Snow Sports and/or Surfing

Sooooo... I couldn't justify pulling the trigger for full retail on the 2020 Heritage DF 164, so I bought the 2019 Heritage 163 x for $150 less. It's a cm shorter and a cm narrower. I loved the demo I rode, and I am thinking the slightly narrower (but still considered wide) version will be a touch more agile, with the same flex and carving characteristics that I loved.


Beautiful graphics, but the CO flag will be mostly covered by my bindings. Something they fixed with the 2019-20 graphics (Click Here).

I hope my toes don't drag on steep slopes. They shouldn't. I won't know until next December at best. Sorry @Tom the Bomb I can't buy your Mammoth tickets to go give this a try.

 

Years of surfing and the last two years did not get in the water much. Fast forward to now and I’m moving to Arizona but still bringing three boards with me. Selling my 5’7” rusty but bringing an 8’6” Robert August single fin, 5’8” M&M thruster circa 85 and mid 70’s 6’6” infinity single fin. Can’t get rid of the old boards that are kind of family heirlooms. Might drag them down to havasu and do some wake surfing on some classics.

 

Pics if you do! I'd like to see that.

 

http://bigsurffun.com/

 

And just like that, I think my season is done. We were supposed to go up for the holiday weekend for one last hurrah, but the forecast looks shite (rain) so we pulled the plug tonight. If in fact it's over it will be the least amount of days I've had on snow in over a decade (since the season cut short when I had to have my other shoulder fixed), but the quality of the days I did get was high. I may still try to sneak away for a day just to end things on a better note, but I have some early season fishing priorities that may take precedence for hall passes. Kinda bummed, but having time to get on the bike this weekend eases the sting a bit.

 

Sorry to hear the fizzle to the season @buggravy. Mine was the opposite. 17 days on snow was the most since I left CO in 1999. Can't say all 17 were top quality days at top quality areas, but I had a few "powder" days and many, many fun runs! I enjoyed re-kindling my passion for both snow sliding sports.

I hope next year isn't a drought, and is still cold enough to snow.

 

AARRGGHH! I should have known better. I catch a fair amount of flack in the Gravy household for dragging the the family into suspect or adverse conditions in pursuit of snow sliding. When the forecast was showing rain at lodge levels for the weekend I allowed my self to be easily coerced into bagging our Mammoth trip. Of course, the system has come in colder than forecast. 8+ inches in the last 24, more on the way, looks like no rain above town, the resort opened extra lifts, and web cams show very tolerable lift lines. Fack! I think I need to go meditate.

 

This pic was taken 5 days ago. Friends and I are supposed to be backpacking, and more importantly fishing in the same basin where this pic was taken starting in 9 days. The spot we usually camp is a bit higher even than this pic. Pretty sure I'm bailing on the trip to go snowboarding instead. Madness.

 

So back to the surfboard. Water temps in South OC are about 70° once again.

I've hit the water about 6 times so far this year. Did so again today. Nice session at Middle Trestles. No pics, no STRAVA, but here's a recent pic in the same location a couple weeks ago. I may have posted this already in the "I didn't ride my bike today cuz..." thread. Pardon the redundancy if so.

My Stewart 949 that I bought last summer. 7'8". Fun all around board. I won't disclose the brand of bike.



I saw about 20 e-bikes today, and about three other suckers who had to actually pedal back up the hill to San Clemente. E-bikes are bad for surfing too.

 

I am going to miss the beach. Been in Phoenix for about 3 weeks now and no surfing for me. They are supposed to be building a wave and cable park on the other side of the valley set to open 2021. Who knows I could be a surfer again. #rickkanelives

 

Just don't let Lance Burkhardt catch you...

 

We named the bar area in the house Rick Kane’s and our WiFi is rickkane haha. Totally had to play off one the the best movies ever.

 

Whoa there mister, yeah, North Shore was great, but Point Break was the epitome of all filmmaking!
"I caught my first tube today..." Johnny Utah

"Fear makes you hesitate, and hesitation makes your worst fears come true." Bodhi

 

Funny, we watched Point Break recently, that quote is

 

Yesterday afternoon at Doheny. OC traffic isn't limited to roads and trails!



This is the best place for continuing to develop my daughter's surfing skills. It feels like Waikiki in that the wave is long, rolling and slow, surfers are mostly beginners going straight, rather than good surfers surfing right or left, and there's a lively beach scene.

