Testing, testing...old board still works

Would be a shame to  waste good fresh snow. Ancient Morrow board in its natural habitat.

I forgot how loose these things were. A Morrow Ride 160 from the early days of snowboarding ... old hole pattern ... very sk8y feel. Picks up speed very quickly, even in a little powder. As a windsurfer, I feel I could use a quad setup of fins! Even a sk8board is not as sk8y as this slider. Getting heel to toe transition down again was a bit of an adventure. Setup for regular foot, before I discovered I was goofy. Well it doesn't hurt (too much) to re-learn how to ride directional in the other direction, I guess, but I'll get busy with the phillips-head screwdriver and try duck stance before the next snow covering arrives. Might even head to the mountains.

"We Changed from the Morrow 8 x 5 because we wanted to accommodate a variety of manufacturers’ bindings. We don’t want to exclude anyone from riding the best snowboards made, just because of their binding make” — company founder Rob Morrow."

[elderly snowboard conundrum]

Transworld Snowboarding on Morrow New and Noteworthy - 6/97

Down to the Water

The wind, surf, and the bike have been on hold since the start of physiotherapy.

But a young pup joined our family, hopefully she will become a SUP-pup, although that looks like it will require about 30 more liters of volume, as she's darn close to 50# already.

But, if the other sports have been undoable while I recover from this injury,  the dog-walking has been pretty good.

Z-dog is learning the ropes, here she is learning about ponds and ducks and geese ... only 5 months old. Lots of learning to do.

Z-Dog models a gentle leader leash, taint no muzzle, tis a clever device
 that makes walking a dog who pulls hard a lot less like a tug-o-war.

Borked-Up Neck, Open Ocean Boards & Paddle Dog

  The neck, shoulder and arm pain came on gradually after the last Long Beach session with Chuck, big whitewater, no accidents, followed by a little Dogfish Head recovery fuel at Camp Mustang.

Before the now vogue quads, came Brian Hinde's Open
Ocean brand tri-fins

  The next day's 10 mile bike ride just added insult to injury. But I blame it on overdoing it with the golf swing practice ;) like in 2010 (should have just went out on the course and played.)

  My dad told me, after the fact, that he put his neck out every time he played golf. And I'd just gotten my swing rounding into form, ready for some late season empty golf course action. Not to be.

Brian's boards are looking better than ever,
and come in more sizes.

  I'd just gotten my jibes happening after missing all last season, but November sailing was not to be. I as just getting my surf pop-ups more dialed in, and ... that will have to wait till Spring, too, if I'm lucky.

  I'd just gotten used to high-wind sailing again,  on the 82 L Brian Hinde custom Open Ocean 8'4" sinker. ... Actually no... not just used to it, but taking great joy in it. The tri-fin board still rocks. It fit like an old slipper. Brian Hynde knows how to make a custom board that works for you. The carbon fiber is still stiff where it counts. But it will be some time before I do that again.

  ...it started out mild the Sunday night, but by the next morning, I was clamped in painful muscle spasms. By mid-week it had developed to excruciating pain and getting worse. More in the shoulder and upper back, then progressing to the arm, forearm, and back of hand and into the fingers.

   I'd had a mild attack in early July and 5mg cyclobenzaprine and some advil took care of it. Not so easy this time.

The shape remains much as it was. It works;
why mess with success?

   Nope, this one felt a whole lot worse. I made an appointment to see the next available neurologist, since my regular doc was booked up until mid-December.

  Well, it appears I herniated C5-6,C6-7 again. And add a dash of stenosis, according to the physiotherapist, not to mention the degenerative disk stuff that nearly everybody has at this age.

  The Neurologist said it was not so terrible that I'd need surgery, and we'd try chemical and physiotherapy. The physiotherapists added some traction. The neuroogist prescribed and double-p dose of cyclobenzaprine 10 mg 2x day (muscle relaxant), meloxicam 15 mg 1x day (long -acting anti-inflammatory) in place of the 400 mg of ibuprofen I'd been taking 3 x a day, and tramadol 50 mg x 3 for the additional pain.

  My physiotherapists are Philippino I think, (I've heard Tagalog spoken and it sounds like it, but I could be wrong.) and have some good skills with their deep tissue methods, and accupressure. It hurts more initially but seems to work well on breaking up the muscle knots.

Extreme walking partner in training ... and
paddleboarding pooch in due course. She
just doesn't know it yet

  I've had 2 sessions and there's definitely improvement. But there's no counting chickens yet, sit in a chair the wrong way for a couple of hours and things get nasty again.

