I moved to Colorado when I was 18 years old.
The first time I saw the San Juan and Rocky Mountains I promised myself I’d fly over them one day in my own plane.
The Air Force Academy was my obvious route. But a criminal record that started at the age of 15 yo, and a disdain for authority, guaranteed that it was never going to happen...
I opted for a Liberal Arts college and degrees in biology and chemistry...then a scholarship to grad school.
...that solo flight over the mountains was looking bleak.
At 33 yo I signed up for ground school. Then work, life and my disdain for classrooms got in my way.
I quit.
A few months later I got greedy with my goal and decided to study the books nightly. I forced myself to learn everything about flight. I carted aviation books everywhere I went - the gym, vacation, my office, the library.
Then I was ready to take the written FAA test.
The night before my big exam, my daughter Lily got sick. I stayed up with her only to catch the flu. Rolling out of bed at 5am I could hardly put my shoes on. An hour drive to take a 2-hour test was surely out of the question.
But, I refused to quit this time and promised myself to always take the hard road from that point on...
I took the test and only focused on the easy shit, didn’t answer the hard shit. Feeling exhausted, ill, dizzy and straight defeated, I aced it.
Then I signed up for flight school. Ten flights in I confirmed it. I was scared to death of single engine planes, wind shear, bird strikes, up drafts, down drafts and landing.
The hard road was getting harder and I learned to love it.
I kept trying but assured my wife I’d NEVER be able to learn this shit.
Thanks to a stubborn and patient flight instructor I finally learned how to fly a Cessna 172.
But alas that airplane would never make it over the tumultuous mountains of Colorado. I'd need hundreds of hours of more practice and turbo-charged plane...
I kept at it.
Nine years after receiving my license I finally had the right plane and knowledge to make the traverse.
In this pic above, I’m doing it again 13 years after becoming a pilot...after already traversing 2500 miles in 3 days!
My savior was Cardio FX, Daily Dose and Thermo FX, daily. Focus, keen mind, we tackled everything from wind shear, night landings and takeoffs, crosswind landings, missed approaches in 40 knot wind, down drafts, up drafts and everything in-between...
Averaging 4 hours of sleep both nights and three different time zones, our final landing took us to Telluride, Colorado...
Over the mountains and into Telluride, I was busy watching my engine performance like a hawk eying it’s prey...so of course this pic is my best look at the views that come with a lifelong dream of flying over Colorado...and proof that health is wealth and you're never too old to live young!
Ditch the meds!
The People's Chemist
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