I swim out with Ruby to help her get through the waves and then to give her a push to catch them. In 30 minutes, she stood on 4 waves, and had to abandon three others (one because of a floaty toy in her way, and twice because other surfers were already on the wave right next to her). She is starting to manage her own board pretty well at the end of the ride and then to paddle back out.

She then played in the water while I took my board out and caught a couple. Completing a Turf and Surf day for me.

Oh - water was abut 68° - air was about 74° - but it was quite breezy, as is typical in the afternoon in OC. I compare that to the rest of the nation and feel quite blessed.

 

Specialized Roll or Alibi

 

Aaaaackkkk - quiet, you!

 

Last day of Summer Break for me. To surf or to ride? Small surf, high tide and predicted to be windy. In other words, crap conditions. But still, I have 12 months a year to ride and I only like to surf in moderate or better temps, so let's get wet one more time.

San Onofre Bluffs - Trail 1. My State park pass expires today. One car parked in the lot when I arrived. Nobody in the water. No wind. Glassy. Small waves breaking close to shore, but completely rideable. I'm in!

For nearly two hours, there was absolutely no one in the water or on the beach. And the wind held off. A small puff of breeze showed up at 11:00 as I was leaving. Still, no one in the water save for the lifeguard who opened up the tower at about 9:30 and took the rescue board out for a spin. She simply added to the beauty of the morning. I caught more than I could count, and did NOT re-injure my toe.



The ocean even delivered me my lunch.



Surfing can be fun too!

 

Nice! Those peaks look glassy. Trail 1 is a great spot

 

It was actually much glassier before this massive gust of 1/2 mph visited! Amazing how much easier it is to read and catch waves when there is no wind! (And nobody competing for the wave).

 

Perfect way to end you’re vacation

 

Took the family up the gondola at Mammoth last Thursday. Lots of folks getting some turns in. I didn’t get a picture of the bikes headed the other way. I think Sunday was the last day for sliding. It looked like they had enough snow to continue.

 

I love when I go to Santa Cruz, we go surf Pleasure Point in the morning and ride where ever my buddy(ies) take me that day. I will buy another board soon so I can surf and ride on a out of town coastal trips.

 

Today was magic.

Most days that I surf, I struggle. I struggle with the crowds and get frustrated. I struggle with my positioning in the water and my wave selection. I seem to either choose a wave with someone already in better position, or I choose a wave that closes out immediately. Sometimes, I even struggle to get to my feet without injuring a toe.

Today was not that day. It was a little crowded, but I never had a conflict with any wave I wanted to catch. I caught more than I could count - pretty decent waves too - waist to shoulder high on me. All but once I got my feet into solid position without thinking about it, and I didn't stub or fold over my injured toes. Did I mention the warm water? The sunshine? The sand bottom and sand beach? (instead of cobblestone or river rock that dominates south OC and north SD counties).

Session of the summer, and possibly of the last five years. I'll go again tomorrow, but I will have to lower my expectations. I've learned these days don't happen often for me. (add grateful emoji).

Sorry no pics today. And no data. Maybe it didn't actually happen.

 

Stoked for you!!!!

 

Oh wait - I did take one picture. This was shot from the bluff above the scene of the magical surf session mentioned above. The waves were peakier and more plentiful than they appear in this overview:


And the sun came out about 30 minutes after this shot, which was about 15 mins after I got in the water.

 

I didn't ride my bike today. Here's why...

Water temp in the 70s. Clean waves. Sorry trails, you'll have to wait.

 

Inside out in Tahiti.

 

I get to post in this thread and in the "I Rode My Bike Today" thread!

Surf and turf today. Or, more accurately, turf and surf. I sucked at both - and I LOVED both!

Water is 75° in north SD County (San Onofre -Trestles area) where I surf. Trunks only. I wore a rash guard too, to protect my nipples.

Trail 1 at San O Bluffs is awesome except the wave is so damn lazy. It breaks a little, then just sort of backs off. Makes it hard for me to ride my favorite 6'2" Merrick Fishcuit. Damned if the ocean didn't go dead flat for 30 minutes after I punched through waves to get to the lineup. Oh well, I caught a couple, got some exercise and enjoyed the warm water.


1-3' Medium tide. 5:15 pm.