Ha this pix is after I rode to the shore. My facial expression shows a lot of how I felt that day. BUT I was seriously just getting the hair out of my eyes. I forgot to clip it up. Also shows how big the waves were, and THIS was after the first hour when they were even bigger.OK so I am gonna start by saying I am getting over basically walking pneumonia.. Finished my Z pack, and steroids and still puffing on my inhaler. Doc says I can surf If I felt up to it.. Yep don't have to tell me twice.( BUT SERIOUSLY lately if it is not one thing it is another) Well, Thursday and Friday were my days off and I surfed both days. AND I have good and bad to post about it.
I don't want to start this post off with negativity and no matter what I still had a GREAT 2 days of 2 hours each day of surfing. SO YOU Mr. with the green and turquoise board at Blackies on Thursday are not gonna ruin my stoke.. ASSHOLE!!!!... more on him later.
So Thursday. It is my husbands Birthday and I wanted to get to the beach early and it just didn't happen. I had to take my daughter to school and then hit 3 freeways to get to my local surf. So yep during rush hour..but this time it was more congested than ever. I have no idea why.. there were no accidents? ANY way took me over 2 hours to get to the beach. WTF? I may not be the best surfer..BUT I GOT DEDICATION! ANY way I get there and I am happy with what I see. A bit crowded for a Thursday but surf was good waist to a few head high. So I guess that is why everyone was there on a Thursday. I am beginning to wonder if people work any more,GEESSH!
The sun was so hot on this Autumn day, water was I say 64. So I decided to put the shorty on. NOW I wear this Spring suit way more in the Fall than Spring.. I am changing the name to The California Fall suit.
So, no one who meets me here. I always get intimated going out by myself and I am not a forceful fight for my waves type of gal.. and REALLY at Blackies you should not have to be. But it is crowded, surf is decent and a bit bigger than I am usually comfortable with. Especially by myself.
But I went out past the break..tried for a few waves went after bigger than I usually do and again, I am by myself. I wipe out a lot. Pearled more than I have in a long time, BUT I am totally stoked I did it. I was out there and I tried. I am getting braver. I did catch and ride two waves in from the outside. One time I had a wave, and BOOM 2 others come up from the left and we all ended up on top of each other. I joked, and said, um so is what considered a party wave? It was so crowded. BUT I have to say the vibe out there was a lot of tude. One guy. I swear he was trying to chase me away. One point when I was paddling back out he came at me and I swear he looked right at me almost in the eye, swung/turned his board at my head and whizzed right by my ear. DUDE almost cut my head with his fins..I can almost guarantee it was on purpose. REALLY do we have to be like that AT BLACKIES even? I said YOU don't have to be an asshole, I am sure he heard me. AND if you are all that and a bag of chips. GO surf with the big dogs down the street!(that I didn't say..just came to my mind as I am typing)
I stayed inside after that and caught a few small 2 footers. A little more comfortable and of course what I am use to. I also practiced in the white wash, which was pretty strong.
AND even in there I think I got in the way of some more aggressive girl surfers. I tried to stay out of the way and even apologized to one, she just gave me a dirty look. I could not believe the vibe that day..BUT I didn't let it get to me. I just moved.
Also, getting over bronchitis borderline pneumonia. I had a cough attack out there. AND since I have the bladder of a peanut. LOL. I for the first time ever peed in my wetsuit.. what TMI? Sorry .. thought it was some surfing right of passage..and wanted to share. I have never been able to bring myself to do it before. BUT I had no choice.. it just happened.
I still surfed for an hour. Then decided to go in. I had an apt. with my son to work on my shoulder. Which by the way is feeling much better! I was surprised I surfed so long without pain.
And again it was my husbands Birthday, and I wanted to get home before he did from his fishing adventure in the mountains.
THEN my friend Clair shows up and I decided to surf for almost another hour. She took a few pix of me. BUT decided to just sit on the beach. I again surfed inside. Caught a few fun rides.
So this picture is one Clair took of me, I was riding inside now. I was practicing my turning.
Regardless of some of the negativity of some of the peeps that day. I am glad I stuck it out. If I don't I wont get any better. WE all start somewhere. I have not done this for very long. I am not young spring chicken either. I don't know why some surfers want to chase you away. They were once beginners too.. and HONESTLY the the ocean is pretty big. I don't get it.
Also that day my friend Laura swung by when I got out the first time said Bolsa was closing out, But she surfed anyway. I also saw Rick. Seeing friendly faces at your break, make up for the not so nice ones that you don't see out there regularly. That makes it all the more worth it. =)
U should of pissed in your suit while in the vacinity of the roid rager...let taste the bitterness of your anger! ;-P
ReplyDeleteA couple of things to remember, when surfing the wonderfully fun and crowded SOCAL spots:
-CA unemployment is above 12%, therefore a lot more people are gonna be in the water (one of the best ways to escape the pain found on land).
-Surfing in re-form foam/whitewash is nothing to be ashamed of and will focus and hone those skills that you'll need when you're on the outside on a more regular basis (I spent 2 years surfing reform and away from the more experienced spots...and learned a lot).
-Never allow the idiots to diminish your stoke...return a grimace with a smile and a shaka. Try to always remember...the dude that tried to take your head off will reap the love of Karma, so next time...give him a sarcastic shout out, cause Mother Ocean will eventually humble him. :-)
Glad to hear you are on the mend!
Oh no! you can't claim you have a pee-free wetsuit anymore ;)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I noticed that some ladies are getting pretty aggressive in the water lately. I went to Pipes the other day and I paddled out with a big smile on my face and there were two women in their forties and one guy. I thought it would be a nice session with such a small crowd... Well it was worse than a 20 person crowd: the guy was getting ALL the set wave and the two ladies were giving me nasty look when I was trying to paddle in a wave. My smile faded away that day and they ruined my session. BUT at the end, I saw Rob, our friend Rob, cruising by on a SUP. I got my smile back ;)
@ Surfmama..Yes my friend you are right. LOL and WOW .. and you are a pretty good surfer. I am surprised! They totally should have showed you some respect. BUT since you saw Rob,,I am SURE ALL that melted right away! IF it was me seeing Rob.. it would have been in dream sequence mode ;-)
ReplyDelete@ Pabs.. THANK YOU! seriously your words mean the world to me. LOVE the encouragement. It really helps to have surf friends not just the ones who are out there with you..but MY Blog friends rock too. I learn so much from reading all your blogs and they are so encouraging. I do take some things I learn here and apply them to the surf. SO Thank you guys!