Nov 13, 2011
Not exactly fast, but still fun...
Last ride before the lower back and neck pain shut things down for a while. Still an invigorating ride, if not exactly a fast one.
Nov 6, 2011
surfZencalm
Clocks Back, ... Out There, Nothing Like it.
I don't remember when I last enjoyed a surf session this much. And it was all about attitude and gratitude.
Being waaay out of surf shape from the year-long and still-ongoing cervical disk herniation recovery, a properly executed pop up was in the realm of pipe dream.
Sunday Nov. 6 brought waves not unlike like this late summer gem
OWN REWARD
But paddling a surfboard around in light surf can be it's own reward. Such a treat I'd not had in a year, so I was more than grateful just to be able to do it. The water was remarkably clear for Long Beach, and with fall's coolness crisply set in for the season, the crowds were long gone. Only one other surfer joined us; she had the next jetty over all to herself.
ZEN-GLAD
This session fell squarely into the category of "just glad to be out there, and enjoy an almost perfect, zen-calm session. Punctuated by whoops for the waves Mustang caught in the light-to-moderate side-off wind, thigh-to- waist-to-shoulder high, long-period surf. Per Mustang, this came courtesy of what must have been a distant Tropical Storm Sean.
And the best ... no waves crashing on you on the easy paddle out. Did I say paddle? Correct that -- easy walk out, with short dry-head paddle at the end.
Water, maybe a wee bit cold, but with the sun relatively strong, thin open-seal paddling gloves were just fine for the job. You paddled, you got warm quickly.
NOT GETTING ANYMORE PERFECT
The only hard part — dragging my butt out of bed on a Sunday morning at 6:45 a.m. — came a little easier with realizing that with the clocks set back an hour, I probably wasn't going to get back to sleep.
... And the surf wasn't going to get any more perfect for a user-friendly first surf in 6 weeks. If there was any issue it was doubt about the super shallow low tide -- no margin for error on takeoff, which added a level of caution.
Six weeks? That long? How did that happen? Well after the September Surf-Bike Duathlon, the "wheels fell off the bus," so to speak, and the left arm-neck disc issues flared up with an alarming bite. I decided to go with the flow and back off the sports intensity until it died down.
TIMING
It did, and Mustang magically messaged my cell the night before; excellent timing.
Moo toted his 6'2" Nature Shapes quad fish into the small waves with a good degree of success. And some definitely "whoopable rides"
As for my 9'0 Ben Aipa Swallow tail. First time out it always reminds me of its maneuverability, versus 9'6" noserider. But within a few waves you're ready for its eagerness to turn.
Despite the physical neck-arm woes, I was able to manage a couple of knee rides including one very long one with perfect placement on the board to maneuver using just my lower body through the knees. Only one major twinge of nerve pain to report.
The wind switched to stronger side-on just as we used up the last of our "good paddlearms" and each caught a last sled back into the beach. More fine timing. An hour later and we'd have been blown out. Worth getting up for.
BLISSED
So the car didn't start. It was about 68 months old anyway. Who cares? Dug out the jumper cables, and Moo drove down the half-block and gave me a pump of juice. Very little calm lost, and still blissed all the way to Advance Auto Parts in Island Park for a new battery. No problems.
As for the neck/arm continuum, driving home I felt no pain. How's that done? Just goes to show a gentle day of surf has a healing power all its own.
[Day two and three after, well there was a price to pay — as long unused muscles tightened up —but not too bad. The Advil did it's job. (It — or a stomach bug — hit my insides with a vengeance come Thursday, so that's that for the pain killers for a while.)]
QUIZ:
Where's Waldo the Baker?
He's out there. I've seen him; but I'm not tellin'.
I don't remember when I last enjoyed a surf session this much. And it was all about attitude and gratitude.
Being waaay out of surf shape from the year-long and still-ongoing cervical disk herniation recovery, a properly executed pop up was in the realm of pipe dream.
Sunday Nov. 6 brought waves not unlike like this late summer gemOWN REWARD
But paddling a surfboard around in light surf can be it's own reward. Such a treat I'd not had in a year, so I was more than grateful just to be able to do it. The water was remarkably clear for Long Beach, and with fall's coolness crisply set in for the season, the crowds were long gone. Only one other surfer joined us; she had the next jetty over all to herself.
ZEN-GLAD
This session fell squarely into the category of "just glad to be out there, and enjoy an almost perfect, zen-calm session. Punctuated by whoops for the waves Mustang caught in the light-to-moderate side-off wind, thigh-to- waist-to-shoulder high, long-period surf. Per Mustang, this came courtesy of what must have been a distant Tropical Storm Sean.
And the best ... no waves crashing on you on the easy paddle out. Did I say paddle? Correct that -- easy walk out, with short dry-head paddle at the end.
Water, maybe a wee bit cold, but with the sun relatively strong, thin open-seal paddling gloves were just fine for the job. You paddled, you got warm quickly.
