Even colder weather, but very nice waves

Well, southeast Texas is experiencing its fall cycle. Every year, the weather changes at a moment's notice. Just as we all start grumbling about 85-degree weather in October, the next cold front pushes through and drops the temps to more seasonable degree expectations. While I admit to liking the first cold snap, by the time the second or third front makes an appearance, I'm ready for summer again. I've always been a fan of hot, sticky weather (I think I've written that before) so it's probably a good thing I live where I live. However, I must admit that if a strong "norther" blows through like it did on Thursday evening, the north wind creates phenomenal waves. So, Friday afternoon I definitely made my weekly afternoon jaunt to Galveston. This time, instead of a spring suit, I had to wear my 3-2 wetsuit. I met Super Brian at the 43rd Street pier and we surfed. I probably caught three or four waves and this week, Brian wanted to surf himself so he didn't offer to push me at all, which is good 'cause I had told him I needed the practice. I had to time the waves myself. I missed several of the waves because I stopped paddling before they made it to me (this timing thing is hard for me), but I also caught a few. I had two or three phenomenal rides that I took all the way down the shore by turning and riding in the wave. We were eventually joined by four or five other surfers and it was good to see that they also had timing issues. Brian is the only one who knew when the wave was right. It made me feel better to know that timing must be an issue for everyone. In fact, other than Brian, I probably caught more waves than the others. I wiped out a few times too. I have no idea why; well, I do know why I wiped out a couple of times. Even though I was on Brian's phenomenal fiberglass board, I didn't get in trim. I was way too far forward and the wave just pushed me over. We outlasted most of the surfers. They usually only stay 30 minutes to an hour, but Brian and I were out a little over two hours. I got a little tired once or twice paddling back out. The strong waves, even while in the rip current, can make the paddle out past the breaks tiring. I seem to still get pushed around alot, and I try to be extra careful because I'm on Brian's board and I don't want it to get pushed into the jetty.(I had a jetty encounter last week and while protecting Brian's board, I shredded the top of my foot on the barnacles.) All in all, it was a fantastic afternoon! I hope tomorrow's surfing experience will be just as good, but I fear that it will be like last Sunday when the waves were inconsistent and hard to read and get through.

As part of my usual weekend workout, today (Saturday) I rode my bike and had an outstanding 60-mile ride with the 21+ mph group. It was quite cool at the start. In fact, I was colder at the start of the ride despite having on leggings, a vest, arm warmers and a jacket, than I was in the water yesterday. The only bad thing so far about surfing in the winter isn't the water, but the walk from the water back to the car with wet hair and then having to take the wetsuit off to put on sweats, while cycling in the winter requires me to get through the first 20 miles of freezing and sucking in cold air. Brrrr!

(P.S. This morning -- Sunday -- was a bust. NO WAVES. So, I had to ride again. Beautiful day for a ride, but I sure wish I could have surfed.)

Colder weather and a quiet beach

A cool front moved through this week, and the residents of southeast Texas experienced some of the coolest weather so far this year. Although I heard that the waves were the best on Thursday just as the front moved through, I didn't make it down until Friday afternoon. I met Brian at the beach who I've decided is such a good surfer he could take a door off its hinges and surf it in a swimming pool without any problem. He can surf anything! When I got there on Friday around 1:30, I noticed that the waves weren't huge, but they were well-defined and a little bigger than what I'd seen in a few weeks. The air temperature was pretty cool, but I put on a rashguard and then my springsuit before traipsing down to the water. Brian let me use his amazing board again, and I was thrilled. No one else was out; I'm guessing most of the diehard surfers had been out in the rough, big waves the day before. Brian talked to me about turning and positioning myself on the board to get the most effective ride possible. I had a blast. I caught approximately eight or nine really good waves right off. They were spectacular! I moved around on the board and practiced turning. I caught one going left and right. Brian pushed me several times, something I probably should ask him to stop since timing is so important and still an issue for me. Nevertheless it was a great day. I went down twice--I kept referring to them as crashes; Brian says the surfing term is wipeout. Of course, it just so happened that it was when my husband, Rob, happened to ride his bike up to the pier to watch. (It was the only two times he watched me, and I didn't get up either time. oh well!) Overall, I felt great about the day! I had many fabulous rides, with Brian telling me that he thought I was getting better every time I went out. (Compliments don't come often from him, so I felt good about that remark.) I just need to keep practicing. I'll be going out again Sunday! Hope I have as good a day as I did on Friday.

(I didn't surf today. The waves were flat, so I rode my bike. It felt good. I rode 55 miles with a great group of cyclists. Hope my cycling friends have a good ride tomorrow. I'll be looking for waves.)

Early morning waves

Sometimes, I just don't have long enough weekends! I'm sure everyone probably has a similar complaint. It's not because I dislike my week days, because I certainly don't. I enjoy the work I do and the people I work with daily. However, I sure would like more free time to hone my surfing skills. I had a weekend commitment this past weekend; one that was going to keep me from going to Galveston. It wasn't a bad commitment. I was going to have fun visiting family, but I still wanted to surf. So I decided to take Friday morning off since I was going to be leaving town on Friday afternoon. That way, I could surf for a few hours before I left town. I made it down to the beach by 7:15ish. It was one of the coolest mornings we had so far this season. I had my springsuit though, which kept me toasty while I was in the water. In fact, the only time I was chilled was walking from the water back to my car and that wasn't a long walk. Although it looked like there would be no waves on the Web cam I watch, there were, in fact, several small, long waves on the west side of the 43rd street pier. They were perfect for me. My surfing mentor, Brian, met me down there (with his lovely wife Karen and Tex the wonder dog), and we surfed together. He let me use his 9'6" "cloud" board, which I love! I practiced swimming out, turning quickly and, although Brian helped me several times by pushing me, my timing for catching the wave still needs improvement. (Timing seems to be my biggest issue right now...something that has to be right in so many life decisions.) I also practiced riding the wave parallel to the beach, which gave me a much longer ride; practiced dancing or moving up and down the board; and practiced stopping and dismounting the board without looking like a spastic first-timer. I still need a lot of practice on bringing my center of gravity down the board, bending at the knees instead of at the waist. These small waves, though, gave me a chance to work on improving my skills. I heard waves were pretty good on Saturday, but today they weren't. I had an opportunity to drive past the beach on my way home from my trip and stopped to watch several surfers making do on small, inconsistent waves. We -- weekend surf warriors -- sometimes just have to make do with what time we have!

P.S. I'm a little late posting this weekend because of my trip, but at least I was able to snap the photo above today when I was crossing on the Bolivar ferry back to Galveston.