There were always a hundred reasons not to do it.
I’m too busy.
It’s too far away.
But really, the one that held me back was:
I am over the 250-pound weight limit for women.
This is also what kept me from Roller Coasters, Skydiving, Hang Gliding, Canoeing, etc. (Watch for future posts on these…)
It was only a couple of years ago that I crossed that 250 threshold. Now I am well under it, no looking back.
So, here I am, making my way through the year of fearless. How can I embrace it, without having to travel too far? Ziplining at Banning Mills.
I bought our tickets the night before. Just to be sure I couldn’t chicken out. I chose the 2 Springs source, since it had fewer bridges (much scarier to me, in thought!)
Made the drive, donned the gear, took the class, then we set out. No time to be afraid with just the three of us in our group. We lucked out, the other course had 30 people! Lots of waiting on high platforms. Lots of time to get worked up. Not us.
I climbed and my breath quickened – not so much from the tower as from the fear. Every single time, left hand on the pulley, right on the rope. Watch for the hand signal to slow down. Then reach your hand around and press on the line. Careful not to press too hard or you will dislocate your shoulder. Yikes!
I got to the top. The two teens just soared right off the platform. Effortless. Then it was my turn…. I didn’t jump. I kind of crouched and leaned forward, forward, forward. Just barely almost sliding falling off the ledge. And I just let go and trusted and flew.
The second one was a little bit better, but not much. Before each of the twenty-something lines, I had to repeat those steps. Left hand, right hand, drop. And I had to slow down, feeling the glove get hot from the friction was scary. Feeling my shoulder pull was nerve-wracking. But I finally got the hang of it. Finally, up 150 stairs and down at 65 miles per hour over a lake.
Did we want to do the extra lines at the end of the course? Sure. Every line had a name and a story – some funny, some likely made up, some sad or puzzling. The line named Secret, one of the last ones we rode, sent us flying high over a beautiful flowing stream. Very few people make it to that line (our guide said he had been on it with guests maybe 5 times over a few years), which explains the name. I was able to relax a little and enjoy the view. On our last line, our guide even had me jump off the platform backwards. What a ride.
For so many years, I wore my weight as an excuse. It’s ironic that the bigger you are, the easier it is to hide. It’s like an invisibility cloak. It protected me from many things, including some adventures like this.
Of course, it’s more complicated than that. Only part of what kept me unhealthy for so long. But I am determined to embrace reckless, crazy, over-the-top or off-the-edge adventures as often as I can from now on.
Some don’t even make it past the first line, the guides said. But, I kept following the steps, holding my breath, and stepping off with trust. I was free and flying and not out of place. I put all my weight on it and the line still held. There is value in facing the fear, sitting down into it and just letting go.
2 Chicks and a blog 