Is there anything more stylish than the noseride? How about a cheater five? Even the faded bottom turn is an impeccably beautiful thing. But there is one move that in the eyes of many can be both graceful and powerful. Surfers like Joel Tudor do it with an understated style, hands low, almost sublime in the ease of executution, and used just when it's necessary. Master craftsman Tyler Hatzikian has the power, his arms thrown into the swing and often raised, but being a big chap, the weight of a solid mass moving the board into a turn that pushes all the power through the front thigh, is an impressive sight. CJ Nelson does them so bloody well and both CJ and Miles Doughman move thier bodies and board to achieve the perfect result, Matt Chojnacki is rooted in the classics too, and Devon Howard is a peoples champ and thanks to him this move is now firmly back in the jugdes handbook of must have traditional elements. The Godfather of Soul, Aussie Ray Gleave is a master and I once watched him surf his home break of Cabarita throwing in a series of these impeccable moves. 

There are many images of Icons like Billy Hamilton, captured on one occasion redirecting on what would seem to be a closeout. A classic shot in black and white, framed by the legendary photographer Ron Stoner. Leroy Grannis captured Dewey Weber, also a master, Phil Edwards too both with their own unique style. Nat Young in the ‘66 Worlds, throwing traditional surfing moves which began to look progressive.  These photos all caught the moment where the back knee is dropped behind the front, and the back heel raised. The shoulders are open and arms raised, both movements following the eyes of the surfer as he looks to where they need to be next. The upper torso follows the weight on the front quad, driving the board. 

The drop knee turn is all about tradition. I've heard it being coined as a novelty move,  which would suggest it’s not really functional, yet those that have mastered the art might strongly disagree. It can be done with move power when needed,  but when surfers like like Summer Romero or Soleil Erico use it, it's done with the subtlety it deserves, setting up for the next section, and an easy graceful walk to the nose.

The drop knee turn is one of the most beautiful moves to watch in longboard surfing. Aesthetically, from the purist point of view it could be comparable to the ‘smith grind’ of skating, or the 360 table of BMX, or the ‘method air’ in snowboarding, or a solid whip on a Motocross bike. These moves are the ones the lovers, the purists of that particular genre love to see. For traditional longboarders, there is just something special about the rotation of a drop knee. Just watch the best perform, the body language, the arms raised of lowered, the depth the back knee is dropped, the simplicity of the turn is just a joy to observe, but add some power and nothing feels better.  

Functionally, the drop knee can put so much power into a turn it’s unreal. I remember Tyler Hatzikien saying once that his power is put through the front quad, driving the rail deep into the wave whilst I suppose the back foot kind of directs the tail.

The drop knee is not just a frontside move either. I'm going to put my neck out there and say that on the back hand it has an even better feeling, almost deepening that functionality, tightening the turn with a lovely but necessary unweighting of the board as it's brought back to trim on the face of the wave. The position of your back foot as you come out of the turn, lends itself to start walking, the first of a few cross steps to the middle board. In the high performance arena of longboarding, many surfers doing a back hand roundhouse would choose to hit the white water, bringing the board back down through the white water and ready themselves to head to the lip on the next section, simply smashing the white water as it approaches. The more traditional longboard surfer will rarely leave the green wave and the backhand drop knee is performed in the curl of the wave, and that’s where the power lies. The roundhouse turn flows straight into a drop knee, and the dropknee flows directly into the cross step and trim. If you choose to go to the nose, that's a bonus, that's up to you, but it's not required, sometimes it’s nice to just stand there. 

Learning the drop knee takes time and a lot of waves, unless you're a grommet who just does them straight off the bat. I remember wanting to always learn them, convinced I would paddle out and try them on every wave, but I never did. Probably too worried about wasting precious waves. When James Parry was young and first picked up a longboard, to my annoyance, it seemed like he was doing them within days, and yet some really good surfers don’t do them, but excel in other areas of longboarding and  thier cutbacks that are just as impressive. 

