BUGGY NEWZ 2.2 The Official Organ Of The Buggy Pilots International BUGGY BOOGIE SPRANG THANG: El Mirage Dry Lake, May 19-22. Four days of incredible Buggy-Fun! El Mirage is about 40 miles east of Palmdale in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Temperatures were moderate in the 80's and we had wind every day. Wednesday began with a steady 10 mph wind at dawn! By 9:30 am I had clocked over 20 miles on the odometer. Buggy'ers arrived throughout the day including Darrin & Susan Skinner, Scott Dyer, Mike Greenholz and Hoy Quan, among others. Scott and his buddy brought three Manta Twin LandSailers from Las Vegas. Hoy (who went home each night) brought his single-handed LandSailer, and with 6-8 Buggys, (Peter Lynn, Land Lizard & Flexi Buggys) we had a wealth of wind-powered craft to use. The oddest experience wind-wise was on Thursday when we had No Wind All Day. We had just packed everything when a good 10 mph breeze came up as the sun went down, so we unpacked the gear and Buggy'd til nearly 11 pm. The 3/4 moon gave just enough light to find our way around. Friday and Saturday started getting a little more crowded on the lake bed as motorcycles, quad-runners, land sailers, hot rods, ultra-lights, auto-gyros and dune buggys came to share the space. El Mirage could easily mean "Much Space". Buggy to your hearts content and only then plan a turn. Go anywhere in any direction. Space really builds the confidence level of beginners. Variety of terrain for all skill and/or excitement levels. You Gotta Buggy This Place! The BUGGY PILOTS INTERNATIONAL is a loose-knit organization dedicated to spreading the thrill and glory of Buggy Riding around the world. The common ground of wind-powered traction kiting transcends all boundries except those of wind, gravity and drag. Buggy or Die ! BUGGYS AT WILDWOOD SKC / 94 By Dean Jordan Arrived at the fabulous Rio Motel on Thursday afternoon, with buggys on my mind. Checked into my room then checked out the beach for buggy conditions. Not today. High tides, soft sand and south winds blowing right up the beach. Friday dawned clear and windy. Hit the Rio's coffee shop for a bite and some joe. I was just heading out when I bumped into Fritz Gramkowski and Peter Lynn unloading their gear from Fritz's van. I've just run into the Buggy Meister-Himself as well as the US's hottest buggy pilot. This is a good thing! We're getting pumped! Before we can continue, Sue Taft and Lee Sedgwick pull in and start pulling buggy stuff out of their van. Next comes Bill Beneker, and before you now it, we're all headed for a pristine New Jersey beach that appears devoid of people! As we through the soft sand of the upper beach, a feeling of excitement begins to build. YOWZA! Wind checks indicate an offshore breeze that's blowing 10+ mph. The tide is near high but going out. The time is 9:30 AM. All this turns into a blur as the day progresses into a memory of tires spinning and sand flying. At one point whil ng with Sue Taft and George Baskette, we saw what looked like a cartoon Tasmanian Devil spinning up the beach in a swirl of sand. Alarmed, we scattered like thieves, when someone shouted "Oh! Hey! It's Peter Lynn! Watch Out Anyway!" Buggyers continued to show up throughout the day, including Ray & Jeannie Merry, John & Ilene Tavolachi, Fran Gramkowski, George Baskette (who was flying his own quad-bag), Dodd Gross, David Klein, Lance Wagner, David Brittain, Brian Vanderslice going fast, Dave & Sherry Arnold, Jeff Burka, and plenty of new faces making the beach simply lousy with buggys. Next two daze are the ECSKC, which turn out to be one of the best ever, and by 5 PM each day we're able to get out on the beach and just ride and race and play. By now the winds have switched to a perfect 10+ mph onshore that allowed long runs up and down the beach, though most people seemed to stay fairly close to home. Anthony Christafulli, Fritz, Dodd and I made a few trips as far up the beach as we could just to see what was there. Made for some great high speed runs on the long reach up. Monday, we gave lessons and seminars in a marked field that was perfect for beginners as the sand was very slow and soft. Peter and Fritz gave repeated demonstrations. Late in the afternoon, with the winds increasing steadily, John Tavolachi was able to record a top speed of 32 mph on his cyclo-computer. I passed him a couple of times, he passed me back. A little extra weight seems to enable you to hold a better edge. We were cruisin'. Tuesday the winds were still strong and onshore but the buggy population had thinned out leaving only a few die-hards for a game of Buggy-Tag in which the person who is "it" has to escape from the other buggyers. I got away for awhile using objects and other buggyers as obstacles in my attempts to elude Fritz