First thaw since the arctic hit Chi-beria two months ago. I had a pretty good session in spite of the dogs and crappy, gusty, shifty wind. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5P2S6l2Z08&feature=yout...

P.S. It might still be processing for a little longer but I couldn't wait to post it

Nice vid Bro!

Sorry for the lack of music, but we aren't all as talented as John Holgate

Looks like you had the whole beach to yourself. I can't wait to try that spot out. Was the sand hard enough for standard barrows?

Nice spot and fun vid to watch! Dude you are SO ready for downturns. Your kite handling and buggy control are great, and you would really enjoy the slingshot of power you get from the downturn.

Thanks BB! I actually do downturn quite a bit, I just didn't in the video because the gusts were pretty blazing yesterday. My wind meter was topping out over 25mph in gusts. I am confident enough in my flying and the buggy that I will pretty much whip it around at full speed well powered without hesitation. I love being just a little overpowered when riding. Sometimes I do get a bit carried away with it, which you can see at the end when I whip it so hard I almost pull a deadman and put the kite upwind of me. The reason I popped my safety was because the little dog was right on top of me and when my lines slacked he ran through them and got tangled for a moment.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Looks like you had the whole beach to yourself. I can't wait to try that spot out. Was the sand hard enough for standard barrows?

The beach is amazing for buggies actually with a good northeast wind. The sand is hard packed right now from all the snow sitting on it for the past two months and will stay that way at least until they start sifting for the summer beach goers. I actually rode my road bike across the beach the day before to test out the sand. Once they start sifting the sand, you might have a hard time using standard barrows unless it is higher winds or the sand wet from a rain storm.

Awesome spot youve got there!!!! Nice vid

Its always the dogs! Running across your path, or stopping to pee on your kite, buggy, or backpacks

Hard to do, but glad you kept your cool!!

I really dig that 12m Charger.

Quote: Originally posted by 3shot

Its always the dogs! Running across your path, or stopping to pee on your kite, buggy, or backpacks Hard to do, but glad you kept your cool!! I really dig that 12m Charger.

Basically, kiting has been banned on this beach before in the past. It is only allowed now because the kiters got together to self-govern and kick irresponsible people off the beach. It was mainly inexperienced kite-surfers that would come and do stupid things like crash kites on people and surf next to swimmers. Land kiting isn't really big here, as I am one of only two or three people in Chicago that even own a buggy. There are rules against flying anything over 4 meters on the sand, but I have checked with lifeguards and checked with local kiters to get the go-ahead to buggy and board on the beach as long as I keep it away from bystanders. As you can see the beach is pretty huge for a city beach. The sunbathers and swimmers usually stay by the water, which leaves the back of the beach wide open to me. I just have to watch out for people walking to and from the water. I still try to avoid busy weekend days because of the crowds. There are flood lights on the beach that make it easy to fly at night, so I probably do most of my riding after work on week nights until 9 or 10 pm.

We tend not to get into it with non-kiters because we do not want to draw negative attention to ourselves. We already get the coastguard called out on kitesurfers all the time because people see someone out in the water being dragged around against their will by a tent or wayward umbrella they got tangled around their waist...

The dog park is on the other end of the beach, and dogs are not even allowed off leash where I ride. I was in the right to say something to the couple if I wanted, but they didn't get upset that their dog nearly got cut in half, so I didn't push it. You can't really see it in the video, but he got his leg caught in the lines which was why I popped the safety.

Man, I recognize that grin at the end, I've seen it (in the mirror) so many times! :D Nice vid!