solo saturday

[jensmadwind]

Wow, what a weekend of weather and riding.

I went up to Door County this weekend and on the way stopped for a ride in Sheboygan and Green Bay for a couple sessions.

I eventually made it to my final destination and had 3 awesome sessions on saturday.

20-30 mph and butter

ALL BY MYSELF

my brother is not as good of a photographer as my wife nor does he have the patience to take pics for more than 10 minutes. But the whole day was pretty much like this with the occasional thick fog bank rolling in.

To the door county crew, sorry i didn't stop in. I had a hard time catching the last ferry on friday and the was nothing happening yesterday on my way back through.

check out the custom water rigging setup i used because there is no beach or setup area.

[Herbie]

Jens, good riding with you on Friday.
And thank you VERY much for bringing toys from Madison.
Sunday morning at the end of Oakwood, there were some guys out riding, one of them you?
Monday we had some light 16m riding, West wind.

[jensmadwind]

no problem herbie,

I really like the 135flx

it doesn't like me however, i hit a couple rocks and now its not so pretty any more

but durable!

I was not riding on sunday, I ended up stopping a little to the north or your house on friday evening. I thought the wind went to westerly for baileys so i just drove down a country rode that dead ended into the water, set up on the rode and drift launched. Rode my 7 for a good hour or two.

is oakwood north or south of you?

[Stang]

Yo Jens -

Nice shots, and the spot looks amazing! What's your trick for riggin and running your lines in the water?

[jensmadwind]

Stang,

I learned to launch this way from a boat in shallow water. With the boat, i anchor off the stern and pump my kite up in the bow.

I attach the inflated kite to the bow line at the pump leash attachment on the leading edge.

Lay the kite down in the water leading edge down and it will drift till the line gets taught.

I then unwind my lines and let them drift downwind.

Hook chicken loop to something on the boat and then step inbetween the center lines.

i run the centerlines under my arms and the outside lines on my shoulders and walk out the lines around the back of the kite and attach my lines.

go grab the bar and walk back to the kite

detach the line holding the kite and then do a drift launch.

Instead of a boat i used an anchored life ring with a rope and clip on the end.

to run my lines i used a large screw used to anchor a chain for dogs, i screwed it into the sand and hooked my chicken loop to that. If i wouldn't have been able to use that screw i would have pined my bar down with a rock.

It might sound like alot of effort but it works, and I can't think of a better way to launch with no beach/or settup area.

[West]

I hope people realize that Jens is an expert, an instuctor and a cheese head......Don't try this at home, or at least make sure to make a copy of the instructions and hold them in one hand while you hold the bar in your mouth and launch with the other hand, kite loop over the boat and grab a coldie from the driver while passing by at warp speed upside down...don't forget to get yur head out of the noose the lines created!!!!!!!!!!

[kris]

jens,

why didn't you just set up on the road and walk out?

[West]

There was no road, Kris. He was heli-kiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jensmadwind]

There was 200+ feet of marsh and tall grass inbetween the waters edge and the end of the road. I pumped my kite up on the road and did the rest in the water.

I always seem to screw up the lines if i try to attach them then wind them up. Something always ends up inside something else, but i bet it works fine if you have a system down.

Expert? thats questionable (thank you though, that means alot coming from a true expert) but in my 5 years of kiting and riding alone more than I should, the thing I am the most proud of is not getting seriously hurt and learning how not to be a liability to myself , anybody or anything else.

I hope I didn't just jynx myself

Jens