I have considered going ziplining a couple times before, but it never ended up happening on my own. Fast forward to a work trip where ziplining and a ropes course were on the agenda for the team building portion of the agenda, and there I was. It was time to shake off the feeling of anxiety I had about this activity and just do it. And I did!
First - you will meet your guides. They are a group of young folks who enjoy working together, and seem to have their spiel of jokes and comments ready to go. They will go with you through all 7-9 (I can't remember the actual number) ziplines.
Second - you will get the safety briefing, have to sign a waiver (not necessarily in that order), and get geared up. I warn you now - when I was given the helmet even before I put it close to my head I could already smell the sweat from the people before me who used it. The harness was also still wet from sweat from the previous people... so you are gonna have to suck it up coz it's all necessary gear!
Then you're off. Just like that!
A few notes to get you prepared for ziplining:
-It is highly advised to wear close-toed shoes (pretty much sports shoes are best), because you will need to drag your feet along a "jet way" at the end of the zip line to act as your "breaks". So don't wear shoes you love!
-For attire, most of the girls wore stretchy/yoga pants and a tank top/T-shirt, the men wore shorts and a T-shirt. If you're with co-workers I would advise men to wear dark shorts that are not soft or flimsy so they don't ride up in a weird way, exposing things you don't want to expose. And dark is preferable... just trust me on this one.
-Bring bug spray and sunscreen!
-It is not advisable to bring a bag with you, but if you must, it has to be one that is pretty flat even when stuff is in it, and that won't have a risk of falling off.
-They do have cubbies for your stuff at "home base", but they aren't big enough to hold a normal sized backpack or anything, and they are open, and sometimes has bugs in them.
-They have water stops along the way, but don't rely on that solely. Drink some water before you go, bring a bottle with you and put it in the cubby. You want to have enough water so you're not dehydrated, but not too much that you need to go to the bathroom while you're out there.
-There is a bathroom back at "home base" but don't expect anything clean or bug free.
The ropes course was interesting to say the least. The guy who was manning that has character.. let's just leave it at that. He crossed the line a few times, like putting his arm pit up near my face and asked me to smell it, or asking something to pull his finger and insinuating they should not as that would cause him to fart, all of which was part of the comedic intro. We were all tired after having gone ziplining for hours already, and just wanted to get on with it. It would have been preferable for him to rule out the potentially offensive jokes completely, reduce the other jokes by 90%, and just get to the instructions and safety information.
All in all, this was an interesting experience. I am happy I finally went ziplining, but I don't think it was unique to this place. I would have probably come out with the same feeling about ziplining if I had gone elsewhere. But it's nice to know that this activity is possible about a 45 minute bus ride away from the new part of downtown Nashville, since ziplining is most closely associated with tropical destinations.