G'day people.

Today mite have been my last day on the dirt bike after flipping it at about 60km and miraculously walking away uninjured, although my bike was pretty worse for ware...

With the loss of so many riding places on and around the Gold Coast I am now looking for a new sport/pastime/passion that is hopefully cheaper and somewhat less dangerous, but still gives me the adrenalin rush i desire.

I have seen kite boarding on TV before and see some guys doing it down at Currumbin occasionally and am interested to find out all about it.

Hopefully you guys can help me out.

Wondering how much it costs to get started and is it a very expensive sport and whats the injury factor like also?

Also what kind of fitness rating is required?

Cheers guys

Ben
Gold Coast

as for the injury bit, water is a helluva lot softer than dirt!

you will get hurt (or worse, someone else will) if you take out a kite that is too big for the conditions, especially if you are inexperienced, but a pro can get hurt aswell. The wind can be a formidable enemy or your best friend so just be smart about it. That is why lessons are so important.

other than that, avoid small/populated beaches, powerlines/trees, downwind groins/jettys, and really crowded kitesurfing places when you are learning. common sense really.

best bit is, you wont spend every second weekend in the shed fixing things, the gear is pretty hard to break and the wind is free(and quiet)...

james

Ben give Paul J at Zero gravity a call on the Goldy, he'll help you get started.

you can call paul on 0418722928 and he will help you out.

another ex dirt biker here..... you wont look back once you go kiting!!
cheaper???? it costs the fuel to get to the beach!! if you dont break gear, which happens very rarely it is probably the cheapest high adrenalin extreme sport out there..... [}:)]
Like the others have said, go have some lessons before you spend any money on gear.... it will save your ass (and some poor innocent on the beach too prob) and keep our beaches open for kiting.
enjoy...

Ben,

I also came from a motorcycle background, riding, racing and teaching. Kitesurfing is it, without a doubt, twice as good as riding bikes and heaps cheaper. Trust me when I say you won't look back.

Like the other fellas said - make sure you get some lessons.

[}:)]

Anybody want to buy a nice Z1000

no zerogravity is just a school but you can go and see the guys at surf fx on ferry road southport and they will look after you.

thanks paul.j

Just thought I'd put my 2c in as I'm a Biker and a Kiter - I ride every day (own more bikes than kites!) and kite as often as possible, on weekends I get up early to ride and get home and then out to the beach by the time the seabreezes kick in! From a road-rider's point of view, it is possible to combine the 2.

As mentioned before, get some lessons, sign up for the AKSA, don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't know something and have fun.

@Silviu - sorry to hear about your incident - I assume no-one saw anything? Are you going to be riding again? Must have been a nasty one if it caused sufficient damage to write off an XT - those things are tough!