Hardwater Kiter

Okay let me start off by saying that I know nothing about kite course racing. I know even less about sailboat racing which kite racing gets most of its format and rules from. All I know how to do is go fast. It doesn’t have quite the tactical demands that course racing in a group has for sure. It’s more of a balance of finesse, brute force and luck and I’m okay with that. Course kiting is like chess. Speed is like bowling. And we all know I like bowling. In years past Kitestorm has always had a speed competition. This was always different than the regular weekly speed comp because some pretty sweet prizes are at stake. For example the fastest rider usually walks away with a kite, which is a damn good prize. If I didn’t win some of the kites that I’ve had in the past I wouldn’t be where I am today with my kiting. I sure as hell probably wouldn’t be a Peter Lynn Rider if I didn’t win my first Peter Lynn Venom 1 13m way back when. I hadn’t even really heard of Peter Lynn before I...

Champlain  Another Girlstorm has come and gone and as usual with our kite adventures it was not without some interesting occurrences. Molly and Rachael Miller (owner of Stormboarding) spent the weekend instructing and I spent the weekend cruising around Sandbar State Park and riding with Burlington’s local kite speedster Gary Kjellerin. I saw some pretty strange things over there at Sandbar. We rolled into Sandbar at about 11:00 and were greeted by mostly snow free ice and hardly a puff of wind. Rachael was out with a lesson trying to teach people how to fly a dead kite on the ground. In a way still a valuable part of learning snow kiting, eventually you need to learn that you won’t have wind every time right? Molly had some time wanted to fly a little bit before the Girlstorm attendees showed up. With almost zero wind she decided to ride her P4 SA 19m. With her weight and the clean ice it would be just enough to get her out and moving. Although she had to work it at least ...

                                   Golden Pond Okay maybe 50-60mph on glare ice isn't quite the way Henry and Kate cruised around Squam Lake. They were more likely to be seen in some beautiful vintage wooden power boat or paddling a canoe like in the movie. But in the spirit of this up coming Valentine's Day and on the eve of our 18th anniversary I’m feeling a little romantic. I like to think there are some parallels between me and Molly and Norman and Ethyl Thayer. They’re characters I can relate to. Characters that make you say “Man, that’s where I want to be at that age.” I’m not talking about being a crabby bastard or any of that. I’ve already got that covered. I’m talking about being with someone for the long haul, someone to play with (and fight with), lean on and support through the years. I’m really, really lucky. ...