BIG THINGS: Stages of Excitement about the Airborne Flight Crew

A week and a half ago I threw up a short post letting you all know that something big was brewing.  Two days ago I talked a little about the brewing storm of Airborne Bicycles' "First Flight" of new mountain bikes.  Yesterday I let drop that I am going to be flying out to the Sea Otter Classic a week from today...

I was selected from well over 100 applications to be a member of the first ever Airborne Flight Crew!

I along with 9 other people were given this honor.  We all get a free trip to the Sea Otter Classic (flight, hotel, food, and transportation all paid for), an Airborne bike of our choosing, a GoPro HD helmet cam to record our adventures, and a whole bunch of branded Airborne gear to wear out on the trails! In exchange for all of this, all we have to do is post a couple of helmet cam videos every now and then, and blog a little bit about our adventures and how we like the bikes.

Now if THAT isn't cool, I don't know what is!

Yes, this is totally for real!  It took me a long time for it to actually sink into my head, and for me to actually believe this was really happening.  It was so surreal, that as the events of finding out about this sweet deal unfolded, I blogged through my different levels of excitement over becoming a member of the Airborne Flight Crew:

Tuesday, March 23rd.
9:30 pm
Received the email in my inbox telling me that I had been selected to be a member of the first ever Airborne Flight Crew, and that to verify my position I had to call by 5 pm the following day (Wednesday). 

Feelings of dazed disbelief and open-mouthed stupor immediately followed.

9:40 pm
Yells of amazement because it has finally hit me: I've won a brand new mountain bike!

9:45 pm
Further disbelief.  Is this a hoax?

The rest of the evening, until about 12:15 am the next morning
Walking around with a perpetual smile on my face, dreaming of what it will be like to own a brand new mountain bike, go to California for the Sea Otter classic, and be an all around hardcore Flight Crew member.

Wednesday, March 24th
6:45 am
Wake up with a smile on my face... this is awesome!

9:05 am
Try to call to verify my Flight Crew membership. No answer.  Left a lengthy message, making sure that they knew that I wanted the spot.

9:10 am
Begin frying a pork chop on the stove for brunch.

9:15 am
Get a call back from Airborne.  Yes!  Spend the next 15-20 minutes getting the low down on the Flight Crew, and try to cook my pork chop at the same time. 

Wow, this is really legit!  The awesomeness of it all finally starts to sink in.

9:30 am
Succeeded in not burning my pork chop.  MMM, delicious!

The rest of the morning and afternoon, at work:
Tried to focus on work.  Failed miserably.  Instead, daydreamed about mountain biking.

Thursday, March 25th
2:11 pm
One of the other guys from the new Flight Crew adds me on Facebook, and we message back and forth for a while about how surreal this whole thing is... It's awesome! 

4:15 pm
Get home, expecting contract in the mail.  It's not in the mailbox. Much disappointment.

4:17 pm
Realize that they Fedex-ed it, and that it's at my back door. Score!

4:47 pm
Read through the contract, signed it, scanned it and emailed it.  It's official!

Friday, March 26th
Reality begins to set in.  I am super stoked, but am now able to function normally throughout my day.  I'm going to California and I get a new bike!  Yes!


Yes, this is really happening!  I feel so privileged to be one of the 10 people to have this experience.  It is going to be a wild ride, and all of my adventures (including helmet cam shots YES!) will be posted up here for you all to see.  It's going to be an awesome ride!

Continue on and read my award winning essay here!