Falling ...

Hmmm, my room mate said something today that I find to be very interesting.

"The faster you fall, the harder you land."

Absolutely fascinating, I think, and applicable to nearly everything in life. The faster you fall, the harder you will land. A feather dropped from ten stories up will fall slowly and land softly. A person, on the other hand, will fall much faster and land quite a far bit harder. Obviously, it is then more logical to try to manage one's fall to be controlled, not freefall.

Of course, the surface one lands on is also of crucial importance. Is it soft? Hard? Thorny? A soft surface receiving you will negate some of the harmful effects of an overly fast fall. If one hits a hard surface, the impact is likely to be significant, even with a controlled fall. The worst case is a thorny surface, one that rejects the faller actively. If you see thorns at the end of your ride, no matter how well you can control your speed, I would suggest holding off on leaping forward.

Take from this what you will.