Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Triple Overheads: Preparation - 100/200/500

Aloha Tribe,

We have some great Triple Overheads coming, in the 20 to 21 foot range at the end of this weekend and early next week. In preparation, yesterday and today as well as for the rest of the week, I've been doing a fun exercise for kicking endurance for medium waves.

1. You do 25 Pull Ups, then, 25 Jumping Jacks, then run a quarter mile (or paddle your surfboard this distance), then do 25 Jumping Jacks.

You do this 4 times for a total of 100 Pull Ups, 200 Jumping Jacks, and 1 mile run or 1 mile paddle.

Immediately next...

2. You do 25 Wide Armed Push Ups, instantly followed by 25 Jumping Jacks, run a quarter mile or paddle your surfboard, then 25 Jumping Jacks.

You do this 8 times for a total for this phase of 200 Push Ups, 400 Jumping Jacks,  and 2 miles run.

Then...

3. You do 25 Sit Ups or stomach exercises of any type, followed by 25 Jumping Jacks, run a quarter mile, then 25 more Jumping Jacks.

You do this for a total of 500 Sit Ups or stomach exercises, 600 Jumping Jacks, and run 3 miles.

The grand total for all of the above...

100 Pull Ups

200 Wide Armed Push Ups

500 Sit Ups

1200 Jumping Jacks

6 miles of Running or 6 miles of lay down paddling on your surfboard if you want to stay sports specific.

Try to truly push yourself and do all of the above somewhere  between 1 and 2 hours if you can. If you really want to make it fun, add an additional 5 hours of swimming (mostly in sprint intervals) in the roughest seas possible with fins (personally, I prefer Aqua Lung Rocket Fins - they're often favored by Rescue Swimmers - be sure to get some Fin Savers if you're swimming in gnarly seas so you don't lose them, they don't float).

I've found that exercises like these help me to get the grit to push through challenging surf. If you happen to be at the beach, instead of running, simply get on your board and paddle the required miles as quickly as you can for each section.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley




Monday, March 26, 2012

Leandro's Brazil Butt Lift DVD Exercises for a perfectly shaped butt and maximum Surfing Skill

Aloha Tribe,

As many of you know, I love working small muscles in my body to enhance my surfing. Because of my Chi Gung Training, my body is extremely sensitive to the subtlest of movements and balance shifts, thus, honing and developing even tiny muscles, I have found, has a major impact with what I can do with a surfboard on the waves. Along this idea, a few days ago I got an absolutely incredibly fun and useful set of dvds of Leandro Carvalo's Deluxe Package for his Brazilian Butt Lift dvds. With it, I also just ordered today an extra dvd of his called Brazil Butt Lift Secret Weapon. I love all of the dvds and saw their immediate direct application to surfing.

I must say, having a tight butt  or buns or bum bum as Leandro calls them in Brazil, rocks when surfing. And, the fun thing is, both guys and girls can not only greatly benefit from honing and sculpting a perfectly shaped set of buns but also in the process, you can gain  perfect control over those muscles too and that's where the direct application to surfing comes in. And with that, comes the fun on your board. If you want to truly shred on your shortboard with greater power, or, to glide with a soft kind of subtle smoothness and beauty you've never had on your longboard, I so highly recommend working your buns until you truly master them. Besides, an extra benefit is that they'll fill out the backside of your boardies or string bikini bottoms pretty hotly too and what's wrong with that!!!

The reason that sculpting these generally unused or unnoticed surfing muscles is that for  most of us, we typically use large, dynamic movements when we surf that involve our entire bodies, and, while such movements can truly be beautiful, such as the graceful  Drop Knee Cutback to name but one,  there's something about being able to control your board with utterly minimal movement that fascinates me. Thnk Gerry Lopez and you have the image of cool calm, relaxed style with little body movement in even the gnarliest of situations.

What gave me the idea to work my buns was my devotion to slacklining, tightwire walking, tightrope walking, and loose rope walking. In those, with a moving rope or wire, one tends to use the knees and hips to control balance. And, if the wire or rope is extremely taut under high tension, then, the balance is more upper body. So, for surfing, a slackline and a soft rope offer the greatest body awareness of the proper muscles if you want to really feel connected to your board and not separate from it. So, I had been working the three primary muscles of the buns, the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus with my own sets of exercises. Then one day, I happened upon Leandro's Brazilian Butt Lift dvds and they looked so fun and colorful and alive with energy, I just had to try them. After all, I could see how beautifully he moved and the image sprang to my mind of my surfboard. The thought came to me that as a specific form of exercise, to sculpt t not only a perfect butt but also one with incredible muscular control and power,  it would be possible to shift balance based on butt muscular tension. And so, the experiment and quest began.

