[Closed] Surfing buzz more addictive than mountain biking?

Yes. I'm starting to feel that way as well. It's a pain as I live miles from the sea, but the power of the sea is really something quite incredible.

riding/climbing/kayaking etc is just a distraction from not surfing.

i'm 40mins from north-coast, 30 mins from south coast and hatching plans to move closer.

You just need to work your way up from MTB to

Until...

By which time your adrenalin will be peaking so high that you’ll be kayaking mountainside drainage ditches just to unwind

https://youtu.be/rT8fqB9GPBM

I get the same with snowboarding. That's even less accessible

Jambo. Oh dear that's what I suspected. Graham yeah I've deliberately avoided getting into any snow sports as far too expensive and infrequently available. Oh well looks like surf will be my autumn/winter hobby and mtb in the summer months.

A day of deep powder snowboarding, particularly in the backcountry is for me like nothing else. I can remember lines and days from 20 years ago with absolute clarity and detail, it’s rare I can do the same when out on a mountain bike (unless I hurt myself).

Solved this problem years ago by just being completely cr@p at both surfing and snowboarding. Simple.

I've actually just been looking at articles on making your own Polynesian style bodyboards.
Already have a van, no tan and a wetsuit...

I've never found a rush like sitting in a kayak above a scary and committing rapid, putting your deck on and dropping into the flow.
No going back.

I did a fair bit of surf kayaking too ads yeah the thrill of catching a big wave is incredible.

Still second to cleaning a burly and technical rapid though.

Always think surfing, although brilliant, is kinda samey. 😉

I find i go through phases. Surfing did dominate for a bit, then living within 20mins of coast you get to a standard where unless its proper good you opt to ride. Then i ride loads get a bit bored, surf more, miss riding, ride more and miss out average days/busy days.... Embrace having more than 2 hobby.
And everyone knows a proper powder day always wins......

I think the 'advantage' of surfing is the randomness. If you hit a trail one morning on a bike, chances are it'll be identical run 2 (if you screwed it up the first time), and almost identical the following week - sure things can be wet or dry, a bit more or less muddy, but its pretty similar

surfing, at most spots (not including the wave bristol..), every wave is different. You might get one just right, then the very next wave comes it at an angle 1deg further north, hits a different bit of the reef and throws your right over the falls.

Like others, it's snowboarding for me. Absolutely love it.

Nothing beats ripping silently through powder on a snowboard in the mountain air and sunshine. Unfortunately it takes a lot of effort to get that nirvana so slogging round the bleak moors in the mud on a bike will have to do 😐

Never tried surfing. I'm a weakazoid so I'm fairly certain it wouldn't be for me. But it looks like fun.

Yeah, skydiving. One hell of a buzz for about 60 seconds. Three minutes in a wingsuit.

I still get that feeling when I've had a good jump, but I do it to get better at one part of it and jumping on my own when I can't get other people out is getting dull. Even worse, jumping with a team is 'work'. I mean, fun work, but still work.

Who am I kidding? I'll still be at a dropzone as much as I can waiting to get a lift, even if it is just me solo jumping.

Try living 100m frpm the sea. Ok, so its windsurfing but when its a nice 3 or 4ft swell rolling in and you have to go to work....
Or its a f6 forcast all morning and by the time you get back the wind will have switched and dropped off
Im getting old now but ibused to be able to do a 3hr bike ride, get home, carb up amd be out windsurfing for 3hrs in the afto
Then have 3 tooo many beers and do the same the next day

I haven't surfed in over 10 years but I know what the op means. The closest I have on a bike is rhythm section in some dirt jumps. It's the smooth swoosh and acceleration

Best surfs at the moment are when MSW calls it wrong. crowds have been mental this year and still not tailing off.

Had a great surf Sunday morning, chest high, glassy with great banks at polzeath and only three of us surfing a long left on the point between baby bay and the main beach. Must have had 25, 100yd rides in just over 2 hours. Midlength boards are the best thing to happen to my surfing in years.

