Hi from Lakeville

[skelman]

Hello Kiters!

I bought a Peter Lynn Twister IIR 5.6m kite about 2 months back and have been static flying around here south of the cities. A friend showed me his Power Kite and I was immediately addicted after wiping out a few times. I've been flying whenever I get the chance, and having lots of fun jumping around.

Anybody around here do much static flying, landboarding or buggying? I've only flown at a handful of parks that always seem to have pesky trees. I haven't found any great locations yet for any long runs on a board or buggy - which I'd love to do more in the future. I definitely want to try snowkiting, and maybe kiteboarding on the water sometime too (of course with lessons first). At this point it sounds like a lot of gear to buy just to try it out so I'm holding off and reading up on everything.

In any case, I just wanted to say hi and I'm pretty impressed with such a large kiting community right here in MN. How late does everyone kiteboard around here season-wise? It's pretty chilly today, but there's some good wind .

I'll be out at a park in Lakeville kiting after getting off early from work later this afternoon.

-skelman

[Matt V]

What? How late does everyone kite?????? Snow is king in Minnesota and I drive up from Nebraska for your consistency and longevity of snow through out the winter. I love to kite locally, but you guys just have the goods (snow) more so than we do down here.

Get a snow board or skis and have some real fun on some awesome terrain that can be found not too far from the twin cities. On no wind days, Mt. Kato is the best ski hill I have ever been to. Granted it is not a mountain, but it is still the closest you could have in the Midwest.

[tom_latcham]

2 years ago I only had 3 weeks I could not kite. It was in the fall between my last water session and 1st snow session. In the spring I was snow kiting in Utah and came home to open water. So I had no gap in riding. It all depends on weather. My latest water sesion ever was on a windsurfer Dec 21st. I wanted to say I windsurfed on Christmas. However the lake frooze on the 22nd. That was 5 or 6 years ago when we had 2 very mild winters in a row. The earliest I have seen the ice season start is the year of the halloween blizzard. Lake was frozen solid by Nov 1st. By driving a few hours north or south at the boundary between snow and water the season might not ever end. One spring I snow kited on Milacs one weekend and water kited Clear lake IA the next. The following weekend I kited Canon near Faribolt. Then Waconia was open the next weekend. So you see with a little driving the season can be endless. Of course you need the right clothing. I usualy over heat, because I dress for a situation where I might swim in. Then if I don't fall I overheat. My hands are always the weak link. They get painfully cold some times on those last few water sessions. Thank goodness for dry suits. Although I hear some of the new high tech wet suit are just as good.
Happy riding
TL

[JRN]

WE USED TO GO TO KINGSTON PARK in Cottage Grove. Keep in mind it is near a school, so you want to avoid it during classroom hours. Be on guard if you fall off your land board. The local dog owners are not very considerate about cleaning up after their pets...I know from first hand experience! I rode with some west-side maniacs and Jerry S. once at the Buffalo High
School ground years ago. We were on land-surfers with windsurf sails, and skateboards with foil kites. It is a fun alternative to extremely cold water, but not very forgiving if you fall. Helmets and full skating gear are recommended: Knee & elbow pads
wrist guards, etc. Have fun and be careful.