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Seven days until the winter solstice. Described on Google as midwinter, the shortest day, or the longest night. Seven days is not long to wait for an event that changes the mindset and emotional feelings for so many like minded outdoor enthusiasts, restricted by what seems an eternal darkness. It can feel like we’ve waited that same eternity to get the 21st December in our sight. I say an eternity, well since June really, when the clocks went back and the glorious summer evenings reached the longest day. From then on winter draws closer, winter is coming. The evening light reduced in an ever depressing timed pattern. Only a matter of minutes each day, but it begins to cramp our fun, squeezing our play further into the dark. For those of us who work full-time, we begin to think about only riding at the weekends, we dig out and charge the lights for the odd spot of night riding, and visits to the bike park at the weekend become more frequent, as the hills are sodden with rainfall. Surfers amongst us begin to feel the chill of the winter in the ocean, and the thickness of rubber increasing a millimeter at a time, until we’re covered in a thick restrictive coating, struggling with numb, cold and damp hands, and cursing the time it takes for our vans to warm up. As the nights become darker we head off to work and return home in blackness, the weather changes frequently like our moods, and often winter seems even more gloomy unless we get our fix of weekend fun, riding wheels or waves. This is winter, and we’re in the thick of it, and to alleviate the grimness, holidays are booked, spring events are planned and Christmas seems like the only hope for some. But another celebration gets nearer and forces our spirits to lift a little. I can nearly relate to the Pagans celebrating the end of the descent into darkness, and the beginning of the return of the light. Now seven short days from the shortest day we’re not far from driving past bright yellow fields of daffodils in full bloom and that lightness that brings us post-work joy; and although the 21st will pass quickly, we still have some dark nights to battle through and we have to remain strong. Excitement mounts though. Christmas will pass with a little more time off to have some fun with our mates, either side of family commitments, and then New Year strikes. Resolutions are made and quickly broken by the less committed, but we, the outdoor enthusiasts, are ready. Bikes have been prepped and serviced, new tires and christmas bling has been added to our steeds, trails have been cleared and our new clothing, mostly bought as a treat to ourselves will be laid out and ready to wear. New surfboards are ordered and due for delivery in time for spring and the 4/3mm wetsuit is dry and ready for action. As the light returns to our evenings, so does the warmth. The hope of a quick surf after a long day, or a few laps of the hill become reality. Getting home at five with light until six brings options and opportunity. The power hour is back on, and as sunset draws back out, the evening light is something that we look forward to more than others, at least that's what I think. Being a weekend warrior just isn’t enough and maybe that’s why we dream and crave an endless summer.  
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This film is the epitome of what I love about the idea of adventure, and exploring a radius thats beyond a comfort zone. When I was younger I travelled, surfed a few far off places and had some amazing adventures. I even sailed with my father when I was in my early teens, so film that combines both, I'm all in. This film features Torren Martyn, a peoples favourite, a stylish surfer that seems to have influenced an entire movement of fellow surfers now riding twin fin pintail surfboards. I'm yet to follow the trend but knowing myself, I will at some point, probably when everyone else has moved onto the next trend, I'm always a bit late.
Anyway, this beautiful film has just been released by wetsuit company Need Essentials and is well worth grabbing a beer or two, some snacks, jump on the sofa and chill for an hour or so, and think about your next adventure. Enjoy.
If you surf or not, you might ride lots of different types off board, then this film is probably the best ever made. The focus on so many amazing surfers and different equipment will inspire you too. I'm not writing anything, only that I watched this last night, didn't pick up my phone or get distracted for a single second and I've seenn this film hundreds of times now, but not for a couple of years. Enjoy,
There is something I love to watch and thats dirt jumping. Maybe as an ageing rider, a mid fifties bloke, who, as I've posted about before, refuses to grow up; watching the youth of today is really a pretty special thing. They ride with more style and finesses that I could ever, ever dream of or never even had. Maybe bikes are better, but steel is steel and Dirt Jumping has always been rad. Whether BMX or Mountain bike, watching riders flow through a set of trails, where the digging has been endless but the results are one hundred percent fun, dirt jumping will always float my aging boat!!
This edit just dropped by Commencal Bikes features their young British rider Finley Davies. Wow, this kid can ride a bike, and whats great is the support of his parents. Have a watch, leave a comment, and lets all look forward to Spring/Summer.
Check out this superb film by a favourite rider of mine, Kilian Bron. There is a behind the scenes edit too below, featuring the travel and logisitics of putting this incredible film together. If you ride bikes, enjoy, if you like fantastic scenery, enjoy.
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) 
Check Tyler below at 2.45' and 5.55' seconds, watch Ray Gleave on every wave, and Ben Considine's instructionals are excellent.
