Rides for the Mountain Biking Buddies

I have been mountain biking with a great group of guys. I am by far the oldest and most out of shape. They make sure not to let me get too far behind and find comic relief in the fact that I take a dramatic spill or six every ride. I hate those narrow plank bridges!

 I wanted to return the favor by taking them for rides in the plane. On Sunday, we finished our (extremely, inappropriately hard) ride up piles of rocks and boulders, then headed over to the airport.

The weather was absolutely perfect. We picked up John's son, Dolan on the way to let him share in the fun.

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First up, my friend John Morley and his son, Dolan. We do a safety brief, then buckle them in. My other friends, Mike and Scott will head up to the terminal to take a video, then will get the next ride.

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Here is the takeoff with the Morleys.
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Scott and Mike took this video of the landing pattern and taxi from the terminal. They're up next.

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Scott and Mike load up and we do a hot start. I'm thrilled to start it on the first try. We check the guages then taxi out for takeoff.  John takes the video this time. John's son, Dolan, had a great ride and wishes he could do it again.

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I take off for the flight with Scott and Mike. We do some turns and let Scott try flying. Mike gets a picture of his house and neighborhood, then we head back to the airport.

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With three big guys, I land faster and longer. We taxi past the first turnoff to the end of the runway to save the brakes.



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We taxi in past the terminal and down to the hangar to put the plane away, then walk back up to meet John and his son.

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Mike Laliberte

Scott Juenger

After we put the plane away, we have a few Mexican beers at the airport restaurant. It is Cinco de Mayo after all. 

The guys liked going up in the plane and I had a great time giving them rides. All in all a really good day.

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