Well, this is a question that if you are asking yourself, you must already know. Matt, your quest as a kiter has been exposed, you are really just a buggy kiter trapped in a mountain kiters body. If you go back and delete this post now, you secret will be mostly kept quiet, but you will have to get used to those closet walls.
Here is a visual image I have stuck in my head from years ago on sunset beach in Oregon. To my left, a half dozen cool guy kiteboarders sporting bright multi colored shorts, discussing the intricacy of riding strapless. To my right was a group of kitebuggiers, covered with clothing, protective gear and other trinkets from head to toe. One guy sporting a T-shirt with bold words printed across the chest..." Have You Tugged Your Kite Today?"
There was no line in the sand, but culturally there was a division between the two kite flying user groups. I always thought it was based on clothing preference, but your question today leads to the real answer... IS Buggying COOL? Being a Kite-Geek myself, I'm stumped.
Here's what I do know... Kite Buggy coolness is directly equal to the playground or location you have to buggy on. As an example, even the coolest of the buggy people, rally together a couple times a year at their meccas... Primarily Ivanpah Dry Lake outside of Las Vegas, and Sunset beach in Oregon... Next closest spot is an Island off the west coast of Europe, I think they call it England.
Good luck in your quest, look deep inside and if you can... touch yourself.
Windzup,
Brian Schenck
BTW- 'They' refer to themselves as 'Buggy-Pilots' and their sport is called 'Kite-Sailing'. Apparently buggy's are something horses pull. They are closer to the landsailor breed of wind riders, and we are not currently sure who exactly infected the gene pool, but history shows that like neanderthals, buggy pilots are an early off-shoot of the modern kiteboarder.