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I asked myself on the way out of the door ‘What is it I like about walking’? I try to leave the house now with a question, whether walking, riding or surfing. It’s a great exercise to take your mind off things; if you need to that is. This morning we awoke to a beautiful late February morning, with crisp clear skies, accompanied by a fresh and chilly North East wind. A perfect morning for a loop around Porthgwarra with the hound. As I walked I noticed the overwhelming silence of being outside away from the village, the roads, the farm machinery and chatter of normal day life. But the silence was broken as I left the seclusion of the bridleway by the the breeze that was cool to say the least. As I dipped out of its reach on the coast path I had moments of shelter, but it swiftly came back to bite as I rose to the top of the climb above Pendower Cove. The Cornish Choughs grabbed my attention with their distinctive call and I might be wrong but I always seem to see them in pairs. As they glide down the steep face of the grassy land, towards the sheer drop to the seemingly swell less of the ocean. There were white water indicators of some small wave presence on the rocks off Carn Barra, but not in the way the big winter swells hit the rocks hard and make that unmistakable crash, then open up and peel across this bay in a lumpy disorganised winter and disruptive manner. In the distance there is a yacht heading North, and I can spot the wind in her sails. Full of wind the shapes of the sails are brilliant white in the morning sun. As she nears Lands End, the head wind will be waiting when she turns North, and then the tack game will begin. The slow slog forward in small angled increments. I remember this as a child when my Father would take us sailing, and it seemed like the most frustrating time being a sailor. Myself and my dog, Kylo, a freshly stripped Border Terrier, took shelter behind the granite pillars of Carn Barras and I watched him just explore. What can he see? Then realised he'd spotted two labradors and a pointer. The game was on. Will he make a run for them? Surprisingly no. He took a better vantage point, but stayed near. We sat for a while enjoying the calm out of the wind, but it came time to move on.I could have sat there all day basking in the winter sun, but we had to press on. We rejoined the well trodden coastal path, again in the direction of Gwennap Head and Kylo got his chance to play with a young pointer. His owner, a local lady from Porthcurno, we chatted for a while about the weather and our dogs, as this seems like a common bond with dog owners, and you see so few people out this way, this time of year it’s always nice to just stop and chat nothingness, and hopefully make a difference to their day and mine. As we went our separate ways I thought Kylo would prefer the play of another canine than mine, but he surprised me yet again and after just one whistle, he came running, bribed by a dog treat. As we walked on, a flock of birds rose and fell repeatedly from the heather, the wings flapping with a pleasant sound. At this point I wanted to know what they were, I had no idea. Curlew? Pluvers? I know they weren’t starlings. If I paid more attention sometimes then I’d know. I recognise the Chough, the call and the red beak, the various Hawks, Kestrels and Owls, in fact on this same walk a few years back, there were a huge amount of Red Kite in the area. But today, all I want to know is what these birds are? Here's my question for next time. The turning point of the walk is the gate at Carn Guthensbras, just across the way from the Coast Guard Station on Gwennap Head. At this point I turn and head down along the stone hedge and back, hence the way I came. This is sort of my outward loop across the moorland, and away from the coastal path. Away from anyone. Here it becomes silent again, just myself and Kylo. The walk back is when I get to do my thinking, and come up with the answer to the question. As I went back along the narrow bridleway to my van, past the derelict barns, and holiday let, which seemed empty and cold, through the odd muddy puddle, cursing Kylo as he went straight through the middle. Past the daffodils, and alongside the freshly ploughed fields with just an inch of new growth showing on the crest; I stopped and admired the computerised perfection of a modern tractor, and that's when I thought of all this stuff that you’ve just read! Question answered, I got home, put my feet up, drank tea, ate crumpets, grabbed my grumpy teenage son, got on my bikes, and did the exact same loop on two wheels. But this time, no questions were needed.   
