Trial, Tribulation and Titillation...Kiteboarding

2007 Water Season Underway!

2007-04-26T18:47:00.000-05:00

I have officially started my 2007 kiteboarding season on the water. Sunday provided some excellent 15-20knt SSW winds along with 80 degree air temps. Paul, Dario, and I headed up to Waukegan for the day and met up with James and about 20 other kiters. Even though water temps were only in the 40s and the winds were up and down throughout the day, we were still able to get some solid, powered-up sessions. We decided to head back home at about 3pm as we were all cold and sore from the 4 hours of riding in wetsuits only.

Air temps have now dropped back into the 40s....hopefully the drysuit that I have been waiting for will finally come so that I can get back in the water soon!

Cabarete

2007-03-31T13:17:00.000-05:00

It's only been a week since we've returned from Cabarete, but before I get to that I'll wrap up the winter riding from the last couple of months (I'm terrible keeping up with this thing).

Old man winter must be getting soft in his old age because we had another mild winter this year. I only had a total of 3 or 4 snowkiting sessions. One of them was on Lake Zurich on February 16. The wind was pretty gusty, but it was great riding on my 10m and I was able to test out our new camera. I was able snap a couple of pictures until my fingers nearly froze. Overall it was a really fun session and I even landed a couple of jumps!

The only other snowkite session was during a trip up to Marinette. After driving around and trying to find a decent spot for about 45 min we decided to drive out to the "Asylum Farm" which is a big open, public field where we used to go raccoon hunting. It was the perfect place for a ride and ride I did. Well mostly....there were couple of brutal wipeouts that left my face pretty scratched up due to faceplanting into the hard, crusty snow. Even this wasn't enough to dampen my spirits though, as I got to ride around for about 2 hours boosting pretty good airs (and landing about half of them) while Mom and Dad sat and watched from the the roadside.

Only a few weeks later we were on our way to Cabarete, Dominican Republic. It was a bit of a hassle getting there since JetBlue cancelled our flight and we weren't able to arrive until 2 days later than planned. Even two days later we still had to put up with a lot of frustration before we would arrive, but I won't dwell on that.

Upon arrival in Cabarete the weather was fantastic, but we immediately went to bed because it was about 6am and we had been without sleep for at least 24 hours. The wind didn't come through that day, but the following day was easily the best day of riding. The breeze was starting to build right around 11am so I began to rig up my 16m only to find that it had developed a tear in the canopy during the flight. Without missing a beat I had the local "kite caddies" pump up my 10m while I walked over to one of the kite schools for a lesson. Since I've been riding for about 2 years, my instructor Luis focused on getting me riding upwind. By the end of my hour long lesson, I was. This was hands-down the most amazing session I've ever had. There was perfectly warm weather, warm water, great wind, and the most incredible part was seeing the other 60+ kiters on the water as well. Were you to count all of the kites at the other stretches of beach as well, you would count well over 100 kites in the air at any given moment! It was amazing!

Later that afternoon I jumped on a motocoche with my kite caddie Christopher to ride over to this local woman's house who does kite repairs. We left the kite with her over night and came back to pick it up the next morning. The repair was top-notch. The cost...500 Dom. pesos (about $15). I couldn't have asked for a better deal! That afternoon the wind finally picked up and I was able to get a sunset session with about 6 other riders. The solitude of riding while the sun was going down and with the sky turning a deep red was a stark contrast to the chaos of the previous day. However both are equally memorable.

During the rest of our week at Kite Beach Hotel I was only able to get one other short session in between the rain storms. Even with the subpar weather, we had a great time and it was a truly unforgettable trip.

Here and gone again

2006-12-09T10:44:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we finally had our first big snow of the season. Some areas north of the city got as much as 14 inches of snow and temps dipped into the teens. Saturday morning James and I geared up and went to Lippold. After a brief detour looking for more suitable sites that included a little off-roading behind a school and pushing James' car out of the snow, we made it back to Lippold's north field and rigged the big kites.

Our first run out, we were LIT!! The wind was clearly stronger than anticipated so we promptly rigged up smaller kites which turned out to be perfect. We spent the next 4 hours shredding the new powder on my 10m and James on his 14. It was great! I was able to go upwind at will for the first time, so that means no more walking upwind!! This makes the sport so much more enjoyable because you're not interrupted from riding every 10 minutes by a long walk upwind (which is even longer in deep snow). We rode until our legs were shaking and could no longer hold us up.

