So I’m up late, waiting on an announcement to come through for one of my clients, what a better time to blog than now, huh?

Honestly, I’m not sure where this post is going to take me, it very well may be random as my brain tends to be all over the place this time of night, so bear with me. I’ll try to stick to skydiving at the very least

This weekend Rick and I took a trip out to CSC again. I was finally able to get up in the air with Ms. Sydney for a couple of attempted hybrids. Yes, you read that correctly, couple = 2, attempted = failed. We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty of it – truthfully, we’re not entirely sure what the problem was that was making us not get our act together – but needless to say it was still a skydive and it as still a wicked awesome time. Great flying with you love!

It was nice to do some more freeflying with Doug and Carolyn while I was out there too. Doug was giving us both some great head down instruction, working on exits with flower grips and just getting the feel for the position right out of the plane. After a couple jumps and video reviews things really started to make sense to us! It’s fun flying with these two, can’t wait to get out there again!

I must admit that I was a little envious after Rick did a wingsuit jump Saturday evening. I considered it on Sunday before we left, but the schedule just didn’t permit. Now I’m kinda jonesing for some flight time…that’ll have to be in my near future .

Sad to say that summer is almost officially over. But, there’s still so much season left to enjoy, and so much to look forward to!

• This weekend we’re heading to the Work Stinks! Boogie at Start Skydiving in Middleton, OH. This was mine and Rick’s first boogie together last year so we’ve got fond memories of the jumps that were made and the experiences had. I’m excited to be going back this year. I’m sure there will be lots of photos and video to share when I return next week!
• At the end of the month we’re heading to California for what originally started as a trip to visit family who lives in LA, and is now also a trip to Elsinore for the Chick’s Rock boogie. Looking forward to meeting up with some jumpers I’ve been meaning to get in the sky with for quite some time. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince some of my cousins to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with me that weekend

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, I’m selling my Sabre 1 – 150. Anyone need one? It’s in great condition, just over 300 jumps on it, new oversize slider (and regular size slider) come with it. Slinks. With the oversize slider it’s never slammed me…in fact, it snivels! And it’s purdy…

Going to post on DZ.com soon, but wanted to throw it out there to the readers first. Email me if you’re interested: theskydivechick@gmail.com.

Okay, so enough rambling, it’s back to work for me. Still working on a fun Jump for Diabetes video I hope to share in the near future, so stay tuned for that.

Blue skies!


Ashley

Let’s start with the juicy details: between raffles, sponsored jumps and generous donations, we were able to raise nearly $10,000 for diabetes research – and donations are still rolling in, so we may even surpass that mark when all is said and done!

I’m thrilled with the amount of people who stepped up to support this cause, from the gear donations throughout the skydiving community, to the incredible team of pledge jumpers who came in from all over the country to donate their time to the cause, to the participants at Skydive Pennsylvania – none of this could have been accomplished without your support.

So a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all who contributed.

As far as raffles go, we gave away more than $10,000 in donated and discounted skydiving gear, local jumper Scott Diesel was the lucky winner of the PD canopy raffle and there were three happy winners in the Grand Prize raffle.

And guess what – we’re going to do it all again next year! We’re planning the event for Aug 12-14 at Skydive Pennsylvania once again, and we’ve already got 4 manufactuers confirmed to be on site. We expect it to be bigger and better than this year – definitely not to be missed.

Okay, so now that that’s out of the way …let’s talk a little about the skydiving, shall we?

Friday after set up we did the first Mrs. Potato Head jump of the weekend. A group of us freeflyers took it to our bellies in an attempt to put her together in the sky. Best part, she was a diabetic, so Rick had a needle-less syringe to stick in her ear. It was far from a success, with us walking away with zero pieces in place, and one lost piece somewhere in the LZ, but I gotta tell you, it sure was FUN! Thanks to Heather for bringing this tradition to Jump for Diabetes!

We gave away our first piece of gear on Friday too, a freefly suit from EG. EG suits came in from Jersey to attend the event. Thanks again EG, you were a hit at Skydive PA!