and Peter. It was hairy sometimes, but way fun all the time. They were using Peels and I was using a quad 4.4 so they had the edge in power, but we were matched well in speed. Finally exhausted after five days of intensity, we took one last run as far down and up the beach as we could go. Wildwood, we shall return! Thanks Peter, for what you have brought us... The coolest toy on the face of the planet! BUGGY TIL YOU FRY!!! CHILDS' PLAY: Bob Childs, from Boulder Colorado, has announced a Buggy Enduro at the The Bonneville Salt Flats for September 10-11, 1994. Bonneville is located on the east side of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The event is scheduled for the weekend after Labor Day. The event is planned around a 50 mile Enduro (Either 20 x 2 1/2 mile laps or 10 x 5 mile laps). Built around a triangular course, there will be Time and Distance Events that will have incremental stage events. Personal Bests will be established at 5-10-20-25 mile etc. distances. Hopefully, there will be Individual Stage Winners, as well as time/distance stages for Personal Bests as well as Overall Winners. The site is spectacular. It is a very large space with mountains in the distance. The surface has a slight crust to it that let the tires dig in just a bit when hitting a hard turn. Fat Tire Buggys should do as well as their Skinny Tired brethren. An Enduro event is a step in the right direction. I would rather strive towards a goal surrounded by my friends trying their best, than try to beat ya'll into the dirt. Head-to-head racing has its allure, but no rules say we can't enjoy a variety of formats while we thrash about with our friends. Encourage Bobski in this endeavor. There is no reason we must fall into the "Too much support staff, too many arguments" competition trap. We can have events that include us all and encourage our playing together. Without support and encouragement it is all too easy to fall back on the simple-minded, short-sighted ways of the past. This is a new sport and we get to make up NEW rules on how-to-play and should use the opportunity wisely. Start making plans now to attend. Bob Childs can be reached by phone at 303- 440-6303. Or by post at: It's A Breeze P.O. Box 2282 Boulder Colorado 80306 Photo {omitted} is Bob and his All-Terrain In-Line Skates. Bob used the wheels from his daughters scooter mounted to an aluminum platform. HOW TO BUGGY: REDUX The first rule to learning the Buggy is to begin with a smaller kite and a medium wind. Work the kite to gain power and/or speed and learn the little tricks of steering the Buggy to complement the kites power and turn it into forward motion. This is the foundation to build Buggy technique. Power becomes a problem quickly on the Buggy. There are no mechanical brakes (and nothing left to squeeze them with?) and flying the kite behind you gets you yanked out of the Buggy. Surface is a consideration as well. Hard-pack like the dry lakes, has low rolling resistance and a smaller kite could be used than if Buggy'ing on a beach or a grassy field. Winds 8-16 mph and a really big (100-200 yds/wide minimum) place. Make sure there is a clear area downwind in case someone has to let go of their kite. Don't let someone (or yourself) talk you into more than you can handle. Get comfortable with the kite before jumping on the Buggy. If the kite crashes, get off the Buggy and set it pointed downwind. Now relaunch the kite and remount your Buggy. Trying to launch while seated without setting the Buggy to go (in relation to the wind and the kite) can also get you boosted out of the Buggy sideways. Don't expect to do all the tricks the first time out. Take the time to become firmly grounded in basic control techniques. Both of the kite and of the Buggy. Maintain your equipment in good repair. Add power a bit at a time. Larger kites are better in lighter winds. Shorter lines for quicker kite response. Practice and Learn! Windborne Kites We offer a complete selection of top-brand Buggys and Power Kites. Complete Accessories and Parts. Call or Write for our Retail Kitealog (R) 585 Cannery Row #105 Monterey, California 93940 Toll-Free # 1-800-234-1033 Fax # 408-373-0688 Shop # 408-373-7422 FRENCH "TRANSAQUITAINE" Our friend Julian Wolfe-Patrick from France sends along a report of a 90 km run along the Bordeaux coast. The beach faces the Atlantic Ocean and runs south from the mouth of the Gironde River to Cap Ferret. (All you kids who slept through y class, go get your atlas now.) For the metric-ly challenged, 90 kilometers is almost 55 miles. Julian reported lots of wind with gusts up to 120 k/h (70+ mph - That's nearly hurricane strength, folks!) Most of their Buggy'ing was done with a Q-2 in a bit less wind than tjhat. Or perhaps they did go down and back in under 2 hours. Put this site on your "Someday I'm Gonna Go There To Buggy" list. BUGGY BOOGIE SUMMER SIZZLE THANG: We are going to El Mirage Dry Lake to play in the desert just before the Berkeley SKC. Dates for the BBSST are July 27-29, 1994. Pilots who are planning their trips to Berkeley can come early, on Tuesday, meet up in San Francisco and leave that evening. We share the costs of a mini-van, buy our own food and motel rooms (with showers, nice beds, etc.) are about $33 /nite. Directions are available by fax for the map-less. If you are not coming to Berkeley, consider flying into Los Angeles as it is only 2-3 hours from LAX to El Mirage. 