Sunday morning came too early and I eased my sore muscles out of bed. I called James and we decided to find some fresh powder elsewhere. We ended up at Melas park where I went straight to the small kite. James and Paul showed up about half an hour later and we ripped up the clean powder for the next 4 hours. Again I was cruising upwind at will and even venturing to launch a few jumps. Most of which resulted in catching a face full of snow, but I did manage to land a few as well.

Now as the temps near 40 degrees, I'm left waiting for more...

Winter's here

2006-10-22T14:35:00.000-05:00

With water temps in the high 30's now, my water riding is pretty much done for the season. However, Chicago had its first snow of the season about a week ago. So hopefully it won't be too long before I can dust off my snowboard for some snowkiting.

This video has me so stoked for our first big snow storm.
http://www.alexpetersonkiteflight.com/v1.html

Autumn winds

2006-09-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

Thankfully the autumn winds have arrived in Chicago. Over the past two months I've had some epic sessions as well as some big disappointments. Typically there is very little wind during the summer months, so when it comes around you need to take advantage of it.

On one occasion we were on our way back from a weekend in Fish Creek. Winds were approximately 10knts gusting to 20. Needless to say the conditions were not ideal for launching off of a boat. This attempt to ride was a complete debacle. Thankfully I had my little brother there to help or it easily could have become a disaster....enough said.

I did have one other opportunity in August to ride out at Zion which went pretty well. However, I also got skunked a few times as well. The real fun came on our road trip out west.

Sara and I had an awesome two week vacation that took us out to Casper, Yellowstone, Portland, Hood River, the Willamette Valley, down the Oregon and California coasts, the Redwood National Forest, San Francisco, Napa Valley, and Yosemite. It was incredible!! Plus, while we were in Portland I picked up a new kite that would allow me to ride in the higher winds associated with the Gorge. I was able to get a good deal on a 2006 10m Slingshot Turbo Diesel, which is the perfect compliment to my 16m. My rideable windrange is now about 10-30knts.

With my new kite in tow I was able to get some pretty good riding in the one day we spent at legendary Hood River. When we first arrived at the Spit the wind was blowing about 15knts so I put up my 16m and had some good riding on the relatively flat waters of the Columbia River. Eventually though I did get pulled down wind and had to walk back to where I started. The walk back was a tough one as the wind had picked up to about 20knts and I was walking down the river barefoot across a lot of rocks which bruised my feet up quite a bit. After I got back on the Spit I rigged up my new kite and went back out for some more riding. The smaller kite flies much faster and is so much more responsive, I was having a blast!! I ended up downwind again, but thankfully this time I had put my booties on to spare my feet any additional punishment.

The smaller kite has already come in handy in the high winds that we've had back in Chicago the last couple of days. With winds out of the south of up to 30knts I went up to Waukegan to take advantage. I initially struggled riding due to the 4-6ft waves that were rolling in because I would hit the waves with too much speed and either fly off the wave like it was ramp and then wipeout or I'd catch the nose of board on the wave and faceplant. After struggling with getting past the breakers for a couple of hours I eventually got the hang of it and was able to get some good riding in. Tomorrow we're supposed to get a good breeze out of the west so hopefully Miller beach will be going off....

So Sore...

2006-07-03T09:24:00.000-05:00

Went over to Weko Beach in lower Michigan this past Saturday and met up with James and Paul who must have left Chicago before the sun came up. I was amazed at how there was such a nice beach only about an hour and a half drive away. Clean sand, warm clear water....it was like being in the Carribean.

The riding was great as well. I rode on and off for about 5 hours (hence the soreness that I'm still feeling 2 days later). I'm staying upwind a little better and even changing tack without falling back down into the water. With a little more practice I should be able to ride upwind so that I won't have to do the "walk of shame" walking back up the beach.

Perfect Day!

2006-06-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

The last couple weekends I've been going out to the beach with the hopes of finally riding, but was constantly faced with poor conditions. Very little wind, offshore winds, and the other variable, gusty conditions were making me quite frustrated.

After checking the forecast Friday night, James, Paul, and I had decided to get up and leave for St Joe by 6am Saturday morning. When that time came, we rubbed the sleep from our eyes chugged some coffee and checked the updated weather forecast. Waukegan looked like it would be the better place to go (and it's much closer). We took our time and got to the beach by about 10am. Upon our arrival, the wind was blowing 10-15mph. Paul was already out on his 21m and said that the wind wasn't too bad further out. I quickly scarfed down my McDonalds breakfast and rigged up my kite. I got a launch from James and made my way to the water with the hopes of finally being able to get up and stay up and riding for more than 3 seconds.

I got in the water, put my board on, dove the kite and then was picked up out of the water as I prepared to fall back down as I usually have. Only this time I didn't fall back down! I kept right on riding as the kite continued to build power. I was finally kite surfing!!!

Then I was struck by an amazing revelation. It wasn't just that I completely sucked (although that may be a contributing factor), but I realized that what I had needed the most was more wind. Looking back it becomes clear that my previous attempts at riding were ruined primarily because there was not enough power from the kite to keep me going. This day that was clearly not the case. The side-shore wind had filled in to the point that kite was delivering an abundance of power.

I kept riding throughout the day continually improving on each ride. A few times I was even riding upwind! It was such a great feeling to just park the kite in the sky and just feel yourself gliding across the water... beyond explanation. As I got more comfortable, I decided that I needed to push myself a little more. I was riding along with some pretty good speed towards shore and as I approached, I whipped the kite back in the opposite direction and launched myself into the air for my first jump! Although I was only 5 or 6 feet in the air, it was such an incredible feeling as I hung in the air above the water. The landing was a little jarring, but I'm working on that...

Overall, it was hands down my best day kiteboarding to date and my sore muscles can attest to that. Even so, I can't wait to get out and do it again!

New kite and a new kite addict

2006-05-07T21:09:00.000-05:00

Had a great day out at Waukegan today! The wind may have only been 8-12knts but we still had a blast! My new Turbo Diesel is an amazing kite, it flys fast, turns quick, pulls hard, boosts high, and still depowers completely!

After picking up Shane, we got to the beach at about noon. We rigged up both the old and new kites. The thermal was just starting to pick up so I put the old kite up in the air to show Shane the ropes. Next it was Shane's turn. He flew the kite amazingly well for it being his first time. Then he learned how much power a kite can generate as he got dragged down the beach. I swear I have never seen anyone wear such a big smile while being pulled across the sand!

For my first time flying the new kite, there are not enough good things that I can say about it.....it was just fun as hell to fly!

Now that I have the new kite, the old Wipika Hydro is now in Shane's hands. So keep an eye out for The Flying Prince of Thailand....coming soon to a beach near you!

I am going to get an STD!

2006-04-24T20:40:00.000-05:00

Thats right, this weekend I will be getting a brand new 16m Slingshot Turbo Diesel. Thanks goes to Bob Cook in Madison, WI....thanks for the hookup! Can't wait to get out and ride the new kite!

After a couple of sessions I will post my first impressions, followed by a full review and some pics of the actual kite. Here are some shots of what it may look like as well as a video link describing and showing off the kite.

http://www.sskiteboarding.com/video/TD%20Manual%20NEW.wmv

Breaking Development

2006-04-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

May be able to get a Turbo Diesel (www.sskiteboarding.com) at a fair price

.....more to come.

Stay tuned...

2006-04-16T20:01:00.000-05:00

It will most likely be at least a month from now before my new kite comes in the mail. At this point I will probably end up getting a 16m Best Waroo from bestkiteboarding.com. This new kite should help my riding progress much faster in a number of ways. This new style of flat kites have a number of advantages over the traditional "c-shaped" kites. The three main benefits are: the ability to 100% de-power the kite, instant re-launch, and a much wider wind range. With this new kite in my quiver hopefully it won't be long before I'm up and riding along with the best of 'em.

And another one bites the dust....

2006-03-25T22:39:00.000-06:00

After a brief ride at Busse today, I fear that my old kite may be on its last leg. The 2002 Wipika Hydro 20m developed a 3-4 inch tear in the canopy just behind the leading edge right next to the center strut. It may be repairable, but it would only be a temporary fix. Therefore its time to start looking for a new kite.

