lives2fly - 18-12-2009 at 07:53 AM
All the beaches near me are tidal so I have to be quite careful to make sure I will arive to find good conditions for landboarding. I got a buggy with
wide tyres so I could still ride if the sand was soft.
I'm not sure what to do with it though!! I can run up and down the beach and do big slidy transitions which is fun but what do I learn next? Jumping
seems a bit specialized in a buggy.
flexiblade - 18-12-2009 at 08:28 AM
That is the big question isn't it, now what? If cruising the beach doesn't float your boat as much as the first time you rolled down it than you will
simply find a way to the next level. For me it was doing speed runs - even though I may not be the fastest on the beach - thanks dagon - I still have
a great time looking for that rush from hitting 45mph (that's my wall with the arcs). But I have a great time doing it and always feel excited when I
get the chance to fly.
The tide thing is . . . well . . . everywhere when it comes to beaches. You just learn to schedule around it. How far are you from the beach? The
jumping thing you mentioned is not for everyone - knew a couple of folks that are amazing buggy pilots but after a few crashes they decided it just
wasn't for them. You have to find something either in a buggy, on a board, in the snow, or in the water that stirs that fire. You're the one who
knows what you like - so go with your gut and get going with that buggy, board, skiis - or make something up. Just have fun.
If its a matter of finding a guru to help you transition - get a hold of Carltb - he's out of the UK as well and could definitely help you transition
to the next level on your board.
Good sailing to you.
acampbell - 18-12-2009 at 09:07 AM
Freestyle? Backwards? 360's, Two wheels, tacking upwind...
lives2fly - 18-12-2009 at 09:53 AM
Backwards sounds fun!
And yeah I like the philosophy flexiblade! + that aiming to do do speed runs will add something to my buggy sessions.
I guess the "problem" is that I got the buggy for when the sand is too soft to landboard and I don't feel like getting in the water (which is most of
the time in UK winter!!) so i'm starting from a negative place whenever the buggy comes out - its my last resort.
I think a couple of sessions purely to see "how fast can I make this go" where I leave the boards at home might go a long way to making me appreciate
my buggy.
Scudley - 18-12-2009 at 04:46 PM
Backwards upwind tacks are fun. Two wheels? Anyone else to play with there? Close order flying is fun. At our park we have had 8 buggys coming and
going at the same time on the same 150m tack. Tandem freestyle. Just buggering about?
S
flexiblade - 18-12-2009 at 10:08 PM
I had 1 extra bonus that kept me driven, in that I built my buggy from scratch and then modified it, and modified it, and am still messing with it.
Its fun to have a spark go off in your head about an improvement and then take the buggy out after you've made that improvement and give her a proper
shakedown. After all the messing about I feel confident in what my buggy can do and what I can do in my buggy (kicking into a powerslide at 30mph is
a rush - and without having made specific modification to the bug I would certainly go into a terrible flip or roll at that speed).
Bladerunner - 19-12-2009 at 10:08 AM
There are sort of 2 directions now. They dictate what gear you buy.
Speed: start with a GPS. Go big on the buggy
Freestyle : Start with flying reverse and transitioning / linking. Two wheeling. Jumping. Go smaller / stronger on the buggy.
stetson05 - 20-12-2009 at 10:02 AM
I have seen some people using bigfoot buggies to ride on dunes. It looked fun exploring different surfaces and expanding the areas you can ride. It
looks to use different kite skills to climb the hills. There are miles if dunes around here but I haven't been able to afford a BF buggy
lives2fly - 21-12-2009 at 08:16 AM
Hey thanks for the inspiration guys.
I already feel more motivated to get out with the buggy! I have a GPS that I use sea kayaking so it will be easy enough to measure my speed.
I also like the idea of using the buggy on different terrain. Lots of the beaches have open areas behind them which are hard and covered with short
grass but very uneven (like a dunescape but with grass!)
I use them for a bit of downhilling when the wind dies off but I had never thought of actually trying to ride them with a kite!