meteor27

VB, Looks like we'll get a bit of snow this weekend. I am looking forward to starting my downhill skiiing season and will keep an eye on Kiandra to see when it gets good coverage. There's one hill there that could be worth a go. Wouldn't rival Thredbo backcountry, but you can drive there! ;-)

Ben Lomond is in Tassie. I tried kiteskiing there once about 8 years ago but didn't have much luck. I found it hard to find a good flat spot with both wind and snow, but I didn't have any snowkiting experience to speak of, so wouldn't claim to be a discerning judge of snowkiting terrain.

G'day, The Lake looked a lot drier than it has been (on Sunday as I drove past). Still, it'd be wise not to drive out until it gets a bit more sun as it is probably still pretty soft under the crust. Be worth a recce some time soon though, I reckon. In the meantime, wait for a S to E wind and perhaps buggy the edge to be safe. W

Bob Dawson used to make the sweetest delta kites for kitebuggying (I am sure Steve from Kitepower will chime in here - he used to fly them all the time in the late 1990s, if I remember correctly). Quite large, they were. Two liners that could turn on a dime and had smooth power and good upwind capability. I'd never knock back a go of one if the handles were offered to me on the beach. A bit of a pain to launch and land, though. That, and breakages, was the real downside. Same reason I stopped designing/making Trident hybrids and went back to foils.

Doesn't seem that long ago... I am glad someone posted it. It reminds people that a lot of the innovation was done quite some time ago (usually by the crazy Kiwis), and we are mostly witnessing refinement these days. Steph also took some footage of events like Lachlan's infamous "Love-In" at Newcastle around that time. I remember that Kane did a bit of casual jumping at the Stockton dunes during that event, although he was mostly preoccupied with kitesurfing. I also remember that event for landing on my head at the bottom of a dune after riding my kitebike off a dune "cliff"... No premnanet dmagae...

I remember Peter Lynn used to advocate as few rules as possible and whilst I lived in the UK I came to the conclusion that he might have been right all along. Yes, racing was "developed" over in the UK but it was having trouble attracting new participants due to the many rules, the politics and the fact that it had become a contest to see who could build the biggest buggy (complete with three sets of wheels) and run the largest quiver of racing kites. It seemed that even the sponsors were losing interest and decline had set in (the sponsors and young riders were all making a beeline to freestyle which looked cool and had less of a feel of an evolutionary dead-end.) I must say that I was tempted by the fun race series run by SWATK, but I was having too much fun racing the Blokart (which was simpler and cheaper than buggy racing, in my view). Certainly, there were some people proposing a set of standard class rules to try to reverse the malaise. As with my comments on freestyle, I would recommend something similar for racing: 1. Standard Class (i.e. PL comp, Flexi standard size buggies - axle around 1m, short side bars, short goose necks, and only standard wheelbarrow wheels and tyres). Kites under 10m2? 2. Unlimited Class Rules: Start with the simplest set of rules that allow safe racing and only add to them if you must do so to keep things safe and preserve the fun. There are always a set of cones and flags accompanying the Canberra Kiters out to Lake George if anyone is game for some racing!

If this one goes beyond keyboard aspirationalism, I would encourage two classes (preferably at the one event): 1. Ground freestyle 2. Unlimited (i.e. air) A ground freestyle comp would give young players, people without sponsorship, or those building up their skills something to focus on. Otherwise, you might tempt the sort of dead-end elitism that stunted windsurfing in the 1990s.

Yeah, I used to live in the area and started buggying there in the 1990s. It is the dunes that make it so good. The downside of Stockton is that you really need SW-SE winds to make it worthwhile, and the increasing amount of 4WD traffic is a pain. By the way, you are not a true Stockton veteran until you have done the out and return run from Birubi point to the "hospital" (not forgetting to take photos at the Signa wreck on the way). Over 60kms, I think.

'Twas a good day! Thanks to Gary and our friendly farmer for facilitating access to the number one kitebuggy spot on the East Coast.