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When you’re a surfer and have to work Monday to Friday during the winter months, we become weekend warriors. This can be both frustrating and exciting. Frustrating because we rely on the elements aligning, the wind, the swell, the tides and the motivation for the weekend. I say motivation because as you get older, or this might just be me, we become more selective as to when and what conditions we surf. Personally, I work out the ‘effort to return’ ratio, it has to be worth it. Long gone are my days of surfing when it just looks like all I'll catch is a cold. Then there’s the excitement knowing that those elements are aligning, or have been aligned all week, but will remain so for the weekend, when it's your turn. The weekday surfers, those who have actually made the effort and found employment that allows them the time to surf whenever they want, (sense the jealousy here) but my procrastinating self seems to have put off, but for now settled for a job that you really enjoy but you’re not self employed or working for yourself. Therefore, during the depths of winter, weekends are all we get. It's a cruel balance, frustration versus excitement. Anyway, let me briefly tell you about the excitement of my weekend surf. This past weekend was one of those weekends when I managed to get in the water both days. I had great surfs, both days, not perfect surfs, but I made them great. On Saturday, the tide was dropping, some may say (my wife) closing out. For those who don’t know this term, it’s when the wave just shuts down. But I saw an opportunity, I saw a race track, a speed run, from take off to the sand, I saw fun and was lucky to catch a few. I pumped my longboard from start to finish, rising and dropping along the wave, generating speed from the middle of the board, no cross stepping, no fancy turns, no noseriding, just get to the middle, and let rip. So much fun on a longboard too. Sunday saw South East winds gusting in the high twenties, but I couldn’t resist the conditions. An empty, far from perfect left hander at my home break, which for the most part I surfed on my own. Knowing that those who were in there already, had not got to grips with the rip current that was begging to be used, they were sadly stuck in the impact zone or having a paddle fest trying to reach the take off for the left. This doesn’t happen to me often but I managed to get in sync with the set waves and the rip current, and whilst the wind and currents kept the tourists at bay I surfed my little heart out. In fact, the wind was horrific, a real eye-stinging wind, but after my first wave I used the rip to perfectly drop me back to where I needed to be,I wasn’t at all bothered, as I was just in time for the next freight train left. On take off they were head high, shapely, fast, windy, speed crouching left handers that peeled into the safety of a deep channel and rip current. Sadly the deep channel forced the wave to fatten up, but nonetheless, a great wave on a longboard, and I was stoked I’d chosen the right board. A different design from the previous day because there would be more turning involved, and as a result, I had an absolute ball. In fact I would go as far to say that for two hours, although I did not stop paddling, I felt that during moments of that session I was in that total flow state. That beautiful mindset when you are in the zone, where your mind is transfixed on the activity, totally in the present, and that added to the perfection of my surf. Like the day before, I was just happy trimming and pumping the board to get the most from the wave. Cutting back to the curl when I needed and going again to the next section, no fancy business, just centre of the board, hand jiving fun. This weekend warrior went back to work on Monday, knackered, content, and so stoked that on Wednesday I had my first post work surf for 2023, so I suppose weekend warroir status is now coming to a close. I'm looking forward to what this weekend might bring, but as I write this it looks like the elements don’t align for our local, so I guess I’ll go looking elsewhere or simply ride my bike. Absolutely win win! How was your weekend?  A message to those long time, probably older surfers of the world, that seem fed up with the crowds, the poor etiquette, and sheer lack of understanding of how it all works, the floaters, the driftwood, the slalom cones, the speed bumps, the rabbit in the headlights, the frightened, the screamers, and not to mention the foil boards, the kneel up paddle boarders, yes the ones who decided that Stand Up is not for them, kneeling on the way out, or back in. It seems that during, and since lockdown, the world wanted to become a surfer. My message to those disillusioned surfers is simple, ‘Please don’t give up, please keep surfing’. Yes the ocean is busier than ever with this new breed of water user. I won't call them surfers just yet as they might go surfing but there is little notion of surfing heritage, and would I be too outspoken if I said that many of them will never actually make that real sacrifice of time, money, mental and physical exhaustion, relationships and career, to become a fully fledged surfer. Are they selfish enough in these early years to see it through? I might have this wrong but I think the legendary Rabbit Batholemew once said ‘you're not a real surfer until you’ve done your first bottom turn’, so I’ll go with Rabbit on this one. I recently listened to a SurfSplendor podcast where CJ Nelson was the guest and he talked about surfing as an investment. The time we invest in being surfers to move up the order, the time it takes to be one of the elders in the line up. It's a great listen and I won't make a hash of it any further, but the term he used was ‘investment’ and I found this intriguing. So I thought I would explore a little further in terms of surfing being an investment, For the purpose of second part of this post let's just call Surfers the traders, and wave the investment, and our beaches, let's call that the market. Like business people or entrepreneurs, who make investments they only do this for return on that investment and make decisions based on market circumstances. Many long term surfers, sorry ‘traders’ are disillusioned and ready to throw their lifetime of investments away. They’re selling up and moving on. Maybe they've had all the return they need? But if that were the case, then why do they still moan about there being too many traders at the market? If you're done, you’re done. But I think they moan because they still want to invest. They don't really want to