....Until then here are some shots of some crazy dudes kitesurfing amongst icebergs off the coast of Iceland.

Patience is a virtue.

2006-03-12T21:55:00.000-06:00

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

No snow, no wind, just a dancing Jew

2006-01-21T13:57:00.000-06:00

Alright so it has been over a month without snow, but there has been plenty of wind. In fact it has even gotten into the 50 degree range a few times....almost warm enough to get back in the water. But, not quite.

Last night we finally got some snow, but guess what.....that's right, no wind! In addition, the sun is out and all of the fresh powder has pretty much melted. So not much is new on my kiteboarding progress other than the new harness that I got for my birthday (which is sweet!).

In my efforts to keep myself entertained I stumbled across an incredible reggae singer. This guy is awesome! He's also not your typical reggae artist either.......check it out.

http://www.matismusic.com/video/
Matisyahu_KingWithoutACrown_StudioNL_VidFull.mov

http://www.matisyahu.org/

Some victory....and frustration

2005-12-18T12:40:00.000-06:00

Had a blast out at Lippold park with James yesterday. I got there at around 1:00 to find James taking a break after already tearing it up for about an hour. Winds were 10-15 (maybe less during the lulls) out of the SSW. After I got rigged up and launched I walked up wind and got on the board right away and started riding! I was staying up and doing pretty well. Although I was getting pulled downwind like crazy. The problem was that I was unable to hold an edge against the power of the kite and therefore I got pulled more downwind instead of being able to go side to side....oh well, it is a common issue for beginners. So, I'm sure I'll get better with some practice.

After my first run was over so quickly I self-launched my kite and walked back up wind. The wind was starting to get more gusty and I wasn't able to get on my board and get going. When the kite was high enough to get wind, I was getting pulled too much to put my board on. And when I kept the kite low I was able to get the board on, but the kite didn't get enough wind to stay in the air and it crashed. Very frustrating!

Eventually, James got tired and asked me if I wanted to try out his new kite (which is a gi-normous 21m). I was so frustrated with my kite that I gave it a whirl and was up and riding again in no time.....unfortunately I was also all the way across the field in no time as well. I'm just gunna have to do some snowboarding to get back in practice of edging hard.

------

In other developments, last Thursday was quite a wild night. First of all we went to a party that was taped live and aired on tv for this girl from Chicago who made it to the finals on this season's Apprentice. It was fun, but I didn't know the girl and frankly, I didn't care that she lost either. Now the real fun came afterwards when we went with our friends Ken and Liz to a party hosted by Maxim and Coors Light (some guy had randomly walked up and gave Sara the tickets).

We got to the party and proceeded to skip by everyone else in line and walk right in (yes, I am a hypocrite for hating whenever anyone else does this, but hey, when it's you that gets the privilege of not waiting in line, it's just a different story). As we walked in we were greeted by a treasure hunt of sorts in order to get a "mystery prize." You had to make your way around and get a card punched at each stop by some scantily clad Coors girls decked out in silver bikinis. After picking up our free Coors Light we made our way around the different stations and during this process we unknowingly walked right back into the VIP area. We had just walked right past the guard who pulled back the rope and let us right in. What tipped us off as to the accomplishment that we had just pulled off was the fact that everyone around us was wearing VIP badges....oh well! As we sit and lounge in the plush couches backstage the MC walks right by us on his way to the stage....followed by Kyle Orton, Jerry Azumah, Nathan Vasher (all of the Chicago Bears), and Neal Cotts (Chicago White Sox). When they came back off of the stage I took this picture of Orton, Liz, Vasher, and Sara. This is just how I roll!!!

Some Wisdom

2005-12-13T20:10:00.000-06:00

SIXTEEN THINGS THAT IT TOOK ME OVER 50 YEARS TO LEARN
by Dave Barry
1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender,religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside,we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

13. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateurbuilt the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

16.Men are like a fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

------------------------------

Now, since this primarily a kiteboarding blog...never let yourself get into this position.
http://www.kiteforumtv.com/storage/videos/
45aba5008f77172e176275f60b8d808dEric%20lofitng%20Hawaii%20320x240.wmv

Finally up on the board!