NOT GETTING ANYMORE PERFECT
The only hard part — dragging my butt out of bed on a Sunday morning at 6:45 a.m. — came a little easier with realizing that with the clocks set back an hour, I probably wasn't going to get back to sleep.
... And the surf wasn't going to get any more perfect for a user-friendly first surf in 6 weeks. If there was any issue it was doubt about the super shallow low tide -- no margin for error on takeoff, which added a level of caution.
Six weeks? That long? How did that happen? Well after the September Surf-Bike Duathlon, the "wheels fell off the bus," so to speak, and the left arm-neck disc issues flared up with an alarming bite. I decided to go with the flow and back off the sports intensity until it died down.
TIMING
It did, and Mustang magically messaged my cell the night before; excellent timing.
Moo toted his 6'2" Nature Shapes quad fish into the small waves with a good degree of success. And some definitely "whoopable rides"
As for my 9'0 Ben Aipa Swallow tail. First time out it always reminds me of its maneuverability, versus 9'6" noserider. But within a few waves you're ready for its eagerness to turn.
Despite the physical neck-arm woes, I was able to manage a couple of knee rides including one very long one with perfect placement on the board to maneuver using just my lower body through the knees. Only one major twinge of nerve pain to report.
The wind switched to stronger side-on just as we used up the last of our "good paddlearms" and each caught a last sled back into the beach. More fine timing. An hour later and we'd have been blown out. Worth getting up for.
BLISSED
So the car didn't start. It was about 68 months old anyway. Who cares? Dug out the jumper cables, and Moo drove down the half-block and gave me a pump of juice. Very little calm lost, and still blissed all the way to Advance Auto Parts in Island Park for a new battery. No problems.
As for the neck/arm continuum, driving home I felt no pain. How's that done? Just goes to show a gentle day of surf has a healing power all its own.
[Day two and three after, well there was a price to pay — as long unused muscles tightened up —but not too bad. The Advil did it's job. (It — or a stomach bug — hit my insides with a vengeance come Thursday, so that's that for the pain killers for a while.)]
QUIZ:
Where's Waldo the Baker?
He's out there. I've seen him; but I'm not tellin'.
 |
| From |
Nov 2, 2011
Nov 1, 2011
The Iggster at it again.
The Iggster sails Demo
Looking like a barrel of fun with the Iggster.
The ocean calls. That might have to wait until Spring though. Glove season, minimal daylight, 40 degree days is not optimal ocean material for those getting back into it.
Looking like a barrel of fun with the Iggster.
The ocean calls. That might have to wait until Spring though. Glove season, minimal daylight, 40 degree days is not optimal ocean material for those getting back into it.
Oct 30, 2011
Great day for ... dog-walking, hills, and run-around hard-rink hockey
Great day for ... dog-walking, hills, and run-around hard-rink hockey
When the kids are suddenly teens, there's a good chance you are going to be around the house more than you're going to be windsurfing, surfing, biking and the like. Pretty soon they are off to college, or wherever, so when one of said teens is "down" with the chance to walk with dad, it's more than just a walk. This one even turned into a street hockey game at a nearby rink.
When the kids are suddenly teens, there's a good chance you are going to be around the house more than you're going to be windsurfing, surfing, biking and the like. Pretty soon they are off to college, or wherever, so when one of said teens is "down" with the chance to walk with dad, it's more than just a walk. This one even turned into a street hockey game at a nearby rink.
Fall declares Winter on Us...
Pretty wild that.
Drive sonny Rob to Driver's Ed., just to find the return trip is now driving in a blizzard.
This is the Pearl Harbor of weather treachery: Fall has declared Winter on us.
We haven't had such an outburst of snow in October since, what 53 or 63?
Drive sonny Rob to Driver's Ed., just to find the return trip is now driving in a blizzard.
This is the Pearl Harbor of weather treachery: Fall has declared Winter on us.
We haven't had such an outburst of snow in October since, what 53 or 63?
Oct 23, 2011
Great weekend for just about anything
How often do you get to say that with the funky weather we've had?
Well it was, so, despite the somewhat chilly nights, I even managed to fit in a barbecue. This time of year the cold almost guarantees it's mosquito-free! If Gordo liked the chicken breast, you know it was good. Tasted it myself and despite erring on the side of well-done (for safety) it was still extremely tasty.
Now Lenny stiffed me on this one, but no problem: we'll eat his share of the chicken during the week, and his allocation of Aidel's Chicken sausage flavored with Asiago and roasted pepper went bye-byes in seconds. There were even requests for more. It was that good.
With the painters at the house, it was hard to break free, but with the usable golf weather possessing the earliest expiration date, Chuck and I combined for a long overdue round at the brutal executive nine-hole at Harbor Links. Without much practice recently, the result was a shoddy 47. Which included a dreaded "snowman on the 115-yd 6th. That's what happens when you rush things and don't pay enough attention.
