Life Moments

From Alyse:

“Hey Dave, it’s Alyse. Not sure if you remember me but a year ago yesterday was the day that we went bungee jumping at Navajo Bridge. I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for getting me excited, easing my fears, and capturing my adventure. Because of that, I’ve learned more about myself, my passions, and life itself.”

Alyse airborne at the Navajo Bridge (Grand Canyon - Arizona). Photo composition by Eric Peffer Photography

From Dave:

I recently received this grateful and inspiring email from Alyse, who was visiting the Navajo Bridge (Grand Canyon, Arizona) with her family when she was ‘invited’ to jump off of the bridge.

Adventure and taking on new challenges will unveil new learning opportunities about yourself and possibly others who are hovering within your adventure space.

Photo by Barry Glazier

Alyse would write a memoir for her English class sharing her reflection on this unique experience and the impact it would have on her life.

From Alyse:

From her paper (which she received an A!), she shared some of her thoughts and steps toward doing the unusual.
”Hey, Wanna jump?” Of course, I didn’t hesitate to respond. Being as outgoing as I am, I replied with, “Heck yeah.” My response, even though said in a normal tone, was just me kidding around. I obviously did not plan on jumping off of a bridge just because a stranger invited me to.

Dave Nevins - photo composition by Eric Peffer Photography

From Dave:

After some family dialogue on whether they were going to watch their daughter jump to her death or not, Alyse got the thumbs up and she received instructions on how to perform the perfect swan dive.

Let me ask you a simple question. Are you taking on the challenges that call your name?

From Alyse:

It was just me. Standing alone on the edge of a 467-foot bridge. I felt ready, adrenaline pumped through my veins. I heard everyone on the bridge start to count, “5….4….3….2….”
I jumped. I let out a scream as I went from diving horizontally to plunging vertically. I wasn’t even thinking about the danger I just faced or the height I was conquering. All of my worries and thoughts just slipped out of my mind.

I looked off the bridge once more and smiled. That’s when I knew I was hooked. That life to me isn’t worth anything if I’m not risking it. I realized what it is like to actually be alive and what it’s like to really be scared of dying. I had experience something that no other event could compare to. I had felt a way that for the rest of my life, could never exactly be matched or repeated.

From Dave:

Let me ask you a simple question. Are you taking on the challenges that call your name?

Video of my jump.

Similar to Alyse, I have heard the voice calling my name, sometimes I take on an adventure or challenge, sometimes I do not. I confess that I am truly thankful for every yes that I take on when a new challenge has presented itself, and those memories are lasting and those experiences have shaped and molded me into who I am today.

Dave Nevins during the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo with Team No Limits (all type 1 diabetes riders)

I have shared before that a neighbor in Boise, Idaho came by the house and asked if I wanted to go bungee jump. I realized I could have come up with some excuse to avoid a “scary” challenge, but I thought about it and decided that if I do not have a solid reason for not doing something then let’s do it!

Snorkeling during a No Limits (for people with type 1 diabetes) kayak expedition near Sitka, Alaska. Photo taken by Scott Harris.

Taking on challenges can also happen in the work world. This is me during my time as a bicycle messenger in Boise, Idaho.

Canadian Death Race with a team of runners with type 1 diabetes. Dave Nevins on the left and Will Schock on the right.

Why I Bungee Jump

A question my parents, friends, relatives and unknown strangers ask (Why I bungee jump). Why would you jump off of a perfectly good bridge? Or a bad bridge for that matter?

From the Navajo Bridge near Page, Arizona. A Perfectly good bridge in the sensational Grand Canyon. Photo by Dave Nevins.

My adventurous life of jumping from bridges, out of airplanes (tandem jump), base jumping (tandem jump), rope jumps and swings from bridges, mountain climbing, rock climbing, caving, and organizing extreme events (long ocean swim races in Alaska), etc. all goes back to a single moment in life while I lived in Boise, Idaho. A clarifying moment of who I would become and how I would find a little extra zest in life and how I would make decisions as opportunities would cross my path.

My Sony POV video.

My neighbor Curt strolled by one morning and asked me a simple but complicated question. Would I like to join him and a few others to bungee jump off of a bridge near where I lived?

Kayakers near the start of the paddle down the Colorado River. Photo by Dave Nevins.

