Day 3

Day 3

Dori tries desperately to stay in the shade of her wing. Momma told her not to get too dark.

We spent the day on the training hill at Kaotai kiting, Alma and Doris taking turns on Doris' XS Apco Presta. Yuri and I riding the generous ridge lift. Doris improved her inflation, turn around and kiting. The guy with the gravity carts told us to stay away from the area where they were running; right in the middle of the hill, where the most stable air flow is! "Go to the right or to the left."
"Gladly!" I had seen those carts running straight for the local pilots' gliders all day.
All went well until Yuri got some thermal off of the new parking lot, all the way to the left, obvious potential rotor. Then it all went flat. The glider went parachutal. He dropped about 10 meters. I watched him lay there for a half a minute and then started giving orders. "Alma, drive the car down. Doris, wrap up the gliders," as I ran down the hill. He was sitting up when I got there.
"Knocked the wind out of me."
"Yes, and where does it hurt? Lay still."
There were no bone injuries. No internal injuries.

" Made you run, did I?"
He said he was OK, no pain. After 30 minutes up the South Cross Island Hiway, he changed his mind, with 4 more hours of long and winding road.
" Don't go dying on me, or I'll have to immortalize you in a series of novelettes, "The Enduring Adventures of Y.B. Human."

We arrived Kaohsiung County 6 :30 pm, sent them packing and prepared for the coming weekend in Puli. Yuri promised to see the doctor upon arrival in Puli.

Yuri, next time you take a holiday, be sure to bring me along. I enjoyed this one very much. And, I wish you had too.

Doggedly persistent, our hero ignores the pain and pulls up his glider in the afternoon thermal.