It was the elder statesman Charles Williams, a man with a regal posture and a gracious drop knee, who taught me. I think he was reading it at the time, but would refer to methods used in the ‘Way of the Samurai’, which, in the most basic form is, I suppose, learning to perfect somethng by repetition and endless practice, Charles taught me just that. Repetition is key, and if you don’t want to waste too many waves, do what I did and use a skateboard, it’s the best tool. After being shown in the car park at Sennen, it took me a solid winter of practising them on a longboard cruiser. Over and over I would ride up and down the promenade, or streets of Brighton (when I was still living there) until I had them dialled. Using a skateboard is fantastic as you can emulate front and backside, and incorporate learning to cross-step, and noseride too. You don’t even need a long deck, I've taught my son on an old slalom deck, it really is just placing the back foot and knee in the correct position, opening the shoulders and letting rip. My son just needs to transfer this to the water, and he will.

After a winter of practice, I returned to Cornwall the following Easter.   I paddled out into ta perfect looking two foot longboard day in front of our beach cafe, and on my first wave , I did my first dropknee turn. I did it without even thinking. My brain had been trained, muscle memory took over. As  the Samurai would learn to fire their arrows at targets from horseback, whilst their master would command them to perform the skill ‘Again!’ I too had learnt a skill through repetition, practise,  commitment and Charles Williams telling me to do it again and again.. 

As for equipment when you get in the water, just go with what you have. Personally I prefer a pintail longboard, but that is because I have been surfing only pintails for twenty years. I just love the clean lines and the design just lends itself to smooth turns. However, this isn’t to say that square tails don’t, they absolutely do.  In fact, my newest longboard, at 9’9” is a square tail as they have that versatility of being able to pivot, stall, and with a nice bit of concave and tail kick, the shape I’ve chosen for better noseriding. But even though I love this new board, I will always love the flow of a pintail when doing fluid dropknee, and when it gets bigger, that is when I feel I love the pintail is a perfect combo for dropknees.  Either way, use what you have. 

If you’d like to know more them I suggest you look up some of the names above and invest some time on Youtube. I've attached a couple of videos below. If you would like a little coaching then please drop me a line, i'd be happy to help. If you're in Cornwall and happen to be passing Sennen, then drop me a line, bring your skateboard and we can get started, then it’s all up to you.  Remember dropknee turns take time to learn, and you might waste a few waves, but once you've got them, you'll never stop.  

Note. That's me below, shot by James Parry back in 2012 riding a 9'4" Pintail Single Fin (I only have about 10 photos of me surfing)
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Check Tyler below at 2.45' and 5.55' seconds, watch Ray Gleave on every wave, and Ben Considine's instructionals are excellent. 

Beau Miles always has a message. This is really worth a watch. As the world is on a self destructive journey to quarry the hell out of the planet in search of minerals for new technologies, supposedly designed to save us; Beau has a message here, and a warning which it seems we are all ignoring.  All the production and destruction of communities in the race for of Lithium batteries for cars and bikes and phones, the open quarries for cobalt, precious metals and materials, are all poluting our planet, and as I write this, not as an activist, but an active hypocrite who uses all of the products (except electric bikes and cars), this film really does make you sit up and think. Take a look and please leave a comment, subsribe to Beau Miles on Youtube and watch more of his films, you wont regret it. 

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 A perfect watch for those of us who will not grow up, and still ride bikes or have a real passion that keeps us going...Check this out.  

Another must watch. The endless pursuit of getting back up to achieve a goal. Skateboarding has so many lessons in life, and yet has always been portrayed as something kids do. I know skaters in their 50's and are still progressing, at any level. 
I'm a terrible skater, I have a mini ramp in my back garden and I'm still awful, but this film is just awe inspiring. 
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​Its been an age but Summer is a time for being outdoors and I have been. I had a little medical scare but all is great now and I've been off the mountain bike for a bit with some frustrating bike repairs. The Graveller has been there for back up and some miles have been put in over the weekends, and the surf has been keeping me sane too! A new board which I'll be writing about has also kept me pretty distracted. Anyway, in the mean time, please check this long awaited project from one of the worlds must underrated surfers; Bryce Young. 

Enjoy. I'll be back soon with some new posts. 
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I’ve written about the age thing before and I often wonder if it's only us simple men folk who have this feeling of not wanting to grow up. Is it more scary for men getting older? Is it a bad thing to want to stay youthful and annoy our spouses with our incessant need for new toys? 

