Two daredevil kite surfers named Jake Scrace and Lewis Crathern managed to jump over a pier in England reports the Daily News. The kite surfers were given an extra lift by some very strong winds.
Strapped to surf boards and attached to giant kites, the men were lifted more than 40ft into the air by powerful winds and carried over the Victorian structure.
To the gasps of astonished onlookers, Lewis Crathern, 24, and Jake Scrace, 25, flew 100ft through the air before landing safely in the sea.
You can see the amazing jump in the video below. Take a look:
The BBC also has a story about the "epic" pier jump.
These guys appear to have no fear of heights. These men don wing suits and jump off mountain tops. They glide at speeds of 140 miles per hour. CBS News says some people call them bird men. Several of them have died in attemtps to defy gravity. Take a look:
Extreme athlete Luke Spencer dropped down a 70-foot waterfall. Photographer Jed Weingarten shows off some of the images Spencer's plunge. The waterfall was located at Outlet falls in Washington state. Luke Spencer says he injured some ribs and possibly broke them.
REI held its first of many Twinkie Roasts across the country today. The quirky annual employee event is held to beckon Mother Nature to provide a hearty snowfall on behalf of snowsports lovers everywhere. The REI Twinkie Roast began in the late 1970s at the co-op's Berkeley, California store.
REI doesn't formally track the success of its Twinkie Roasts but they do claim some mysterious successes. According to employee accounts, after the Denver store’s 2006 Twinkie Roast, fondly remembered as the burning of the "Twinx" (Twinkie sphinx), there was a Christmas blizzard and the sixth highest single day snowfall on Colorado records. This success was surpassed in 2007 by the burning of the "Twinnacle" (climbing pinnacle wrought from sponge cake) when snow fell in the mountains 59 out of 62 consecutive days.
Larry Brock talks about the Allegheny bike trail, which where a large section of the Allegheny railroad has been transformed so that it can be used by bikers and hikers. The website says that when completed, the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage will connect with the 184.5-mile C&O Canal Towpath at Cumberland, Maryland to create a 334.5-mile traffic and motorized vehicle-free route between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC.
Paul Hochman from Fast Company magazine shares information about the latest camping products with Harry Smith from the CBS Early Show. L.L. Bean has a tent out called the Mountain Light Tent 2. There's a remote control LED lantern and a foldable burner. There's also a headlamp that you strap on your head, which has four adjustable brightness levels. There are also some tents for use with backyard camping - for those who don't want to journey too far. Take a look:
Flophouse Foam Pad Provides Outdoor Comfort for Dogs
Boing Boing Gadgets has an interesting post here about camping gear for dogs. They mention the Flophouse Foam Pad above from Ruffhouse gave their dog some extra comfort on an outdoor trip. The product description says it is washable and drys out quickly. It costs $59.95 to $99.95 depending on size and can be purchased here.
The Huffington Postreports that Shweeb is a human powered monorail that is currently being used for competition at the Shweeb campus in New Zealand. However, it could eventually be used as an eco-friendly form of transportation. Shweeb is said to be faster than a racing bicycle and requires 50% of the energy.
The inventors believe rapidly expanding urban areas desperately need an alternative to cars like Shweeb. An article on Treehugger says that Shweeb's creators believe Shweeb is very cheap, can deliver thousands of people per hour, has no parking problems and has zero carbon emissions.
The result is the most efficient vehicle on earth, the most inexpensive infrastructure of any proposed urban transit and one of the highest capacity systems available - potentially delivering thousand's of people per hour in a very small airspace. All this with zero carbon emissions and no parking worries or cost!
One downside is that it looks a little cramped inside the Shweeb.
Outdoor Life Ranks Top 200 Hunting and Fishing Towns
Lewiston, Idaho has topped Outdoor Life's top 200 list of the best hunting and fishing towns. Marquette, Michigan came in second. You can see the Outdoor Life feature here.
Lewiston, ID
Marquette, MI
Idaho Falls, ID (tie)
Rawlins, WY (tie)
Pocatello, ID
Bismarck, ND
Sheridan, WY
Pierre, SD
Rochester, MN
Carbondale, CO
Outdoor Life has also made available an Excel file you can download of the 200 towns.
This is a pretty cool idea. Curated Magazine reports that Studiometrico helped Comvert convert an old theater in Milan into a store that contains a skate bowl on the top floor. Comvert designs clothing and accessories for snowboarding and skateboarding so the skate bowl is a perfect addition to their shop.
The K-Light is a solar-powered lantern that would be useful on camping trips. The K-light can be used for up to 20 hours after being charged in the sun. It can be used as both a lantern and a flashlight.
The K-Light is an innovative, eco-friendly solar-powered lantern, designed to stand up to the harshest environments. Approximately the size and weight of a can of soda, the unique combination of its solar-charging battery and bright, energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs), make the K-Light unlike any other product available today.
Small, lightweight and rugged, the K-Light is perfect for outdoor activities such as camping, boating and hiking. The K-Light is ideal as an emergency light, too. Highly water-resistant and designed to be used as either flashlight or lantern, the K-Light can be charged and used anywhere—no matter the situation.
A new tool developed at the University of B.C. helps cyclists plan safe routes away from traffic with low air pollution. You can find the cycle route planner for here. Check the Cycling in Cities website for more interesting studies.
iPhone Board Perfect For Skateboarding Apple Fanboys
This geeky iPhone skateboard is up for sale on Zazzle. It was clearly designed to resemble Apple's popular iPhone. It retails for $63.50. Someone should do the same thing with a surfboard.
Schwinn's Tailwind electric bicycle is billed as the fastest charging electric bike in the world. Schwinn had it on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas where they were offering test drives. The bike is currently available at authorized Schwinn retailers. You can find an outlet at schwinnelectricbikes.com . You can find more specs here.
There are worm vending machines in Poland that dispenses live worms. Reuters says it's a prototype on trial beside Nielisz Lake in the Lublin province of Poland and that it's popular with local anglers. Just don't bring worms to your daughter who is expecting a candy bar. Take a look: