Power Kite Forum

Can you see yourself here in ten years time ?

RedSky - 14-1-2013 at 07:09 PM

Basically I'm doing my bit to push the spam down by creating some spam like threads of my own asking random questions. :D

At least once a week I read on other forums of people selling up for one reason or another.

I've thought about giving up a few times over the years.

So, can you see yourself kite buggying / landboarding / kitesurfing in ten years and why?

Do you currently have other interests that might dominate in the future ?

Will family take up more of your time or will new career ambitions threaten to take priority?

Or is it the case that have you made life long friends and feel part of something and plan never leave ?

If you answer yes and can see yourself here in ten years then what are your ambitions, what would you like to achieve, what equipment will you hope to own, or are you just hoping for more of the same fun ?

Tom

BEC - 14-1-2013 at 07:34 PM

I totally want to be doing this sport in 10 years..As I go to WBB, I look around at all the different age groups. Do I want to and still think I can kick some 30 year olds ass when I'm 53...You Betcha! That's what keeps you young...However, I probably will only be able to kick some butt for 7/8 of the day instead of all day (I do have a tad bit of energy)..the rest of the time can be firing up the younger kids...Getting them pumped up and into the sport more and hopefully teaching them a little something along the way...

It's also just as much fun and enjoyable hanging out on the beach, meeting new people, telling stories, making people laugh and talking shop (kites)...

Equipment is nice to have, but if it just sits in a closet then it is just equipment...Sure I'd love to have some more kites or a better buggy, but it sure is fun just going out and enjoying what I do have....You can have a lot of fun and create some great memories owning just one 3.5m kite.

The more I do this sport...the more I learn...the better I get...and the more fun I have...
Enjoying it with people who love it just as much as I do, makes it that much more special.
People I never knew have become a part of my life for the better....and that's why the PKF and flying are so special to me.
Thanks everyone...
:yes:

WELDNGOD - 14-1-2013 at 07:41 PM

until they pry the handles out of my rigimortised hands...... I shall fly!


"When kiting is OUTLAWED, only OUTLAWS will have kites." Outlaw Kiter

soliver - 14-1-2013 at 09:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BEC
... Do I want to and still think I can kick some 30 year olds @$$ ...
:yes:


Well hey,... I am one of those 30 somethings and I'll go ahead and let you whoop me,... Given my current recorded PB, I don't believe it will be hard :lol:

In 10 years I'll be in my 40's, and probably moving even slower HA, but hey, by then I'll be finished with my master's degree and hopefully established in the career path that's been set before me, but I really don't see giving up the kites unless I hurt myself really badly (knock on wood).

I'm a pretty avid craftsman, carpenter, and metalworker and FWIW I will probably commit equal time to remodeling the house for years to come. But I still don't foresee it removing the kites from my life.

Wouldn't mind taking a walk on the D'ARC side,... I've been thinking more and more about it and if I can ever afford one eventually, I may try it.

Kamikuza - 14-1-2013 at 10:38 PM

I could see me moving on to paragliding in a big way... but wind would ruin that so I can't see why I wouldn't be kiting!!!

shaggs2riches - 14-1-2013 at 11:59 PM

I see it that I chose this path with every intention to stick with it. Just like my guitar playing, I don't do it as often as I'd like nor am I any good at it. But when I plug my guitar in and begin making noise, I become content and enjoy every moment I'm playing. With kiting I don't get near enough time in. But when I'm out there and everything is going perfect, nothing else matters. Just hope the sport lasts for at least that long. There will be lots of gear over the years that I will want or all ready do want. My biggest hope for this sport is to one day have my wife, and all three my children kiting along side of me. It would be way to cool to race each other across a field or lake. Can't wait to see where the future brings us.:cool:

B-Roc - 15-1-2013 at 04:33 AM

Health permiting, I will still be doing this until I physically can't any longer. I only wish I started younger. The 13-20 year olds entering the sport in the UK and around the world are lucky to have such a sport at such an age. Certainly a lot easier learning in your 20s than it is in your 40s (less painful too).

BEC - 15-1-2013 at 05:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by soliver
Quote:
Originally posted by BEC
... Do I want to and still think I can kick some 30 year olds @$$ ...
:yes:


Well hey,... I am one of those 30 somethings :lol:

I was just making a funny statement...no offense, sorry... I would have said 20 somethings, but they seem to challenge me more to "PUT UP" or "SHUT UP" ..LOL



I'm a pretty avid craftsman, carpenter, and metalworker
Let's talk about this more...I might be able to bring you a little GIFT, if I ever get down to JIBE....or if you are willing to pre-pay a shipping box for 20 plus pounds...we can discuss further.

I also think it's a great accomplishment to have finished your education and go forth with your career.

Mainekite - 15-1-2013 at 05:38 AM

I don't see stopping as long as I am capable. For me it seems kiting is part of a natural progression, I have been skiing, skating, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, windsurfing and riding vehicles of every kind powered by various means all my life. I had wanted to kitesurf for about ten years after watching them in Hatteras but kids, jobs, houses, wives and money got in the way. While life has settled down and I am finally taking advantage of my opportunities.

It just seems right to do it all powered by a kite.

jimbocz - 15-1-2013 at 05:52 AM

I am certain that kiting will be a part of my life as long as I am able, because we spend one or two holidays at the beach almost every year. I was always bored out of my mind before kiting, and would never go back to that. I'll always have a kite.

Will I always buggy? I don't know, especially not with the current monster buggy with the monster wheels that requires a huge amount of hassle to load and unload. And to carry. That's why I had to stop hang gliding, carrying that thing around was just too much trouble, especially since I was living in my car at the time.

Maybe one day I'll move back to a smaller buggy, or find some other aspect of kiting that excites me.

erratic winds - 15-1-2013 at 07:35 AM

I can't say I'll ride ATB forever, but I know I'll be doing wind-sports til I die/infirm. I know a buggy's in my future after I destroy myself a bit more...(sitting in cerebrite's VTT stinger didn't help that!)

Bladerunner - 15-1-2013 at 07:40 AM

I tell folks they will put me in the rec. room at the Old Folks home . Set my chair on spin and I will fly my Rev' until the battery runs out !

Sad truth is that with our lousy winds and locations , I have thought about packing it in but then I get that one magical session and :wee:

pongnut - 15-1-2013 at 07:57 AM

I too, wish that I had discovered this sport 10 years earlier. But yeah, I have such a passion for power kiting now that there is no way I won't be enjoying it for the next 10 years.
:wee:

Drewculous - 15-1-2013 at 08:50 AM

I fluctuate my hobbies, but i'll always fly... I dont care for the cold, so in the winter months I usually lift and work on my stereos. Building a 10kw system as we speak :ninja:

But kites hit a nerve with me that goes really deep.... I could never walk away from it

BeamerBob - 15-1-2013 at 09:47 AM

At 50 yo I wonder how kiting figures into the long term for me. I sense that going fast will dwindle as the years pile on and I already feel a pressure to not miss good wind opportunities to push the speed as far as I can while I live here. Someday I will live back east and be beach riding again. That's a lot of fun too as its a more relaxed ride in most cases. I'm in for the long haul as long as I'm able.

flyguy0101 - 15-1-2013 at 09:52 AM

I have been flying some type of kite for over 25 yrs and dont see that changing- i do think that i will transition to water over the next few yrs since i am healing slower and the mtn board will be used less. Or i could pull a Phree deal and land board with minimal jumps and leave the big airs for the water:cool: but i do think that i will be flying in 10 yrs maybe not as active as now but definetly still doing. Sort of like my kayaking days paddled hardcore whitewater for almost 10 yrs then stopped for a few yrs and have begun getting back into it now although can admit will not be doing the same paddling i did then- i have become a little bit more concerned with living:wee:
scott

bigkid - 15-1-2013 at 09:57 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by soliver
Quote:
Originally posted by BEC
... Do I want to and still think I can kick some 30 year olds @$$ ...
:yes:


Well hey,... I am one of those 30 somethings and I'll go ahead and let you whoop me,...

There are a few of us that are on the OLDER end of life and a few are able to kick all your butts, and the rest are happy to be able to participate in the sport they helped to start.
This is a sport that keeps you young at heart, us old guys and some of the older guys enjoy the sport because they still can. I know of a lot of older guys that have moved onto landsailers, and some that do both. I personally, am not ready to give up kites completely but my next toy is going to be RED and about 20' long that will very easily do 60 to 70mph at Alvord.:P

erratic winds - 15-1-2013 at 10:37 AM

Jeff/BigKid is a big inspiration for me to keep riding, and to keep encouraging my dad to keep riding.

stetson05 - 15-1-2013 at 10:46 AM

I have been here since 2008 and I see me stopping any time soon. The only thing I could see would be to shift to paragliding but I don't think even that would take over kiting. It would only carve out some space. Kiting gives me a feeling of connection to the world, wind, land, and life that I don't get anywhere else. I hope to have at least 10-20 more years of landboarding, snowkiting, and kiteboarding until I transition to more buggy time. I like the stand up modes better right now.

bigkid - 15-1-2013 at 11:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by erratic winds
Jeff/BigKid is a big inspiration for me to keep riding, and to keep encouraging my dad to keep riding.

Come on Dad, let's go out and play catch, er, uh um I mean fly kites.:saint:
My 10 year old grandson is able to run circles around me when we are on the boards, but get me in the buggy, the punk will eat more than dust. For now anyway.:yes:

Baluk - 15-1-2013 at 11:50 AM

I think in ten years time, it will be time I finally am able to start kiting again :D

Started in highschool, just about done university now. and I haven't unrolled a kite in atleast two years. Ok, well I think I went out on the water twice maybe, once each summer...

Point is, once I settle down with school and work, and rebuy all those kites that I regret selling (!) then I think it will be about ten years from now, and yes, I will be here in ten years time I suppose :)

PrairieWind - 15-1-2013 at 01:02 PM

Five year's time...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8YCSJpF4g4

AnnieO - 15-1-2013 at 09:20 PM

Well, I certainly hope to still be flying and smiling. Like so many others I wish I would have discovered this sport/hobby a long time ago. It's kinda hard to accept that my competitive days in many physically demanding sports are long since gone, but kiting has definitely help fill some of that void. Being a retired person and all, I have to fill my time somehow, right? This past year kiting has even cut into my time on the golf course. If it was a bit on the windy side, I had a good excuse not to golf that particular day and fly kites instead.

canuck - 15-1-2013 at 09:48 PM

HUmmmm in ten years I'll be 70. My mind will be willing and I sure hope my body holds on because I would really miss the adrenaline rush of a good session. Might have to trade in the landboard for a buggy in a few years. It will take at least 10 years to get to all of the snowkiting locations on my bucket list and I still have to get to some warm waters and learn to kiteboard.

So much to do, so little time ....

MDK - 15-1-2013 at 11:20 PM

My last hobby only lasted 10 years but I think I will go out with this one. I can see myself getting a nice landsailer some day but I will always have my PTW handy :)

jellis - 16-1-2013 at 06:20 PM

after 17 years I still get a thill everytime I parakart/kitebuggy

shaggs2riches - 16-1-2013 at 08:55 PM

Also in ten years , I might have put in the equivalent kite miles the Phree and Feyd put in one year. Just saying its something else to strive for. Lol.

soliver - 16-1-2013 at 09:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bigkid

There are a few of us that are on the OLDER end of life and a few are able to kick all your butts, and the rest are happy to be able to participate in the sport they helped to start.