Saturday started off bright and early with long spots and off landings. We had a fun 2-way freefly practice jump to start out the day before diving into a weekend of incredibly fun freefly zoo dives, like this one:

Both mine and Rick’s parents showed up for the day which was awesome! My dad even got some great shots of me landing and packing. I’m not used to being on the other side of the camera!

The weather played nice until about 5 p.m., at which point our gear raffle picked up. This is where my dad’s height came in handy, as we were selling gear raffle tickets for $20 a body length, so a number of jumpers “borrowed” his 6′3″ frame to purchase their tickets.

(Grand Prize Raffle drawing, with Skylyn the ticket picker! *Photo by Suji Martens)

Saturday night 4 bands from around the Pittsburgh area showed up to play for us in the hangar…due to the rain. What an incredible party. The beer was flowing and we were even able to have a small fire with numerous smores consumed. Yum!

Sunday started slow because of rain and low clouds until about 3 p.m. This gave us ample time to finish out the raffles before completing the weekend with a couple more fun freefly jumps – starting with Justin’s 200th.

The last jump of the weekend was a 6-way freefly turned into a hybrid, rodeo, backfly, sitfly combo. Was one of the funnest jumps we all had that weekend…guess you had to be there!

I’m still working on a fun Jump for Diabetes video to show the highlights from the weekend, so stay tuned for that.

Thanks again to everyone who did their part to not only make this an incredibly successful weekend, but for making it a BLAST too!

Blue skies!

Ashley

That’s what I want to be one day…a good skydiver.

Over the weekend we headed down to Canton Air Sports – yep, the old stomping grounds – where Mark Vickers was flying the Skyvan for the weekend. Not only was I able to jump my new rig – Beer, yes, duly noted – but we were able to get some great jumps in!

After the sun set we all sat around the big screen to watch some of the bad ass freeflying that took place that day – and I have to admit, I was in awe for most of it.

There are a couple friends of ours who are brothers – Joe and Dave (hey guys!) – who are two of the sickest freeflyers I’ve seen. It’s not so much about the wicked things they’re able to do in the sky (there’s that too) but it’s how dynamic they are together. No matter what’s going on around them these two always seem to have it together, this rhythm with one another. It’s incredible to watch! Even better, they are some of the nicest people you’ll meet on the ground too.

That aside, I love watching videos with these guys, and people like them, who are such good skydivers. The greatest part is that it’s not with envy that I watch these freeflyers, it’s with admiration and sometimes complete awe. In all reality, “good” isn’t the best descriptor here, pretty f-ing phenomenal is more like it . “Good” is what I aspire to be some day!

I like to think that watching videos of those people who are incredibly proficient can only help me learn – take away some of the little body adjustments and things of that nature and apply them to my own skydiving. Of course, time in the sky (and hopefully one day soon in a tunnel) is essential, but I can’t help think that I’m soaking up a little knowledge simply by watching the best of the best.

I’m always entertained by the days where I think I’ve picked up some of the smartest tricks in the book and when I get out the door and test them out it doesn’t go quite as planned. Sky -1, Ashley -0. A good laugh is always had! But what’s even better is when I’m able to apply even the smallest trick to make my sitfly just that much better.

The learning curve in skydiving is incredible. Each and every jump I’m amazed at how much Rick and I have improved. Relativity is rarely an issue these days, and docking has become common-place. We’re spending time in the sky with people who really know their shit, and I like to think we’re able to absorb a little of that knowledge through the sky – osmosis of sorts . Now, head down is a different story – I’ve spent so much time on my feet there hasn’t been a lot of time to get proficient, and clearly I’m just not picking it up as fast as I did sit. Rick on the other hand, he sticks some mad head downs…hoping some of that can rub off on me over time!

Anyhow, enough of my rambling – here’s a few YouTube videos that prove my point. God I love watching sick freeflyers!

Gotta love the song and the pink skyvan in this last video!

Blue skies!

Ashley

As I mentioned last week, all my posts from July have gone bye bye. So I’m working on getting these back up – stat. Though, they’re going to be slightly different, as I’m having to re-write most of them, but for those of you that have kept up, it’ll give you a little bit of a different flavor!