2005-12-11T18:54:00.000-06:00

Well, this weekend started off quite frustrating. Pretty much every big open field in the Chicago area is closed to anything but snowmobiling when there is more than 4 inches of snow. What a bunch of BS! So I ended up driving around all day looking for a good place to ride....meanwhile the wind was blowing about 20-25 knots. No riding at all.

Today I went all the way out to Lippold Park in Crystal Lake and met up with Mooney. Wind was blowing about 13 knots when I first got there but it slowly diminished throughout the day. I helped Tom set up his kite and get it up in the air. After that Tom launched the kite while I had my board already on. It took a few attempts, but before I knew it, I was up and riding on the board! Since the wind was so light I really had to work the kite hard, but I was able to get enough power to have a few good runs in between teabagging. I cant wait until the day when everything comes together so I can just tear it up all day long.

After that the wind died out for riding so we put Tom's kite up so he could get some flying time in on the new kite. Fun day!!

Snowkiting

2005-12-08T21:02:00.000-06:00

In celebration of all the snow we got today and in anticipation of the weekend. Here's a link to a sweet snowkiting video that was filmed in the alps. Check it!

http://www.kiteforumtv.com/storage/videos/
8e15b7412ee6e0088321cfae277ccb0afreemax%20web.wmv

2005-12-06T18:28:00.000-06:00

This is one of my favorite kitesurfing videos. Check it out here. http://www.kiteflix.com/kiteboarding_video_brazil.html

More to come....
<----me

<-----not me, but cool looking nonetheless

2005-12-05T20:54:00.000-06:00

So, I've recently decided to make this blog in order to track my progression and experiences while learning to kiteboard (as well as anything else that I feel like). And this is the result.

To start it all off, I was first introduced to kiteboarding back in the winter of 2003. I was living in my fraternity house (Alpha Delta Phi) which sits quite inconspicuously (when there aren't any parties or random debauchery taking place) on the shoreline of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. The lake was frozen at the time and my neighbor in the house, James Jaeschke strolled on over to my room and asked me if I wanted to go out and fly his kite with him. He had told me about this strange new sport a couple of weeks earlier and I jumped at the opportunity to try it out for myself.

We finished rubbing the sleep out of our eyes, it was only 11 in the morning after all, and slipped into our cold weather gear. We stepped out the back patio of the frat house and were met by a fair breeze that managed to immediately seep through all of our layers and send a shiver down my spine. To this day I'm still not sure if the shiver was the result of the frigid wind chill or if it was my adrenaline, brought on by a foreboding sense of what was to come.

We continued to lug the gear a considerable distance out onto the frozen lake. Once we reached an ideal spot, James proceeded to inflate and rig up his gear. After some brief instructions and explanations I launched James' kite for him and watched the giant 20 meter Cabrina Blacktip kite soar into the air. The second thing that I noticed was James leaning back and fighting against the incredible power that the kite generated. There was so much power that he was soon dipping the kite through the air and skidding across the ice....all while seeming to be perfectly comfortable and in control.

The winds were probably blowing about 10 knots and gusting to 12. After a few minutes he asked me if I wanted to give it a shot. I may not have shown it, but I was more than a little hesitant to hook myself up to this giant kite which clearly had the power to pull me along across the ice. Despite this, I was still so excited to see what it was like. I simply responded, "Yea man...I'll give it a shot." Before I knew it, I had caught the kite, strapped the harness around myself and hooked into the kite, received a brief lesson on how to launch it, and here I sat giving James the thumbs up while the kite sat at the edge of the wind window ready to launch me into my new addiction.

Within a few seconds the kite was in the air and I was struggling to maintain my footing. James ran over and grabbed onto the back of my harness and instructed me on flying the kite back and forth across the sky, all while the kite pulled the both of us slowly across the ice. At one point when I had the kite directly overhead, I learned the true power of the wind and how it takes just a little bit of wind to turn this from a leisurely past-time to a full-fledged, adrenaline charged addiction. With one quick gust, of only about an extra 2 or 3 miles per hour, I was flying about six feet up in the air! With James still hanging onto the harness behind me! We were both in the air for probably only 3 or 4 seconds (if that) but it seemed like an eternity! The two of us, having been up about 6 feet in the air came down about 30 feet or more downwind! From that point on I was hooked. I had discovered the "stoke" (or titillation, if you will) that is kiteboarding and now I had to get in on it.