Most people who know me can certainly attest to the fact that I just move slow,... And I'm ok with that,... Whoop my arse all day long,.... I just wanna fly kites. :lol:

I'm in the "stoked to participate category" :smilegrin:

I'll go faster when I feel like it :smilegrin::smilegrin::roll::roll:

rudeboysaude - 17-1-2013 at 02:52 PM

This site says I registered in Jan 2004.. so I've almost already been here 10! One to go. Kids and my new job have definitely impacted my kite time. It'll never die though and when I can't kite, I can always come here and BS with other dreamers until I get my chance again. Soon I'll be chasing my kids on a snowmobile on big down winders, then someday riding with them. I never give up a hobby, only take a break from things until I can come back strong!

snowspider - 17-1-2013 at 09:18 PM

I'm glad PKF lists when I registered otherwise I would have no idea how long I've been kiting. Probably started 2 years before because my first post was about an early version of my sled , and I'm feeling like I've squeezed as much out of it as I can. So six years to get to where I'm at. Got a taste of high speed ice skiing last year and was too scared to really enjoy it so 3-4 more years to feel comfy at rocket speeds plus 3-4 more years searching for that PB. At some time get in a week at Hatteras which should set me up for a lifetime, because I really like the water. And I can see me bumping and grinding in the park forever , I get a kick out of the intensity of skill needed to fly in a confined space. Ten years easily fits my schedule. I'll be 58 in March and a woman at work wants to do a case study on me for her BS in Physical Therapy (something about old guys staying fit). I've been climbing the stairs at work lately to stay in shape for 3days of kiting and dancing next month. 11 stories up and down ,two steps at a time ,on my toes, 5 times , takes 15 minutes. If kiting wasn't exercise enough, now I'm exercising to kite!

MyAikenCheeks - 19-1-2013 at 12:08 AM

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
— Mark Twain

Kites have been part of my life, all of my life. Power kites came into my life later on. At 66, five more years would be great, but 10 more years would be a miracle! :wee:

Sand-Yeti - 20-1-2013 at 03:56 AM

I began kite buggying in 2000 when I was 56 years old. If you'd asked me in 2003, if I'd still be buggying in 10 years time, I'd have said yes. Here I am at 69 & still at it. I guess I will still be at it in 10 years time subject to being the expert coffin dodger that I am.
In March 2011, I had an OBE that smashed bones in my right arm & wrist. After some major surgery the pieces were screwed back together with a reinforcing plate & all my kiting buddies who are half my age said I was ready for the scrapheap. I proved them wrong by regular physiotherapy & swimming everyday that had me back flying again in 3 months.

I hold down a full time job (48 hours a week) meaning I can only buggy at weekends, wind permitting. Last year I beat my previous record for the annual distance covered in single year, which was 4337kms (2695 miles) in some of the toughest terrain & hottest temperatures you will find almost anywhere on the planet. Everyone can do it providing your not dead or too sick, it's just an attitude of mind, not how old you are.

RedSky - 20-1-2013 at 11:38 AM

RedSky - 20-1-2013 at 11:39 AM

Great! I can't even see page 2 of my own thread. Can anyone help?

No wait.. I can see it now. Don't know why this happens. Same thing with the NABX thread.

Great to hear that you all hope to be around in 10 years.

69yrs old and still no sign of stopping. Excellent!

ikemiester - 20-1-2013 at 02:05 PM

I was lucky enough to have a stunt kite at age 9, and had put a mountainboard with it within the next year. I may be in college now, with no place to ride and too much to do. But last time I had my 3 weeks of leave, I logged 100 hours over that time period. I'm all in. 10 years and I'll be 30... wow. Hopefully somewhere that I can go hard regularly.

SFKITER - 22-1-2013 at 03:12 PM

im brand new to the kiting industry but boy is it fascinating seeing how many companies compete with eachother and how many different models of kites their are that is what makes it so interesting to me.