Anyone here into kitesurfing?

Guys,

As per the title, is anyone on here into kitesurfing? I'm looking to book a 3 day course for June (when the water will hopefully be a tad warmer!) and wanted to get an idea about the price of a decent setup and whether or not is was feasible (size wise) to carry it around on the back of the bike. I've got a YZF1000 Thunderace which has a pretty decent sized rear seat to strap things to, I just wouldn't want to be the width of a bus!

Ta!

[the_lone_wolf]

i've been kitesurfing for about 5 years now, you could certainly fit a couple of kites into a backpack, but realistically the amount of extra stuff you would have to carry such as the pump, wetsuit, towel, bar/lines etc would make it difficult if not impossible to use the bike, then you would need to find somewhere to carry the board, which is ~1.3-1.4m long - there's a reason lots of kitesurfers use VW transporters.

It's been few months since i've been out on the water, but a reasonable setup (3 kites, one board plus extras) could be had for under a grand i reckon, i don't have the training kites but if you fancy coming down to the island this summer i'd be happy to get you going with your own kit once you've got the basics down pat...

drop me a PM if you want to chat about getting started

Probably worth at least trying out power kites on land before taking to the water, as it will give you an intro to the principles and speed up your learning once you get on the course. Oh and if you smile sweetly you can come have a play with our kites sometime

I don't do water but have been known to buggy quite a bit. If you fancy meeting up sometime I can let you have a play with my kites. They are relatively easy to fly for beginners (PKD Centuries) and they will give you a taste of the kiting bug.
Be warned though, it's addictive and can be costly.......

Here's a piccy of a mate just about to roll his buggy in Newquay:



Unfortunately, a car is needed for the buggy and kit:

That's a sure fire way to get attention.

[Spiderman]

No....but ive always wanted to try it. They sued to do it in Lanzarote a lot when i lived there but i just never got round to trying it.

Hell i prbably cant even stand up on a board anymore its been so long but i'd still have a go at it. Still got my old wetsuit too

[the_lone_wolf]

this thread made me dig out some old kite movies on my computer, and guess what, i found one of me on youtube....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgffamRNmlY

that's me at the beginning kind of ridge soaring, the other guy is big tony, from a couple of years back

bear in mind we'd been out on the water all day so we were absolutely shagged

TLW, we'll have to dig out the top hat video.......

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Furry Ginger One

TLW, we'll have to dig out the top hat video.......

ah yes, but he never meant to go that high

Here, have a look at this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RuE5t1-H9k