Forecast looked good, webcam looked good - I motored on down to the lake! Traffic is light, I make good time and get there just before 4:30pm. Wind looks borderline; everyone seems to be humming and harring. I waver for a moment then think ah fuck it why not. It's Speed3 time baby yeah! Suit up, load up, waddle over to the lake ...
Set up to hot launch the 21 but the wind has picked up a touch - we've white caps on the lake just ever so slightly. Pre-inflate ol' Relentless, grab the Flydoor and hit the water. Well powered!
Noodle around, lay some stuff down ... few slams till I warm up and get into the groove. I'm going upwind fine and wasting ground doing stuff - lovely!
I'm nicely powered on the 'door so I swap it out for the 'radical. Still rollin'! Throw some silly tricks down, boost some air - I'm getting really good at monster jumps now! - and am having a great time! It's a bit crowded near the shore, there's a newbie chick and Uncle Pyro and well, everyone else who's blocking the shore ... some close-calls with carefully placed kites to get through the jam.
Wind drops off a little more so I swap for the Flydoor. I got more board speed so I bust some big jumps ... I can feel the kite trying to drop me again occasionally on the smaller jumps so I'm controlling it with the sheeting in and out on the way down. I land a bunch toe-side and turn that into a down-loop turn the other way. Double-rotate a back-roll and loop the kite to stop a stall ... am I getting better or is the Speed3 just fucking awesome?
Sunset is coming but oh, it's a full moon! Nobody is getting off the water so hey - neither am I! We ride out till it's well dark and I can see the bar but can't tell which way around it is - can't see the colours!
Head in to shore, everyone has landed so I get Miyachi to help me - good man!
Awesome session! Wind was a little lully but the Speed3, he is a mean machine!
Moment of the Day was boosting a big ol' air, leaning back and looking down at the moon reflecting in the water!
Wind speed was recorded as 6 to 9 knots with gusts to 16 ... hmm, I reckon we had 10 to 12 fairly steady, with lulls to 8. I rode upwind without effort 90% of the time and only the utter wombles had to walk.
What I learned today ...
• Need to use more muscle or input from the board when the wind is light to do the rotations...
• In fact, it's easier to use the body to rotate than it is to use the kite - less over-rotation to contend with.
• Big jumps, mad hang-time - coming down is difficult! I just sorta hover over the water so 'reaching' down with my feet to land ends up dangling like a wally... bad style!
• Steer the kite more on the way down, control the drop with the bar. Be pro-active!
• Speed makes big jumps. Still working on whether it's better to send the kite sheeted out or in a bit...
• I'm getting spoiled with the ease of rotation of the Flyradical... but the Flydoor is still a great riding board!
• Oh yeah forgot to add - bats can see the lines and hear them when I came up behind them, even in the dark ... also pretty magic, riding along with the little bat-boys :)
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