First UK Dirtsurfer-Fest

15 dirtsurfer riders from across the UK met up for a weekend of riding at Out To Grass (OTG) in the Malvern Hills on the 22nd and 23rd July. I think the centre, which is normally full of mountain borders, was a bit surprised to see so many DSs, and the usual comment was "not seen one of those before". Great fun was had, especially down the Snake Run. A few even tried the Border X track. - until the rain came and washed us out. (even the 4x4 got stuck).

There's a video here:
OTG Video and some photos here: Photos

It was good to put faces to names. Thanks to Tom and Tim who organised the event, I'm sure that there will be many more, and thanks to OTG (http://www.outtograss.com/) who were very welcoming. We'll be Back!

Its all downhill...

It may sound daft, but I live about 1 mile from a pretty good dirtsurfing hill. Cleeve Hill. So, I went up there with Missile, and we had a bit of a look around. I must say, riding without a wing to balance yourself with takes a few goes ot get used to, but I soon regained my confidence, and between us with did quite a few runs on the grass, and finished off with quite a long run down the path back to the car park. Its then that you realise the benefits of having a wing. No hills to climb!

Still good experience, and we agreed we should go back there again whenever we get a chance.

The ultimate ride would be on the road back into Cheltenham. From the Golf course, back into Prestbury Village, is probably 2 miles and pretty damn steep. Its also very busy, so I need a bit more experience and confidence before I have a go.

18/06/2006 - Jumping practice

Location: Gower
Wind: up to 10 mph S / SSW
Distance Travelled: 25 miles
Max Speed: 34 mph with wing, 27.9 with Windsurfer Rig.

OK, another day, usual place at the Gower.
Wind was forecast to pick up during the day and the tide was fully in when we arrived at about 10:00 am. So we waited, slowly the beach exposed itself and we gradually claimed it back for ourselves. The wind was SSW, so running up( ie north) was too far downwind, and running back (S)was hard work beating into the wind.
I set up my large windsurfer rig (6.5 metres) and had a few runs with it. The wind was only about 10mph, but It felt good with a reasonably large rig. I managed to reach 27.9mph, which is a new record for me. I wanted to top 30mph on the day, but it wasnt to be...
Lots of runs about, but not the best conditions. I clocked 25 miles during the day, but the wind never reached the forecast 17mph.
We spend most of the afternoon practising jumps. There wasnt enough wind to make a real go of it, but I think we all got the principles clearer in our heads.

Missile did a few jumps with just the wing, which I capture on my (oops, my wife's) new camera using the multi-shot mode.
We messed about for a while with an abandoned car on the beach. Well to be honest it was a pink plastic toy car, but it was rather silly, and we took a few shots of Missile in it with his wing - Until he fell out the back.

29/5/2006 - The wind's picking up

Location: Gower
Wind: up to 28 mph NW / NNW
Distance Travelled: 30 miles
Max Speed: 34 mph

Drove down again. SWAT and Missile had been there for the weekend, and were having a ball. I'd tried to fix SWATs kitewing, but the temporary joint had broken again. So we were a wing down. The wind was picking up, most of the kiters on the beach and even the buggies were struggling. The wind being NNW meant we only had small amount of beach to play with, but fun anyway. Being a wing short we decided to take it in turns. SWAT did a few jumps, with the ATB, Missile and me did some standing jumps, missile having the weight advantage seemed to jump twice as high as me. Technique probably.

Loads of fun on the kitewing with the Mountain Board doing power slides.

27/5/2006 - Kiting in the rain

Location: Gower
Wind: 14 mph West
Distance Travelled: 43 miles
Max Speed: 33 mph

Another good day. Wind was good and steady, but lots of rain. The beach was "ploughed field" again, appart from a stretch near the dunes. However, with westerly winds that was fine. plenty of space, not many others on the beach until the weather cleared in the afternoon.