By the time We exited the, er, clubouse/19th hole, my feet were on fire, and I knew I'd walked a nice few miles during the day, dog-walks included.
SUNDAY - "Wrenching" and Cycling
Was bike day. After making the mistake of staying up late to watch the NY Rangers lose to Edmonton's young and up-and-coming hockey dynasty-to-be, I got up late. With everybody else scattered, it was a great setup for a bike ride. Last good one was a month ago, and I paid for it with pinched-neck disc-induced arm pain for the next month. But things had mellowed and despite a bit of ashthma going in, I took a puff of the inhaler, swapped out a new stem, screwed the handlebars and headcap star-nut screw back in place and rode. Carried a 4mm allen wrench in the bag just in case anything showed signs of coming loose.
I rode fairly slowly and tentaive for the most part, since I was not 100% sure of my mechanical adjustments. I used "feel" tightness to gauge the torque on the star-nut, the handlebars and the stem collar and bar-clamp.
When I took the carbon fiber headcap off the star nut, I was shocked at how loose it was. Surely that had to be a little tighter? But not "too tight" or you risk buggering-up the steerer tube. The bar clamps were loctite solid and mucho clamped down, so I buckled them on pretty firmly. I'm strong with wrenches, so I have to be careful not to overdo it. The stem collar was about mid-low medium-tight. And with a carbon steerer tube you don't want any tighter than that. I'd prefer to carry a 4mm allen wrench on the ride, and check and re-check regularly, than to mess it up.
As for the ride; Sand's Point was as tranquil as can be, for an October Sunday afternoon. The Sound showed nary a ripple from the Barker's Point to City island. Just a few yachts and fishing launches puttering about. Definitely cause to pause and soak in the fine view of Manhattan and the Bronx.
The Bike work held up well, with only minor tightening of one screw ... but I could use the HB's up much higher, so I don't have to angle my neck to see ahead. A steerer extender will be the next option, and I'll revert to the old stem for that, it's a longer stretch but a less cramped stretch.
Well it was, so, despite the somewhat chilly nights, I even managed to fit in a barbecue. This time of year the cold almost guarantees it's mosquito-free! If Gordo liked the chicken breast, you know it was good. Tasted it myself and despite erring on the side of well-done (for safety) it was still extremely tasty.
Now Lenny stiffed me on this one, but no problem: we'll eat his share of the chicken during the week, and his allocation of Aidel's Chicken sausage flavored with Asiago and roasted pepper went bye-byes in seconds. There were even requests for more. It was that good.
With the painters at the house, it was hard to break free, but with the usable golf weather possessing the earliest expiration date, Chuck and I combined for a long overdue round at the brutal executive nine-hole at Harbor Links. Without much practice recently, the result was a shoddy 47. Which included a dreaded "snowman on the 115-yd 6th. That's what happens when you rush things and don't pay enough attention.
By the time We exited the, er, clubouse/19th hole, my feet were on fire, and I knew I'd walked a nice few miles during the day, dog-walks included.
SUNDAY - "Wrenching" and Cycling
Was bike day. After making the mistake of staying up late to watch the NY Rangers lose to Edmonton's young and up-and-coming hockey dynasty-to-be, I got up late. With everybody else scattered, it was a great setup for a bike ride. Last good one was a month ago, and I paid for it with pinched-neck disc-induced arm pain for the next month. But things had mellowed and despite a bit of ashthma going in, I took a puff of the inhaler, swapped out a new stem, screwed the handlebars and headcap star-nut screw back in place and rode. Carried a 4mm allen wrench in the bag just in case anything showed signs of coming loose.
I rode fairly slowly and tentaive for the most part, since I was not 100% sure of my mechanical adjustments. I used "feel" tightness to gauge the torque on the star-nut, the handlebars and the stem collar and bar-clamp.
When I took the carbon fiber headcap off the star nut, I was shocked at how loose it was. Surely that had to be a little tighter? But not "too tight" or you risk buggering-up the steerer tube. The bar clamps were loctite solid and mucho clamped down, so I buckled them on pretty firmly. I'm strong with wrenches, so I have to be careful not to overdo it. The stem collar was about mid-low medium-tight. And with a carbon steerer tube you don't want any tighter than that. I'd prefer to carry a 4mm allen wrench on the ride, and check and re-check regularly, than to mess it up.
As for the ride; Sand's Point was as tranquil as can be, for an October Sunday afternoon. The Sound showed nary a ripple from the Barker's Point to City island. Just a few yachts and fishing launches puttering about. Definitely cause to pause and soak in the fine view of Manhattan and the Bronx.
The Bike work held up well, with only minor tightening of one screw ... but I could use the HB's up much higher, so I don't have to angle my neck to see ahead. A steerer extender will be the next option, and I'll revert to the old stem for that, it's a longer stretch but a less cramped stretch.
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