Here we come to the trials and tribulations segment of my story. For the sake of keeping this history positive and from becoming too tedious I will attempt to bring everyone up to speed of where I stand at the time of writing without embellishing in too many details.

As I have already mentioned, I had to get in on this sport by any means possible. However given my limited budget during my college years, this was going to require some ingenuity. I bought an old Wipika Classic (one of the first kites ever made for kitesurfing) from James in the winter of 2004 with the hopes of repairing it. Little did I know that this was a lost cause, as it had been heavily used and abused for years. Eventually after a couple of weeks of trials and tribulations, I admitted defeat and reluctantly gave the kite back to James.

It wouldn't be until the fall of 2004 that I could afford to buy a used kite and gear on ebay. All in all, I was able to find some incredible deals on a kite, bar, lines, pump, and harness by scouring the internet relentlessly. I ended up getting all the above gear for approximately $450.

Now I had the kite and gear....all I needed was some wind and a board. As the board would require extra money which wasn't the easiest to come by since I was just starting my career, I settled on just learning to fly kite on land. By the time winter had rolled around, I was quite proficient and flying the kite on land. Now that it was mid winter I managed to come across a hell of a deal for a used snowboard on www.chicagokitesurfing.com and picked it up at my first opportunity from one of the local kiteboarders.

Now I had everything that I needed to get started snow kiting. Everything except the snow and the wind together. The winter of 2004/2005 sucked! We either had snow and no wind or wind and no snow, but when we did have the two together it was too windy for my size kite (20m when laid out flat). Two of the three times that I did go out that winter ended in disaster.

The first time ended with James chasing down his kite all the way across Busse field only to watch it tear itself apart on a fence post. The second time ended with me getting dragged across a Lake Geneva golf course and ending up in a sand trap....So needless to say, not a whole lot of kiteboarding took place that winter. The one good experience took place up in Marinette where my mom and I went out onto the ice (which was completely free of snow) near Red Arrow beach. Got some good "kite sliding" action in before I noticed a low flying plane fly over my kite and dip its wings. It ended up being my dad who in the middle of getting his pilot's license. A little while later I was perfecting my "kite sliding" while my mom looked on, when I saw something out of the corner of my eye as my dad drove along side of me in his truck. We we both slowly cruised along across the ice, I decided to show him what these kites can do. So I launched the kite (and myself) and managed to get up higher than his truck (about 10 feet over all) before gliding down to the ice. Upon seeing this, my dad decided that he'd like to give it a try. So he hooked it and I lauched the kite, but as soon as he felt himself being pulled across the ice he let the kite go and crashed it to the ice. I think he just had to experience the power of it for himself.

Now spring came along and with my new 3/4mm wetsuit and helmet that I got for Christmas, I was ready to get into the cool waters of Lake Michigan. This of course, required a kiteboard for the water. I got a few killer "body dragging" sessions in. Body dragging is simply the water variation of the aforementioned "kite sliding." I managed to get a used board from a local kiteboarding guru who goes simply by "V" just in time to take advantage of the lulls of summer.

After a number of light wind days of flying the kite on land (there wasn't enough wind to ride a board on the water) and a few sessions of nothing but "teabagging" (where you try to get up and riding on the board but only stay up for a little bit before falling back into the water) we come to the present. The winter of 2005/2006
is upon us.

I had my first snowkiting session of the season yesterday out at Busse with West. Winds were light (about 9-10mph, gusts of 12-13) I spent most of my time trying to keep the kite from falling out of the sky and with West's help I did fairly well. However when I took my attention from the kite to put on my snowboard, I either got dragged away from it or the kite fell from the sky. So most of my time was spent trying to relaunch the kite as West was out riding on his even bigger kite. After West left I got some more "kite sliding" in and was even able to ride on the board briefly before the kite fell. At that point I decided to pack up and head home, with just enough time to catch the final minutes of the Packers unbelievable loss to the Bears over the radio.

So there you have it! The first entry of hopefully many in this KiteLog.