Highlights?
Missile found a 2' deep hole at 25 mph and went flying. I saw him and thinking he had hurt himself, fell off during an emergency turn.
SWAT broke another mast tube on his kitewing by falling on it. He did manage to create a temporary splint with gaffa tape and spare wing tips. He could fly it but the aerodynanics were all wrong.
I did a fairly spectacular crash in the stream. The rain had turned the stream into a river and what normally is a simple process of crossing, became a 2 foot deep torrent. So my disrtsurfer stopped dead, and I went flying. Much to the amusement of onlookers. My dirtsurfer then started to wash away downstream, so I had to wade after it.

Anyhow, I brought SWAT's wing back and left him mine as he and missile were staying over. He texted me later to say 83 miles, which I assume is the distance he has travelled. Surely another record? I'm back tomorrow with a slightly better temporary fix on his wing. Forecast is 23mph NW, sunny. Should be a good day. Must crack those duck gybes.

Wingsurfing uphill!

21st May 2006.
Quick session today between rainstorms. It was blowing 20mph, so I thought I could justify a quick late afternoon session with the Dirtsurfer and Kitewing on Cleeve Hill.
I have always wanted to run from the common by the arials to the next hill top by the golf course. Well, today I managed it :-)
Very gusty, as the kitewing kept lifting over my head and behind me at times. Good fun though as I did 3 runs there and back (probably less than 1/4 mile each way), but the fun thing was that it was down and up the hill. Going down is a bit mad, as you could go flat out. I didnt, as it was so gusty, but powering up the hill is quite an experience. I've done it at the same spot using a normal power kite and a mountain board, but this was a first with Kitewing and Dirtsurfer.
Then it started to rain so I came home :-( what a wimp.

Our New Website - wingsurfing, kitewing, dirtsurfing

We've got our new website live now.
Loads of great videos, pix, news, hints and tips.
Feedback has been great so far, and we'll be adding loads more content on a continuous basis.

http://www.wingsurfing.co.uk

new kitewing / dirtsurfing video

http://www.wingsurfing.co.uk/videos/Kiting_may_1_2006_5.wmv (20mb)

some good dirtsurfer slides - lots of fun

1st May - May Bank Holiday at the gower

We really must go somewhere else. The problem is it's such a good spot.

Anyway: wind forecast was different on each website, but windguru said 25mph. It ended up at about 15 which was good. The beach was pretty bad again, with a surface that wouldn't be out of place on the moon. Just as well that the wind was mostly westerly, as we had good runs up and down the beach. Managed to fly/ride (flyde?) 40 miles over the course of the day, and it felt like it this morning. top speed 33.7mph.

Lots of use of the harness on the Kitewing; lots of dirtsurf powerslides; Lots of video taken (will post when i've edited it); lots of crashes from Missile; an abortive attempt to try jumping and flying from the dunes by SWAT and Missile; raced a few kitesurfers (they were in the water, I was on the shoreline - they won, but the beach was too bumpy for me to go for it. - my excuse anyway); a bit of ATB powersliding with the kitewing.

Missile is doing really well, I must sabotage his kit so he doesn't get better than me.

Nothing particularly new learned, but did get some video of one handed kitewing flying. (and SWAT's "wave to mum"), and did get loads of practice of turning and sliding

Powerslides

Session Report: 17 April 2006

Went down for the Bank Holiday Monday to Meet up with SWAT and Missile. Missile had his new dirtsurfer and kitewing to play with. Not a vast amount of wind when I got there at 10:00, but forecast was to pick up to 19mph during the day. Hard work to begin with, but as the wind picked up it proved to be a good day for messing about. got 33mph and kited 40 miles over the day, and spent most of the time practicing powerslides. A few crashes are on video here http://www.wingsurfing.co.uk/videos/powerslide_outtakes.wmv.