Recently we took an impromptu trip out to Chicago to jump at Chicagoland Skydiving Center (CSC). The idea was sparked by a couple of aspects. 1) It had been a while since we traveled (more than a month…that’s way too long in my book) so the itch was coming on bad, and 2) to visit with Ms. Sydney!

Needless to say, the trip was more than a huge hit!

Upon arrival at the DZ, we were welcomed with open arms. Within the first 5 minutes in the hangar, the DZO approached us, let us know where we could stash our stuff for the weekend, gave us a tour of the facilities, and when we ended up in the North hanger, he even showed us his Velo that just about exploded the day before…14 broken likes, yikes!

Not only that, he organized our first couple freefly jumps together! Hello – a little sitfly action with not only the DZO, but an incredible freeflyer at that! Nice! (Too bad I didn’t realize my memory card was full, otherwise I’d have proof of these first couple jumps…oopsie)!

The hospitality didn’t stop there, we were treated to privelages that you just don’t come across when visiting most dropzones. It definitely left an impression on us.

What else we noticed was that the staff there is huge! They have plenty of people working the desks and enough tandem instructors to give students the ultimate experience – a personal one they will remember! We were even reognized by name, as Lisa at manifest knew ours before we knew hers! Good stuff.

We finished out the first day of jumping with an incredible sitfly with Carolyn, the DZOs wife. She’s got great energy in the sky – check out that smile plastered on her face! How can you not have fun with company like that?!

Sunday we were able to finish out the day with a fun freefly with a badass belly flyer chick. Yes, you heard that right! We sat her upright and threw her out of the plane .

The rolling train ended quick, but as you can see, this girl got skills, especially considering she hasn’t done a freefly in 3 years!

Beyond all that, everyone is just so nice. There are significantly more female jumpers than in the NE Ohio area, and the best part is that all of them are so friendly. The chicks stick together there, support one another – just as it should be!

And you can bet, if you’re just hanging around, someone is bound to come up and chat with you between loads…that’s just the atmosphere there. Very Midwest.

As you can tell, I have nothing but good things to say about this dropzone. They busted out more than 150 tandems in one day, flying only the otter, and they made it look easy. And though it’s a busy dropzone, it has the feel of a small community. Good stuff.

I can’t recommend this dropzone enough if you’re in the Chicago area! Hell, even if you’re not, jump in your car and take a road trip. You won’t be disappointed.

Blue ones!

Ashley

So clearly you can see why I love her….she compliments me! Ha, obviously it goes way beyond just that. She’s a badass skydive chick, what’s not to love, right?! Be sure to check out her blog over at Sydney: Unfiltered. What, you didn’t think I came up with that catchy title all on my own, did you?

And as a little update since the last time I posted this interview, Syd and some of her pals from CSC will be headed out  for Jump for Diabetes weekend, in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! Woot!

In case you hadn’t heard, we’re planning high altitude jumps from the King Air that will be coming in to support that weekend. It’s going to be EPIC .

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

So I’m up late, waiting on an announcement to come through for one of my clients, what a better time to blog than now, huh?

Honestly, I’m not sure where this post is going to take me, it very well may be random as my brain tends to be all over the place this time of night, so bear with me. I’ll try to stick to skydiving at the very least

This weekend Rick and I took a trip out to CSC again. I was finally able to get up in the air with Ms. Sydney for a couple of attempted hybrids. Yes, you read that correctly, couple = 2, attempted = failed. We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty of it – truthfully, we’re not entirely sure what the problem was that was making us not get our act together – but needless to say it was still a skydive and it as still a wicked awesome time. Great flying with you love!

It was nice to do some more freeflying with Doug and Carolyn while I was out there too. Doug was giving us both some great head down instruction, working on exits with flower grips and just getting the feel for the position right out of the plane. After a couple jumps and video reviews things really started to make sense to us! It’s fun flying with these two, can’t wait to get out there again!