I got up this morning and just started writing. After three weeks I got back on my bike after a disolcated finger. Although still not 100%, it was OK, I could hang on. Being back up on the hill made me refelct a little too. Through riding we can connect to many things, so I wrote a little about a few simple ways to feel a connection. When we ride we can connect with elements of ourselves that others might not be able to reach. We might not want to show them or even share. Anger, Fear, and Anxiety can often be linked to our past, they can eat us up, take over our lives and destroy us internally, but also massively affect those around us. Riding bikes can help us understand and manage these emotions, and we can use riding as a tool to help conquer them in the present and future. When we ride alone we can express our vulnerabilities. It doesn’t matter what level of rider you are. If you imagine your riding aggressively it’s a fantastic way to take out some anger on a trail, really attacking the turns or the sections ahead of you. Beating a climb by never giving in. If there is a technical section ahead of you, attack it, if it beats you, attack again and again, and if you can’t be heard scream as loud as you can. Many times I have been surfing, and dived under the surface and released my anger. I've also stood on the hill, just before dark, alone with my bike and just screamed. If we can let some anger out, it means we don’t take it home, we don’t let others see this until we’re ready to open up, and avoid the transference of these emotions to those around us and the ones we love. If you happen to be reading this and in search of a release, get a bike, find a hill, and try screaming, it might not be a solution but I guarantee it’s a means to manage an unwanted emotion. Riding bikes is a perfect way to release this negative energy because it’s such a positive experience. Fear can be frustrating and often linked to limiting beliefs; ‘I can’t do that’!! But riding helps us work and connect to our fear because we can learn to progress. Whether it be jumping, speed, steep drops, climbing, endurance rides, or general bike handling, the more we progress, the more we understand our own relationship with fear, the more we can use the emotion in our favour. Fear of what others think of us is often a massive barrier to entry. If you’ve grown up worrying what others might think of you, then this will carry over into other aspects of life, including sport and riding bikes. I hope many others would agree that within the MTB community, I’m convinced that no one cares, they just love to see people progressing. At any bike park you will find all levels of rider, and personally I’ve never witnessed anyone laugh or mock someone who is trying. A foot of air on a tabletop is a huge thing to some, the first time clearing a huge gap is another, and if any other rider catches you doing either, they’ll be there to congratulate you or offer words of support. It’s similar to the fear of going to a skatepark and feeling embarrassed because you're not very good. From experience of being that person, I’ve only ever been the recipient of another person's stoke and support. Some sports just seem to have that built into their DNA, some communities want others to progress and in turn this helps alleviate fear in others. These are the communities that you can connect with, these are the communities that offer support and will help you also conquer any insecurities. It might be a long work in progress, but using the endless sense of achievement through riding, these lessons can then be translated to managing any fears you might have in everyday life, whether it's jobs, relationships or personal battles. Connection to the MTB community has so many benefits. The club rides, the social chatter, the shared experiences, the events, competition, and the feeling that you are not alone. Remember one in four people will suffer from some form of mental health, and joining the MTB community means you're likely to find someone to talk to, someone that will relate to, and understand your feelings. There are organisations now like the Trail Therapy Project in Plymouth who are helping people through riding MTB and offer organised group rides. But if that is not your thing, most areas have clubs and groups who meet regularly and are open to new members and riders and provide a range of rides from week to week. The connection to nature might often be the most talked about draw of riding a MTB. Getting away into the hills or mountains is hugely beneficial for the mind and dating back to the birth of the MTB itself, it was a way of climbing up, and accessing the highest parts of the wilderness. Fast forward nearly sixty years and riders are still drawn to the benefits of being outside, breathing freshair, riding alone or with friends, being in Nature has to be better than being stuck in our own minds. My local hill is probably one of the smallest in the country. It’s the First and Last Hill in the UK, but I call it ‘My mountain'. Downhill runs of thirty seconds, and steep climbs back up. The views look out over to the ocean and an unbroken 360 degree vista of real beauty. I can sit up here and watch nature, listen to nature and really become mindful. I spend a huge amount of time on this hill and why I call it ‘My Mountain’. Beside the ocean where I surf and swim, this hill is very precious. Finding your mountain, your slice of wilderness, your escape when you need it, will connect you to nature that is both powerful and hugely beneficial. If we can make a connection to these elements then the connection to your well-being and your mental health will become stronger. An unbreakable bond will be made, and once committed you’ll find this very hard to ignore. Surfers have a relationship with Mother Ocean that is very powerful. Immersing yourself into the ocean and feeling the power of a wave, and riding that wave. Energy that has travelled thousands of miles, provides an unfathomable sense of connection and joy. As a surfer myself this might sound all ‘right on’ and ‘duuuude’ but just ask World Enduro Champion, Jack Moir, or World Cup Winner, Laurie Greenland, where they go when then home, they head to the ocean. But if you’re not a surfer, then we are surrounded by Mother Nature. I’m no hippy, but being outdoors with my bike is good for the body and the soul, mind and matter. My Mountain is as important to me as the ocean and I’m lucky enough to immerse myself in both realms. When one is not welcoming, I escape to the other. Both have helped me to heal through some rough times mentally and physically. That old phrase ‘the power to heal’, it’s true, if you embrace it. Find your space, take your bike, ride, sit, observe and be open to being mindful and you will feel the benefits. On those days when you haven’t got the motivation; I beg you to find it. Ask yourself a simple question. ‘If I go riding now, how will I feel in one hour?’ The answer will only ever be positive. Or ask this. ‘If I don’t go riding, how will that serve mentally and physically?’ . I'm Sure the answer would be ‘It doesn't’. You don’t have to do training laps or conquer any fears if you don't feel like it. You might find that turning the pedals is enough. Look over some hedges, climb a hill, sit for a while, take it all in, get some mud on your face, get wet, watch some people walking their dogs, do a lap and ride home. One thing is certain and all the greats can't be wrong. Riding you bike will make you feel better and you will feel connected to whatever it is your looking for. 
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.
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. |
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
December 2024
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