April 13/14 dirtsurfing with kitewing and windsurfer sail

Froggy and SWAT - Another session, more progress. I suppose thats what its all about. Keep flying, keep pushing, keep learning. We had 2 days; thursday and friday. Thursday was a blaster. westerly 18-20mph, very gusty to begin with but getting better as the day went on. Lots of power slides on the dirtsurfer, improving power slides with the mountain board, used the harness a lot; came a cropper a couple of times :-( - a couple of minor jumps too.

Should have been able to beat the speed records but the gusts in the wind were just too much to commit to. Friday was much more consistent but much less, only managed 34mph.

Loads of interest on the beach. I think we could have sold a few sets of kit over the 2 days... where's the commission mkyd? 2 guys (windsurfers) were convinced after about 15 minutes and said they would buy a dirtsurfer/kitewing combo between them.

We also had interest from a professional sports photographer who must have spent 45 minutes taking photos. We'll be in touch with him to get some copies.

Friday was much quieter and a lot less wind. A bunch of buggiers set up right next to us, making it difficult to get out of our spot next to the river. They also really churn up the sand.

I had quite a good session on the dirtsurfer with a 5.5 metre windsurfing sail (tushingham storm). Got a top speed of 25 mph which is not great, but the wind was falling off all the time.

I'll be going back on monday, as SWAT has gone down with Missile (who has his new kit now) to catch the end of the forecasted 17mph westerlies... hmmnn

New Kitewing / Dirtsurfer Speed Records

Great session on Saturday the 1st April. 15-20mph SSW wind. Almost perfect conditions.

SW managed to reach 42.3mph (with his 5.5m wing), beating my previous best. The best I could do was 41.2MPH (with my4.8m). Pretty damn fast, and I get the feeling that we're pushing the limits, so "every little helps"... SW had more pressure in his Dirtsurfer tyres (40PSI as opposed to my 30PSI). I know its not going to make that much difference, but its all about friction and rolling resistance.

According to the GPS, over the course of the day, I kited 39.5 miles. Also used the Kitewing harness a lot; and spent some time prefecting some moves on the ATB with the kitewing. Really throwing it about - great fun. Watch this space for videos: http://www.wingsurfer.co.uk/videos/Gower

Wingsurfing Inland?

I had the first (sucessful) go with the kitewing & dirtsurfer combination inland. The wind was blowing 15mph and although it was raining I decided a quick trip up onto cleeve hill was called for. As it's only 2 miles from my house, its not a bad venue, and one I should use more often. Its right on top of the hill, and if its windy anywhere round here, its the place to be. Normally you expect to see a few kiters there. However, probably because of the rain, it was just me and a few dog walkers.

Because of the higher rolling resistance starting, and the generally bumpy surface, its harder to start than on a beach. Once going though, relatively easy, and because of the wheel diameter, much easier than an ATB. Try and avoid the really ruff stuff, but otherwise quite good, and quite fun if you start to pick out the "interesting" terrain.
I managed a few runs up a hill, but hard work in the gusts as it was downwind and more sheltered. Big wind shadows behind the gorse bushes, and nearly bailed out when I was riding between two big bushes.
Top speed reached, 21mph, but didnt really go for it as the conditions were not perfect. (wet and muddy). Kited about 6 miles. Brake seemed OK.

Highlights
Nothing new learned, except uphill riding, but worth doing a few more trips up there after work (if its 12mph+), now the nights are getting longer.

Bumps and Harness

Llangenith again last Sunday. Wind was forecast to be 17mph East, so we headed off as usual. Although it seemed windy on the way there, on the beach when we arrived it was almost zero :-(

So we played with our flexifoil bullets for a while. I managed after a few attempts to use the kite with the Dirtsurfer. Thats a first. You need a bit more wind than there was, otherwise, as soon as you get moving you catch up with the kite and it drops out the sky. Anyhow, managed a few runs then the wind picked up. Whatnot tried his new 5.5 kitewing, but it was very gusty and variable by the dunes, being offshore. The beach was nearly useless everywhere else due to the "ploughed" effect. It seems that a couple of days of easterly wind create this effect. No chance of any speed runs in those conditions.

