Monday, September 29, 2014

Sly Guard! (Sept 12, 2014)


Another fun weekend at Sly Guard Cabin.  You can't go wrong there... the place simply rocks.  This was a mellower crew with Barrett, Kate, Lincoln, Amy, Chris, Ellie, and Reid joining us at various times.  We spent most of the day on Sat at Jenkinson Lake... and I didn't take too many pics.  Barrett came by on Fri night on his road bike... stayed until 2 am or so and rode home after sharing a few brewskis by the firepit.  

Highlights
  • the splash pads on the way to and from the cabin
  • SUP on Jenkinson Lake
  • Innertubing with the kiddos on Jenkinson Lake
  • Slacklining
  • Taking Kai on a Strider ride on the paved trails next to the cabin
Next time


Check out Nikko's face... this is what he's been doing sometimes.  He looks like an old man with dentures.  He's got no teeth yet...
At Nisenan Community Park... there was no one there!
kinda wished there a few more kids playing, but Kai kept busy


The local trails around Sly Guard... Kai in his riding attire
Someone is happy!
The place comes with firewood... amazing.
Kimbo relaxing...
night shot
but the place did come with a mouse...
the next morning, this guy got up early, so we went for a quick jog.  
at Jenkinson Lake.... perfect weather!
Kai loved it!  He could be here all day... 
lunch time!

hello
the trails near Sly Guard make a nice trail for striders.  Not long enough for much else... 
smiling while eating...
At White Rock Park in Rancho Cordova on the way home..
every minute or so, the big bucket fills up for a BIG splash!
Nikko was in heaven...
mama with Nikko and Reid.


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Surfski Commute!



So a few months ago I got me a surfski... like this guy's
The one an only: Magnum P.I!... I actually just want to be just like this guy, who cares about paddling.  His boat, "Hammerhead" is the same brand surfski that I got.... now just gotta work on that 'stache.
These things are supposed to glide over the water like a hot knife through butta'... so I was curious and kept one eye open.  And I found one on craigslist sooner than I thought.  My hammerhead is 19 ft long and 19 in wide... a good entry level surfski.  On flatwater folks can get up to 10+ mph (not for long), and the limit is endless when riding big swells.  Think of these as an uber long board that can catch the smallest waves (i.e swells)... for an extreme example check out these maniacs below...



As for my experience.... I've taken the surfski out a few times on Lake Merritt at night after putting the kids down.  I usually put in next to the boat house where young kids like to deal drugs.... so it's pretty fun rolling up carrying a 19 ft boat next to a smoke filled SUV... anyway.  After taking the SUP across and knowing that the weather has been so nice, I decided to try out the surfski across the bay.  After all, I've been itching to catch small swells on this boat and there aren't any on Lake Merritt.  And it was quite the humbling experience... I had visions of me gliding across the water, reaching SF in no time, and coming back even faster... but I ended up going basically the same speed as I do on my kayak or Alexis' SUP.  The surfski takes a lot of skill to master, and I was spending too much of my time bracing and inefficiently paddling.  Also, having an ancient boat probably has something to do with it as well... but as Lance says, "It's not about the bike..." (although we all know he meant... "it's all about doping!!!")

Below are some selected shots from the timelapse... featuring my first 2 capsizes ever on my surfski... which you may not have caught on the youtube vid.  The remount on these boats are very easy.  And if you ever feel really unstable, you can just put your feel over the side, and the boat feels uber solid. 











whoa....
and 2 seconds later...







18 seconds later... back on top...
2nd fall...
this time, I decided to bail rather than take the boat with me...



10 seconds later... the beauty of a surfski is the quick and easy re-mount. 
back at the beach, ready to take her home.  Another good thing about these boats is their weight.... making it relatively easy for one person to carry.