sell, they just want some change and less traders. Why? Because there’s simply not enough return for everyone to enjoy. I’d like to tell them to dabble in other markets for a bit if you must, your absence will free up some space for the rest of us; but please don’t sell up on the greatest investments ever, the ones that you know will make you rich beyond money, and make you a winner in life. Instead of selling up and getting out, be wiser, a little shrewd, cheeky, even a tad brash, more confident and assertive within the market. If it becomes a battle between you and the newbie getting the bonus, and the rewards you worked so hard for, who will win? You, or the newbie, who've spent little time chasing investments. What will you do? Endlessly moan and then give in? You can if you like, and I know I’ve done my time moaning, but what would be better? I would suggest you analyse the markets and get stuck in, reinvest. You’ve spent years getting the returns, and yet, because of a few hundred thousand newbies who’ve decided to dabble in the market, who’ll soon realise that they will need to play the long hard game before they see anything like the returns you've all had; and you’re willing to get out, and do what? Let’s look at how to handle these new traders. The ones putting in the effort are obvious, and deserve our time too. Maybe pass on some trading knowledge to help them on their way, believe me, this will feel rewarding and you'll feel great. The ones that really don’t do the groundwork can't want the returns. To receive them they have to play hard and take risks, but many are just bystanders, contemplating what's on offer. It’s as plain as day that for some they’re lost in a busy market, not knowing which investment is the right one, wasting effort on everything that comes their way. As experienced traders, we know when the right investments come our way. The ones that will pay off massively, and these are what we want. However, now it seems we have the occassional deal breaking fight on our hands. If your effort outmatches theirs, which it should, then there’s only going to be one winner. You don’t have to be aggressive in this form of trading, just focussed. Playing the game is important here. It might even feel like a little insider trading because you have this almost secret knowledge from past investments and right the information, like the little indicators, and this give you the heads up. You give a little false information by shifting your focus one way, and the newbies will follow. You move back again, confusing the competition, and using these tactics you've moved them out of their comfort zone, When a real investment comes along, you’ll be in the better position to buy and they'll have missed the opportunity, again. Occasionally you'll undercut them on the deal, because it's just to good to miss. They might respond depending on their knowledge. In this situation, you're not sending a great message or settng a good example, but this situation is personal to you, it's your call. Explaining your actions to them in a professional manner might involve stating that you’ve been waiting for the dividends a lot longer than they have and they’ll have they’re opportunity soon enough. This might not wash, and please don’t tell them that just because they're wearing a traders outfit, and have all the latest gear, this doesn’t make them some hotshot just yet. Aplologise, be humble and leave, happy in the knowledge that you made a calculated risk and you got the reward. If they undercut you; then educate them of the rules of the trading floor. Let them know that it might be a good idea that they learn the rules for future investments. If they say sorry, then be nice, don’t be angry, maybe even encourage them to have the next wave. Offer some advice on their position in the market. Sorry goes a long way, and should be reciprocated with a thumbs up. If you're still upset after they've apologised then thats down to you. Ultimately here lies your responsibility, you chance to part with your knowledge. and play a part in a more pleasant market place. If no one tells them what they did wrong, they’ll keep making bad investments. You might also wish to pass on that if they did these dodgy deals in some places of trading, they could lose everything, some traders can be very aggressive. If they persist in showing off their new found ego, then being a little shark-like can help. Circling your competition often helps, it’s an uncomfortable feeling, especially when your new to the business. I remember feeling like I was about to get bitten many times in my formative years learning the basics. Only once did I get circled and nearly told to leave the floor. But I learnt a valuable lesson and kept my distance for a time. I apologised time and time again to this hardened trader, and only made investments when I knew it was a wise move. Over time this trader softened to my position on the floor, he even threw me the odd deal. As I became confident enough to get results, I’d like to think I was a polite trader, and this was greeted by the older traders with a welcome, and an open market. But the more experience I gained, I too got a little excited and greedy, making too many investments and undercutting others, but with age and I've became more patient, wiser and very selective, it's a nicer way to get investments. To my fellow traders up and down the coasts, world wide and beyond; Don’t give up on your portfolio. Adjust your strategy and go for some smaller investments, become selective yourselves. Some days you might not feel like trading, other days you might be surprised and get the deal you’ve been looking for, and that will be enough. Be humble, don't jump the queue. and don’t be one of those that stands in the queue and shouts, ‘I’m next’. If you're still not happy.... invest in cycling.  
Coukdn't resist, so I'm just leaving this here for discussion. Devon Howard at your service.
Kilian Bron at his finest again. This guy can ride a Mountain Bike and creates the most amazing content from across the globe.
I'm working on a couple of new blog posts, but in the meantime, take a look at this. In the MTB world some riders like Kilian Bron just keep producing amazing content. You can keep your tik Tok, this is content creation at it's finest in the world of action sports.
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AuthorHi, I'm Russ Pierre, a Cyclist, Surfer and outdoor enthusiast. Please join me as I have some fun on my adventures and write about all the stuff that makes me tick. Archives
October 2023
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