Down to the Billabong, Favorite Wind Things

Lenny the Squid on the Seatrend ATV 268, Manhasset
Bay ... back in the days of screaming post-work
sunset northwesterlies. Photo (c) Phil Gray

 Here's a photo of a few favorite things, and theeps (them's be peeps): The Seatrend 268 ATV, a Hot Sails Maui 5.0 Sq.M. sail (Jeffrey Henderson design?) and Lenny the Squid, ripping up Manhasset bay, our local Billabong, after work with Drysuit II and myself, sometime back when boards had properly shaped noses.

  In the photo above, is the 268 ATV. Between the two of us (but not at the same time), Lenny and I rode that thing into near oblivion. For the period, it was light although the construction eventually did not stand up too well to our heavy footwork,   strong wind, and the beatings it took in the chop. 

 But rarely was there ever a production board that was such a delight to sail. It was the nearest to perfection we'd ever tried in 3-dimensional water — waves — and slippery fast once on a plane. It's one flaw: it had little interest in heading upwind. In ice hockey terms that's like a player who refuses to hustle back and help out on defense. But we loved it nevertheless, and kept it shredding until it became a little too soft in the middle for our needs. I still have one of its little brothers, the ATV 260 in the garage, waiting for my return from the long term injured reserve (LTIR) and its day in the next 4.0 blow. It's other flaw — the Tuttle box which used two metric screws, and required a substantial investment in new fins, since it was not compatible with all my other fins — powerbox or A-box.

Drysuit II, piloting a Rushwind/Mistral combo, leaving
a plume of spray in his wake; what was he thinking
exceeding the bay's speed limit in such a fashion?
Photo (c) Phil Gray 

 Seatrend, the windsurf board maker, however, was more or less swept away by a sea change in board construction, popularity, and design. Randy French, the legendary Seatrend shaper, saw the market for windsurf boards was shrinking while the market for lightweight epoxy designer-shape surfboards was exploding, and started up Surftech. The problem with Clark Foam blanks didn't help.

  It seems like we lost a few more board brands along the way. When was the last time you saw anyone riding a Tiga (that wasn't vintage or bought at a swap meet), or a new Mistral? The international giant once dominated the North American marketplace. They are still around, but it's been a while since I saw a new Mistral windsurfer for sale.

THREADBARE BRANDS?
 In the meantime, think about replenishing your Billabong gear and put a guard dog by your Quiksilver threads, in case these favorite surf and windsurf labels of the Robby Naish era become scarce. Billabong, in particular, is facing down the vicissitudes of the teenage fashion marketplace. Hard to believe ... they make good stuff and have a team of surfing all-stars* to back them.

 The aussie surfwear company, according to reports in The Guardian and Business Insider, recently took a loss of $773 million, around 3.3 times "the size of its market capitalization of $229 million." That's the fickleness of surf and fashion for ya.

Shorts: another quality Quiksilver garment
...headed for the drawer for the winter, un-
less I am able to pull off a warm-weather
vacation or biz trip.

 According to industry veteran Jon Wilson of Balin, 
“The guy that was buying it 20 years ago is still buying it and you know, he’s now the dad of the kid that doesn’t really want to look like his dad”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/billabong-demise-surfwear-2013-11#ixzz2kHpWrYyn

 All I know is that I once had a Billabong backpack that was rather hot, but all its zippers seized up in the salt water, like just about every zippier on any other piece of windsurf equipment I ever owned. 

Ironically, I was just about to reluctantly bury a favorite pair of Quiksilver shorts away in the bottom of a drawer for the winter. Summer you were swell; fall we hardly knew ye! 

 I reflected on the great quality of the garment, thinking, well, I'll just have to find something else as comfortable and functional to wear now that the weather is verging on frigid. Maybe my Under Armour "Storm" sweatpants?

 But I recoiled in quasi shock when I read that this iconic surf brand of the last several decades, is also reportedly feeling the sting of young consumer indifference.

 One Quiksilver product, which I purchased in the Boarding Shop in Hyannis, Mass., has lasted me around 20 years...but only because I made sure the wife knew it was off-limits when it came to my better half's "old clothes toss-out patrol." 

A favorite Quiksilver shirt I have not, as
yet, found a worthy replacement fo

 It's a type of long-sleeved zip-collared shirt. Now full of holes and frayed at the edges, I keep the wash cycles to minimum to extend its life; but it's not difficult to see it's well beyond its expiration date. I just have not found anything similar to replace it in the lineup. I've tried, but have not as yet found anything similar in terms of feel, weight, design, fabric mix and functionality.

 But my sartorial problems are small in comparison with those of the surfwear industry and even the professional surfing tour. They may need to keep their eyes open for up-and-coming sponsors, fresh brands and new themes or they, too, might hit another lull, well, like the one it's supposed to have experienced at some time that I don't remember at all, but I am told, that surfing seemed to retreat back out of the public eye to a place where most everyday surfers feel more comfortable: obscurity and uncrowded lineups. 