My man shed consists of two things really; Bikes and Boards. Both activities have this intangible ability to keep me feeling young at heart, even though my body is telling me otherwise. A broken ankle, thirty something years ago, a broken wrist, a little closer than that, and a broken foot in 2016, all seem to have this physiological nagging system that worsens with age. That's not including the suspected torn Meniscus Ligament in my knee, the carpal tunnel in both my wrists (injections don’t work) and the pins and needles at night, both tennis and golf elbow, both of which I play neither, and as for the funny gone (gold elbow), there is nothing funny about it when you knock it. A shoulder impingement, a knot in my upper back the size of a golf ball, a dodgy lower back which has just yesterday taken me out of work for a couple of days, and finally if you put a level across my shoulders I’m about two inches out and drop a line down  my spine and I'm out of plum!! 

When I rarely see a Doctor and they ask ‘how can I help’? Now, I might have gone there for a specific reason, but I often feel like getting a list out and saying ‘well Doc, where shall we begin?’. But getting to see a Doctor also panders to the male ethos of ‘not to worry, it’ll be fine, scenario, and pride definately comes before a fall'. 

Like most blokes who refuse to give in to this male pride, we ignore the symptoms as long as possible until one day, no doubt, we’ll inconvenience our beloved spouses and they’ll hopefully be there for us in some futile attempt at empathy. I laugh when I write this, by the way. 

So we just crack on, refusing to give in, ignoring the painfully obvious fact that our bodies are telling us something as we get older. In fact more like a distant screaming at us to slow down. But we can’t. We refuse to just sit back and become part of the arm chair brigade. We’ll just keep taking the vitamins, and applying the ointments for the bones and joints. Continue the  pathetic excuse for stretching while our coffee brews in the morning, whilst arranging the next weekend at the bikepark, or surf trip, or the enduro race, or ridiculous attempt to stay young. We’ll get out on our bikes,  boards, skateboards, snowboards and surfboards and pretend we still rip.  Some of you still do by the way. Surfing is different for me personally because I’ve never imagined I was Kelly Slater, but because I love the old sixties and seventies surfers and the lines they draw on a wave. As a result, my surfing is a simpler, less radical approach than today's rippers, which means I don’t have to do much on my boards which is great for the knees, and the back. Apart from the cutback, rotation plays no part in my surfing, nor does leaving the face of the wave. 

For those of us older folk that are still riding bikes, the e-bike has come to the rescue for many and helped to  realise that life isn’t over after forty or fifty, you can still ride up and shred down. I’ve not given in yet. I’m just not ready,  but also and more to the point I can’t afford one! However, when I see kids in their early teens on an ebike, my soul leaves my body for a brief moment and I have to take a breath and count to ten. 

When family or older friends ask ‘if I’m still riding’? It's a question that always baffles me. The  same with surfing,  ‘are you still surfing’?. I’m not sure what the answer should be. ‘No, I gave that up a long time ago,  I came round to your thinking that it’s just for kids’. I’m not sure what I would do instead to be honest, both pursuits are very much a lifestyle or life choice, whichever way you look at it.  

I’ll always ride bikes as long as my legs work. I might not go jumping or tearing down hills as fast as I can,  but I'll certainly riding some form of bike. Maybe just some more adventure riding on my graveler, or just out in the lanes looking over hedges and taking in the views. I’ll always surf, because I’m a surfer. You don’t just stop surfing or imagining that you are that icon who inspires you to be better. As long as I can walk down to the water's edge, I’ll go surfing, because there are so many water craft to enjoy riding waves. I’m not talking SUP, or Foils (not for me, they don’t count). I’m talking, boogie boards, wooden belly boards, paipos, or handplanes. Hell, you don’t even need a board, just stick your arm out and body surf. 