My mind played some games with me and I inched toward creating a reason I would or could not jump. My heart said, No, We are Not Going That Direction! A few more seconds of swirling brain waves bouncing in my head and I took a deep breath.

Video of me from my camera. Filmed by Sean Crosby.

Ok, maybe a few deep gasps for breath. I walked next door, rattled Curt's door and semi-confidently uttered, 'Yes'. 

My thought was simply and in a somewhat child-like manner were that I could not come up with a solid, valid or even heroic reason to not do the bungee jump.

Colorado River from the bridge. Photo by Dave Nevins.

That is how I approach decisions to take on new challenges in life. Is there a good reason not to do this?

Snapshot from my Samsung 360 Camera.

Interesting timing as Matthew Butterman, a type 1 diabetes acquaintance, contacted me for an article to post online at Diabetes Daily. He knew that I did not live the usual lifestyle of a person with diabetes. In the 'Out of the Box' zone!

He did an outstanding job on "Be Extreme! Seven Lessons for People with Diabetes Doing Extreme and Adventure Sports". Thank You Matthew for reaching out  and sharing a niche lifestyle for those with diabetes. Article link below:

Snapshot from my Sony POV.

As mentioned, the timing was unique as I was doing a bungee jump at the Navajo Bridge (Grand Canyon-Arizona) very soon (all photos and videos are from this jump).

Snapshot from my camera. Filmed by Sean Crosby.

This was to be an extra special experience for me as it had been ten years since the last time I had connected to a bungee cord. I had contacted Eric Lyman (Over the Edge, Inc. Bungee) to see if we could orchestrate a group get together at the bridge. Bingo on seeking adventures!

Me - Testing Gravity. Photo by Barry Glazier.

Bryce Myhre - video 

Bungee Eric had selected April 1, 2018 for our jump. No, not an April Fools Joke! It was a nod to the Dangerous Sports Club and their first bungee jump on April 1, 1979, helping to usher in a sport that I was now attached to. Pun intended. A crazy group of people from England who traveled the world doing very interesting, unique and crazy events. Also an amusing read.

Composite created by Eric Peffer Photography.

I journeyed up to the bridge with Eric Peffer, who would create some excellent memories of the bungee jump via his trusty camera. We were joined by Barry and Sharon Glazier (friends from Kanab, AZ) and some of their friends.

Me - ready to almost lose the camera. Photo by Barry Glazier.

Alyse (video above) had come to the bridge with her family (with the Glaziers) to watch some crazy people jump off the Nav. She would get a thumbs up from her parents and would make an exceptional leap.

Alyse - Composite Photo by Eric Peffer Photography.

Spinning, bouncing, hanging upside down, and........ I had caught the camera and now was trying to put a camera back on my head. Photo by Barry Glazier.

The day would go very well as Abe and Bryce balanced on the railing, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and they were in flight and no screams ensued. It was now my time to scream, or not, as I did my best to balance on the narrow railing. Did I happen to mention that the wind was fierce, howling at those whose scary moment 467 feet above the Colorado River was now turned up a couple notches.

My years and years of leaping off things seemed to have soared back through my veins and I was at the low end for nerves rattling. That 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 did jingle a part of my brain that had semi-retired on my last jump in 2008, but I managed to jump in somewhat good form.

If 1 hits and you are still standing, you owe Eric a 6 pack!

From my Sony POV.

I enjoy plummeting to the earth at race car speed but the bounce back up toward the bridge will flip flop your innards in a special manner. I expected this, but did not expect that my camera would fly off my head. Miraculously, I would catch it. Only issue now was I was spinning, bouncing and upside down and would have to put it back on my head. An incredible stroke of luck (maybe a bit of skill) but I now envisioned dropping the cam into the river far below.

I was successful in mounting the Sony and I clicked into a free ride up to the bridge far above. A few anxious seconds, but so glad that I had a life moment on the media card and the life changing experiences that doing such extreme things in life can produce.

Moments such as these do not happen sitting on the couch and wondering what if. Say yes to what may challenge, scare, or freak you out. The rattling anxiety is temporary, the memories are forever!

Sunset from the historic Navajo Bridge.