5+ hours from Las Vegas. It is a free country. VIDEO BUGGY: The long awaited MTV-Sports segment that was filmed last January at the 1st. Buggy Boogie Thang finally premiered over the Easter Weekend. By now, I have also seen at least one rerun. The clip shows much Buggy activity and includes interviewwith Noted Buggy Persons. Both of whom got their names mis-spelled. For those of you who missed the ESPN-2 segment that aired only a week after the event, I offer to put together a tape of both pieces as well as the best of my personal collection, together with the best of what YOU send me! The ONLY way to get one of these compilations is to send me whatever Buggy footage you have (In either VHS or 8mm) and a blank high quality VHS tape. The deadline is August 1, 1994. I will have the finished tapes in time for AKA-Wildwood 9 This is not an offer to sell. I offer to share and to permit the activities of each of us to be viewed by the larger Buggy community. To get, one must give. THE BEST OF THE BUGGYS: The Buggy World is starting to grow and one of the best benefits of this growth are the choices now available to Buggy Buyers. There are many pretenders to the throne of Best Buggy Designer but the guy there now has some huge shoes and anyone wanting to try to fill them has their work cut out. Peter Lynn, from Ashburton New Zealand, started his research into Buggy designs in 1989 and had the first commercial Buggy on the market in 1992. Peter's Buggys are noted for their stability, efficiency, light weight and attention to detail. To achieve the overall lightness using stainless steel, Peter builds up strength in components until things stop breaking. Upgrades in 1994 include a higher grade steel in the rear axle and front forks for greater stiffness without weight or cost increases. Standard Fat Tire Buggy is best on most surfaces except pavement simply because the Fat Tires can wear out so quickly. Especially if inflation pressures are allowed to slip down below 25 psi or so. On other surfaces, like grass fields, sof s can increase ride comfort and actually aid in side grip. The Peter Lynn Buggy offers both Fat and Skinny Tire versions with the STB approx. $100 more due to the costs of building 16" spoked wheels and hubs. The standard P.L. Buggy design is built up from stainless steel components that all bolt together. Rear axle, seat tubes, down-tube, forks and head-piece are all easily removed for repair or replacement. The nylon web seat holds the pilot and allows body shifts for control. The use of webbing for the seat also drains any water that would accumulate in a solid seat. Peter is always working on his designs, evolving them into more refined expressions. The Buggy is the focus of a few modifications including an extended rear axle and extended frame with steering linkage designed for greater high speed stability. The stability gain offered by increasing the wheel-base and track of the PL Buggy are off-set by the loss of quick-turn ability and the rather ungainly size of the wide-track, long-nose cruiser. Especially when packing it. An 8" wide front tire has also received attention in the search for better Buggy-ability on softer sand. Putting that big a tire on the front means an even wider front fork to accommodate it. The new 8" wide tires demanded a new wheel as well so Peter designed a two-piece model that bolts together and can be nestled in the carry bag. The wide rear tires may be fitted to standard PL Buggys without the extended axle. These modifications are for research. Costs are great and quantities are low. Peter often funds research by selling his proto-types after festivals. Interested parties may contact him directly. BUGGY SITES: In our continuing search for those totally awesome Buggy-able sites world-wide, we are considering a scouting trip to N.W. Nevada because of reports of some huge spaces there. The organizers behind the next AKA convention in 1995 to be held in Tulsa Oklahoma have approached us about a potential site just north of Enid called the Great Salt Plains. Idea is to have another Buggy Boogie in conjunction with the annual gathering. Steve Rogers has been dispatched to check out the location, but we haven't heard anything from him yet. Hint, hint! WORLD CUP 94 BUGGY FRANCE: This year the World Cup Team Championships are in Le Touquet, France. Sept. 9-11, 1994. The location on the Channel coast between Calais and Dieppe put it in the middle of some of the best Buggy beaches in the area and amid a wealth of simply super festivals in Europe. Bristol IKF is Sept. 3-4 at Ashton Court with buggy space. The World Cup is the next weekend in Le Touquet. The giant bi-annual Dieppe IKF runs from Sept. 10-18, and the Gwithian Sport Kite Classic at St. Ives Bay on the Cornish coast is Sept 17-25. Oh! To be a Buggy-Bum! FLEXI BUGGY: Flexifoil Intn'l contracted Peter Lynn to design a Buggy for their market. Peter did a great job with a stainless steel version sporting an angled rear axle that provides the pilot a more secure seating position and improved balance without cing all the great light-weight features that have defined this type of vehicle. The Flexi Buggy front pegs are in a higher position on the forks than other versions, but these forks are his most elegant yet. Two positions on the center tube for length adjustments make it suitable for shorter pilots as well as normal sorts. The higher frame sides keep the pilot more securely in the Buggys snug seat. The mesh bottom of the seat aids drainage. The Flexi Buggy exhibits high quality welding on the stainless steel frame, as one expects when dealing with a top Buggy manufacturer. The same high quality is evident with the rest of the components. Fat Tires are standard. Be sure to include the carry bag, as this Buggy is made to GO! THE LIZARD COMETH: Highly Strung Kites in Melbourne, Australia, obviously inspired by Peter Lynn and his original buggy design, have engineered their stainless steel Land Lizard with many different and interesting features. The large, square down-tube keeps frame flex to a minimum. The wide seat fits bigger butted people, while the seat rails/down-tube connection is adjustable along its length and accommodates longer or shorter legged riders with a custom fit. The twin-tube front forks resist flexing even under strenuous pushing. The lizard-green wide-web seat is comfortable and secure. The whole thing feels strong and rugged. The Lizard runs well and is balanced and easy to control. The bright red heavy-duty vinyl carry bag is very handy and durable. BUGGY BOOGIE DOWN-UNDER: The World Cup Team Sport Kite Championships are going to Australia in November 1995. Timed to take advantage of the group of interested kiters together down-under, we are planning a multi-day Buggy-Safari Thang to Lake Tyrrell. Located in the north-west of Victoria, this dry salt-lake is remotely located. The nearest pub is 4-5 miles away. We are planning to share a travelbus for transportation with camping on the lake bed. We do our own cooking and spend the days on the Buggy! The nearby town where the pub is located does have a couple of room for the dainty, but this is not rural USA. This is the outback of Australia. The bush! Contact me for more information or to get on the "interested" list. KTA FLORIDA BUGGY JAN/1995: The Kite Trade Assoc. is meeting in Orlando, Florida in January 1995. Immediately after the trade show closes, interested Buggy'ers are invited to join the local Buggy community for a Buggy Boogie. Dean Jordan and Mike Simmons are scouting the both Florida coastlines for a suitable site. More details as they are firmed up. LATE NEWS FLASH: Ray Merry at Cobra Kites has the new SkyTiger quad-lined parafoil for traction kiting. Conventional in design and rigging, it is built tough with 1 oz. ripstop nylon and uses equal-length lines. Good power and control. Available in three sizes: 20 s/m, 40 s/m, 60 s/m. (windwiz note: Typo alert!!! The 3 listed sizes should be 18 sq ft, 26 sq ft, and 40 sq ft. Can you imagine a kite w/ 60 sq meters??) Quad-Trac parafoils are the newest entry on the Buggy-Traction Power-Kite scene. Ted Dougherty from the old Quadrifoil fame is the builder and rigger and these new bags are reported fast and efficient. This is a boot-straps operation and product is C.O.D. Peter Lynn has yet another modification of his Original Buggy in the marketplace. The Flexi Buggy was his first commercial contract for a buggy design. Now another has appeared also imported by Cobra Kites. Wholesale price is reported to y the current street price of the Original Buggy and its progeny. More as I get it. NEED BUGGY PARTS? I have acquired a supply of Peter Lynn Buggy parts including axles, bolts, forks, wheels, tires, tubes etc. Great prices! Call me M-W-F at Windborne Kites. BUGGY POWER IN JOLLY AULD... Mick & Mike (The Spider folks) have closed The Welsh Sport Kite Centre to concentrate on the production of their quality Modulus kite