I must admit that I was a little envious after Rick did a wingsuit jump Saturday evening. I considered it on Sunday before we left, but the schedule just didn’t permit. Now I’m kinda jonesing for some flight time…that’ll have to be in my near future .

Sad to say that summer is almost officially over. But, there’s still so much season left to enjoy, and so much to look forward to!

• This weekend we’re heading to the Work Stinks! Boogie at Start Skydiving in Middleton, OH. This was mine and Rick’s first boogie together last year so we’ve got fond memories of the jumps that were made and the experiences had. I’m excited to be going back this year. I’m sure there will be lots of photos and video to share when I return next week!
• At the end of the month we’re heading to California for what originally started as a trip to visit family who lives in LA, and is now also a trip to Elsinore for the Chick’s Rock boogie. Looking forward to meeting up with some jumpers I’ve been meaning to get in the sky with for quite some time. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince some of my cousins to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with me that weekend

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, I’m selling my Sabre 1 – 150. Anyone need one? It’s in great condition, just over 300 jumps on it, new oversize slider (and regular size slider) come with it. Slinks. With the oversize slider it’s never slammed me…in fact, it snivels! And it’s purdy…

Going to post on DZ.com soon, but wanted to throw it out there to the readers first. Email me if you’re interested: theskydivechick@gmail.com.

Okay, so enough rambling, it’s back to work for me. Still working on a fun Jump for Diabetes video I hope to share in the near future, so stay tuned for that.

Blue skies!


Ashley

I don’t like being told that I’m going to need something in order to accomplish what I want in freefall. Sure, we all need parachutes, that’s a given. But when I was told I would need a weight belt (or vest) to keep up with others in freefly (and on my belly too, though you’ll rarely catch me there), the stubborn ass in me came out.

“I can just stand and catch up if I need to.”

Well, that didn’t prove to work as well as I thought it would – even standing I’m still pretty floaty.

“Well then, I’ll go head down to catch up.”

Turns out my head down skills aren’t where they should be to stick with a group of sitflyers.

“Well, what’s 10 pounds going to do anyway?”

Turns out…a lot! I’ve been flying with the belt off and on the past few weeks, forgetting it at home once, doing some solos another time, but for the most part the belt has been on. Though until this weekend, I didn’t really realize just how much of an effect it has on my fall rate.

(The first jump I did with a weight belt at Zhills. You can see a little bulk in my lower back, but nothing too terrible. In fact, it’s the same jump as my blog header – you can’t even tell I’m wearing weight there! *Photo by Aaron Stocum)

Jump #1 at The Ranch entailed me in a sit, looking down at my buddy Tom. Once I realized a stand was going to be necessary, he was too far gone and I, for the life of me, couldn’t stick a stable stand .

So for jump #2 I strapped on an extra 10 pounds around my waist and off we went. On this jump, I was only very slightly above him, in fact, if I would have kept a better heading and focused on driving my hips forward we could have easily made a couple good docks.

I think I was in awe of the difference the weight really made.

The rest of the weekend I worked on my fall rate changes and focused on the differences the weight makes on my skydive. I was even surprised how much I could feel the difference under canopy and coming in for a landing.

Needless to say, I’m incredibly happy with the weight. Who would have thought a girl could get so giddy about putting on 10 pounds?!

Best part is, in freefall, I don’t really even realize it’s there. I tuck the buckle back between my rig and lower back and, aside from the little jelly roll appearance it gives under my clothing, I’d never even know it was there on the skydive!

For all you floaty skydivers out there, I highly recommend strapping on a weight belt and giving it a go. It might just make all the difference in the world!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Let me tell you how…with an interview from my freefly partner! He’s also a former BASE jumper so it ties in .

*Photo by Ashley Mead

Y’all have heard so much about Rick in the past 9 months or so, it’s only fitting that you have a chance to hear the facts straight from him. Some of you may have read the article in the Jan/Feb issue of Blue Skies Mag that discusses diabetes in the world of adrenaline sports – this interview is nothing like that. We’re keeping the topics on the lighter side today.