The Call came at 3 am

The Call Came at 3 am

The call came at 3 am and it was a zinger.  The voice at the other end of the line said something along the lines of 'how would you like to jump off the Royal Gorge Bridge?'.  Now that got my full and undivided attention, grogginess be gone.  I was receiving a once in a life time offer.  Bungee jumping off the Royal Gorge Bridge is illegal, but every now and then the jump is legal, for only a few days.  Go Fast, an energy drink company, will take out insurance on the bridge to run the Go Fast Games and create a festive swirl of adrenaline activities which include Base Jumping, slack lining, jet suit flights, bungee jumping, etc.  I am not sure exactly how many Go Fast Games have been run but it appears to be 5-7 times and definately not every year.

I had been jumping and helping crew with Over the Edge Bungee (out of Stanley, Idaho) to help fill my adrenaline needs.  We had discussed the 1,053 foot (321 meter) Royal Gorge Bridge as the ultimate destination while packing bungee cords, carabiners, etc.

Over the Edge Bungee had been asked to run the bungee jump at the 2008 Go Fast Games.  I would help on crew, take photos and film, and of course, leap.........it would be an amazing experience I will never forget.  It also appears to have been the latest, but, hopefully, not last, Go Fast Games.

I have a previous blog story on our Go Fast Games adventure so I will share the recent discovery of a slideshow I had tried to put together after the event. It was on a seriously inadequate lap top that had trouble with the project.  It essentially had problems with just about everything.

About a month ago I was offered a much newer lap top. It works.  Bells and whistles included.  While scanning my photos I  came across the  unfinished slideshow, laying dormant in a corner of the Go Fast Games file.  

An opportunity to relive a grand time and to finally share with others.  Enjoy!
Link below:
Music by Sittser

The Go Fast Games Slideshow with Over the Edge Bungee

An Opportunity at 124 Miles Per Hour

An Opportunity at 124 Miles Per Hour

"An Opportunity at 124 miles per hour"

A dramatic, inspiring site perched high above the Arkansas

River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is a popular spot for tourists

to death-grip the railing, and take a heart thumping view to

the river 1,053 feet below. I have a special fondness for

bridges. For four days every year adrendaline seekers descend

upon this special bridge for base and bungee jumping, slack

lining, rock climbing with a few jet pack flights thrown in for

good measure.

With a call at 3 am I received the invite to participate in the Go

Fast Games by my friends at Over the Edge Bungee. I wanted

to be part of the unique experience by working on the bungee

crew. Of course, I was also there to jump. As a person with diabetes, I have chosen to live life as fully as possible. I am not sure how many is in my quota, but this will be one notch in my 'adventure' quota.  

The crew and I have shared the long-lasting dream to leap off of what is probably the ultimate gravity experience on the planet. So, when Over the Edge Bungee was invited to be the sole bungee company working the festival, I knew this was my ticket to adventure.Ticket punched and harness in my suitcase, I made my way to Canon City, Colorado.

This was not the first time I had spent time on the Royal Gorge

Bridge. As a child, the Nevins family had made an excursion

to the bridge. I don’t remember much about the visit except that

there was a definite cloud of fear while on the bridge. Never

did I envision (nor did my poor parents) jumping off the

highest suspension bridge in the world. Come to think of it, I

have spent a large chunk of my life doing things that would not

be on most people’s lists. Sometimes life presents unusual

opportunities and sometimes we need to say yes.

Not wanting to loaf around and allow fear to permeate, I made

sure that I would be dangling from bungee cords on the first

day. The Go Fast Games are four days of intense craziness

held at the end of September. You have to be invited in order

to participate in all the activities except our bungee gig. It

was a real highlight to assist over 80 people make the leap of

a lifetime. It is my guess that almost half of the group, who

were from distant points all over the globe, were first-time

bungee jumpers. In my jumping career, I had started off

slowly (all of 95 feet on my first jump), working up to

loftier bridges. These participants were not messing around.

The novelty of the event truly hit home when I found out that

less than 100 people had ever bungee jumped off this structure,

before we had arrived. It is illegal to jump the bridge unless

it is during the Go Fast Games.

Early on the first day of the Games I climbed over the railing

and onto a platform that had been created for our time on the

bridge. What an amazing place to be! Was I nervous?

Standing at the end of a platform over 1,000 feet above the

River, ready to do my best imitation of a torpedo and fall at

Terminal velocity (124 miles per hour), I had some anxious

Thoughts. But thankfully the anxious-meter was low and I

was smiling. Gravity works exceptionally well at the Gorge

and I had a grand leap. Another phenomenal memory

forever stored into the brain bank.