And if I’m really lucky I get to see the legendary surfMatt....

Should have said about a powder day in my reply.
there is nothing on earth like it. My last good powder sessions were 2 winters ago and they still make me smile.
Japan when the boy is older

The only people I know that have given up everything to partake in their passion are surfers.

my snowboard season starts this weekend. Hype hype!

It's not for everyone - 20 years ago when foot&mouth closed the hills instead of climbing four of us bought surfboards, but I'm the only one still doing it (one having the excuse of being dead, to be fair).

But for me it was like the scene in trainspotting where they inject Tommy (I think) and exchange glances because he just likes it too much. I mean they're all junkies... Except instead of dying of AIDS I've spent too much of my life in carparks wearing smelly rubber, seen too little of my kids, wasted loads on a house on the coast we shouldn't be visiting atm, and let work drop right off the bottom of the priority list. All whilst knowing I was never going to be more than barely competent on a good day.

Still, have a shite session like last Sunday and I just have to do it again to get it right. Have a half okay session, and I really really want to do it again...

I'm the total opposite. Lived by the sea and surfed for 10 years. Eventually, the inconsistant swell, endless driving/wasted time searching for a wave and the cold finished it for me. It peaked when during a surf I just wished I was doing something else. I paddled in and have never surfed since.

I like mtb because it's on my terms, it's not weather dependent and I can make it as dangerous /adrenalin filled as my mood takes me.

Midlength

Yep, doing that.

The only people I know that have given up everything to partake in their passion are surfers.

Indeed. I'm very much a lightweight. Everyone's getting old now, but of people I surfed with in their 20s I think most have travelled/moved/emigrated for better surf

That’s the flip side of MSW. I know pretty much what it’s going to be like and when. My days of driving up and down the coast and ending up paddling out where you started are long gone. Sunday I left the house at 10, in the water at 11, ~25 good waves, out by 1.30, home by 2.30.

Swings and roundabouts for me. Both are good in different ways, I go through phases of preferring one to the other. I try to keep the surfing under control a bit though because the levels to which I’ve focused on surfing in the path are not compatible with family or work.

I don’t really find surfing exercise so don’t get the same post activity calming fatigue as with riding.

Recently I’ve been doubling up and mountain biking to the surf so even if the surf is rubbish I’ve not wasted my time 🙂

For.me yes

Surfing was always #1 buzz, but busier now than when I was keen on it

Snowboarding #2

MTBing #3

BUT, living a long way from waves and snow, I can go MTBing every weekend, that counts for a lot. Plus it's not as dependent on weather (we'll...most)

A flowy berny trail is close to snowboarding for me...but hurts more when crashing 🙂

No sharks MTB'ing !

I don’t really find surfing exercise so don’t get the same post activity calming fatigue as with riding.

I never used to on shortboards, now I’ve traded up to bigger boards my wave count and paddling distance is about three times as much.

I was lucky enough to live in Perth Australia for 8 months whilst playing cricket. During the week I had a lot of time on my hand which got quickly filled with body boarding.

I found myself watching the weather, swells and getting up at 6 in the morning and literally spending all day in the water until sunset. I used to get out for a Big Mac meal at lunch!

At the end of the season we went down to Margaret river and stayed in various caravan parks. Surfed all day and ate BBQ and drank EMU bitter. I was really living the dream. I noticed blokes down there that surfing was literally their life living on next to nothing just so they could surf all day.

I think the beauty about it is the wonder and anticipation of the weather aligning and searching for that perfect wave.

Now back to the 9-5.

Thanks for the thread, brings back nice memories.

The only people I know that have given up everything to partake in their passion are surfers.

I used to think about this a lot. I honestly believe if I had been born somewhere with surf this would be me. I only did it for 6 months but it had such an effect on me.