So, since I am so dedicated to surfing, I decided I'd really work Leandro's dvds hard, thus, I'm doing all three of the dvds that came with the regular program, and, his  two additional  dvds from his Deluxe program, as well as the additonal Secret Weapon dvd for a total of 6 dvds. I do all of this disks of each program every day, and sure, that's probably more than most of us would do, after all, just one of the dvds is a great workout let alone doing all of them throughout the day, but, going to the extremes is the only way I ever train in any sport. Push until you drop, then get up and push again and on and on and on. If you truly want to do the best you can, in whatever you do, you have to truly try your hardest.

I'm so totally stoked to see what my intense training in this program of Leandro's Brazilian Butt Lift will do for my buns and my surfing. In fact,  I've already noticed the dramatic effects almost instantly in my butt awareness.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dawn Patrol Now, First Light in 2 1/2 Hours, Perfect Swell

Aloha Tribe,

In another 2 hours 47 minutes, first light will arrive. So that gives most locals time to head out now for a night drive to greet the Pre-Dawn on the Water. Sunrise 30 minutes later at 6:47.

It'll be a morning surf on some 6 Footers with a small 6 second Swell and a slight Cross-Breeze. We'll surf a bit, then gather for Fish Tacos fresh of the grill and bananas for anybody who wants either.

As the day progresses for our after Breakfast surf, the waves will rise about a foot more. Basically, it'll be a mild day with low winds, easy relaxed surf under warm overcast skies.

If you have an Alaia, bring it, the day will be fun for them.

Anybody up for a night jaunt, let's form a caravan. See you on the road in two minutes or out on the water before First Light.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Alaias I Made

Aloha Tribe,

Here are a few Alaias and Paipos that I made over Christmas for myself and my friends.







Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley


Saturday, February 18, 2012

27 Footers in the Wilds: Awesome!!!

Aloha Tribe,

This morning, at Dawn Patrol, there were and still are 27 footers out in the Wilds. Voodoo Mist so strong it'll nearly knock you off your stick, Blown Out, Gnarly, Choppy, Intense, seemingly Impossible, Feral, just like I love it. It's Alaia time!!! Fresh grilled Fish Tacos for a late breakfast for anyone interested. Surf first, breakfast later - if not dead, waves this Radical will make you puke on a full stomach.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Big Wave Wipeout Survival Training: Conditioning for Aerial Beatings

Aloha Tribe,

Yesterday in the Wilds, the waves were Triple Overhead (around 24 foot or so), thus, it was a perfect day for Big Wave Wipeout Survival Training.

DD (Darrick Doerner - famous big wave surfer - my surfing coach and Watergirl mentor)  taught me a wildly fun and fascinatingly practical, yet paradoxically extraordinary training method for learning to be comfortable during big wave wipeouts.

You get one of those yoga balls, you know the type, they are typically about 3 foot in diameter or so. That is a good size, by the way, because the size makes the training tougher.

Then, you simply swim the ball (once it is fully inflated of course), out into the swells, and, the game is, you have to hold onto the ball no matter what and, if you let go, you lose. A seemingly simple game regarding the rules, yet challenging beyond challenging depending upon the conditions and your skill.

What the purpose is, of course, is to teach you to be comfortable not only in turbulent water, but also while falling and even flying sky high through the air. You see, as you hold onto the ball,  because of its bouyancy, you sort of are like a bouncing cork out in the waves, and you fly all over the place. This type of training gives you a true beating, and, in the process, gives you loads of experience, wisdom, and confidence under extreme type situations.

You see, you are deliberately, intentionally, with full will, paddling this silly ball out in to truly gnarly water and then, playing the game. It's great fun. So, forget how silly you look and simply go for it.

Another yoga ball type exercise, by the way, to be used on calmer days or flat days even, is to use the same Swiss Ball (what they are sometimes called), and to have a smaller one or less inflated a bit, and you try to stand on it in the water. It's great balance practice.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Ultimate Surfing Chi Gung

Aloha Tribe,

Many surfers today, especially Pros, are interested in High Performance Progressive Surfing, and the most elite development of this, Ultimate Surfing Chi Gung offers specific concrete training methods for pushing totally beyond all competition in every element of surfing including coordination, endurance, speed, adaptability, creativity, flexibility, healing from injury, strength, mental strength, spiritual strength, as well as and most incredibly of all are methods of getting in tune with the sea, your board, and your body in ways never before done by anyone anywhere anytime.

The secret, oddly enough, is not some futuristic method of training, but instead, comes from the past, with over 3000 years of practice, study, and exploration in the ancient Chinese field of the exploration of the energy of our bodies and all that is around us.

Using such methods allow a surfer to do things they have never dreamed of before in ways never imagined. This, of course, then lifts us into whole new ways of exploring our surfing, where we no longer have to search the world for the perfect wave, but instead, can find the perfect harmony with any wave within ourselves in how we surf. Interestingly enough, this leads the frantic external quest for surfing perfection of boards, breaks, and maneuvers into an internal quest never before explored, thus, virgin territory on a blank map.

It is with these methods that I find myself facing the sea each day in my beloved Wilds, alone in the Winter Swells in the wild feral seas of ice, snow, and unimagined winds. Such offers a playground of personal exploration seeking an ever detailed quest for internal pefection in harmony with the sea through surf.

The secret to surfing at such a level, comes not from without, as I mentioned above, but from within, in depths always pushed beyond one's grasp, on an eternal quest for internal or Chi awareness. This, of course, leads to ever increasing levels of sensitivity to your body, your board, and the sea, which, then leads to further exploration in a harmonious cyclical dive into the depths.

If you literally want to be the best of the best of the best, then there is but one way. And that, is within yourself. All you need to do is to know how to find it. And to do that, you simply need to look within. That, is the secret. Of course, if such words seem cryptic, and they might to some, then formal training of course helps, for a guide (Coach, Trainer,  Teacher, whatevers) along the way can tremendously speed up the process of learning, yet, the truth of the matter is, your highest level of surfing is and always has been within yourself all along.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Ulitimate Chaos Surfing: A New Feel and Look

Aloha Tribe,

Imagine if everything you new about surfing, everything you'd ever seen in the movies, from your friends, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, was suddenly, in a single day of the wildest most feral surf you'd ever danced with tore your body loose from the old surfer you were, reshaping you in boiling oceanic pulsations into a totally new surfer. That was yesterday.

You see, yesterday in the Wilds, the sea was alive, it was as if it were boiling water, every inch of pulsing movement exploding in new directions of unlimited skyrocketing swells, waves, boards, and, ideas.

Oddly enough, I've never seen the ocean quite like this. Now, from a normal surfing expression, one would look upon such a scene and say it either sucked or it was terrrifying beyond all measure. Then again, by surrendering ones soul to the sea in such conditions, a whole new way of feeling surfing and my body swept through every fluid fiber of my being.

The swells seemed to come from five primary directions all at once, for example, a wave would come from the SW and 8 seconds beind it would be one coming in from the NW, followed 2 seconds behind that by one from the W, the then 6 seconds later for a Period from the SNW. Interestingly enough, the waves would come in at not only different angles but also dramatically different speeds, thus, there could, with any given wave, be a crashing explosive assimilation of countless waves hitting each other, thus Jacking Up and Doubling Up even upon themselves, leading to total chaotic swirling and bursting expressions of water geysers, with currents pulling from every direction at once at both the same levels of depth and different depths.

Now, when I got there for all of this, there was no one anywhere. No cars, nobody watching the beach, and most certainly nobody in the water. To get to a decent Line Up, you had to swim out for roughly 3/4 of a mile if you truly wanted to get beyond the churning Lines of wild oceanic dancing. Alone in such a sea, with nobody in sight anywhere, leads to interesting insight and thus, new surfing feelings, expressions, and ideas.

Yesterday boiled my body, mind, and soul into a new artistic expression of surfing looseness, giving me unimagininable and countless new moves to yearn for with full passion.

I feel today, different. A new girl alive with a depth of a love of movement I have never know before, a level beyond levels calling my heart and soul, singing to my muscles, beckoning me to the swells today.

In darkness, I await the rising of the next Dawn Patrol sun, my heart pumping beyond burst, my muscles aquiver, my soul aflame, my mind dancing free, my Alaia patiently waiting with the explosive anticipation of a Champion racehorse seconds before the dropping of the Gate for our harmonious union.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Saturday, December 10, 2011

December Full Moon (Blood Moon) Surfing all Night

Aloha Tribe,

The winter moon is upon us, the December Full Moon, the Blood Moon. It's a night of Night Surfing all Night and then, fresh grilled Fish Tacos and ripe papayas for breakfast after Dawn Patrol. It is one of the most magical times to surf and a total must for all surfers. The one night when you must surf at night.

