Lost me mojo

[Toby]

please let me add:

I am kiting since almost 21 years.
Same style as the beginning (racing for a bit in between, in addition).

If you see me kiting, you think I am crazy. 3 hours trick after trick. Like there is no tomorrow.
I am 49 now. And stoke is high as can be. Currently no more wind in Cumbuco...and I am going crazy.

Why all this? I am getting out of my comfort zone every day, filming, pushing myself.

Imagine landing a new trick every day and having it on video? Which you easily can! You won't stop neither...because you will get better and better and have more and more ideas!
In my case another 8000 ideas on my to do list! Can't stop, won't stop !

[Havre]

But I'm not sure if you are "normal" Toby

[Bill C]

Yea, you don't want to be the 'old guy' pretending you're a teenager or 20's doing tricks. People will wonder if you have nothing else better to do if you keep showing up when there is a whisper of wind.

So what if you lost the mojo. It will never be the same as the early years and its not a life requirement to keep kiting. I know a number of people who quit because kiting ran its course. They are still physically able to kite, but have lost interest. There were a number of non-kiting sports activities I used to do, but lost the mojo and they are pleasant memories.

[knotwindy]

Take up and get totally immersed in a new religion. It will scare you right back into kiting.

[Hugh2]

I dread that possibility. I had a little of it after 25 years of windsurfing. I was not advancing and in fact losing skills and strength and could only windsurf for 30 minutes in strong conditions. Moved to kiting at age 50, 15 years ago, and the stoke is still growing as I am still learning (getting better in waves and getting competent at foiling). Once my shoulder is fixed I hope to be back at it as much as ever.

Sometimes in Cape Town I feel like I've had enough, then I look up at the mountain with the tablecloth, I take in all the other kiters, I absorb the beauty of the waves and wind, and I do yet another downwinder and thank my lucky stars I can still do this. Same at Cape Hatteras when I do a solo downwinder across Hatteras inlet or a run on the sound from Frisco to Oregon Inlet, or just a coastal downwinder or jumping session with friends. It's just magical and I love to take it all in.

BUT, just communicated with a friend who was the most fanatical kiter locally, even more than me, moved to the Gorge to kite full-time a few years ago, and now is burned out and has not kited since I visited him 18 months ago! So it does happen. Hope you can find a way to make it wonderful again!

[alexeyga]

Have been on the kite needle since 2006 -2007 and still going strong.

The secret is to live in the windless sh@thole.

Not counting foiling and snowkiting (more like uneven ice scraping) - we're really (like REALLY-REALLY) lucky to squeeze out 20-30 sessions annually.
- most decent spots are 1-4 hours away
- on local spots you get skunked 2 times out of 3 when you show up
- and if it's not a total skunk of the the bat - chances of a decently-stable wind which will not quit on you - are about 1 out of 5 in the next 15 minutes
- no actual ocean shore in sight closer than a 6-7 hours drive

Dude - wish I had your problems...

[Flyboy]

I think this is a good question. It sounds like the OP lives in a place that has reliably good conditions - perhaps too reliable, taking away some of the excitement of scoring a good day. Where I live there's around 5 months of winter, so that reduces time on the water in & of itself. Last year I kited probably more than any previous year, due to focusing on foiling. The learning process is very challenging & therefore interesting. The idea of spending a lot more time kiting - retired - is the open question: at what point does the kiting become uninteresting?

[Matteo V]

Anyway, if you lost your mojo and got it back, please share.

I get bored sometimes, but I still get out there. And I don't even really care about wind speed. Yesterday it was only getting up to 6knots on the snow. But it wound up being super steady and I had way more fun than I thought I would have. So being picky about your days, can actually make you miss out on the best ones.

On marginal days days, or even really good days, a great way to keep the stoke is to share it. When those beachgoers that are always asking about kiting come up to you, offer them a free trainer kite lesson. Just a bit of your time can give someone a more complete understanding of what they are watching, or even inspire them to go further. And "others stoke" is a big part of "my stoke" in this sport since happyness and enthusiasm are contagious.

[nherbold]

Yea, you don't want to be the 'old guy' pretending you're a teenager or 20's doing tricks. People will wonder if you have nothing else better to do if you keep showing up when there is a whisper of wind.

So what if you lost the mojo. It will never be the same as the early years and its not a life requirement to keep kiting. I know a number of people who quit because kiting ran its course. They are still physically able to kite, but have lost interest. There were a number of non-kiting sports activities I used to do, but lost the mojo and they are pleasant memories.

always makes me sad to hear this sentiment...I always think there is soo much more to explore for most (non pro) riders, which doesn't require big balls or huge crashes, but often times some tweaks to technic and an hour of trying. Toby has his thing with Airstyle which is great and offers a great view into what you can do while in the air etc.
I ride boots myself, or strapless, and while I enjoy boosting etc, I enjoy feeling the power of the kite above anything. 20 years ago I never imagined I wanted to do unhooked tricks (passes, kiteloops etc)..in fact it was one of my biggest fears to accidentally get unhooked. Now I ride without a donkey dick as sometimes I just want to unhook for a while...change the style for a bit, specific tricks or trying something new. That's just me and I know I'm one of the few where I ride...only thing I'm saying is that with proper technic I quickly learned that being unhooked is nothing to fear and opens up so many more possibilities..but you do have to commit to trying and it will involve some crashing, but you probably have some control now over how you crash so don't shy away from trying..from the fairly simple (surface passes, rolls, raley) and then up the scale (loops, F-16, airpasses etc)….haven't gotten the airpass yet and might never get there..And if you don't want to unhook I would suggest to most intermediate riders to try say a toeside roll (front or back)...I'm guessing most riders don't really do or try it for no particular reason other than it doesn't get a 'lot of love'. I think it's a fun trick and again opens the door to more.

Almost 50 now and I don't have a drive now to try an airpass....but I might...and I might break in the process...if that happens let's see what comes after that, but until then I'm not crossing it off any list as technic favors the experienced...(excessive) injury and risk favors the bold

And that's just me in boots. Love strapless too and getting to boardgrabs etc. The goal is mega kiteloops but that seems a ways away at the moment.

Love the foiling trend, but right now it's not for me.
Winging...Also not really for me....I love the power and explosiveness of kiting and feel plenty fueled each time I go out to try and improve on something...a trick..style...execution....I love kiting and everything about it.

I will retire in Brazil

[Slappysan]

With work I only get out once or twice a week so I wish I had your problem. I do find that vlogging my kite sessions to be entertaining though, I'm not making these videos for mass youtube appeal or anything, just for other locals that might be wondering what the conditions were like that day. It's also nice to have them to look back on, especially for those really good sessions. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCygLRP ... 4FLwHMzc9g

Another idea is to get a kite buddy to share the stoke with and push each other.

At some point you can start getting your kid in to it, but be warned, there is a very real chance they wont take to kiting.

It would also help to have an alternate hobby since you have such consistent conditions, maybe get a road or mountain bike, or free diving if you have good spots locally.