Easterly hit the lake at about 6pm today, see: http://www.acthpa.org/wind/LakeGeorgeCurrent.shtml

G'day, I'd recommend the lake for both days. Why drive down from Sydney in order to fly a small, tree-lined oval in gusty winds and risk being shooed away by rangers? The other advantage of the lake is that it always gets the Easterly fronts before Canberra (sometimes about 2hrs before), so if there is no wind during the afternoon, at least you have a chance of a brisk Easterly before nightfall. Here's the ACTHPA Wind Recorder webpage for Lake George: http://www.acthpa.org/wind/LakeGeorgeCurrent.shtml Here's another useful wind website: http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR402.loop.shtml?looping=1&reloaded=25&topography=true&locations=true&range=true&observations=true#image See you there! (Probably Sunday, at this stage, but I'll see if I can make Saturday too...)

Rocket, If you are going for the first Kitebike jump (in Australia or anywhere else probably, for that matter), I'll have to disappoint you. :-b I did it in the late 1990s after seeing Kane Hartill doing some of the earliest serious kitebuggy jumps (before they started the freestyle revolution in the UK - yes the Kiwis beat everyone to that too). I might also have the record as the first kitebiker in Australia, although I'd have to double check when Phil from Adelaide got his from Peter Lynn. Anyway, you can still go for the highest as I was too chicken to go more than a foot or so. The kitebike was always sensitive to any sideways drift in the landing, and besides, I was using an original Peter Lynn prototype which had tubing not much thicker than noodles! The fact that my kitebike is still going today is probably more a testament to my fear than any strength of design! Good luck and don't forget to post a video (which I would do if I had some footage, but because everyone thought that buggying/kitebiking was so uncool in the 1990s, it was not worth the effort)...

Love that vid! I kitebuggy AND Blokart and there is no doubt that kitebuggies are faster nearly all of the time. But then again, I can't really enjoy my kitebuggy in airport car parks or really any car park or small cluttered space with gusty wind and obstacles. Neither can I throw a friend or relative into a buggy with rudimentary instruction and say go for it! I have had great fun in both. I'll always remember racing around a small car park in Belgium with about 50 other Blokarts, wheel to wheel. On the other hand, my time on the Stockton dunes, Lake George or pootling around the park at Ashburton in kitebuggies rank just as high. I'd recommend you try Blokarting if you are a kiter, and vice versa. (Oh, and by the way, the new Blokart 5.5m sail let you play in under10knots, according to those that have them)

Yeah, I would have been out there too, if I wasn't stuck at home waiting for a furniture delivery person who was running really late... Oh well, next time!

http://www.acthpa.org/wind/LakeGeorge.html Check out this site for an idea of what the wind is doing at Lake George.

Has anyone been out there recently? If not, then perhaps it is time for an expedition. Been more than two years for me! Wato

G'day, I use a diving belt. It has a cam cleat that lets you quickly open it. I don't use weaklinks because I have mostly used the belt for buggy jumping. Nothing is worse than having a belt undo in the air. The other concern I have about weaklinks is that the forces are hard to predict when you turn turtle, so they may not break as you expect. Perhaps there are some weaklink users out there who can tell us how well they work? The main thing to consider when using a belt is that you need to assume that you WILL eventually turn turtle. This makes it important to have chosen a site with a clear downwind area. It also makes your flying skill important. Being able to land or perform a "controlled" crash of your kite when you are upside down is important. It is very difficult to separate yourself from kite or buggy when being dragged with a buggy on top of you. As a last line of precaution, always carry a safety "hook knife" (like those used by skydivers - it has enclosed blades with a notch inside for cutting lines http://www.para-gear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=6&level=1 ) strapped to your leg or harness so that you can cut the kite lines or belt if you really get in the soup! Wato

Gary, Actually, I always fly the kite above me so it can take my weight and I can trick the buggy into thinking that I only weigh 20kgs... If only! :wink: Wato

Buggy: Peter Lynn Comp and Race (Stainless Steel - New Zealand made) Fractures: 0 Fracture locations: not applicable Axle bolt failures: 0 (but the odd few bent ones!) Axle bolt size: 12mm Pilot weight: 76kg Comp buggy has been jumped and extensively freestyled and has a bent rear axle. Still goes great - touch wood! Race buggy has been through two of the original seats and is waiting for a third. Otherwise ok but siderail design is not as nice as the Libre. Alloy wheels are light but get out of shape and can't handle pressure above about 25psi.

Hey Paul, Are you trying to steal the Crash Test Dummy award from Gary? Gruesome pics! Cheers, Wato

G'day all, Sometimes you can get a bit stale with your sport and feel a bit like you have seen and done it all before. I confess that I have been in that mode recently - or at least until last weekend! Last Saturday I was lucky enough to bludge a lift over to the fabulous Rhossili beach in Wales with some local kitebuggiers. This, in itself, would have been a very fine thing, however the guys I travelled with were kitebuggy engineers from the UK company A-Q-U-I-L-O (http://www.A-Q-U-I-L-O.com). What this all meant was that I had the opportunity to try out some very cool new toys! The smorgasboard for the day consisted of a kitebike, the "Suicide Buggy" (a two-part buggy with no downtube to connect the front and rear sections), and two dual control buggies. I will write about the first two another time. For now, I want to describe the amazing Dual Control Buggy (which I will call the DCB for convenience). I must confess that when I first saw the DCB I was mildly curious, thinking that it was a good tool for teaching people to buggy. What I didn't realise was that it is a really cool buggy in it's own right - apart from it's role as an instructional tool! Before I describe how it was to ride, I will describe the buggy itself. The buggy is an innovative design which has two seats - and two sets of controls for steering. The person in the front seat has normal footpegs for steering and the person in the rear has a set of very sturdy pedals which are connected to a linkage to the front fork. This set up allows the buggy to be steered from either front or rear seat, and, as you can imagine, the possibilities are endless. Although the dual controls have obvious advantages for teaching and joyrides, the big surprise for me was how the set up made for a brilliant solo buggy! For my first run up the beach I sat in the front seat. The whole unit felt very stable and solid. The steering was perfectly neutral (no under or oversteer). After a few meters I couldn't resist an urge to try a wheelie. Surprisingly for such a large and unusual buggy, it wasn't impossible to wheelie - and boy did it feel good having such a large buggy up on two wheels! Encouraged by the wheelie ability, I thought I would have a try at some spins. Sure enough, it could be spun 180 degrees and ridden in reverse. It also liked fast gybes, with the rear end sliding around beautifully - almost as if in slow motion because of the impressive momentum. After enjoying the conventional ride position, it was time to steer from the back seat. Sitting in the back made me feel like I was in the kitebuggy equivalent of a Harley motorbike: the front wheel was well ahead of me and the ride was really cruisy. Although the freestyle possibilities were not as good, I must say that I spent most of my time in the back - it felt so cool to be riding around in such a long beast with remote steering. I had a massive smile on my face as I zipped up and down the beach. At one point, I even managed to climb from the rear seat into the front seat without stopping the buggy or crashing the kite! I must confess that I was really surprised by the whole DCB experience. I couldn't have asked for a better cure for my jaded outlook and can't wait to have another go! Here are some pics I took at Rhossili: http://www.kitegallery.net/view_album.php?page=1&set_albumName=album68 Cheers, Wato

Paul, Looks good. I can see you are enjoying your GPS. :-) Wato

G'day Gary and Paul, I won't be able to head to Sweden this spring. Sounds cold there at the moment! I am finding it cold enough in England right now. :shock: I was thinking about Lake George when I was up buggying in the snow on Sunday. Wondering if you guys had been back out there lately. The video and photo answered my question! That was a fast run in the video! Lots of good memories of that place. Although I am looking forward to heading back there, I have plenty of buggying fun in store here in the UK first. How hard is the surface of the new area you guys were buggying? And is it very far from the old area with the fences? Cheers, Wato

http://www.extreme-kites.com/phpBB2/album_pic.php?pic_id=169 http://www.extreme-kites.com/phpBB2/album_pic.php?pic_id=168 G'day all, See links above. Whilst you are all enjoying mid 20s temps on the beach with balmy seabreezes, I am shivering in below zero temps in England. Mind you, there were about six or seven other buggiers/boarders shivering with me. They are a hardy bunch, these Poms! Cheers, Wato

G'day, I used to take my buggy and a couple of kites in a kit bag on the back of my motobike! Wato