The next must surf day is Christmas Eve, also an all-nighter. And then, of course, Christmas Day!!! Following that, it's the annual New Years Eve surf and then New Years Day surfing.

And between holidays? You surf of course!!!

I hope you all survived the moon's light upon the dark waters no matter where you are in the world.

Stay safe, surf fun, and don't think about sharks and dark water nasties, they probably won't get most of us.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Big Island Hawaii

Aloha Tribe,

The last week and a half or so, most of the Big Island was pretty flat, except over by Hilo where there were some beautiful Head Highs with nice clean lines. You know, that's the way of surfing though, and all was good. I got a lot of time to freedive the reefs, which was great for getting a more indepth understanding of the bathymetry of the Big Island which was not only great benefit but also great fun. There were also some Knee Highs around Banyans which were fun. You know, you really can learn a lot on Knee High and smaller waves for it's really a chance to work on your technique and details. While studying under Darrick Doerner, he once told me that if you can ride One Foot High waves  really well, you can ride anything.

Now, I know a lot of surfers who won't go out in anything unless it's their required height, typically Overhead to Double Overhead or whatevers, but, the thing is to me at least in my silly naivette of my love of surfing, to just take any waves, even flat days like the Big Island had last week, and to simply love the fact that you're a surfer no matter what the conditions, then, well, that's what it's all about.  I learned a lot about the ocean especially the bathymetry of the Big Island, had a few great fish tacos and some awesome Mai Tais,  got a nice tan all over,  and just way totally embraced my Hawaii trip. I'll probably be going to Kauai for a month or so in another month or two, so that should be pretty awesome, then, after that in the Spring, spending a few weeks on the North Shore of Oahu. I'll also more than likely be going to surf China in the Spring which should be quite the adventure. In the Summer, I'll be hitting Waikiki. In the meantime, for today, there's some Double Overheads (16 Foot) at the Wilds with Triple Overheads a bit further on, the waters intense as usual, Light Cross Winds at about 6 mph, water at 49, a far cry from Hawaii's 79 degrees or so, but, hey, it's my home break and the cold water and cold winds make it fun, especially as the waves rise, winds grow, and snow whips the shore.  It's time to put away my camouflaged string bikini for later and get out my wet suit for now. It's good to be home.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Alaia Secrets for Surfing Mastery

Aloha Tribe,

Would you like to improve your surfing skills? Sure, we all probably try to do this. Well, one pretty fun secret is to surf as much as you can on an Alaia. They're easy and fun to make and learning to surf on one will dramatically improve the way you surf. To make one, simply get a solid piece of wood and cut out the outline or glue several planks together and then shape them into the pattern you want for your board. Shape the nose and tail to fit your interpretation of what what you, work on the rails a bit, and, there you go. This can be as creative and beautiful as you dream, or, as simple as a piece of solid wood hand cut and shaped with an ax or  machete or  similar tool like one might do in the jungles of Gabon (there is a beautiful example of a rugged as hell hand chopped board on a Gabon site that is pretty cool (it couldn't be any rougher or more primitive, and that's why it so interests me). Simplicity, old-school, working with what you have, those are secrets behind Alaia surfing.

As for improving your surfing using an Alaia, for one thing, there is no rocker on an Alaia since it is simply a flat piece of wood. Thus, you have to pay much more attention to board trim so that you don't get your nose too high out of the water and Stall, or dig too deep and Pearl. Learning how to not Pearl using an Alaia will give your surfing a supblety, smoothness, softness, delicacy,  and control you may have never had to such a high degree of perfection, thus offering your surfing whole new possibilities of creative expression with surfing lines.

The same thing applies to turning. You have to be exact when you weight a Rail so that you don't Dig or Bog a Rail. In addition, you learn to use your feet to also help turn.

Once you master your Alaia, your old board you typically always ride  will seem easy by comparison, offering you a whole new way to explore your surfing.

