Doesn't Everyone Surf with a Purpus?

Oh, Mike Purpus, you crack me up!!! Whenever I'm around him, all I do is laugh. What a flirt!! That roundhouse cutback? Yes, he's still got it . . . and two fake hips. Love you, Mike! Mean it!!

The Beauty of the Surf Mat

Well, it's certainly not the fact that you can literally throw it on the ground, along with your fins, as you suit up. Or maybe it is. Surf mats take a licking and keeping on ticking.

My point, actually, is that there are times when the surf mat is the best weapon for the task at hand.

Today's wicked windswell waves had me shaking my fist at the ocean each time I got stuck inside. Duckdive after duckdive after duckdive. And so on and so on and so on. I'd just about get to the outside . . . when a good set would come and push me back to "Jail" (i.e., the impact zone). I didn't pass go. I didn't get my $200!

With that said, it was an excellent session on the mat. The waves were pitching rather nicely on the outside, thus I didn't have to work hard to catch them. (I only had to work hard to get back to them after each ride.) Once in the wave, the faces opened up slowly and rather perfectly even though the shape was on the funky side. I mean, we are talking about windswell.

I really need to get batteries put in my surfing watches. I keep two of them in the car. The second one died today. I paddled out thinking I could easily keep track of the time on my own. Wrong!! Time slows way down when I'm in the water. I'll think I've only been in for 45 minutes, only to find out I'd gotten in two hours earlier! This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have to be at work after my sessions.

Fourth Gear Flyer Omni—best mat ever!!!

Best Surf Tattoo Ever!!!

Those pecs ain't bad either.

Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama

Each of the women in this photo is both a skater and a mom. On Mother's Day, a bunch of skateboarding moms and chicks (without kids) convened to celebrate just how cool we all are. Jean, the mom doing the air, is over 40 and a mother of two.

Still think moms should be at home baking cookies?

Jim Denevan Again!

This is not the first time I've posted his work on the blog.

It won't be the last time either!

DP! Again!!

That damn Duane Peters continues amaze me. The caption? "This was a make."

Are you kidding me?

I Left My Heart in San . . . a Town Further Up the Coast

You've got to love a town with a decent surf statute. After seeing all that's done about and to the Cardiff Kook, it was nice to see such a bad ass work of art related to surfing. I was even told that if I got up close enough, I could see up that dude's shorts. (Yeah, like there was anything to see!)

I was seriously impressed by the breaks I saw and surfed. The water wasn't overly cold. The shape was to my liking. The conditions, at least on the first day, were fantastic—the sun was out and the wind was non-existent. My only gripe was that I never got a chance to ride a decent left. Frankly, I liked the place so much that I quickly forgave it for that faux pas.

We went into a liquor store at one point. This cup was sitting right in front of the cash register. I didn't even ask about it. I simply smiled and made sure to take a picture.

I wanted to do an extended blog post about this, my first bona fide, surf trip. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take my camera. I got on the road at 4:30 a.m. About seven hours later, I arrived at my destination. I'd been told to be there by noon. Low tide was at noon; the waves would be best then. I pulled into the parking lot around 11:30. I think we finally paddled out at 12:30.

It was the best surf trip ever! Granted, it was my first surf trip, but I don't think any trip could get much better than this one. My only regret is that I didn't get a chance to meet Steiny face-to-face.