So yes, I do realize that it's been a while since I've posted anything. This is due, in large part, to the fact that this winter in Chicago has been unseasonably warm and snow-less. Therefore the snowkiting action has been extremely limited. So when there is no snow and the water is just barely above freezing what is a starved kiteboarder to do? Why, landboard of course!
My brand new Coors Light
MBS mountainboard just came in the mail this week and I could not wait to get out and finally do some riding! Yesterday brought some very warm, yet very varied(?) weather . It was a strange day weather wise which brought temperatures of nearly 70 degrees. When I first got out to Busse fields there was hardly any wind, maybe about 5-10mph....certainly not enough for a good kiteboarding session. However, I kept the faith and started to pump up my kite anyways with the hopes that the wind would eventually fill in and that my nearly 3 month kiteboarding drought would be over with. With thunder echoing far off in the background and rain still continuing to lightly sprinkle I finished pumping up the kite and the wind began to pick up. I gave Mooney a call to see how far away he was and let him know that the wind was picking up. To my surprise, he mentioned that it was so windy that he could feel his SUV getting pushed by the gusts of wind on the highway.
With the wind having picked up to at least 15mph at Busse I got a launch from a fellow beginning kiteboarder and attempted to get going on a mountainboard for the first time. After a few botched attempts and in between a number of face-plants I did manage to get a couple decent rides. At this point, the wind had increased to at least 20mph and was becoming more and more gusty so I decided to work my way upwind (on foot) in order to avoid the always unpleasant situation of being pulled into a tree.
By the time I had worked my way towards the middle of the field the wind was gusting so hard that I could barely hold the kite without being dragged even though I kept the kite at the very edge of the wind, just above the ground. Since Tom had just gotten there I had him land my kite because the nearly 30mph gusts were far outside the range of what is considered "safe" for a kite of that size.
Even though it was probably too windy for Tom's slightly smaller kite, we still decided to have a few "drag sessions." Highlights include: Tom bicycle kicking while being lofted a couple feet in the air, myself realizing the kite wasn't rigged properly as the unresponsive kite looped itself through the power zone while dragging me behind it for about 50 yards, and also a few other times catching a couple feet of air.
All in all it was a good day and it continued to be a good night out as well....
In dedication to my new mountainboard, a clip from
kiteforum.tv for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.kiteforum.tv/storage2/videos/
3cd02b7e7c6bf9090946313177bc8851landboarding%20KiteEmail.wmv