I think my fantasy lifestyle has always been living next to a big surf break in the Pacific with family and friends and just surfing and spending all day on the beach all day every day.

Anyway im spending a lot of time playing True Surf on my phone. It's amazing! It follows wave conditions all over the world and recently there was a real time swell at Pipeline. 50 footers. Closest I'll ever get

It's all about flow states: https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness?language=en

I've not surfed for years but, basically, whatever I'm currently into is the most exciting thing ever and whatever I was into last is less exciting.

TBH I do think surfing maybe has the best "moments" of all the sports and hobbies and such that I've done, but then the best moments come rarely. Biking might not quite have the same highs (though, it's pretty damn close sometimes) but it's got reliability and duration, I've never taken a day off to go riding and driven to the place and discovered the wind's blowing in the wrong direction and so the trails are all crap.

Im got into mtb to get fit for surfing then discovered the buzz of mtb.

I adore surfing. The simplicity, you Don't need fancy kit. The ease of waxing a board and heading to the water. And then the joy of catching and riding those waves. Frustrating as hell too, mind!!

I started windsurfing at 13, so that's where my heart is, but I kitesurf much more now. That is a phenomenal experience. More complex kit-wise than surfing, but not horrendous.

MTB, however on a good day is just amazing. I've rediscovered XC in 2020 and enjoy that more than I thought.

Love having the spread of activities to turn to, depending on weather. If I had to do only one activity, it would be surfing, however.......I think!

Biking's all well and good, but for me these days there's nothing beats the combined awesomeness of hillrunning and paragliding. It's an aircraft that fits in a rucksack, what could be more awesome!?

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Snowboarding is pretty good too tbf, but it's not something I have access to year-round, and living in Scotland means it can be patchy (literally) even in winter.

Never surfed, but I think I have enough hobbies already so probably best I don't try it!

Kitesurfing and mountain biking for me. Surfing lost its’ appeal once I discovered kitesurfing. As far as a buzz goes, kitesurfing beats mountain biking but I love both of them for different reasons.

Kitesurfing and mountain biking for me

Very much this, I kitesurfed for 10 years - it ruined my life - in a good way, I live 2 hrs from the nearest beach, I couldnt commit to anything, just in case it was blowing. Spent numerous wasted days sitting on the sea wall talking nonsense whilst we waited for wind... only for it to start blowing just as I got home. Eventually convinced the mrs we should buy an 'investment property' to 'rent out' near the sea, ended up living in it every weekend.

I hung on to my relationship (I have an exceptional partner) but after 10 years I decided enough was enough and took up mountain biking. I love it but its not a patch on the incredible feeling that you get when the winds just right you're buzzing with your mates, rip off the water and get 40ft of air.

It was the most annoying, completely addictive most amazing time of my life.... having said that I am getting sorely tempted by wingsurfing....

I'm 36, I only discovered surfing last year, I'm from Lancashire so it's not exactly the cultural epicentre of sea sports.

I now live in Bristol and popping down to Saunton Sands for a day trip once every couple of months has been awesome.
I get the adrenaline of catching a (small) wave totally.

I don't compare it it MTB though, where I love the exploration side and the outdoors feeling more. Don't get me wrong I also enjoy the buzz of a fast bit of techy singletrack. But to me it's different.

Eventually, the inconsistant swell, endless driving/wasted time searching for a wave and the cold finished it for me.

Teenrat it helps that I'm living in South West Portugal at the moment but I can imagine the frustration of over crowded, inconsistent uk surf.

I don’t really find surfing exercise so don’t get the same post activity calming fatigue as with riding.

Ferrals not the same as doing a huge day on the bike but for me I'm coming out after 2 hours pretty shattered, have struggled to climb the steep steps off the beach at times but as I'm learning still I'm probably expending more energy and the waves are pretty massive here at times so it's really physical getting out the back each time.

The only people I know that have given up everything to partake in their passion are surfers.

