Today, 43 year old Austrian base-jumper Felix Baumgartner broke the records for the highest and fastest free-fall sky dive by jumping out of a specially-designed helium balloon from 29 miles above the surface of the earth, falling at speeds of upto 833mph.
Watching the event, broadcast live by Redbull, there was a genuine sense of history being made – and for those of us not around at the time, gave a small idea of what it must have been like to watch the moonlanding.
As ever, feats like Baumgartner’s demonstrate what can be achieved by people with sufficient ambition and determination – not least because the financial and technological challenges inherent in the project meant it was almost 7 years in the making – and expand our perception of what it means to be human.
What’s interesting is that even before the jump Baumgartner had stated the feat would be the end of his sky-diving career. It’s difficult to imagine anything that could top what he achieved today, but for people who have dedicated their lives to pushing themselves to the limits of human achievement, simply stopping seems like it could prove a harder comedown than the jump itself.
On a very slightly smaller scale, I wonder whether I will see the completion of my own trip as ‘sufficient’ once it is finished – or if crossing the Americas will only spur me on to new and different cycling challenges?
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