Gerard Oosterwegel (29) from Eindhoven jumped after three months of preparation from a walkway between two buildings on Strijp-S in Eindhoven. He was attached to a rope that tightened after a ten-meter free fall. “That gives a big kick,” he says. Landlord Trudo is not happy about it and sent a letter to residents stating that bungee jumping from the bridge is prohibited.
Trudo threatens to file charges against people who make such a jump. Strict action will be taken against residents. It is also not allowed to let in people who intend to do so.
Oosterwegel posted a video on YouTube showing the jump. Other men jump too. The bridge between the buildings ‘Anton’ and ‘Haasje Over’ had a huge attraction for Gerard and the others.
“First you fall down and then you swing.”
“We are climbers. We saw a very cool bridge. We were convinced that we could jump off it safely. You instinctively think: I really hope I don’t die. But rationally you know it’s going to be okay. A weird feeling. ”
“We have a technical background. I’ve talked to a lot of tech-savvy people. We used a climbing rope. This can stretch and dampen up to twenty percent. This absorbs a lot of the force of the impact. You break your back with a static rope.”
It looks like bungee jumping but it isn’t. “In bungee jumping, the rope is very elastic. You jump down and you go back up.” Oosterwegel calls his jump a ‘rope swing’: swinging or swinging with a rope. “First you fall down and then you start swinging. We had tied the rope on the top right and we jumped off it on the top left.”
“Holy shit, what am I going to do now?”
Extensive testing was first carried out, including at a bicycle bridge in Best. “We have made a similar setup at the canal. You first make a free fall and then you come into a rocking motion. We wanted to experience that first, above the water.”
Then there was a test jump at Strijp-S with weights and a force sensor. “That way we knew what kind of forces would be exerted on that weight. That gave more security. We knew you could have this easily. That it’s safe. We looked at the distance between the buildings. We could never swing against it.”
The day of the jump, nerves started to play a role. “If you stand there and you look down. Rationally, we knew it was safe. Intuitively, when you stand on such a bridge, you think: holy shit, what am i going to do now? We found that difference between rationality and feeling very cool.”
“I don’t think anyone takes a string and imitates it.”
“I jumped second. I said I didn’t have to be the first because I thought it was exciting. Someone else said, “I’ll go first.” Whoever went first has a lot of guts.”
But then it’s Gerard’s turn: “If the rope starts to hang tight, you think: it really worked. I am caught by the rope. It will be alright.”
He understands that Trudo later sent a letter to the residents. “As a large housing corporation you have to respond to such a stunt. They must show that they have not given permission. I don’t think it’s a stunt that people easily imitate. It’s that extreme. I don’t think anyone takes a string and imitates it. I am not afraid of that.”
He advises not to imitate it. “We have done a technical study and we have a lot of climbing experience. I advise everyone to just do this.”
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