I struggled with these questions, Rick, as the regular readers pretty much know the basics about your current skydiving career – aside from those days you sneak off to jump without me

That aside, I think I’ve come up with some compelling questions to get your wheels turning and keep the readers entertained. So, here goes nothing!

SDC: Let’s start with the standard question – how did you get your start in skydiving?

RS: To make a very long story short, from day one on this planet I’ve been the epitome of spontaneity and this was one of those last minute choices .  I told myself I was going to go skydiving. So I did a static line jump for my 18th birthday.

SDC: Obviously we know your favorite discipline is freefly, but tell us why.

RS: I guess because I’m the black sheep.

SDC: Ah, “dark side” – black sheep. Makes sense. Regular readers know that we travel a lot, tell us about your favorite trip, dropzone, experience – whatever.

RS: Here comes the cheese….I will have to say that my first date with Beans (aka SkydiveChick, aka Ashley) is my most memorable skydiving trip. We went to the Work Stinks boogie last September. Too much fun! All beer has already been drunk! Our first 2-way head-down, first Heli-jump, Ashley’s first sit-fly, my first otter and our first boogie.

SDC: Aw, that’s sweet! Y’all remember this picture I assume!

*Photo by Norman Kent

SDC: You were once a regular BASE jumper. What triggered the switch to skydiving?

RS: I wanted the dirt to look smaller.

SDC: Alright, now I’m really going to put you on the spot…what’s your favorite part about being my freefly partner? (yep, I’m making this one about me…I know you can respect that )

RS: Reverse cowgirl.. LOL! I love when you ride me out the door!!

SDC: Hahaha! For those who are unaware of what he’s talking about, see the video below!

SDC: We’ve had a lot of great opportunities over the past year, what are some of the things you’re looking forward / hoping to accomplish to this season?

RS: My 500th, D license, coach and pro-rating

SDC: Jump for Diabetes is fast approaching! Tell us a little about where the idea came from and how you made it work last year.

RS: The idea came from another fundraiser that was held at a DZ in Omro,Wi while was still a student. It involved jumping out of planes, raising funds and promoting awareness for Lupus. It was fun for all and it was a good cause. I told myself, when I’m able to stay on my feet when landing, I will coordinate an event like that one and try to do the same as them. And I gave it a shot…WTF, ya know?

I’m really looking forward to this years event. I’m very lucky to have Beans and Apt3 Studios on the Jump for Diabetes team. This years event would not be happening if you guys didn’t step up.. PROPS!!

SDC: What is your most memorable skydiving experience so far?

RS: Probably sit’n relative with you.

SDC: So as one of those freeflyers who falls into that oh-so-subjective “intermediate” category, and the person who taught me how to sitfly, let’s hear your advice to all those aspiring freeflyers out there.

RS: Challenge yourself and don’t give up. When you think you’ve done everything you can to get it.. and don’t, push yourself to keep going and achieve your goal. Once you get it, you get it.

SDC: Anything you’d like to add?

RS: It’s been 3 days and I’m jones’n for some ff (freefall).

Thanks, Rick. This was fun.

For anyone who was curious about something and didn’t find out in this interview, feel free to send questions my way. After all, we do live under the same roof.

Blue skies!

Ashley

I’ve deemed this week “BASE Week” here at SDC.

Why? Well let me tell you – I’ve done some incredible interviews the last few weeks and all of them are / were BASE jumpers. So I’m dedicating this week to the experts out there who know what they’re talking about. Because let’s be honest, if you’ve been here before, you know I clearly don’t have a clue .

So on with the show!

Today we’re talking to a BASE jumper that I met at the Everglades Boogie this January. I turned to him on the first Otter load and asked him his name…he looked really familiar. Turns out, we didn’t know each other, but had some BASE friends in common.

So we kept in touch (oh the powers of social media) and after reading about his BASE trips in Blue Skies Mag, I was excited to chat with him about all this.  Today we’re talking to Marko Markovich!

*Photo credit unknown. I borrowed this from his Facebook page

So let’s start out with a few generic skydiving questions to get the ball rolling, shall we?

SDC: How long have you been skydiving?