system. The Original Modulus is a foil system with zip-together sections. All Buggy pilots will apprecia bility to change the size of your kite during a Buggy run. Without a trip back to base camp or worse... back home, or even worse... another trip to the kite store. The Modulus system packs into the rear axle-mounted "Buggy Bag". Complete with short lines & handles. By changing the width in half-metre intervals, the short-cord/ wide-aspect design of the Modulus gives great performance in a size-range >From 1 s/m to 5.8 s/m. The "Mod-Pod" is an ultra-light option that extends the size to 6.8 s/m and adds some 150' light lines. They offer a smaller version (without the rear-axle bag) called The 38 Special. Size-range from 1 s/m to 3.8 s/m. They are also building three other non-zipper foils, the BB 2, the BB 3, and the BB 3.5. All include lines & handles. The Modulus system is the worlds first complete quad-line foil system designed for traction. All Buggy pilots will want one. More affordable are the video tapes of the Gwithian Kite Festival complete with Buggy races and power kiting demon s you will have to see to believe! Eric Wolff is the distributor for the Modulus system in N. America. (312-327-6814) 3530 N. Fremont, Chicago, IL 60657. Tell him you heard about it in Buggy Newz. WHERE TO BUGGY: The more we learn about the Buggy, the more obvious it becomes that Kite Festivals are not the venue we are looking for. A few specific locations have room for all the kiters and extra space for Buggy Races. Some of the Oregon Beaches come to mind. But most are simply too small to allow Buggy Racing and a Kite Festival to happen at the same time. Kite Festivals are for kite flyers and Buggy Events need the open space. So we must share. As we have been scheduling Buggy events around other festivals, like the week before AKA-Wildwood 94. As Buggy'ers we need to know what is appropriate for Kite Festivals who want some Buggy Action to help draw their crowd. Festival demos are no place for beginners! Or for lessons! The risks are simply to severe where inexperience is combined with curious crowds. The game becomes one of finding places where we can Buggy without interfering with others and still allow the sport to grow and absorb more users. ADVERTISING? SUBSCRIPTIONS? Recently, manufacturers and distributors have started approaching me to advertise in Buggy Newz. Pay me money to run their ad in this rag! Astounding! I am momentarily amused. Ultimately, it raises the question of the intent here with Buggy Newz, and the effect money has on the priorities and the clarity of purpose. I do not choose to _sell_ any advertising at this time. I do run ads for products or services which I feel are of interest to the Buggy Community. I will use my discretion, not fees, to determine what advertising I run in Buggy Newz. I will retain my independence and ability to say what I want about anything I want. I want to write Buggy Newz without having to worry about pissing off an advertiser. I want you to have a newsletter filled with the sport, not the busines I started Buggy Newz in the spring of 1993 to aid in the creation of a "buggy community" and provide access to others who buggy, because it is more fun in bunches. I did not start this as a business, but the costs and work involved influenc . I have not offered "subscriptions" as such, but an opportunity for interested Buggy'ers to contribute towards the expenses involved in this endeavor. I received a letter recently from a couple of disgruntled guys in Idaho who had sent $10 and were tired of waiting for a copy of Buggy Newz. They wanted their money back (They got it). They questioned my intent (Was it publishing or fraud? reatened my reputation if I did not respond immediately. (Needed the $10 to buy kite lines. Or was it KiteLines?) First, allow me to apologize for getting Buggy Newz 2.1 out so late. Between the middle of January and the end of April, the Windborne Kitealog (The business side of my life) was my first priority and the timely writing and mailing of Buggy Newz 2.1 suffered. I write and publish Buggy Newz when I can, because I want to. The Buggy has excited me and judging by my mail, many others as well. Buggy Newz exists to help communication between Buggy'ers around the world. The bond is between Buggy'ers tween publisher and subscriber. Take what comes. Contribute. Help or get out of the way. