Jade and China and I made a trip to Grafton, it was a nice cool
overcast day just perfect for an adventure.
We met the girls Aunt and Uncle there and their Uncle Donny even went
with us, using China as his training person because he was in training to start
working the tours. Not to say that China
was a little worried when he hooked her up, but the regular tour guide, Tatter,
double checked Uncle Donny’s work.
We had a
great time, I took along my adventure camera and got some good shots during the
Zip Tour. Our guides were great, they
knew what they were doing, they were funny and kept us moving and having
fun. I think there were about 12 people
in our group and it took about 1:45 to get through all 9 lines. It was exciting, the lines were very fast,
the equipment was top notch, the tour guides, Kyle and Tatter were great and we
had a really good time. So although I’m
cheap and thought the price was steep, I would do it again, it was well worth
the cost they charge to do it.
Oh and the
entire time I was out there, I could see paths below us and my thoughts were “this
would be a great place for a trail race or adventure race”, maybe we can talk
the owner into putting on a race, I’m sure it would sell out just like the Pere
Marquette Trail Run does.
So if you get
a chance take a ride up the River Road and check out the Grafton Zip Lines and
stop by Aeries Winery after for a taste of the good stuff. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
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| Ready for the Ride |
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| Tatter has it under control |
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| Fun with Uncle Donny |
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| Jade's flying |
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| Slow down Jade, you're gonna crash |
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| Come on China, you can make it |
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| Uncle Donny in action |
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| Big jump China be aerodynamic, its a long ride |
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| You're almost there Jade |
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| Tatter shows us how you do it right |
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| Kyle on a super fast line |
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| China was the only one that couldn't make it across, she needs some meat on those bones |
