Eeewwwww...SEAWEED

Yuck!!! The seaweed is taking over Galveston beaches. It seems like twice a year, the seaweed becomes a real problem. It's everywhere. When I take the rip out by the 43rd street pier, the seaweed gets in the way. When I finally make it to the end, the seaweed gets tangled in my leash. As a matter of fact, just making sure that the seaweed doesn't pull me off the board becomes a full-time job. Surfer king Brian told me to put the leash up underneath me, but that is much easier said than done. He also told me to make sure that my leash is cleaned off once I get ready to catch a wave. But, again, that is easier said than done. While I have done a fairly decent job of keeping off the leash, every once in awhile, I feel the tug of the seaweed. It fact, it has pulled me off the board on more than one occasion. One might ask, "How can seaweed pull you off the board." But, my answer would be that it is really much easier than you think. Any little thing tugging on the leash can cause me to fall. The attached photo gives some indication how much seaweed is around. I went surfing on Friday and Saturday this week, rather than Sunday. Because I had already planned to cycle in an organized ride -- the Tour de Braz -- on Sunday, I knew that my only time to surf other than Friday would be Saturday. So, after a 40-mile bike ride on Saturday, I loaded up the longboard and went down to Galveston. Like Friday, the waves were very rough. However, it was much better than nothing. I got quite a workout and several long rides. I'm still working on turning the board so that I don't ride all the way to shore. But, that's going to take a lot of practice. I need to turn it and then plop back down to ride back to the outside. ummmm...Who would have ever thought that would be so difficult? But, it is for me. I'm finally turning a bit, but not quick enough. Brian told me to pop up, count to three and then turn. We'll see. I hope I can do that. I'll just have to keep practicing until it does.

P.S. The ride was okay on Sunday. I rode well despite the horrendous winds. I was hydrated well, but still felt drained by the time it was done. Although we had a little bit of a tailwind coming home, the wind didn't seem to be nearly as strong as when we were riding the first half of the ride.