 It's a shame though. No one likes to see their favorite brands fall on tough times. I feel like I only just figured out what that Oxbow logo was that we used to see everywhere on our heroes equipment, but not in any shops in the U.S.

 For fans, however, I'm wondering, if when you find an article of clothing, perfume, a surfboard, windsurfboard that you really like, whether it's sometimes best to buy more than one. As it is, the design will likely only last a season. If you're a guy, chances are there's only so much time you're going to devote to clothes shopping, anyway, before you dive back in the surf.

• *B-bong's International Surf crew:JOEL PARKINSON
  • TAJ BURROW
  • ANDY IRONS
  • MARK OCCHILUPO
  • JACK FREESTONE
  • SHANE DORIAN
  • GREG LONG
  • LUKE EGAN
  • DAVE RASTOVICH
  • WADE GOODALL
  • DONAVON FRANKENREITER
  • MANOA DROLLET
  • CREED MCTAGGART
  • RYAN CALLINAN
  • LAURIE TOWNER
  • DYLAN LONGBOTTOM
  • SEPP BRUHWILER

Kennedy NY Hits Low Temp Record for Nov 4

It's not just you ... it is a little cold out there.

Early yesterday morning, Kennedy, N.Y. — up in the Southern Tier, near Lake Erie — set a record low temperature of 34 degrees at 4:12 am. This ties the old record of 34 set in both 2006 and 1966.

Down here, meanwhile, it may warm up to a balmy and calm 55. If you can get out and SUP, that may be the call, or maybe a little Mountain biking, trails should be dry and fast, or a little road riding? Go get it if you can.

(As for me, it's back on the IR for the forseeable future with a pinched nerve in my neck.)

Leafy, windy & cold...must be november

Get

going

before

it 

gets

too

dark!

Lighthouse road. Before the favorite sprint/climb
back up to Middleneck Rd.

Those are words cyclists hear in their head before they get their gear together — especially on the day we turn back the clocks.

Extra daylight my ass. Maybe in the morning, but there's definitely less to play with in the afternoon—that much we know.

Really didn't have much left in the tank today and the neck was developing a distinct and painful "crick, making looking round for traffic difficult." Made plenty of use of the bar-end insert mini-mirror.

A hint of the colorful foliage along the road today.

Yesterday's surf battering took its toll on the legs, and the strong cold headwinds on the outbound leg took care of the rest. There would be no 13-14 mph averages today, and doubtfully any personal records. This was just a ride to maintain some fitness, and well to get a bit of fresh air fun while the weather is still good.

At the rate the temperatures plummeted this afternoon while the wind gusted powerfully making the 41-45F temps feel more like 33, I would not be surprised by snow before Thanksgiving.

You can't see 'em but there are plenty of whitecaps
on the sound.. Almost wish I had a windsurfer on a trailer
on the back -- it was a straight shot from here to the
Throgg's Neck bridge.

Good thing the New York Marathon runners got off to an early start today, because it only got windier and colder as the day went into afternoon.

Some rather unflattering leaf bags, but the bike did its job today
and deserved it's photo op. Even with leaf bags. Yes, I gotta reposition that
right shifter.

LB Mustang Beach House Apres-Surf

A balmy 70 degree T-shirt weather day in PW, but definitely a few degrees cooler in LB. Nevertheless, one that screamed, "get thou to a beach and into the surf!"

Down in the West End, Mustang's gestures indicate the size of the waves earlier this morning. They kept pumping all day.

By my standards, they fell into the "too big for my arse" category — especially the sneaker sets, but definitely worth a paddle out anyway.

Post-surf with Chuck (center), a sighting of whom, 

Mustang (right) described as rarer than that of a yeti.

Dropped by Stang's on the way to the beach to check out the new Natures' Shapes Rocketfish. Chuck, meanwhile had already arrived down at the beach, and had scratched his way to the outside in search of some elephant-sized waves, and gotten himself a good ride on a Bengal Tiger or two.

The surf was serious, and relentless. Paddling out, every now and then, you'd see a head zooming by across an outside wave, then disappear, blocked from view by the inside wave.

Rich S. and John H. Mustangdaddy, ripping up the
hardwood floor a year ago. Sandy demolition. John H.
age 69, will be running in the NY Marathon tomorrow.

A year ago today the house was still in a state of ruin from Hurricane Sandy and Mustang and Family spent 155 days elsewhere until the repairs were done, with Mustang coming back most days, sometimes with members of the windsurfing crew, to work on the demolition and rebuild.