Winter...

I got out for the first time in ages, the winter weather is a nightmare, clear and bright = no wind. Rain = loads of wind!

Today we had clear and kinda cloudy, but there was wind forecast 15-20 knots, got to the salt lake at 8.30 and there was nothing, unpacked the 10m Manta and waited 1/2 an hour then the wind came in! Got an hour and a half of pure buggy bliss!

But it was bloody cold!

Video is edited but can't get it on vimeo until Wednesday!

screen shot

Video - board-riding...

Still nothing much in the way of wind, thank goodness I have my board and a decent hill close to home...

board-riding... from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

While also trying out a couple of new GoPro mounts, a gooseneck and a suction cup -

the gooseneck mount from GoPro

Video - Free Flight

Some excellent drone footage, excellent video...

Free Flight - Sandwich Bay from Cliff Baker on Vimeo.

Pansh depower bar

A while back I was looking at the Pansh Aurora which is a closed cell depower kite, one of my concerns was that Pansh sell this as kite only without a bar...

Well Pansh are now selling a depower bar, it comes in 4 sizes from 50cm-65cm -

Product details - 

"This bar is now set for 4 line use. It is suitable for snowkiting, surfing and landkiting. Riders of all levels, from professors to newflyers, will all gain substantial advantages from this control bar.

This bar features a quick release on the depower loop and a quick release on the safety leash. The primary safety system is designed to meet the standards of safety release loads ensuring an easy release at all times.

Please note this bar includes a handle pass safety leash."

Still no option on the Pansh website to buy the Aurora as a ready to fly package with the bar and lines, but if you spend over US$499 then you can get a bar for free. It could be an option for those of us that can't afford a Flysurfer Speed. But would like to see a serious review on the Aurora as a complete set up before I spend my money!

Video - 4 people, 6 legs

An amazing journey to Iceland, to snowkite across Vatnajökull, Europe's largest icecap...

4 People, 6 Legs from Kieron Jansch on Vimeo.

mountainboarding...

Went mountainboarding locally today, used endomondo to track how far I travelled and my top speed, I also have endomondo linked to my fitbit.

I travelled 3.19 km's (I did have to walk uphill!) with a top speed of 29.1kph...

top of the hill

fitbit...

This morning I bought a fitbit flex, it tracks your activity, km's, steps and calories burned and links to an app on your smart phone. It also has a sleep tracker...

You can also import activity for Endomondo.

screen shot from iPhone app

This is my 600th blog post!

New mounts...

My two new GoPro mounts arrived today, their way of thanking me for uploading video for their user generated content (UGC).

I'm still hoping they use the video, in the meantime I can try to get some interesting new videos...

For Sale...

I'm selling my Specialized Hardrock sport disc 26, I had it for my fortieth birthday but only used it 3 or 4 times. It's listed on gumtree.

Could use the money to fund some more kiting gear!

Lake Walyungup...

Is dry! 

A bit of wind, 9-11 knots. Just unpacking the 10m ozone manta.

Video - kite buggying in the sunset

Very mellow...

Kite Buggying in the Sunset - Blackheath from Douglas Greig on Vimeo.

Winter...

The 1st of July and the first day of winter, only three months until spring!

The wind forecast for the week is pretty rubbish, looks like more free-ride mountainboarding and the kites staying in the garage (I guess it can always change)...

Video - Langford MTB Park

Started to explore some of the trails at Langford MTB Park in Jarrahdale, on the mountainboard, until I had to give up because of the rain...

Langford MTB park from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

Hopefully we will get a break in the rain and I can get to the salt lake with the kites and buggy.

GoPro, UGC...

User Generated Content.

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by somebody from GoPro, having watched my video Sideways on Vimeo, they wanted to see if they could add my video to the GoPro Channel!

I thought about it for all of about 3 seconds and said yes please, had a minor worry that it maybe dodgy, but after receiving an email from GoPro I knew all was above board.

Licence agreement signed, 18GB of raw video uploaded to GoPro's wiredrive (which took over 24 hours!) and now its wait and see if they will use it...

I do get some mounts for sharing my video with them and if they add my video to their channel then I get a GoPro HDHero3+, so fingers crossed.

GoPro gooseneck

GoPro suction cup

(images courtesy of GoPro.com)

Lake Walyungup...

Muffin, the dog!

Walking the dog on lake Walyungup, the wind is blowing and wishing I had the buggy with me!

A good opportunity to check the surface after the recent rain. It's pretty soggy and soft in places. There is a fair bit of standing water on the approach to the recreational area. The main recreational is still pretty firm with no puddles.

Panorama