Now then, as for the real secrets of surfing mastery by surfing Alaia, hmm, the best way to share them is to get together and surf together and also Talk Story after sessions and while in the Line-Up. So, all we need to do is to be in the same place at the same time. That being said, watch the waves around the world, chances are, I'll be there. And wow, are there some cool things to talk about and share and so very much for me to learn and try.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley




Monday, November 14, 2011

Triple Overheads and Hawaii

Aloha Tribe,

So, for prep training for my Hawaii trip, we have Triple Overheads (21-22 foot) in the Wilds today. Blown Out, Voodoo Mist, Windy as hell, Choppy, and strong Cross Currents, medium Periods, plus, bitter cold and rain, just the way I love it. Then, after that, it's off to string bikini surfing in tropical lushness, perfect waves, long periods, lots of sunshine, gentle sea breezes, and lots of fish tacos and fresh fruit and tropical drinks like Mai Tais. It'll be a fun few weeks. My days will be spent surfing Dawn Patrol to Dusk and my nights playing Xiangqi or Chinese Chess (I've got to get in chess shape for my upcoming China trip - I plan to do some chess hustling on the trains as I travel the country, Street Compositions out of a portable stall in the cities,  games in the mountain Taoist monestaries, all while training for  some tournaments).

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley


Thursday, November 3, 2011

Double Overheads Today Through the Weekend

Aloha Tribe,

Double Overheads today and through the weekend in the Wilds, except Saturday, oh, and a week ago, Tentacles and Beyonds utterly ripped. 15 footers tomorrow, 17 on Sunday.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Pop Ups on 3" Manilla Rope

Aloha Tribe,

So, yesterday my 300 foot long, 3 inch diameter manilla rope came. It's roughly 600 pounds, but very worth the weight for lugging it around in that I can string it out and not only comfortably practice a huge variety of surfing moves on it, I can also practice Pop Ups on it. Basically, you simply tie the rope to two trees, boulders, buildings, docks, boats, or whatevers, I like to use a Double Bowline with Jack's Variation on the stationary end and two Butterfly Knots on the end you tighten called the working end. Running the rope end back and forth through the Butterfly Knots, I can easily tighten or loosen the rope to any tightness depending upon what surfing moves I want to work on.

Today out in the Wilds, there are Blown Out Overheads, choppy as hell, more wind than predicted so it'll whip you a bit, so it'll be a great day for some surfing in small rough stuff. The worse or harder it gets, the more I love it because there's so many different things to work on in the unpredictable waves  offering true in-the-moment responses and decisions, as well as it's just pure fun. Sure, most love the smooth silky perfectness of tropical waves, but whatevers, I like it wild and unharnessed.

I got a lot of BMX riding in yesterday which was great, I set up an Olympic official sized BMX track on my property. It's a full quarter mile long track with some wild spots to work on such as great berm curves, lots of jumps, good solid dirt in spots and muddy as all get out in others. It's a perfect track for my training. BMX, by the way for those of you who don't do it, is where you ride on those "little kid" bikes. There are several types of events such as jumping, freestyle, and racing. Where I live, I can do all three right at home. In any event, it's a great way to really develop the fast twitch muscles you want to truly shred when you surf. Longboarding is about smooth style of course, but for those who love to rip when you surf on shortboards, you need a body shredded with fast twitch lighting fast muscles so BMXing is one way to really hit it hard.

Bodaciously  Stoked,

Lily of the Valley


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Tightropes, Slacklines, and Tightwire in Home for Surfing Training

Aloha Tribe,

It's been time to set up my various tightropes (manilla rope), slacklines, and tightwires in my home again for training on constantly to hone perfect balance for Surfing.

The various ropes, slacklines, bamboo poles,  and wires are distributed so that I can go anywhere in my home, garage, or barn and be balanced on something, including my NOHO Surf Trainer. In this way, I'm practicing balance pretty much 24/7.

At the moment, I'm doing my dishes and typing this while balanced on a 2" manilla rope strung across my kitchen.

Rig out your home like this, it's great fun, perfect practice, and it works your body in so many awesome ways. If you want to be hotter than hot on your board, walk the wire.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley


Monday, October 10, 2011

Double Overhead (16 Footers) Hitting the Wilds mid-Week

Aloha Tribe,

So, tomorrow I'll find out if I can slide on the Double Overheads coming mid-week to the Wilds. If so, bring an appetite for fish tacos over an open fire, great surfing, and lots of Talk Story. Oh, and, I'll have my Rescue Swimmer Rocket Fins and my Monofin with me too for training and kicking ass in a shredded sort of way for Oahus coming up this Fall/Winter. The Big Island first (massage and flexibility, as well as intense sand and beach training and underwater training). Then Kauai for Individualized Life Guard Conditioning and honing my surfing. Then the North Shore for longboarding and ripping.

All in all, several months (5 or 6)  of intensely wild training and surfing.

