a new addiction

[max]

yesterday @alameda was the first day that I was able to stay up on the board for as long as i wanted (ok, except for a few spectacular crashes) and even get upwind a bit. 14 hours later I still have the same sh$% eating grin on my face and am having a hard time focusing on work; all I can think about is how long until the next session.

does anyone have any tips to make riding choppy water easier on your knees? Mine are aching today, and i'm sure its from bouncing off of waves.

[Wildting]

Congratulations on the stoked ride, Max.

I haven't been back to Alameda in a while, but I always remembered that when the windspeed got up to being fun, it was always choppy. Steep voodoo chop.

Other than finding butter to ride, you might try heeling that board over a bit more and hanging off your kite a bit.

Ibuprofen after the sesh.

[elli]

Congrats. Looked pretty light, I didn't even bother to show up. Do you have a glide or something like that?

Boards with flexible tips like FLX and narrower boards like the older litewaves take the chop better. So do boards with tips that curl up (rocker). If you use a light wind board which is usually wide and flat, you can expect harsh chop handling. But you can ride in 12 MPH, which is better than not riding at all.

[marin]

Max,
congratulations. I have been kiting for 3 years and still have that sh&t eating grin and am always thinking about when I can get out on the water.

I have bad knees and at after my first year of kiting I thought I might have to stop because of my knees. I have found several things that have helped me to the point were I no longer have any pain in my knees from kiting.

1. Liquid Force Interface Pads (these have made a huge difference for me). The cushy pads really made a difference.
2. Using a kite with plenty of depower by simply moving the bar in and out. My original kites required a high level board edging to offset gusts pulling me off my edge. With the newer kites (bows and others) when a gust hits you simply push the bar out a little and no extra pressure on the knees.
3. Boards with good flex. I ride Underground flx boards which I find pretty smooth in chop. I'm sure there are many good ones out there.
4. Ibuprofen before and after sesh.

Enjoy your new addiction.

[max]

thanks guys, luckily I have a giant jar of vitamin I for climbing (tendinitic elbows), so I guess thats the first step. Interface pads sound good too.

since i'm a newbie I have no idea about the relative flex or rocker on my board (fanatic eastwood 140-something). BTW when i say "upwind" I dont mean that I ended up upwind of the shack... I just mean I was able to hold my position and not go downwind for a while. I still ended up a half mile down the beach. After a session like that though, I almost enjoyed the walk of shame back to the shack

[elli]

How was the wind yesterday? The meter was not optimistic. Maybe it reads less on south wind.

[max]

it was light, and almost dead right at the beach. Luckily I got there early (4:30 or so) so I could get out OK. The wind speed really seemed to be changing a lot out on the water, but it was good practice for me to keep the kite moving, not oversheeting etc.

[Bulldog]

I think you might find that in actual wind (as opposed to what Alamedans call wind :mrgreen: ) you would now be able to go upwind pretty easily. Going upwind in light wind is a skill that takes a while to learn, and can seem alarmingly like work.

You might find the same thing with your knees, that is, with a smaller kite and more wind, you're working with the kite more than against it and you don't end up grinding your joints against the chop so much. Bigger kites can pull in a way that is less than helpful in many ways.

[Greg]

I second that...

[Scotty]

When I first started, I was having the same problem as you. When coming up to chop or a steep wave on an outgoing tack, I go over it with controlled speed and bear my board and body upwind to slow myself and actually ride over it without getting any air. This helps with getting upwind in choppy water and to control speed. The key is too reduce banging your knees. Ditto on the flexible boards also, they tend to absorb the shock a lot more. Hana Crew makes boards that have a balsa core and are very flexible. I have had one for three seasons and love it. The stiffer boards just crush my knees if they do not have a lot of rocker.