Well from my point of view anyway ...!
Wind forecast was 5m/s on one site, 10m/s on the other - we got the latter, at the very least!
I'd wrangled a day off work and had headed down to the lake about 1:30pm. Got set up (gah! pumping) and ready to go just as the wind arrived around 2pm and two tacks saw me right upwind into the K-zone - out past the 100m markers from the beach. Aah, nicely powered so far! Oh but wait - here comes some more wind ...!
Initially, I seriously contemplated going home and getting my 15m Synergy as I ended up with the Crossbow trimmed right in and was fighting hard to keep an edge and go upwind but after the first jump, all thoughts of less power were yoinked from my mind!
What a rush! Straight up into the air higher than I'd ever been before and as I dangled there, I could feel the kite surging up even further but I sheeted out a little and gently lowered myself back to the water ... and so the tone was set for the next 3 hours or so! Massive jumps and long hangtimes with power enough for riding toe-side, carving the 'waves' on the lake and sliding turns miles downwind! Even landed a jump blind, by mistake and rode along for a bit thinking "WTF do I do now?" until I fell over, saving myself the hassle of trying to figure out how to turn around :D
Kept riding till just before dark, about 5:30pm now :( last one off the water and packed up on my own. The wind was still blowing good and I was jumping every chance I could but I was getting tired and was ending up on my ass more often ... still, what an epic days riding!
What I learned today ...
• My initial success at aerial transitions must have been Beginners Luck.
• Straps get loose too easy and my feet are fond of slipping out, leaving the board dangling from one foot :(
• Without my fooling around on the shore with the kites "jumping", I wouldn't have been quite so prepared to completely relax and enjoy the honking big air time I got today!
• It's much easier to land a jump you muff the launch up of, when you have time to move the kite or swing yourself around.
• Which is good, cos either the angle the waves were coming in on my 'goofy' side were messing up my take-offs or I'm not as ambidextrous as I thought I was! Totally fouled up jumping that way and it got worse as the day went on ...
• Watch the chicken loop! Somehow, mine had unhooked and I don't know for how long but I'd been riding around attached to the kite by nothing but the donkey dick :o
• Board speed + power in the kite + good carve to load the kite = mega-WHEE! so don't be a pussy and ride hard!
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