Not what you would think but, land development!! Oh my god! The one safe place I had to fly just a little school by my house the only one with a big field is now going to have more portable schools on it! I was blown away! I may be prompted to move after this. Has this happend to you? What a feeling of hoplessness and loss. Not that I dont have anywhere else to fly, but man that was my spot. You know the one that you know was good flying on certain windy days and when not. O'well Live to Fly! Just had to tell someone who cared. Thanks.

I lost a big giant concrete student driving range to portable school buildings. It was a great place to landboard with a regular skateboard and also a nice place to fly model airplanes. Only 3 minutes from my house as well!!!!

Scott

Totally feel your pain...
Last time out atop a gigantic wild, flat field that was awesome for static flying and only 40 minutes from me, wouldn't ya know it... Up comes rolling a county parks officer truck and, "No kite-flying...county law".

Really bummed me at first, but also forced me to increase my kitesite scouting radius considerably, which also increases the chances for meeting other kiters. Trying to put a positive perspective on it anyway...
Know how you feel, though. My local spots are few, as well.
Chin up, dude. There's another awesome field out there just waitin' for you to find it.

I had a giant parking lot that only filled up for games and concerts. Long runs with clean winds off the bay if it came from the south. An inner City Paradise !!!! It had been there since the 86 worlds fair. I started kiting there about 3 years ago and about 6 months later they put up ( useless ) no blading signs. It slowly got eaten up by Condo development.

In the hang gliding community we've lost many sites due to encroaching land development. Oh, we can still fly, just not land! BB's such as this one are a great resource to hook up with other fliers and scout places. Google earth has helped me, I just wish it was a little more up to date. Half the time I see a place that looks great, I head over there only to find condos. The trouble with this sport is that not only do you need a fairly large area, but the ajoining upwind area needs to be relatively clear as well. I plan to take a lok at that huge dirt area at the westernmost end of W.Winton in Hayward this weekend. I'll post what I find out.

Well thanks all. now I dont feel so alone. And I will try to look on the bright side and try to get out more and find new places. Much needed pep talk. Thanks again.

I drive 45min one way without traffic to kite in a spot the size of the average football feild, only gets clean wind 1/2 of the time. Next best spot is 1 1/4 hr away, wicked wind all summer, but fairly small rough flying area.

Then there's those occasional days where we get a really low tide while it's light and windy and we get to play in a place affectionately called "Mud Bay"

Ask Snowbird about the mud powered carwash out there.

Ha Ha!
Here's a tip for folks who run in the muck. Don't get canted wheels the spray shoots up in a lovely upside down V and meets over your head. I spent a while wondering why I'm still getting a seat full of sandy water with a fender + splash guard. It all lands on my helmet and runs down my back

LMAO

I went out for a nice sand shower on the bay again today. If I ran out there more often I would HAVE to get a wider axle and straight wheels. The bug is perfect for our little park and my little apartment. Fits under the bed :D. You can't have everything.

Man, that's hilarious! I never would have thought of that downside of canted wheels.

Hey Sthrasher- I was up in your area over the weekend and unfortunately didn't bring my buggy as I found a killer field! Here's a mapquest page to my brother-in-law's place, which is right across the street from the park.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&co...

Here's an arial view from Zillow - Click "arial view and zoom out one notch to see the field. It is now grass, not dirt.
http://www.zillow.com/search/Search.htm?addrstrthood=4894+ko...
It has very clean flow for west winds, although for only a few years as there are small poplars along the west side. Two soccer fields + in size with short grass. Good Luck!

Man thank you so much. That was so cool. Hey livermore? Is that by salinas? I"ll be there this weekend the 3rd. U2u back if you can get out to fly.

Start flying on water. Let those developers try an build condos in 50 feet of water. If we just had a little wind, life would be good....

Water looks cool, and there IS plenty of it, but it seems like every time I try to do something in the waves I either nearly get eaten or I get my head slammed into the bottom of the ocean. Think I'll keep to the land for the forseeable future. It really is amazing how much of the planet is being overun by condos, though.