Down by the sea, the wind was much better, more consistent. So I did a few runs at the waters edge (and in the water) and that was quite fun. No speed attepts as it was very wet and ploughed.

Harness
I thought it would be a good chance to try the harness lines on the Kitewing. So I set it up (as best I knew), and it was actually much easier than I thought. NOt sure teh line positions were right, but using my old windsurfing (seat) harness, it was easy enough to hook in, and power up. You can still depower OK as the lines slide through the harness hook giving you a fair degree of freedom. When you get gusts, you can still depower OK. The thing to watch (as with windsurfing) is remember to unhook, when you turn or stop. Otherwise you end up on your face on the wing. (Yes I did)

Highlights
I can dirtsurf with a 3.5 flexifoil bullet for power.- need more practice.
Using the harness lines on the kitewing is much easier than I though and will afford far more power when doing runs.
GPS reading said I had covered 25.7 miles during the day (we were there for 6 hours!).

More Kitewing Problems

Looks like we have a serious issue with kitewing boom wear - after only one season. This wear appears in th 4 spots where the battens must touch the boom. SWs boom is the same and his battens have actually worn at the end. Must look into some form of sleeve that might protect the boom. Nylon or Mylar? I wonder if anyone else has this issue?

Broken Kitewing Boom

After the wingsurfing session at the weekend, SW checked his boom. Its knackered :-(
Clearly the crash the week before had caused more damage than we realised. So its a new boom for him.

Dirtsurfer Brakes

Had a bit of problem with the brakes on the dirtsurfer at the weekend. Although we put it down to very wet conditions, subsequent inspection of SW's brake made us realise it was actually locked up. Turns out the Dirtsurfer brake pads were completely worn. So much so, that the pads were actually touching each other over the top of the disk. ie not even touching the disk when braking.
A trip to Halfords and £14.99 for a set of Tekro Gemini-Novela pads (needed a hole drilling in the back) seemed to do the trick. and a complete strip down, oil and rebuild, seems to make the thing work better. Although I'm not convinced that the Y-brake cable we fitted a while back actually helps, as it gets clogged with sand.
So... currently looking into hydraulic (sealed) units from Hope. I'll blog more about this when I find out.

Wet Gower Trip

OK, so you'd think we'd learn by now. The wind was from the South-East; it was raining, and we had to drive through the snow to get there.
Well it was OK actually, just a bit cold and wet, and we had a chance to play with the new GPS's - They work a treat; although conditions meant I only managed 35.7mph :-(
Managed some quite good downwind turns on the Dirtsurfer; and about half an hour powersliding on the mountain board.

Conditions: Wind: 15mph gusting 22mph from South East, moving round to South
Beach: very, very wet, but very flat.
Weather: Very wet. Rained all day.
Nobody much about. No other kites, but one windsurfer.

Highlights:
The wind broke a pole on my beach tent.
Simon's new tent couldn't stand up.
Sand in the kitewing crossbar meant we couldnt get them apart with cold and sandy hands. Solutions: Unscrew the whole bar and fixing. Simple.

Cool GPS

This looks rather cool. But having just ordered a Garmin wrist mounted one, looks like I'll have to stick with it.
Link

New GPS?

Been looking into GPS systems as SW has an old Garmin unit strapped to his Dirtsurfer, and I'm currently using a Halfords £12 bike computer. Mine gives me max speed (so far 40MPH recorded), but as part of our new "official world speed record" we (we me actually) need to be able to record and verify it on GPS.



Found this one: a GARMIN FORETREX 101 Personal WRIST MOUNT GPS for £68 + 15 postage. Thats great value as its normally over £100. Its also fully waterproof and wrist mounted. We decided to order a couple and have direct comparisons then.