Lol that's basically what I'm planning for winters going forward. This pandemic has made me realise life's too short and whilst I'm young enough i intend on enjoying it as much as possible so working and mountain biking in the uk in Spring /summer and winters over in Portugal living in a van and surfing.

Surfed for a bit, never got that good, and had to travel hours to do it, so took up windsurfing, did that for 10+ years - that's a thrill. You never forget the first time you get the board planing, feet not in the straps, feeling like you're going a million miles an hour, with the far bank coming closer at an extremely fast rate... 😀

I bodyboarded before I got into cycling (and then MTB).

Bodyboarding will always have the bigger buzz, just pure fun!

But as my nearest spot is Bournemouth. It's generally always rubbish, and crowded. That lead me to look for other things to do when it wasn't working, so I got a road bike - 9 years and a LOT of time and LOT money spent!! Cycling is part of who I am now.

Got in for a quick sesh a couple weeks back, so good.

Bikes not Boards!

I've biked since my teens, BMX for 20ish years before picking up a MTB for the last few so you'd have thought I'd love other extreme sports, but I dont...have skateboarded, surfed and snowboarded and don't get the same buzz.

Surfing I've tried 3 times now, each time I just find it annoying waiting forever and a day for a wave to maybe stand for a couple of seconds or to be chucked out the front door! I think because I did so many years of BMX where it is non stop - do it anywhere (park, dirt, stree, etc) the slower pace of surfing doesnt do it for me.

Surfing I’ve tried 3 times now

well, you've given it a fair go...I'd just give up now

I tried surfing too. I do prefer bodyboard

Surfing I’ve tried 3 times now, each time I just find it annoying waiting forever and a day for a wave to maybe stand for a couple of seconds or to be chucked out the front door! I think because I did so many years of BMX where it is non stop – do it anywhere (park, dirt, stree, etc) the slower pace of surfing doesnt do it for me.

Part of the appeal with surfing for me is sitting out the back watching the sun go down over the sea, not a thought in my mind apart from watching for the next set to roll in...

All these sports have one thing in common, whether you're descending a tricky singletrack, paddling into a 4ft wave, skimming along at 25mph scanning the lake looking for the next gust to boost your speed, carving a turn on a mountain in perfect powder... in that moment, nothing outside of the next 20 seconds exists - any work/life worries are not even in your mind, it's just you and the moment.

each time I just find it annoying waiting forever and a day for a wave

because I'm a data nerd, and track my surfing now with dawn patrol. on a day like the a week or so ago below, chest-head high on the sets, I catch a wave on average every 6 mins, ride it on average for ~60m (max distance 125m, max speed 17mph).

That's it! It forces you to focus on this one thing. Survival kicks in. That's what makes us happy.

Our lives are full of all this sht we don't need. We're not meant to live like this! We're happiest when we're doing things, hiking hills, swimming whatever. But that's no secret

That's very cool @jam-bo

The lefts are obviously better than the rights there!

Windsurfing for me, I starting again this summer after a 20y break.

I'd forgotten the buzz, the chilled out feeling after a good blasting session. Sure it's a bit more hassle carrying all the kit around / storing it, but so worth it.

Next year hopefully get to some bigger lakes / sea rather than the local gravel pit.

The lefts are obviously better than the rights there!

there is a great bank at mid tide at the moment, just runs and runs and runs. i'm getting much stronger on my backhand as a result.

saw this on facebook this morning. I'd like to think this is how I surf but i know it probably isnt...

this is probably more accurate:

Facebook

Snowboarding is my most zen like experience, when it's good - but even a crap day snowboarding is ok 🙂

If I had unlimited funds, I'd probably do two winters a year.

The only people I know that have given up everything to partake in their passion are surfers.

I've met a lot of scuba divers who are living their dream.
That's another sport that can get you a rush - but mostly for the "this is sketchy and I could die" moments more than the exhilaration of movement.

Windsurfing for me, I starting again this summer after a 20y break.