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. ICE BUGGY - The Thermos Bottle of Sports: {photo of Dominique on Buggy w/Peel on frozen lake omitted} What's that you say? How does the Ice Buggy compare to an insulated jug? Remember the old ad? "Keeps the hot things hot and the cold things cold!" Well, the Ice Buggy is plenty hot when it comes to performance. The drop in rolling resistance is largely responsible for the potential of 6-8 times the speed of the wind. The standard rolling Kite Buggy is limited to 3-4 time the speed of the wind on hard-pack ground. As for the cold... The net seat does little to protect one's bum >From its proximity to all that ice. Insulation at this critical point is welcome. The same iced lake does tend to chill the winds as well, so bundle up! The over-steer tendency of the Buggy works wonderfully on the ground. Steer the front wheel and the rear end slides around. Very smooth, very controllable. Ice would seem to provide the opposite reaction to steering inputs. The heavier rear blades would cut into the ice and not slide sideways until well after the front end broke loose. The change in weight/traction bias seems to be addressed by tilting the rear blades. A bit of weight shift, cut the front blade, and power up the kite as the back end slips around and off you go across the frozen expanse. These options are available in small numbers to interested parties. Requires sub-zero temperatures, large bodies of frozen water, and cold winter winds. Don't forget your mittens. BUGGY PILOTS OF AMERICA Cloisonne Pins Silver on Black $ 6 each Paint The Sky Kites Portland, Oregon 503-222-5096 Fax: 503-222-5034 BUILDING TECHNIQUE: It never fails. I hear from a new buggy'er interested in better tires for traction or more kite for power or something different to do more. We talk it out and come up with several directions to look in for solutions and then months later gain that everything is fine and they did or didn't get that thing and besides there is no problem and the great traction dilemma has been solved. The answer? Better technique. Learning the importance of front wheel position to gain speed from the power. Practice and learn. Practice and learn. WIPI-CAT: Air-filled, Wind-powered! {great WIPI-CAT photo omitted} I don't know who sent this to me, but the Wipi-Cat looks like it could really be a gas! An air-inflated catamaran hull supports the pilot astride rather than inside, and the curved dual-surface wing is also inflated. The two hulls have a keel-like design underneath that eliminate the rudder. The 6.5 sq/m wing with an inflatable framework "is insubmersible and will leap from the water as soon as look at you." (From their pamphlet) The WIPI-CAT is sold with complete equipment (including paddles, air pump & carry bag) and is ready to sail! WIPI-CAT 80 route de Brest 29000 QUIMPER France Tel: 98 90 12 49 Fax: 98 90 40 79 PARAKARTING? Mick Parson from Wales has started the PKA (Para-Karting Assoc.). They have allied with the Land Sailing establishment in Great Britain. Stated purpose is to acquire insurance and access to permitted land sailing sites. Most large sites in Europe have already been accessed by the land-sailing establishment and this alliance will give Traction-Kiters a schedule of race dates and the beginning of our standard racing rules. Their presentation of current rules makes it clear that racing is the sole activity. Most of us use our Buggys more often for recreation than racing. Still, they have begun something for which there is interest. A standardization of International Buggy Rules will allow us all to play together. I have not seen their by-laws so I don't know if membership gives voting rights. They have already made the rules and you must play by theirs or go elsewhere. They invite membership world-wide. Their racing schedule includes only sites in Britain however. Not many pro-Buggy teams on the international circuit. Yet. Their only real blooper is the mis-guided attempt to rename our sport "Para-Karting". Peter named them Buggys and that is surely good enough for me! Check your dictionary for "para". "Karts" is misspelled. We fly Kites! "Buggy" honors George Pocock and his original 1823 "char-volant". Are they trying to change history? Is it a plot? CHAIN THE GATE: The Bureau of Land Management announced they have placed a chain and lock on the gate to Ivanpah Dry Lake to curtail the motor vehicles that drive on the lakebed. Ivanpah Dry Lake, only 45 minutes from Las Vegas at the Cal/Nev state line, has two large resort/casinos at the top end of the lake (for convenience) and is restricted to wind-powered craft only. Permits (and the combination) are available through the Needles BLM office at P.O.Box 888 Needles, CA 92363-0888 or at 619-326-3896. Contact guy is Jim Foote. Roger Ripstop says: "SAFETY FIRST!" Buggy Pilots International c/o Windborne Kites 585 Cannery Row #105 Monterey, California 93940 ====================================== Some printed back issues of Buggy Newz are available from Corey Jensen at Windborne Kites, Shop # 408-373-7422. I have all issues from 1.1 on disk and can send via e-mail (minus the stunning graphics/photos) on request..