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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Steve Beckley wasn't too comfortable taking a seat next to a man who goes by the name “Conqueror.”
But here the owner of the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was occupying one of the only 24-inch slabs on the mountain that he's never plopped his butt on before.
“You've never done this before,?” Bert Kreischer yelled in Beckley's right ear. “Are you kidding me? This is your park, this is your ride. You have to ride it.”
Beckley flashed a smile laced with equal parts panic and outright fear. There was a reason why he'd never ridden the Giant Canyon Swing. He didn't want to. It scared the opposite of shinola out of him.
But on Thursday, Bert the Conqueror was unmerciful as he badgered Beckley.
“You paid for it, so you might as well ride it. This is like flying with a pilot who's afraid to fly,” the Travel Show TV host continued.
Beckley remained stoic, rarely shifting his focus from a few inches in front of him. He was not faking his terror, he has a genuine fear of heights.
“It's like a Band-Aid. You just have to rip it off,” Bert yelled.
Bert the Conqueror wasn't helping ease Beckley's fears. Actually, for Bert, it was like tormenting a cat with a laser pointer.
He was having fun. Beckley was not.
Then they were off for Beckley's maiden voyage on the Giant Canyon Swing.
Bert screamed with sheer delight. Beckley remained as rigid as a nine-iron.
As the ride came to an end, Bert was laughing hard.
“The best part was right at the beginning,” Bert said catching his breath.
That was when Beckley blurted out a panicked profanity only audible to Bert. “Then he said, ‘You're gonna cut that out, right?'” Bert said, still laughing.
As he walked from the ride with a twisted grin lacking in satisfaction, Beckley let out a sigh of relief.
Bert left him with a congratulatory morsel. “You did a great job, and now you don't ever have to ride it again.”
Will Steve Beckley ever ride the giant swing again?
“No,” he said, without hesitation.
Did he enjoy the ride?
“No! I have proven myself, and I don't plan to do it again,” Beckley said. “It's back to the Giant Maze for me.
“My heart is still beating, it's beating hard. I knew I had to do the ride and take one for the team. But I was scared out of my wits.”
Bert loved that Beckley was riding the swing for the first time during the “Bert the Conqueror” show.
“It's so great to see a grown man get out of his comfort zone. As you become a man you get more and more into your little safe spot, and to see a man step out it, oh, that's just awesome,” Bert said.
On Thursday, Steve Beckley stepped out and took a ride on the Giant Canyon Swing.
It was just like ripping off a Band-Aid.
But here the owner of the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was occupying one of the only 24-inch slabs on the mountain that he's never plopped his butt on before.
“You've never done this before,?” Bert Kreischer yelled in Beckley's right ear. “Are you kidding me? This is your park, this is your ride. You have to ride it.”
Beckley flashed a smile laced with equal parts panic and outright fear. There was a reason why he'd never ridden the Giant Canyon Swing. He didn't want to. It scared the opposite of shinola out of him.
But on Thursday, Bert the Conqueror was unmerciful as he badgered Beckley.
“You paid for it, so you might as well ride it. This is like flying with a pilot who's afraid to fly,” the Travel Show TV host continued.
Beckley remained stoic, rarely shifting his focus from a few inches in front of him. He was not faking his terror, he has a genuine fear of heights.
“It's like a Band-Aid. You just have to rip it off,” Bert yelled.
Bert the Conqueror wasn't helping ease Beckley's fears. Actually, for Bert, it was like tormenting a cat with a laser pointer.
He was having fun. Beckley was not.
Then they were off for Beckley's maiden voyage on the Giant Canyon Swing.
Bert screamed with sheer delight. Beckley remained as rigid as a nine-iron.
As the ride came to an end, Bert was laughing hard.
“The best part was right at the beginning,” Bert said catching his breath.
That was when Beckley blurted out a panicked profanity only audible to Bert. “Then he said, ‘You're gonna cut that out, right?'” Bert said, still laughing.
As he walked from the ride with a twisted grin lacking in satisfaction, Beckley let out a sigh of relief.
Bert left him with a congratulatory morsel. “You did a great job, and now you don't ever have to ride it again.”
Will Steve Beckley ever ride the giant swing again?
“No,” he said, without hesitation.
Did he enjoy the ride?
“No! I have proven myself, and I don't plan to do it again,” Beckley said. “It's back to the Giant Maze for me.
“My heart is still beating, it's beating hard. I knew I had to do the ride and take one for the team. But I was scared out of my wits.”
Bert loved that Beckley was riding the swing for the first time during the “Bert the Conqueror” show.
“It's so great to see a grown man get out of his comfort zone. As you become a man you get more and more into your little safe spot, and to see a man step out it, oh, that's just awesome,” Bert said.
On Thursday, Steve Beckley stepped out and took a ride on the Giant Canyon Swing.
It was just like ripping off a Band-Aid.