I think I'd be bankrupt if I took up windsurfing again...

Live in Worthing and often watch the kitesurfers ripping around. Cycling costs me too much time and money already though so have always resisted. How much does it cost to get going kitesurfing? I'm assuming lessons are recommended to avoid the whole watery death thing?

Asking for a friend.

Live in Worthing and often watch the kitesurfers ripping around. Cycling costs me too much time and money already though so have always resisted. How much does it cost to get going kitesurfing? I’m assuming lessons are recommended to avoid the whole watery death thing?

Asking for a friend.

Wetsuit, harness, board, kite, plus sundries. Then some lessons. unless things have changed you'll start off just on kite control.

Just checked and packages with kite/board/lines etc start at 1200ish, wetsuit (probably a 5/3 for UK) another 200, harness 100, plus the lessons £350 for 5.5 hrs 1 on 1, all kit provided at a first look. So budget for £2k...

Oh no Strava for surfing not sure i want to go down that rabbit hole! Lol at the videos. I was watching some big wave body boarding vids yesterday and trying to visualise myself dropping down the face of a wave that steep. It's just nuts. Akin to redbull rampage and yes i agree with all the extreme sports the great appeal is that 'pure feeling of living completely in the moment' and all lifes bollix just melts away. Very restorative.

I wish it was easier to put up pics on here as I've taken some stunning pictures of immense waves here when the swell has been big. White horses with the spray off the back of them turning into rainbows.

he whole watery death thing

You do have to like being in the water though February North Sea is not quite Fuerte sunsets. That said what was frustrating about Sunday's session was that the waves were great - looong rides and and well overhead but I was getting basic things wrong with take off... That said I had a reef to myself 400m from nearest shoreline (just checked os maps: not subjective) which is pretty good social isolation, currents taking me away from the peak paddling back, but then right through the peak once I was out there. It's a long swim if you snap a leash, which I've done (I think on that spot, happens maybe once a year anyway). So comfortable in water is good.

Kite surfing? I struggle to do just one thing so flying a kite and riding a board I think I'll swerve. Hugely impressive seeing them in France, little sinewy guys and massive flights through the air. Only ever seen two in the NE. One a guy in beadnell bay travelling at speed face down across the sand, nose leaving a little furrow (I may have embellished). The other though, I was looking from the top of 100m cliffs at a massive swell with onshore wind (unsurfable) rolling over a local reef, and a kitesurfer came screaming out of nowhere down the coast, somehow took a couple of waves on the first couple of reefs, and then just vanished at speed down the coast like I'd dreamed it. Maybe 5/7 years ago and seen nothing similar since. Amazing.

I'd get your predicament if it was surfing, not bodyboarding?!!?!
Jokes aside.

I learnt to surf as a teenager as my parents had a caravan in South Wales. I continued through Uni as the surf was easy to get to. Even then there would be **** all decent surf for ages. And i hated cold winter surfing when waves are best. Trips abroad were the best times i had on the board. I live on the south coast now, 2.5 to 3 hours from any surf so surfing doesn't happen anymore.

I've been riding MTB longer and things like surfing when there is surf and snowboarding on a powder day can be amazing and possibly better than a day mtbing.

But MTB is more reliable, especially for where i live. I can plan on going riding, and the hill is there whereas I can plan a three hour trip to go surfing and it can be blown out shit.

Surfing for me is one of those things you do if you're lucky to have quick access to decent surf. It's a shame but I've got other hobbies... Each to their own, you don't have to justify your preference.

I’d get your predicament if it was surfing, not bodyboarding?!!?!

glad someone said it 🙂 Or longboarding...

I've been surfing and windsurfing for over 20 years and it takes complete priority over any other sport I do. Nowadays I only surf up on Scotland's west coast and in the Caithness area as I live on the border and have easy access to many decent spots. Heading up to Thurso the moment the c-19 restrictions are lifted as the winter swell up there produces some massive waves.

