tube fest

The last couple days I was in Santa Barbara, a really good NW swell came through and lit up some places. It was 90 degrees and pumpin waves that completely surfed me out. Rincon was on fire. After surfing it all day then getting another mellow second surf up the road, I decided to cruise back and check the evening sesh out. Dudes were getting tubes all the way though the cove along a great little sandbar. Serious rippin going down.

tube of the day

Today's tube of the day is brought to yous by Tesla. The epic 80's butt rock band Tesla, not Nicola Tesla, the world's greatest inventor genius and pigeon lover who got out-marketed and ratfucked by Thomas Edison. That son of bitch.

good times

Another morning of slashing mellow Rincon. Tide was still a bit high when I arrived. But with a major tide swing right around the full moon action, I decided to suit up and be the first to paddle out before the rapidly retreating tide. Figured I'd pick off a few randoms before the rest of the a-holes appear. I brought along my waterproof camera for the first time ever and fucked around with it. Got a couple fun peelers before a couple of chicks came out and stole my thunder. They were cool and I didn't HAVE to yell or paddle aggressively around them. They had a camera, too, so hopefully we can all sit around enjoy some pics of The Brown Recluse very soon since we exchanged emails. I got a shit ton of waves before a bunch of kids and wave hogs came out. I couldn't have asked for more today. And with swell starting to fill in over the next few days, I should be able to get my wiggle-n-squat going till the end of this vacation. Then it's back to being a jonzin Idaho surfer serving meat and grog.

get smart

Spied this in the parking lot at Rincon today. Not sure why somebody would take the time and energy to build and place this sticker on their truck. I would assume they are some great big fat person. Probably happy about being a fatso. Whatever. But the moral of the story is just don't be the slowest creature when hungry fucking predators are around. I GET IT!

say what?

So I'm spending a couple weeks down here in Santa Barbara on some sort of a "working vacation". The main goal is to rustle up a jobby job so I can eventually move back here asap. We're making great progress despite massive headwinds. I've spent a year living dangerously in Dildo Valley, Idaho and now it's time for more stoney noserides. A while back in Sun Valley, I was talking to my buddies parents (who I barely know) and mentioned that I'll be in SB for the first couple weeks of October. They live here and say "hey, maybe you can stay at our house and look after it". I say "hells yes". I'm thinking all along that it beats the crap outta sleeping on friend's couches or in my car. Then they remember to tell me that I'll be watching their 13 year old son, too. Oh, and the dogs. "Sure, why not? The more the merrier" I say. And here I sit...on a saturday night in the big city....after hanging out at the beach surfing with 13 year old boys all day...slothing with the dogs on the couch.... with a gut full of In-N-Out Double Double.

When I arrived in town last week, I met up with the Mrs and she gave me the walk though the estate and rundown of responsibilities. Super cool people who really don't know me except that I'm their older son's surf buddy who he met in a remote dirt town in Mexico and I spent a day shredding last winter with the old man. As we're cruising around the house she laughs and says "I hope you're not some pedophile".

no surf

I spent a wet, rainy September 26th at the Oregon Coast with my brother and shoveled lots of deep fried seefood in the piehole. I haven't seen that much rain in a long time and it was great. It was really coming down, and windy. Not much to do outdoors. Other, weaker tourists were scared away by the storm. Not us. We were there on a family style mission and couldn't reschedule. It woulda been a perfect storm for heavy boozing if only I still liked to get wasted. It was a really cool couple of days regardless.

poor stitching

I really wish summer and fall lasted longer in the mountains. The nights are getting cold and the leaves are changing. Before we know it, we'll have our first snow of the season. Get me the hell outta here before that happens. I need to be somewhere else so I don't break my shit snowboarding. I feel myself getting more and more brittle every day. I'm almost like Samuel L Jackson's character in the M Night Shamalam's super hero movie...the dude who couldn't walk without breaking a toe. I need to be somewhere warm and surfy anyway. Actually, it doesn't need to be warm, just surfy.

Heidelberg Hill-->Shadyside-->Eve's Gulch-->Citizen's-->Lane's Trail

Not very strenuous, but not very motivated the last couple days. Sometimes it's just fun to throw a leg over the bike and go for a spin in some stormy mountains with no goal except completing a ride and checking things out.

more cowbell

It seems like every time I close the bar, another incredible song by Rush makes me crank up the tunes. Last night it was the epicness of Xanadu. Turn this shit up real fucking loud and head bang your Bosley hair.

things got hairy

We get shit tons of interesting customers at the restaurant. Resort towns are filled with mostly-retired entrepreneurs who made their shady fortune years ago and just live the good life now. Usually I have no clue who the fuck they is. Then some busboy who played a round of golf with them earlier in the day points them out and we all make fun of them. Last night we had a guy that might be of interest to my follically challenged friends. The Doctor was in. Dr Lee Bosley of Bosley Hair Restoration. He must live around here cuz people with plenty of hair knew who he was. The 2 hot, enhanced broads with him kept caling him "The Doctor", and he wore an ascot. You don't see that shit very often. I like his style.

more #2 ahead

9-11 is quite a heavy day in America. It's also my birthday. Last year I had finally had it and dropped out. A couple major vacations and a move back to working nights set me free to shred 100+ days and be a giant flake. I was supposed to have figured out life over the last year then moved back to Santa Barbara for world domination. Shit didn't go as planned. A broken shoulder, super rad mountain chicks, and getting reintroduced to mountain biking changed the plan. Or what it getting reintroduced to chicks and super rad mountain bikes? Whatever. So today officially begins year #2 of the Mid-Life-Crisis World Tour. This time I fuckin mean it. No fucking around. In a couple weeks I'll be taking some time off and driving around the western US....the Portland/Santa Barbara/Idaho triangle. I'm looking forward to surfing Mira Mar and Rincon, biking, getting weirded out on the open road, urban car camping, business planning, slapping high fives, strong ass coffee, 3000+ miles driven fast, teryaki, and sleeping on beaches. And scoring a jobby job for the transition back to SB STAT!

the grinder

Summer's winding down and it's been incredible...besides the surgery and longer-than-expected-recovery, of course. It's been awesome getting back on the mountain bike. My legs are starting to finally get some sort of cycling shape. There's just so many trails around here and nobody on them. Yesterday we rode the Galena Grinder race course. While everybody was downtown boozing and watching the Wagon Days Parade, we spent the afternoon on a mellow ride up in the mountains. Back in the day, there was always the motivation for racing, racing, racing. Always training and making everything count come race day. Fuck that now, man, I'm old and broken down. These days it's all about struggling up the hills, checking shit out, not being completely spent afterwards, and having fun. The course we rode isn't super long, right around 17 miles. But it's one of the most fun rides I've been on in a while. Everything from big banked corners, to mandatory uphill hikes, to high speed decents and power switchbacks. There was some winding trough smaller ponderosa pines, tree roots and rocks to pop off, and several creeks crossing. After one gigantic, back breaking ascent, there's a long cruise at the base of the Boulder Mountains. It felt like bears and wolverines were everywhere. When China invades the US in 2012, that's where I'll start the revolution. Until then, I welcome fall and can't wait to get really muddy.