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travel / adventure zone
| The Adventure Zone |
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| Photo courtesy Canadian
Wind Riders Inc. |
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On a gusty winter Saturday, you'll find Grant Fitz of Canadian Wind Riders at the business end of
a snowboard-mounted kite, skimming across the frozen surface of Lake Simcoe, Ontario. Fitz is
traction kiting, and as far as he's concerned, there's no other winter sport like it.
On January 21-22, Canadian Wind Riders hosts the 4th Annual Lake Simcoe Winter Sports Festival at
Keswick, and it's a perfect chance for the curious to see first-hand how a colourful kite,
a harness and a snowboard or a pair of skis combine with mother nature to produce the perfect
winter ride. Less than an hour from Toronto, Lake Simcoe is a popular venue for winter activities
of all stripes, from ice skating and cross-country skiing to snowmobiling and ice fishing. But with a
sailable terrain 20 times larger than the skiable terrain in Whistler, B.C.,
the lake is also the perfect destination for Fitz and his traction-kite pals, who passionately
exploit the winter wind and frozen lake from December through March.
Not yet a competition-driven event, the festival celebrates wind riders in all their guises, attracting some of the best riders and kite fliers in Ontario and Quebec. For Fitz's company Canadian Wind Riders, which offers training sessions in traction kiting and distributes all-season wind-sport equipment (kites, kite surf boards, buggies, and more), it's also an opportunity to boost the sport's visibility. "Eighty percent of traction kiting is learning how to fly a kite," says Fitz, who's enjoyed the sport since 1994. "There's no feeling like it." After that, it's all about getting out on the icy lake.
Visit www.canadianwindrider.com for more information about the 4th Annual Lake Simcoe Winter Sports Festival and Canada's coolest riders.
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