Kitesurfing isn't cheap to get into, and like mountain biking the latest and best gear keeps coming out and tempting you to upgrade! Unlike surfing and mountain biking, some lessons early on are fairly essential as the stakes are fairly high if you don't know what you are doing. I don't think I get a better feeling than being out in big winds and big waves, you feel elated and awe inspired at the same time, and when your timing hits and you boost 10m or more off a big wave is just the best feeling ever. Added to that you can surf the waves when you feel like it as well.

@andylc has covered the kiting points well. It’s expensive to get in to as you generally need at least a couple of kites and ideally three or four to cover all wind ranges. I’ve currently got 6m, 9m, 12m and a 15m kite, a twin tip board and a surf board. Couple of sets of lines, a few wetsuits, harness and you are looking at £5k+ of kit without blinking.

But, you can do it a lot cheaper. Second hand kit is easy to get hold of if you’ve got someone to advise on what sort of kite to go for.

And lessons are a must. I’ve seen people trying to teach their friends or partners on the beach which has made me wince and occasionally intervene as genuinely worried for their safety.

But getting out in good conditions, at a nice quiet spot is simply superb. I’ve kited a fair bit on Tiree in Scotland and it’s better than any of the other UK spots I’ve been to.

Kitesurfing vs windsurfing will also give you more time on the water, for windsurfing once you get a bit of experience you need a solid force 4/force 5 for it to be good and not lugging 10m sail about, that's 16mph-20mph upwards. Kitesurfing you can go in much lighter winds, probably down to about 10mph nowadays.

I was once given stats on how much time you needed to spend in the water with surfing.
About 15hrs a month you pretty much stayed at your level of fitness and ability. Less and maybe you’d start going backwards.
That is time in the water in reasonable waves not some shitty shore dump, but at least your paddling out would help you keep fit.
So when you live in Oxfordshire it’s a bit of a problem. windsurfing filled a huge part of my life and later kitesurfing did to a much smaller degree.
I still love the feeling of a perfectly timed gibe that loses no speed or kicks up a huge rooster. Add even a small wave and just crack up the pleasure.
But if I could surf? I’d take that a millions times over windsurfing.

Same here, I was living in cambridgeshire and doing drives with a mate down to croyde/saunton etc from 5:30/6am on a sunday morning, in the water at 10am, lunch, on the road by 4pm, home by 10pm.

I took up windsurfing because it just wasn't doable long term. My local windsurfing place was rutland water, 25 minutes away.

Similar to MTB, I was riding motorbikes during summer for fun, but wanted something to do in winter, MTB seemed perfect. Now MTB has taken over and I'll probably sell my one remaining motorbike come the spring.

 was once given stats on how much time you needed to spend in the water with surfing.
About 15hrs a month you pretty much stayed at your level of fitness and ability. Less and maybe you’d start going backwards.

probably about right. on average i probably surf 1-2 times a week. some weeks 3-4, some not at all. I've surfed a lot more this year and my speed and flow on a wave has definitely improved, backhand particularly as its far easy to get a left peak to yourself than a right...

new board that really clicked has helped.

Kitesurfing vs windsurfing will also give you more time on the water, for windsurfing once you get a bit of experience you need a solid force 4/force 5 for it to be good and not lugging 10m sail about, that’s 16mph-20mph upwards. Kitesurfing you can go in much lighter winds, probably down to about 10mph nowadays.

Yep, my light wind 15m kite and surfboard get me going about 12mph. A foil would be even lower; basically if you can launch and keep the kite in the air you’ll get going if you’re experienced enough. Light wind sessions are great fun too as generally get flatter water, remember a great summer session once at Brancaster where I was the only one out in glorious sunshine and light winds.