Alohas,

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Alaias and Paipo

Aloha Tribe,

I'm making three Alaias and one Paipo. Two of the Alais will be 8 foot long, one will be 5 foot. The Paipo will be 3 foot. Each is made out of a combination of redwood, red cedar, and yellow cedar. For waterproofing them, I am using a combination of coconut oil, macadamia nut oil and ashes and mud. I'm particularly stoked about my little 5 footer. Oh, and, the more common natural way to finish your boards and waterproof and protect them is with Linseed Oil but I simply chose to go with the more traditional method that I've also used on my Chinese Bamboo Poles.

I'm hoping to use the Alaias and Paipo  on Oahu's North Shore, but in the meantime, it's to the Wilds, Tentacles, and maybe Number 9's. I'll also be hitting the local rivers around here of course.  And, as you all know, Alaias and Paipos don't have leashes or fins so they'll be great for my favorite style of surfing,  riding Slidding Ass.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Conditioning for North Shore (Oahu) this Fall/Winter/Spring

Aloha Tribe,

So, I'm doing me pre-North Shore workouts now, to get totally shredded for surfing Oahu's North Shore this Fall/Winter/Spring. It'll be a great season.

To get my cardio up, I'll be riding my BMX, mountainboarding, swimming in the roughest seas I can find, and paddling on my board. Most of my training will be paddling (both sprints and distance), as well as Open Ocean Swimming and Coastal Swimming (the most dangerous sport there is). For balance, I'll be slacklining, soft rope walking, tightrope and tightwire walking, as well as using my NOHO Surf Trainer and my Chinese Single Bamboo Pole Drifting Pole and skateboarding as well as Birling (log rolling in a river - use a cedar log, by the way, they don't take in as much water as pine). For flexibility, I'll be doing Taoist Yoga and Chi Gung. For vision training (spotting swells as far away as possible) I'll be spending a lot of time doing a variety of eye exercises with the sea. For timing and coordination, I'll be practicing basketball (Darrick Doerner - DD - taught me this one as part of my Watergirl Training).

My diet, as always, will be mostly fresh fish tacos and fresh fruit with tons of water.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Surfing Balance: BMX Bike running Pegs and a Freecoaster

Aloha Tribe,

A great way to practice your balance when you're not on your board is riding a BMX bike. For mine, I run quad pegs with a Freecoaster. This lets me use any of the four pegs as something to stand on and the Freecoaster lets the bike coast backwards so you don't have to reverse pedal.

My bike is a white MirraCo Blend BMX with a KHE Reverse Freecoaster and four smooth steel pegs, two for each wheel (lots of riders run pegs on just one side but this way, you open up your balance opportunities which is great for practicing Switch Foot for Surfing your surfboard. My chain, hand grips, peddles, and tires are pink and my seat is yellow.  A bike set up like this lets you balance on your rear pegs or on your front pegs or on a front and rear peg on the same side, allowing for a variety of riding and balancing experiences. Using the pegs in combination with the seat and handlebars, you have 6 different pieces to stand on. For BMX Surfing, by the way, simply stand with one foot on your seat and the other foot on our handlebars,  steering with your front foot and body shifts.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

Friday, September 2, 2011

Surfing Party in the Wilds Friday-Tuesday- All Welcome

Aloha Tribe,

Tonight, Friday, begins an  end of Summer, beginning of Fall awesomely bodacious Surfing Party in the Wilds, tonight through Tuesday. All welcome from anywhere on the Planet. Okay, the hell with it, lets everyone, no matter who you are, no matter where you are, if you can't come here, have your own Surfer Party this weekend, and we'll all connect in the dreamtime. Let's make this a world event this weekend!!! Surfers, anywhere, everywhere, alone, with friends, in huge groups, no rules, whoever, however, wherever, no worries,  just party.

Beer. Fresh Fish Tacos. Tropical Fruit. Whatevers. Anything goes. Bring camping gear (tenst, lean-to's, hammocks).

For the cerebral types, there'll be chess and Xiangqi (if you don't know, I'll teach you).  Got a guitar or ukulele or something, bring it.

Surfing. Bodyboarding. Bodysurfing. Spearfishing. Net Casting Practice (for those who've never done it). Skimboarding. Open Ocean Swimming. Coastal Swimming - for those who dare) Freediving, Snorkling and Big Wave Training under a very special program.

Night Surfing tonight, of course, it is after all a tradition. Dawn Patrol tomorrow morning before first light.

Oh, hey, if you want to learn to throw a knife, without a spin, over 43 feet, and, hit a playing card every time, I'll show you how.

All-night Talk Story too every night.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley