Extreme Ironing V

“Time to take this show on the road.”

            

I followed this saying when I planned & carried out my fifth extreme ironing stunt in Arctic Bay.  Last year’s stunt saw me ironing dress clothes on the roof of my residence, but this time would be more exciting.  I wanted to bring back the same level of motion used in 2016, when I was photographed & filmed ironing on a moving qamutik (sled).  I settled on ironing on the back of a pickup truck.  My stunt crew & I would film the epic stunt on the Road to Nanisivik, with King George V Mountain in the background.  I didn’t want to cause any traffic jams or public disturbances in the community.    

            

Stunt Crew: John, Laura, Greg, Calbert.

I was able to recruit four brave souls to help me document my fifth EI outing.  They were: John, Calbert, Greg, and Laura.  John, Calbert, and Greg are teachers, while Laura works as the school’s secretary.  Frank “happily” let me borrow one of his pickup trucks for an afternoon on the strict condition that I bring it back in one piece.  (He’s the same Frank who provided the qamutik in 2016).  I also borrowed 4 sandbags from the school’s gym to anchor the ironing board in place. 

            

April 7, 2018.  Showtime.

           

Calbert poses as the driver. I had no
idea a picture was being taken.

My stunt crew arrived at my place in the afternoon.  I thanked them again for volunteering their time and gave them a short motivational speech.  They helped me load all my equipment into the back of the pickup truck.  We headed off towards the staging area, just past the Gas Station.  Mother Nature was on our side: the weather was clear and sunny.

            

Calbert was the pickup driver.  John & Greg would take photographs at opposite ends of the road, and Laura would film from the middle point.  I would also capture film with my two GoPro cameras.  One would be attached to my helmet while the other would be attached to the truck.  While my photographers went to their respective places, I went to work setting up my ironing board and clothes hanger.  With the ironing board safely held down by four sandbags, I wrapped two zipline cords around the coat hanger.  I didn’t want anything, nor anyone, falling out of the truck while it was in motion.  I let everyone know over the walkie-talkies that I was ready to being and asked if they were ready too?  One-by-one, each person confirmed their readiness.  I turned on both my GoPros and pressed the record buttons.  I tapped twice on the roof of the pickup truck.

           

The show began.

            

Calbert drove at a steady speed.  I began “ironing” a dress shirt and did my best poses for the cameras.  I did whatever pose I could think of: looking down, looking ahead, looking to the side, holding my iron up in the air, and waving at the cameras.  I acted like I was having the time of my life, which I most definitely was.  I had to exaggerate my mannerisms because I was wearing heavy outer clothing and my face was obscured by my skidoo helmet.  I hoped my three camera people got good pictures and raw film footage.

            

Calbert stopped just past King George V Mountain (KGVM) and did a u-turn.  I rearranged the ironing board, and switched over my dress pants.  I tapped twice on the roof of the pickup truck and Calbert drove back.  I repeated the same steps and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  Even though the weather was sunny, I was mindful of the cold temperature.  Batteries, unfortunately, don’t last long when exposed to the cold.  We only had a limited window of time before the batteries would die.

            

We took a short break after the second run.  Calbert did a u-turn and parked the truck on the side of the road.  The camera batteries were at half-strength, so we decided to do two more runs.  On the last run, I instructed Calbert to drive faster, up to 50km/h.  This increase in speed made the last run the most exhilarating. 

            

I took a group picture of my stunt crew because my fifth outing wouldn’t have been possible without their help.  I shook each of their hands and declared Extreme Ironing V a success.  We packed up and drove to Arctic Bay.  I would collect the pictures & videos in the coming days.  Following that would be several days of sorting and editing.  I'm glad I was able to edit enough pictures to feature them on this blog post.

            

Hard to believe that I have five extreme ironing experiences under my belt.  So far I have ironed: on top of KGVM, out on the land, on a moving qamutik, on the roof of my residence, and now on a moving pickup truck.  I can only wonder what I’ll do next year in 2019?

            

For those of you who are still confused, extreme ironing “is an extreme sport [where] people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing.”  There are plenty of pictures on Google showcasing this amazing sport.  You’ll even find photos of my previous EI adventures.  You should all try it at least once.  Why stay inside when you can iron outside and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time!

UPDATE: My Extreme Ironing V video is now up on YouTube!  Check it out here!