Joe and John I'm sure you're joking but I've no time for snobbery about what board you're on and there is certainly no elitism around it here in Portugal. Watching the local body borders hitting the wedge at Beliche when it's pumping is an awesome sight. It's a perfect body board wave hollow but squat so no surfer will ride out of it and the guys take off so deep inside it you think there's no way they are coming out the other end. Lots riding drop knee out here too and some amazing ariel acrobatics.

Bouldering is the one for me, but I think it's great that we all find one or more activities that resonates with us.

I enjoy the all encompassing nature of bouldering at my limit. I've spent 15 sessions over 3 months on the same bit of rock to top out a boulder, generally at night with lamps when the air is coolest and friction is at its best. When not climbing, i'm still thinking about how I can adjust my body positions to make the crux moves work, i'm training the specific positions on the training wall I built in my garage to replicate outdoor boulders, doing one arm pullups off the door frame every time I walk into the kitchen, and when I get to the kitchen, eating the right foods to keep my strength:weight ratio optimal.

Then it's all about keep turning up, sticking with it and not letting the thought that 'this one is just too hard for me' win out over persistence.

It's these project boulders that I enjoy the most, but if it's a thrill i'm seeking then I can always go and do something that's both high and physically/technically difficult:

I’m sure you’re joking but I’ve no time for snobbery about what board you’re on

except for SUP's. they can do one 😉

I windsurfed regularly for best part of20 years. Sold all my kit 10 years ago and now mountain bike mostly as well as the odd surf or snowboard session when I can.
For me the big rush of the first time I got a short board planing, flat -out with a smallish sail, is the one that will stick with me.
I can now ride from the door as opposed to driving 2.5 hours first and being over 60, can get a rush much closer to our local a+e. The level of rush is all controlled by the severity or speed of the decent .”

Kitesurfing vs windsurfing will also give you more time on the water, for windsurfing once you get a bit of experience you need a solid force 4/force 5 for it to be good and not lugging 10m sail about, that’s 16mph-20mph upwards. Kitesurfing you can go in much lighter winds, probably down to about 10mph nowadays.

windfoiling for the light wind days...flying in 10kts, 15kts you're on a 5.5m

I’m sure you’re joking but I’ve no time for snobbery about what board you’re on

except for SUP’s. they can do one 😉

...and those bloody canoes (as I like to call kayaks, waveskis etc etc). And what about kneeboards? Come on, it was just a little troll 🙂

he wedge at Beliche when it’s pumping

I have been pile-driven into the sand at beliche a few times without really knowing what happened. One second you're paddling for a wave and whomp!

Yep, I don't think I've ever been more on the edge of control, than when hitting full planing speed on a 110l board, feet not in the straps. Much like this guy 😀

It's such a sudden increase of speed from 'ok, I'm going quite quickly now' to 'OH MY GOD WARPSPEED!!!!'

Yep, I don’t think I’ve ever been more on the edge of control

you should try sailing out at Hookipa 🙂

doing one arm pullups off the door frame every time I walk into the kitchen,

wasn't going to let this pass without taking the piss in some way, but then did a quick google/youtube stalk and there's the Keel... So. I'm going to guess Ringpiece was a week last tuesday late eve as a group of mtb lights slooowly edged down the moor?

you should try sailing out at Hookipa 🙂

There would not be a shred on control there... For us mere mortals, I mean 😀

Hookipa, Red Bull Hardline, surfing a 10ft swell, all things that will never happen for for majority of us.

Kitesurfing: lessons are a MUST!!

I have an 8,9,10 & 12 (catering for me and my g/f and one twinnie and one surfboard.

Pretty much all either 1 season second hand or purchased new thru a pro who gets them cost. I'll sell when 3-4 years old.

You only need about 2 kites and one twinnie...
I probably would have 9 & 12 for 90% of days in all honesty. If its <14kn, it's time to do something else and >35kn, probably not sensible to go out (I'd be on my 8 then).

There would not be a shred on control there… For us mere mortals, I mean 😀

Hookipa

definitely a bucket-list thing ticked off! the anticipation was the worst thing