I love seeing older people still doing the activities they love, whatever it may be, but If it's not obvious by now, I’m very much into the more action sports genre. To see older surfers, skaters, snowboarders, mountain bikers, BMX riders; it’s phenomenal and hugely inspiring. Kelly Slater still competes on the World Tour at fifty, Greg Minaar won a World Championship at Downhill at forty, Tony Hawk is still sending a halfpipe at fifty something and the legendary Tony Alva, well, he’s still skating bowls and he’s over sixty.  When I ride down here at Old Hill Bike Park or the Track at Portreath, there are loads of us Dads who should know better. Still pretending to be teenagers, and some pull it off better than others, most of us refusing to also change our fashion sense that we’ve had since early teens. Shorts, white socks, chequered Vans and a favourite t-shirt, is the go to outfit.  There is a 55+ division in the National BMX series now and it’s one of the largest categories for entries and probably will be at the World Champs this year. Hows that for kids not growing up,considering most of them started back in the early 80’s, they’re still tearing it up on kids bikes, with a smile on their face and the type of camaraderie you’ll never see at a Sunday Football match.  In Mountain Bike enduro events I’m now I think I’m a  Grand Master.  In surfing I believe I’d be a super veteran if I competed. I just love it. The grey haired, physically broken amongst us, still have the mental age of a  kid  who still wants to jump off a crate with a bit of plywood as a ramp, or at least chase that feeling of pulling a trick, learning a new one, or crash trying. . 

I suppose this post is a few words to remind those amongst us who continue to fight for our youth. Maybe it is the simple male that refuses to grow up but who cares. Despite what our own resistance or others tell us,  or our physical scars remind us, don't give in just yet. Maybe it’s time that we remind some of us older folk to get out of the arm chair, go to an exercise class and get back in shape, get back on a bike and go for a lap or two at the local pumptrack, and take your 85 year old Mum down to watch her son loving life, like I did. Don’t say ‘I used to race BMX’, go and do it, join a local club and do a few laps at your own pace, enter a club race and just see what an great community you may have left behind. Dust off and Fix that bike in the garage and go for a ride. Win back that love you had for two wheels when you were a spotty teenager, riding everywhere with your mates. 

For those who stopped surfing when it got too busy. Did you stop surfing because you couldn’t be bothered to compete for  waves anymore? Well, if you still have that love of the ocean, and that nagging feeling of FOMO, get a bodyboard and get hammered in the shorebreak with your kids, believe me it’s hilarious and crowds don’t come near you, because they all got out!!  

​Whatever way you look at it. It’s time to just get busy and never grow up. 




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Apologies for the lack of posts. I try to do at least one a week, but I’ve been enjoying summer, getting out in the evenings, riding bikes, surfing, and getting a new board in particular and I’ve also been to my first festival. 

Yep, at 54 years old I've never been to a festival. Well, now I have, I have broken the festival cherry.  The Great Estate Festival is no Glastonbury, but it's right here in Cornwall at the Scorrier Estate, and only thirty minutes from home.

​I’ve been to some big gigs over the years in stadiums and big concert arenas, but not being one for crowds, I think I’ve always avoided the festival environment. Even at the stadium gigs, like U2 way back in 1987 at Wembley, I remember how claustrophobic I felt, and soon found myself up in the seats, way above the stage and just watching the crowds, the and the fans surging forward. Maybe because I crave space, but I’ve never enjoyed being in the thick of it. 

The Great Estate Festival is a small scale event, still with plenty of people, but not mental. After our group rendezvous at Smokey Joe's Cafe, along with every other van in Cornwall, we convoyed in and were greeted to a weekend of scorching weather, beautiful grounds with plenty of shaded areas for the non-sun god people like me who burn at the slightest sign of any summer weather.  Our van pitch was extra but it did mean we could replenish the hip flasks when necessary, and have a quiet space away from the hoards of teenage campers who gain access on their parents ticket if under 18. 

The festival was super fun, but I did have this strange feeling of being slightly overwhelmed, or rather the question popped up, ‘what am I supposed to do’? 

Do I just wander from stage to stage, watching as many acts as possible? Is it OK to just pitch up in the main arena with your seats, beers, food and family and watch the world go by? Do I get drunk or not? Do I really want to go into a silent disco with five hundred teenagers? The answer to the latter was an immediate NO!! Although next time, I’ll give it a go. 

