Wednesday?

[berken]

Where's everyone headed tomorrow? Is the ice still safe with the warm weather we've been having?

[MK]

Me and a few others heading to Medicine Lake just before noon. The rain was slight today and may have had an effect like searing a steak; rain created a cap on the snow trapping the temps and helping keep the thick ice thick. Did a test last Thursday and ice was 2'.

Surface will be interesting tomorrow. Better wax whatever you prefer to ride, might hit 50 degrees. That will get me taking sample measurements of the ice thickness more regularly.

[Eric P]

My brother in law Tim and I will be hitting up Waconia after work. Hopefully the wind is still up (and the snow is not too sticky). Sorry Terry that you can't join us. The sled is always an option

[fabrino]

Hi

I was thinking of hitting Calhoun or Med at around 4.00pm today..
any fresh news on the wind/snow/ice conditions of those 2?

Thanks!
f.

[scottchapman]

Thinking of hitting Kite Island at 3 pm. I see the wind is now up.
I am guessing it is still safe to drive out for a day or two more...?

[MK]

Just pulling up to Med lake now, 1:37pm.

Good snow coverage but 52 degrees is bringing out the grey. This will be a wet one!

Glad the lakes not a waterry mess, yet.

[Cory M]

In my opinion, some of the best kiting on the ice is yet to come. Once the snow melts and water drains, it often creates a great soft surface that can hold an edge really well. Since the ice is so thick these conditions can last for a couple weeks. T-shirst, sun, and more daylight. Bittersweet as you know it won't last. But, on to the next of four seasons!

[scottchapman]

Pretty wet out here. Too windy for the 14. Feet are soaked. In Wayzata bay by the marina. Snow almost gone it is more like water skiing. The professor just drove out to kite island.9 meter wind now.

[fabrino]

saw the kites on the webcam and hit Med lake at around 3.30pm..
wind was awesome.. I'd say around 15 avg with gusts of 20/25..
more consistent in the middle of the lake
the 10m (with a bit of depower) was perfect for me

surface was interesting..
some areas was pure water skiing, others was slush..there were some ridges of slush
(around the iceroads) that I was using as mini kickers for ridiculously low jumps..(I'm a chicken..)

but all in all I had a blast.. was soaked at the end and went all around the lake which i did not know and
hit my speed pr of 32.9 mph

here you can see the garmin track (click on aerial..)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73416014


I was afraid this was going to be the last ride of the winter season but the previous post gave me hope!!

thanks to lakawa.. it's a fantastic resource for a newbie like me!

[slopecat]

here you can see the garmin track (click on aerial..)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73416014

Very cool! I have never seen anything like that. What kind of GPS do you have and what did you do with it? Just strap it to your arm or something else? I have an older eTrex and I am wondering if it would work for this. Do you just sign up for a free myGarmin account and upload a track?

I am also new to kiting this season and hope to get out a couple more times.

Thanks,
Mike

[fabrino]

Hi Mike

I use a Garmin forerunner 205
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=348

Garmin has smaller and fancier wrist units by now but the 205 works well for me (I've had it for over 4yrs now and you can get it for little over 100$).. use it for running, biking, sailing, skiing and now kiting, it's easy to use and has lots of nice training options
only issues with it is that sometimes it takes a minute or so to catch the satellite signal and that it does not have a heart rate monitor.... the newer models are faster

then connect it to a computer (no wireless for the 205 but wires also charge it so it's no big deal) and you can upload your activities on the free garmin connect site and they are easy to share and access from anywhere

here is a calhoun session:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72643698


regarding conditions.. it looks like next tuesday the winds are up again.. I'm looking forward the tshirt kiting Cory mentioned.. .. my last session I went gloveless and it was a much better feeling on the bar!

[davepark]

Here is my track from Wednesday. If you view in satellite mode you can see where I had to go retrieve my kite from shore after it got away from me. Boneheaded move on my part is all I'll say about how it got to that point. Thanks to those that help chase it down for me. Luckily no damage.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&ms ... 5b80f151ff