MM: Since 2007

SDC: Tell us a “your story.” What brought you into the sport and what has kept you here?

MM: Well I always wanted to go skydiving, once I finally said screw waiting for a bunch of people to go with me I went with 2 buddies. And when I landed I was back in less then a week! So much fun, so many places to jump and so many people to meet! I love how challenging it is!

SDC: What’s your favorite skydiving discipline and why?

MM: My favorite skydiving discipline has been freeflying but since this winter and all the boogies I have been to Luis Prinetto turned me onto tracking a lot! It is by far my most favorite in the sky! There are so many types of track dives you can do and constantly switching up the dive in the sky!

SDC: Moving on to BASE…when we met at the Everglades boogie, I quickly found out that we have some mutual friends in the BASE world. What turned you on to BASE?

MM: BASE is a totally different world and thats why I love it. When I first took the APEX course I took a year off since it scared me up pretty good. Then I got back into it and love it more then anything. Every BASE jump is like my first skydive, so scared that I can’t really enjoy it yet, and when I do start to enjoy it I always see myself pushing the boundaries and trying harder and harder things on base jumps. I would like to take a step back and just enjoy it but love pushing and testing my limits! One thing about it is that I can go do it whenever I want for the most part, and I can go alone and do it for myself!

SDC: So what are you more passionate about, BASE or skydiving. Why?

MM: That’s a tough call, since you have to work for BASE and not pay for the jumps I think it will win for now!

SDC: You recently got back from a couple cool BASE trips, one that was chronicled in Blue Skies Mag… and the more recent trip to Twin Falls. Tell us a little about those experiences.

MM: This winter was the funnest winter I’ve had in my life. Had a blast in Cali and met so many people, same as in Florida and Twin Falls. California definitely has some of the sickest scenery for BASE jumps! Idaho was an amazing trip as me and 2 buddies went and we had a blast jumping non stop for 6 days!

SDC: What’s the best memory you’ve made as a BASE jumper?

MM: The best memory I have is actually from this past weekend at Twin! I taught my buddy how to jump and got him into the sport, we did a nice 2 way with him doing video of me doing a gainer on a sunset load at the bridge. It was by far one of the best jumps I have ever done!

SDC: What’s one of the scariest things you’ve seen in the sport?

MM: Well lucky me I havent seen much carnage in this sport. Just seeing people do some low turns and stab out at the last second…thank god!

SDC: Okay, now back to skydiving. Planning on attending any boogies or traveling anywhere this season. Maybe back to Everglades perhaps?

MM: Yeah this winter that just passed was my first with a lot of traveling, my next winter is getting planned out much differently. I will be at almost every boogie in the US if things go according to plan!

Thanks Marko! It was great chatting with you. Be safe out there on those static objects.

Stick around, we’ve got some more BASE jumpers to hear from this week – and you WON’T be disappointed!

Blue skies!

Ashley

*NOTE: This was my 100th post. Yay!

So needless to say we spent some time at this Southern DZ!

The first thing you notice when arriving at Skydive Carolina is the HUGE LZ. H.U.G.E. It’s 70 acres! And there are outs everywhere – not that you frequently need them. Even I didn’t have a problem hitting my target

The only issue we really ran into was turbulence and thermals off the runway.

We were pleasantly surprised when we ran into a few jumpers that we met at the Everglades Boogie. We posted up near a group of belly flyers who made us feel right at home and got a chance to jump with one of the freeflyers who we also met in Clewiston.

On the last day of the trip we were able to jump with Justin, a friend from Skydive PA and now a resident of South Carolina – this was the weekend he made Skydive Carolina his home.

The first jump of the day was a little hairy for me – what with getting kicked in the face and almost getting clobbered by another freeflyer. Whew!

After spending a few days there, I have a good feeling that Justin will be right at home there. The people are so nice and down to Earth! There’s a strong community feel, very encouraging. Most of all, people are just there to have a good time – even the teams in training took the time to chat and share in a few laughs.

Another Southern DZ I highly recommend! If you decide to pay this dropzone a visit, tell Annette that Ashley and Rick said hi

Blue skies!

Ashley