Christening the Ramp

I've had three days of skating on my new backyard behemoth. Days 1 and 3 were without incident. Day 2? Not so much. I took two good falls yesterday. After the first one, I left behind a little skin and blood from my elbow on the ramp. (For some reason, I was dumb enough to believe I wasn't going to fall since my first day of skating was relatively uneventful.) Anyway, I fell hard. I couldn't help but laugh at my stupidity. Lesson learned. Wear every one of those pads!! The second fall was nothing serious, but my feet slid over the edge of the ramp, thereby scraping my ankle bone. Once again, lesson learned. Wear those hi-tops!! Today? No falls. More turns. Just when I was starting to get into the swing of it, my boss called to tell me he needed me at work. He probably saved me from yet another fall.

Yeah, I still surf. In fact, I hit up the home break today. You know, I can see why people get testy when the hordes descend on them in the lineup. I was out there at about 7:45, not bothering anyone and ruling a peak all by my lonesome. Before I knew it, I was swarmed by . . . them. Who are "them"? I don't know—interlopers, that's who. You've got miles of beach on either side of my spot. There are peaks up and down the beach. And yet, here they come, zeroing in on me. Think I didn't throw some stinkeye? Think again.

This was one of those days when I surfed hard. I don't always. Some days I'm relaxed. Some days I'm tired. Some days I sit and enjoy the ocean. Today was one of those days when I had a lot of energy to release. I needed it to go away. So I was on the attack. It's not always a good way to surf, especially for someone like me, someone who's generally laid back and calm. I wasn't feeling any of that today. I just wanted people to stay off my peak and leave me alone. Didn't happen. But I got what I wanted. I even chased down a few (waves, not interlopers).
Two good, hard paddles . . . and I was on it!

Surf hard, skate hard and remember you ain't dead yet!