I did know that I was there to watch the headline acts. The Selecter on Friday night is a band I grew up with in the late seventies, early eighties. I was fully expecting my early ‘Rude Boy' to come out and have a ’moonstomp’ with some fellow old timers. That we did, and scattered around a crowd were the trilby hats, the grey hair and the unmistakable bobbing of heads of the old boys and girls amongst us who grew up listening to Ska music. The Selecter and lead singer Pauline Black did not disappoint. She has an amazing voice and once saw her sing acoustic back in Brighton.   Then we had Primal Scream on Saturday, a band who just embodied the nineties, taking weird drugs, and the fans turned out for them in the thousands. I’ll be honest like many, I was only familiar with their classic hits, but it was the other songs that caught my attention. They were epic, and even a power cut halfway through only made the fans want more, and a rising full moon over the estate only added to the emotions. 

I will add that out of everything we saw the band that stole the show for many were the truly amazing Elvana. Probably my favourite act over the weekend. A tribute band combining Elvis and Nirvana. They were pretty special and absolutely a crowd favourite, with a lead singer dressed in a cannabis leaf printed jumpsuit he was a true entertainer. Totally out of character I found myself, just off the front, and just behind the mosh pit and loving every second, watching my son and his friends get bundled around to tunes like ‘Feels like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Come as you are’, with and Elvis lookalike belting out the tracks. This was brilliant, as to were the young lads playing 60’s Rock n Roll, and although we missed it, the Hip Hop Karaoke was supposed to be all-time.  

There was also plenty to do for the kids of all ages. Plenty of woodland adventures, axe throwing, archery and fairground rides. One of my friends took his son to the Blacksmith stand and came back with a stunning piece of metal work, and this convinced me that I missed out on something special here, so I’ll be doing that next year for sure, and maybe spend a little money in the well-being arena. 

I did enjoy the Festival, I think I found my feet a little more on the second day. A good couple of hours watching people cruise by, ferrying kids in trolleys and wheel barrows, dressed in all manner of festival outfits and in all states of sobriety. Outfits either bought especially for the Great Estate, or just pulled off the dresser rails when the season started, they looked the part of Woodstock gone Glam, and middle aged parents with hippie kids in tow. Unlike myself, many seemed like veterans to this festival lifestyle, and as we sat next to the Jubel Beer stand, in a couple of deck chairs, with a couple of pints of Grapefruit Ale, we observed the beginnings of a stunning Saturday evening, with everyone carrying there festival beer mugs, full or empty, heading off to watch another act, at another stage, catching up with friends, or just taking it all in like us. The whole experience was pretty special, but I’ll be honest, I liked that we had our van to retreat to and take a breather, cook some food, regroup, and head back down for some more action. The van was my Great Escape when I needed it, and the Great Estate, 'the most rambunctious garden fete' is soon to be booked for 2024. ​

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been a busy old bugger. Festivals, Riding, Surfing (loads) and generally being out and about enjoying this glorious weather we've been having. Anyway, there are posts in the works, photos to accompany them, but for now, I'd like you to take a couple of minutes and watch this. The riding is great but the trail build is exceptional. I've been riding a few trails lately at both the Track in Portreath on a Wednesday evening and the Old Hill Bike Park, and having so much fun. Take a look and leave a comment, I think you'll enjoy if you like riding bikes, and if you'd to know moreabout James Pettitt who built this materpiece the check out the Fiftylicks podcast with Josh Bryceland and Josh Lewis. Enjoy

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So I'm stoked to have written a product review for my great friends over at DMR BIkes. I've known these boys since the very beginning of this iconic brand and been using their bikes and parts forever. Whenever I  visit the family in Sussex, I always like to pop in and grab somethng for my bike, like a pair of new grips or pedals.  Well I've been using the Nylon V11 pedal for about two years and I wrote my honest review which was a pleasure to write. Just follow the link below and have a read. If you're  in the market for an affordable flat pedal for your bike then you simply can't go wrong with these beauties.  I'll repost a blog later this week that I wrote back in 2020 when they were celebrating 25 years of business, and in a couple of years I hope I can write on celebrating 30 years. 
For now, check the review below.