Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Getting Old, Feeling Young


I turned 51 today. Yay! Nothing makes you feel old and over the hill like a birthday. So I went kiting. I had a nice long session, did some wobbly back rolls, did some big crashes, had a great time. Now I feel young.


All I want for my birthday- is back rolls. I've been trying to work up the courage to attempt a back roll for months. Paul got me over my fear with 1 simple action. He set up a video camera on a sand bar and pointed it at me while I was kiting. Video cameras make kiters do crazy things. I turned off my brain and went for a back roll. It worked! It felt strange and disorienting, trying to locate my body in space while spinning around. How are you supposed to know where your kite is?! But it was a definite mood booster to land one, no matter how roughly, and kite away in one piece! On my 3rd attempt I inadvertently looped my kite upon landing. It untwisted my lines, which was nice, but any unplanned kiteloop is scary. So I decided to stop while I was alive. This whole day was a birthday gift.

First Encounter, Kitesurfed, NW, 13-26, 12M Varial/Surf 148, with Paul, Brad, others.

Top Picture- This is what my back loops felt like.



Thanks for sharing the video Paul! The goofy guy in the blue drysuit is me, (I'm using my old suit until I get bigger booties to fit my new suit).

4 comments:

Juan Piantino said...

Happy birthday Steve!!! And Happy New Year for you.

scooper said...

Hey Juan, good to hear from you! Thanks for the birthday & New Years wishes. I see from your blog that you've got some new toys. Kites! They're one more tool in the toolbox of fun. Good luck with the snow kiting.

Josh Angulo said...

Hi Scooper/ Steve ? , By checking out your blog, it looks like you have a wealth of windsurfing knowledge of an area that I'm interested in as I spend time there on my way from Cabo Verde to Hawaii and vice versa. I'd like to e-mail you direct , or you can send me your mail through www.anguloboards.com if you're OK to give me your contact, so I can ask you some questions.

respectfully,
Josh Angulo

Juan Piantino said...

Hi Steve! Yeah I've been looking for a good way to get going on ice/snow for quite some time now... and kites seem to fit that place quite nicely!