poz Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 For nearly a decade now Paramotoring has dominated all of my free time. I'm fortunate enough to live in the sun and have managed to fly on a regular basis. However, I'm 54 yrs now and it occurred to me that you need to be relatively fit to safely foot launch a Paramotor, not the other way round. Once you've launched the rest is pretty sedentary. So, I decided to find some other interests to compliment my flying, all of which I've chosen to increase my fitness, strength, balance and stamina, without having to walk into a gym. The idea is that the health benefits are a by-product and are secondary to the enjoyment. These are the new interests I have recently taken up: iSUP (Inflatable Stand Up Paddle board) - Looks like a lot of fun, great fitness benefits and really cheap. The whole set up costs around the same as a carbon prop (under £300). Electric Mountain Bike - This cost a bit more, but what a game changer. I live in a mountainous area and this lets me really explore. Surprisingly I work harder on this than my non-electric bike. I got it directly from China at a fraction of the cost. Love it to bits. Table Tennis - Used to play this at school and loved it, so thought I'd find out if I could put a little club together. Amazed at the interest. Great fun and I cover around 10000 steps a session. So, I was just wondering what other interests members have 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Good move having other interests - stops you having to hang around with paramotor pilots all the time. The missus and I fancy having a look at ISUP too, we're going to try it out in a few weeks. I run in the hills and mountains and have a passion for caving and cave diving. But sadly time is for those is tight as I'm always hanging around with paramotor pilots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySV1K Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Fitness for me has been a big part of my life for years and coming back to paramotoring this year, it's sure a big help when you're spending months practicing on the ground doing forward launches with a Bailey and no motor running! My main long term hobby is martial arts, which i've been doing for around 25 years, last year being awarded 5th Dan black belt. I used to do a lot of cycling, but I just don't enjoy it anymore so that fell to the wayside a while back. Never tried paddle boarding but did see some people doing it on holiday recently and it looked quite fun (But quite difficult). Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Motorcycling was my first passion, and I regard my paratrike as very much an aerial motorbike.............neither of which require particularly high levels of physical activity but both put a smile on my face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Mountain biking 25 years, swimming 45 years, walking 4 years and radio controlled planes 40 years...oh and building houses 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySV1K Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 3 hours ago, Guy said: Motorcycling was my first passion, and I regard my paratrike as very much an aerial motorbike.............neither of which require particularly high levels of physical activity but both put a smile on my face Do you still ride? I've had a Hayabusa for the last 10 years but sold it a week ago to free up funds and i've bought myself an old Ducati Hypermotard which i picked up this afternoon. Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) Start with free flying! Lots of hike and fly, and a bit more skill demanding than PPG. I took a soaring course and I love it! A complete paragliding kit can weight a bit, and you often carry water, snacks, and quick bag, then the uphill walk. Just perfect sport to do when it's too windy for PPG. You can even use a reflex wing with great benefit if you are soaring in strong or turbulent wind. I think it's partly true that free flying can be more social than PPG since you have to gather at spots to practice it. Other nice sports, Kite surfing and longboard cruising. Balance sucks and feeling too old for it? great, just another reason to do it! Edited May 24, 2018 by Casper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sujan Azad Parikh Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Apart from paramotoring, I love to go on treks and hikes. Traveling is a big passion for me and whenever I get the time, I head off to the mountains as they are my favourite. I have been trekking and hiking for the past 7/8 years and I have been to a number of places in the UK as well as overseas. It's just a thing that I cannot live without I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 20 hours ago, AndySV1K said: Do you still ride? I've had a Hayabusa for the last 10 years but sold it a week ago to free up funds and i've bought myself an old Ducati Hypermotard which i picked up this afternoon. Andy. Hi Andy. I had a Honda Blackbird for 10 years, so similar to the Hayabusa (only better ). I wasn't doing the distance/mileage that warranted a bike of that size so my son bought it. I got a Yamaha Tracer 700 just before Christmas and really like it. It doesn't have the build quality of the Honda but is light and flickable and you can wring the throttle, which you can never do on a Blackbird and stay safe. I'm 62 now and certainly still hope to be riding into my 70's, but still hope to be flying a trike as well.............I certainly know one person of that age who flies the same type of trike and he's still ok with it. The only physical side is pushing it back up onto the trailer and I could even get a winch to help with that if I needed to. I'm not too sure about Ducati's. They sound awesome but will it get you home? Enjoy anyway. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 18 hours ago, Guy said: so similar to the Hayabusa (only better ). Except for the horrid linked braking system SW 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sujan Azad Parikh Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 Apart from paramotoring, I have almost regularly played football with my pals and still continue to do so. Also, apart from that, I am a frequent hiker and trekker and that also keeps me fit and healthy. So, overall all these activities are more than enough for me to keep fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySV1K Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 On 25/05/2018 at 13:25, Guy said: Hi Andy. I had a Honda Blackbird for 10 years, so similar to the Hayabusa (only better ). I'm guessing you already know the Hayabusa is a Japanese Peregrine Falcon that eats blackbirds for breakfast? I know what you mean about Ducati, it's my second italian bike. The first one munched through it's own transmission and locked the back wheel up in central London. I'd just done 70 miles on the M1 so considered myself lucky! I'm hoping this one will be reliable Andy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDavao Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 Archery,shooting,fishing,i like trekking and travel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 For me, Paramotoring has now given way to microlighting. Aside from flying, almost anything with moving parts interests me. I also dabble in a little amateur electronics. Bikes seem to be a recurring theme here - I currently ride a Triumph 1200 Tiger and I've built a few, including a Panther (British 600cc single) with a whole array of hidden features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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