Great day at Diamond

[Tighe]

I love surprises. I was loosing faith in today. The snow in the cities was light, the winds seemed almost too strong and it seemed like it would be grey all day. A few phone calls to friends, who were less than psyched to get out, was killing my stoke.

After hearing from Jeff A. that they got 6 inches over night up near Elk River...I was back in the grove.

The drive went quickly, and the pavement was dry. I arrived and Peter C. was just about to head out. Travis came in after a session on his 10m...no problem. Matt K and Eric were looking real smooth on their snowboards in the white terrain, so I had to give it a go. Eric loaned me his Raptor Snowboard, with Flow Bindings. I just had Sorels so wasn't sure how it'd work. After Eric got me hooked in, it was great. The board is the way to go. Much more like water and more comfortable. Unfortunately the Sorels made riding comfortably a short lived experience. Need better boots....santa?

I hopped on my very short sidecut skis for the rest of the day. What a gas in the drifts.

Great to see Eric Stone upwind boosting, Matt going radical, and Eric S carving it up ever so smoothly in the fluffy white.

Thanks again Eric for the use of the board. Thanks Matt for ralleying the troops to such a great lake.

Here are some photos, quickly shot during a break:

[Denis]

Glad to hear you guys had an awesome day on Diamond. Thanks for the great shots, Tighe. And yes, boards rule!

Today, I was anxious to ride so I headed to Swede at 10:00 am. I had a great time with the lake all to myself. I was way powered on a 7.3 Frenzy. The snow cover was partially blown off, leaving an 80/10/10 snow, crunchy ice and glare ice surface. I'll have to check Diamond lake out when I come back.

Right now I'm off to the warm and sunny island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean for 3 weeks. It was one of the stops of the Kite World Pro Tour this year, so I am hoping to get some rides in. I'll try to post from there.

Denis

[Tighe]

Denis.
that sounds great. send stories and photos.

have a great time

[Rich v]

Don't speed on South Diamond lake road. My in-laws live there and I can say that Dayton police would like nothing better than to ticket you (I've met them in person . That is also horse country. The hobby farms you see on the north side of the road are right across from Elm Creek Park Reserve and they FREQUENTLY walk their horses across the road into the park to ride. Actually, this might not be true in winter as much, but just the same watch out. With the dips in the road limiting visibility somewhat, it pays to go slow.

[matt k]

nice shots tighe, I like the one of Eric doing a a speed turn unhooked, looks like he is fully powered.

That new fuel looked sweet in the air, now I want one.

[Tighe]

I've done my best to restrain my stoke about the new Fuels...don't want to come across too "bought". Any time you want to take one for a ride let me know.

They boost bigger, float longer and pump up like none other.

Offer extends to any competant rider.

[Mike W]

Hey, Matt. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I just bought a Fuel. After flying Tighe's 15m the other day, I had to have one to plug the gap between my 12 and 18 Naish kites. I bought an 03 model. I will let you know how it compares to the 04 once I fly it. From what I have heard, they are very similar in the air.

They definitely pump like no other, but I am not sure about the those other claims. I bet my X2 boosts bigger. The Fuel is a very nice, well-rounded kite though.

[Tighe]

Whoa! and coming from Mike that is major. For Mike to look past the marketing hoopla ha and buy a Slingy, really goes to show you:

a) Mike has lost his mind
b) Mike has a hidden side that he has only recently discovered that aligns with the slingshot marketing campaign.
c) Mike is working through some childhood issues and is currently very in touch with the teenager inside.
d) Mike is trying to understand the teenage mentality so that he doesn't feel a separation from his soon to be teenage daughter.
or
e) SLINGSHOTS ROCK!!! and Mike has realized it really is only about the product


sorry Mike I couldn't resist. I'll be interested to hear what you think after you've had a bit more time on them

[Eric S]

FWIW:

The Slingshot 11M was really nice. Very crisp and slightly grunty. I loved flying it low and slow. The bar setup is very nice too. The little ball stoppers on the trim line are nice. It flys with a nice short bar. Tighe had it on the slower turning settings which was perfect out there powered up.

I didn't get a chance to crash it or relauch, dang. heheh.

Thanks Tighe,

[Jim N]

Dang, U guys keep finding more and more lakes!! First Swede now Diamond!! I'd like U 2 find Norwegian Lk. 4 us Norski's 2 check out!! U all sure look smooth in the fotos....Glad U R finding time 2 play....I think U nailed Winter's various complexes...I've always been suspicious of his wide-mouth grin: