As I sit here broken,I have been living on PKF and FB . I have had alot of time to think about the actions that put me here.
Some probably think I got hurt because I was flying a Fixed bridle race kite. (4.2m pkd combat). I have come to the conclusion that is NOT the case.It wasn't any thing to do with the kite.
My poor choice of terrain and what I was doing on it. That is where it all went wrong. Loose powder sand w/ grass clumps scattered in throughout is probably NOT a good place to practice downloop powerslides. Yeah it was a blast for hours. But it only took one clump of grass to flip a 125 lb buggy + 170lb me over, in the middle of a powerslide.In retrospect,I wish I had stayed in the area that had no grass ,but it was fun dodging the clumps.I guess you could say I was playin "russian roullette" on a kitebuggy. The law of odds caught up w/ me.
Now ,we have our Brother Seanny w/ a bad wrist cause of an unseen divot. And this has me thinking that we all should look at the subject of THE SUBJECT OF TERRAIN & HAZARDS
I only ride on Sand(loose and hardpack) and sometimes on short grass at a soccerfield.But there are lots of different terrains and they all have there hazards, quirks,pros and cons. Let's hear about your terrain and anything that might be helpful for anyone who is going to ride on that particular terrain for the first time. You get the idea!

i put my story on seannys injury post yesterday.......

I try to always be aware of how much I'm rolling the dice... Not just terrain and ground, but also the wind and the kite and being realistic about my skill levels. Sometimes it's really safe (10-12 onshores, soft loose sand, static jumping, B IV 6.5) but my last flight was just plain dangerous (5-25, deep in windshadow, wet hard grassy field, static, 4.1 twister) and I was very aware that the more time I spent out there the more likely it was I'd get injured. In other words, I was rolling the dice nearly everytime the gusts came and so I only spent 15 minutes on the field... Normally wouldn't have done it, but it was a new (to me) kite. That was in Tsawassen near Vancouver BC a couple days ago.

Another factor would be quality of health care... In HK I'm covered 100% for anything because I'm a legal resident, but I'm not currently technically a resident of Canada, so it would almost as bad as getting hurt in the US w/o insurance... A nightmare for sure.

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Originally posted by WELDNGOD As I sit here broken,I have been living on PKF and FB . I have had alot of time to think about the actions that put me here. Some probably think I got hurt because I was flying a Fixed bridle race kite. (4.2m pkd combat). I have come to the conclusion that is NOT the case.It wasn't any thing to do with the kite.

Glad to hear you have time to think and reflect. Done 8 months of it myself, now to think of NABX.

Sorry to say, but it isn't the area that I buggy in or the surface that is under my butt, (or in my face, depending on what end hits first) that is safe or dangerous, it's my attitude of NO FEAR that went byby a few months ago. I will buggy anywhere I can get the kite up and the buggy moving. The question is HOW I want to get moving, and at what cost.

Keep healing and enjoy the time to reflect.:wee:

I was riding on a soccer field right down the road from my house. There are several fields... due to the way the wind was blowing, I decided to go to an open area I hadn't been to before. Little had I known they were doing construction on parts of the fields... digging and putting in new soil... I had never found any divots or anything before, so I didn't bother checking. Turns out I hit a small hole from a tire or something that jerked me and I lost my balance. Then the wind gusted to about 32, and the kite dragged me through a rock parking lot. Not fun. I'll definitely scope out the area more thoroughly next time, and most likely install a strop release. I recommend for everyone that flies fixed bridle with a strop to do the same. I am VERY thankful that I wasn't more seriously hurt, because I easily could have been. I was manhandled by my kite, and that's something nobody wants to have happen.

Here's my flying area on Google Maps: 30.679185,-97.933725

I skipped across a sidewalk last week after falling, like a stone across water. This is why I wear full body armor and a full-face helmet. XD

I fly on multi use fields as well as soft and hardpack sand. I try to be as aware as possible to what obstacles, trees, power lines, soccer goals. may be a problem while I fly. While on the grass fields, you never know what you may come upon being that lots of others use our space.

I agree with Furbowski that skill level, and mother nature have as much to do with it as being aware of your terrain.

Donnie, wish you the best next week bro! Talk to you soon!

So far the worst thing I did was the day I got my atb. Winds were 15 gusting to 30mph, and I was flying my 6m access. My trucks were real loose, and I had absolutely zero exp on an atb. We found a real flat smooth farmers field and away we went. I jumped onto the board and tightened those straps right tight and proceeded to dive the kite down fast. The kite surged me forward fast causing instant speed wobble. My board dug right into the loose topsoil and I went over, diving the kite into the powerzone at the same time. I then got dragged on my face through the dirt for about 60 yards with board still on my feet. Today I would really like the chance to revisit that field under decent wind conditions. The loose soil would be a blast to powerslide over, but the gopher holes would be tough to avoid. Normally I'm at a soccer field, the biggest hazard is dog droppings, the fresh ones are the worst.

I once got pulled through a small shrub tree thing, mole hills-holes and dog poop. Some dangerous and some just annoying.

Y'all are the reason I'm smarter than I was. Today I'm going to a new area with the buggy as soccer has invaded where I was. (does it ever stop?)
But along with the buggy, I'm taking a bicycle. Its a large area with smooth grass between some schools. But I cant tell from aerials and google if there are any imperfections or surprises in the ground.
So with bicycle I can ride the entire area before I venture out onto it with a buggy.
I've never taken the time to do this before.

everytime I go to the beach , the first run is always slow, lookin for obstructions ,holes that kids dig,sandcastles(man I love smashin those w/ the rear axle). That is an important thing to do if the general public has access to your flyspot. I think most all of us fall into that catagory.

Good point Donnie! Sometimes we are plain just too excited to get going that we forget to think about what may take us out!

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Originally posted by WELDNGOD sandcastles(man I love smashin those w/ the rear axle)

1) sandbar
2) sharks
3) shells
4) sunbathers

Each spring Gary point is green and hard packed . As summer progresses sections of soft sand form. Dead Stop Dangerous . I have an option for NW winds but otherwise GP is about it !

I try to compinsate with padding and an ounce of common sense but I want it bad enough I'm willing to take a spanking ( + frustration ) for my pushing the limits. Funny thing is, my sprained ankle didn't happed do to anything more than one clumsy step and a sticky binding.

i 've had some hard pack rides that have hazards like ,

sudden soft... zooming along on hardpack and the ground just grabs the board and smack down!

or ! hidden deep...crossing what you think is a 1-2inch deep and a couple yards wide tidal stream at speed and is really 2-3 feet deep! whacked, cracked and WET! only to be thrown on the hard pack on the other side.

did i mention these occur in the dark.

even the best perimeter checks leave SOME mystery.

fresh snow fall has a way of hiding some pretty serious s*** on the lakes. Fell through crack that had a skim of ice and 2" powder cover , only a foot wide , like stepping into a gopher hole. Some very knarly bumps can be found the hard way too , otherwise known as "not fun"

Since Wildwood is where I do most of my buggying these days, I normally just take off like a rocket (or as fast as the kite will take me). As I trek down the beach, I do watch out for obstacles, and generally slow down when I see things that dont look right on the beach (holes, small rivelits of water, sand castles, pipes, etc). This normally works well, but I did get my s**t tossed one day when I went across something I thought I had seen before. First time I did it at low speed and was fine.. but at 30mph I was soundly pitched and dragged up the beach on my face. No damage done, but scared me pretty good...