Easy Glide

Summertime & the glidin' is easy

OK boppers, so Summer is gone. With all the clichés too. Crowds, kooks, flatness, dog days (no complaints here – remember – the ground here actually freezes) no surf zones & hours, waaa.

So, friends and rippers, It's contrarian time.

Please think about this:

Riding the smaller waves we have this time of year forces us to be resourceful, not only where to surf, but how to approach the wave. Do you do the late take off? Chase it down from way outside? Or will the wave behave the same way, only smaller? I find myself thinking about it, yes – a cerebral approach!

Learning from choices, and experimenting – that's the opportunity now. Practice cross stepping, head dips, run off the front of the damn board, who cares!? There's no penalty!

Hell, anyone can ride a chest-high wave. But when it's only knee to thigh high, squeezing an actual real ride out of the wave is hugely satisfying. Make a statement about your skill!

You're weightless, it seems. Like you just got away with something. The glide; an aquatic free lunch – ha-ha.

Riding these small and often imperfect waves, wherever, with your friends it where's it's at. Period. Yes, given the choice, who wouldn't take perfection? No, it isn't all time, not epic; you won't be talking about it in the parking lot next winter.

And here's a promise: ten years down the road, friends, you'll remember dorking around in the warm water with your freinds almost as much as anything else.

Next time – an all Big Bertha issue!