BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Hey everyone,

As some of you may know, the last 2-3 years has brought about many changes in my life - family, work, new and old pursuits and passions given attention and a bit more balance in life overall.

But, as the founder of this site, having started kiteboarding, kitesurfing, kiting, or whatever it's called these days, back in 2002, I'm happy to report that it's as rad and fun as ever!

About two weeks ago I enjoyed my first session of the year at the Toll Plaza on a 9m kite in good winds with a good friend and it was super fun. Then I spent this last weekend enjoying two visits with my lovely wife and son out to Sherman Island on Saturday and Sunday and it re-kindled so many memories and feelings about kitesurfing, all the times we enjoyed there and all the friends who have been kite family over all these years. While it's true that despite it being full to capacity I only recognized about 6 people on Saturday and probably twice that on Sunday, the vibe and stoke has not changed. There is a new generation and crew of kiters and everyone is enjoying it in the same we did, so that's pretty cool.

Anyway, I was pretty sore today from two days of kiting at Sherman in good winds and my muscle memory did not fail me as I was able to have just as much as I had before doing all the same tricks and enjoying 20mph+ winds.

Hope to see more familiar faces at local launches soon! Long live this awesome sport!

Sincerely,
Ollie G

Agree, it's still the funnest sport, I was wakeboarding over the 4th and the whole time I am thinking, I wish I could just hook in my arms are killing me. What still get's me stoked is that even after all these years the kite's keep getting better. Lighter, more tuned and faster turning. Each year I don't know how they will top last years kites but somehow they do.

pipedragon wrote: What still get's me stoked is that even after all these years the kite's keep getting better. Lighter, more tuned and faster turning. Each year I don't know how they will top last years kites but somehow they do.

I wouldn't know about that just yet as we are on a quiver of 2009 SS Rev's, but the 9m sprung a LE leak last weekend, so things may change before long. Maybe it's time for new gear... But the nice thing is they are like an old sweater...

Was good to see you Ollie!

cliftoncutshall wrote:Was good to see you Ollie!

For sure, good to see you too, been a while!

Ollie

Don't be a stranger, even if you have bladder problems. Appreciate all your contributions over the years to the kiting community, making a real difference in keeping safety perspectives high while maximizing the good vibe that has permeated the Bay Area kiting scene for so long. That's on you.

You may not have seen many of us the other day, but we're still around. We just keep a low profile unless we're upsetting people by stacking their unruly kites.

Speaking of kites, I may have an older 6 and 9 Rally that are still great kites if you want to transition off that Rev. I might have bladder problems, but they don't. Just pm me....

friggin old guy wrote:Ollie

Don't be a stranger, even if you have bladder problems. Appreciate all your contributions over the years to the kiting community, making a real difference in keeping safety perspectives high while maximizing the good vibe that has permeated the Bay Area kiting scene for so long. That's on you.

You may not have seen many of us the other day, but we're still around. We just keep a low profile unless we're upsetting people by stacking their unruly kites.

Speaking of kites, I may have an older 6 and 9 Rally that are still great kites if you want to transition off that Rev. I might have bladder problems, but they don't. Just pm me....

John,

Thanks for the kind words friend, I appreciate it! While the scene has changed a little bit, the one thing I've realized by going to Sherman a few times this year is that so many of the new people know each other and have forged the same friendships and camaraderie that so many of us did earlier on in the sport, so that's pretty cool too.

I'll PM about those kites...

Ollie