2014 on to 2015

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

Well, it has been a little while since I've posted.  I didn't really feel that I had much to contribute to cyberspace these past few months.

I've been going to school taking a welding class, which was awesome and everything I had hoped it would be.  I've signed up for a full load this coming spring semester which starts on January 12th, 2015.  I'll be finished with my TIG welding certificate by May of 2015.

I've also been working part time at a bicycle shop, of sorts.  It is the most interesting retail experience I've had to date, and I have a lot of retail experience.  I'm looking forward to ending this experience once I can get a job with my welding experience.  It does at least pay the bills.

I have been riding my bicycles some.  Mostly to and from school and work.  Here is my year according to Strava.

I've been surfing some too.  Not enough, though.

I've also gotten back into remote control vehicles hardcore.  I've got WAY too much money invested already, but it is so much fun.  I even got a new one for Christmas, a Losi Mini 8ight T.  It's awesome.  It is another hole in the ground that I am looking forward to pouring money into.

Speaking of money, I miss making real money.  Before I left my previous job, I was finally at a point in my career that I could sort of afford myself.  Being back on a minimum wage budget sucks.  I am SO ready to start making money, having paid benefits, vacation days, and the whole nine yards that comes with a career type job.

Well, here is to an awesome 2014 and cheers to a new year.  May 2015 be as much fun and prosperous as 2014 was and then some!!

Remember to keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

Wednesday Surf Session

Original photo by Tami Veldura

Well, it has been a LONG time since I went surfing.  It has been over a month since I was in the water last.  Between work and school, I've been busy.

Plus, for June and July, most of my time in the water was spent helping two of my friends learn how to surf.  So, as a result, I didn't spend much time actually surfing.  Funny how that works. . .

So, I finally go to go surfing this morning.  I went out at Oceanside Harbor, but surfed on the north side of the pier rather than the harbor break itself.  It has been too long.  It felt good to be back in the water, but I was psyching myself out.  I spent an hour in the water just bobbing along.

I did paddle a bunch.  The current was pulling me towards the jetty, so I had to keep moving south.

It felt great to be in the water again. I am going to make a serious effort to make Wednesday a surf day.  One day a week is better than none.

Until next time,
Keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

Managing My Career: Education

Original photo by

G Talan

In my previous post I talked about peaks and valleys.  It is a great story with very real world applications.

In this second post, I'd like to discuss education.

I highly, highly, highly recommend continuing your education indefinitely.  Mens sana in corpore sano is a Latin aphorism, usually translated as "A sound mind in a sound body."

As with any career, there are going to be aspects of the job that you like, aspects that you love, aspects that you dislike, and the aspects you loathe with the deepest of loathing.  OK, hopefully not the deepest of loathing, but there are going to be things you could do without.

It is wise, though difficult to do, to pursue at least a little bit of education in the things that you dislike.  Most of the time, myself included here, we dislike the things that we are not naturally good at.  So, with more education and hopefully practical application of that education, those things can become something we are good at and there by learn to appreciate.

At the same time, the things that interest you will. . . interest you.  Therefore, these topics will be so much easier and actually fun to learn.  These are the things to really hone in on.  Even if they don't further your career with your current employer (see previous post about peaks and valleys), it will further your career towards your "dream" job or something very close to it.

If anything, the more you learn about the things that interest you in your current position, the more interesting your career will become.  Which brings me to a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”

Another positive side of education is networking.  This is specific to education that requires a classroom and teacher versus on-line training, videos, or a webinar.  At the physical location you will run into like-minded individuals whom you can mingle with and then add to your LinkedIn account to expand your professional network.  If you do not have a linked in account for your professional network, I highly recommend it.  Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all best left to your family and friends in this specific case.  If you have a separate set of social media sites for your personal business, then by all means have them find you there as well.  Anyways, this plays into the cliche: "It's not what you know, but who you know."  The link is a really good article about networking from a site called Elite Daily "The Voice of Generation Y."

A little Jeopardy trivia, Gen Y, also known as Millennials, is typically viewed as people born 1980 to 2000.

Anyway, keep up the education.  I'm doing so, finally.  I've started taking classes towards my welding certificate.  I have a long road ahead, but I am looking forward to it.

Keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

Managing My Career: Peaks and Valleys

Original photo by faithfulllyyy

I quit my job a little more than two months ago.  Over these past two months I've had a lot of time to look back and analyze what I did wrong and what I could have done better career wise.

My first and biggest mistake was that I took my job for granted.  I actually knew better, but I got lazy.  I read a book back when I first started my previous position called Peaks and Valleys.  It is a quick and excellent read.  I highly recommend it.  Any way, I was on a Peak with my previous position.  I had reached the top of that particular climb.  I was so proud of what I had done and enjoying the view so much, that I forgot to prepare for the next peak.  In preparing for the next climb and peak ahead of time, the journey to the next peak is that much easier and faster.  Typically, the result is a "higher" peak than the previous one.

So, instead, I've gone down and down and down into a valley.  Valley's aren't bad, they just need to be managed when you are at the top of a peak.  Again, to make the journey less arduous.  My journey is going to be VERY arduous at this point.  This particular valley I'm in is very deep.  Again, not a bad thing, there is just a lot more work to be done before I get to the next peak.

The other positive thing about managing your peaks and valleys is that when you are at the peak of one climb you can see WAY off into the distance (if you bother to look, which I didn't.) and see all kinds of other peaks and valleys all around you.  It makes it easier to pick and choose which direction you are going to go in order to make the next adventure fruitful.

To help me manage this crazy valley I've started to follow Careerealism as well as Dale Partridge.  Both of these websites are awesome.  Careerealism is a daily e-mail with all kinds of great advice.  Every Sunday they do a webinar on a career or small business topic.

Dale Partridge is this 20-something millionaire that has all kinds of really good advice.  It is both humiliating and humbling to read.  They guy is a small business genius.  Creating something that makes money is as easy as breathing to him.  Thankfully, he does have a lot of really good advice.  He isn't so far advanced that he cannot relate to the little guy just starting out or struggling with their own cause, like myself.

So, if you are at a peak, or think you might be at a peak, take a look around.  Pick your next peak and start doing the work now, while you're at the top to get to the next peak that much quicker.

Otherwise, I'll see you down here in the valley.  Just know that there is plenty of fresh mountain spring water and beautiful foliage down here in the valley.

Keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

Now what do I do. . .

Original photo by

ben ullman

So, I've made a heavy investment into the RC world financially.  To date, I've spent $1300.00 on RC stuff; 3 RTR trucks, two chargers, LiPo batteries, and all kinds of miscellaneous parts.

I LOVE it, obviously.  However, there isn't a good track that's close to where I live.

In my previous post about RC cars, I was looking forward to checking out SDRC Raceway. Well, I checked it out this past Wednesday night for their Wednesday Night Worlds racing.  It was awesome and intimidating at the same time.  It was serious racing and every single person had invested a ton of money and time into the hobby.

That's what I expected to find, but wow, it was serious.  I think the guys were all having fun, but there wasn't a lot of vocalization of it or body language that was easily interpreted that way.

The other problem is that I've finally come down from my previous spending habits when I had a real job and was making real money.  I'm working part time making $12 an hour currently.  I don't have tons of disposable cash, none for that matter.  My point is, SDRC Raceway is 27 miles one way from my house.  My truck gets 20mpg, average.  Gas here in SoCal is around $4 to $4.50 a gallon.  So, I'm using three gallons to get there and back.  Doing the math, that's $12 to $13.50 in gas or, to do more math, two hour's work (because of taxes).

Yeah, not cool.

I've heard through the grape vine that a local park in Escondido, Jesmond Dene, has an RC track.  It isn't "official" in that the Parks and Rec Department doesn't maintain it.  At the same time, I guess they do allow it, or at least haven't bulldozed it flat.

I don't know how good or otherwise the Jesmond Dene track is.  I haven't been there yet.

I did just finish a small business class.  I've written exactly one business plan to date.  With all of this info my mind is a-buzz with ideas for getting the two local RC hobby stores; Hobby Town and RC Hobbies involved as well as The City of Escondido and possibly Schneider Grading and Excavating to help build an official outdoor track, maybe at Jesmond Dene.

I'd also like to get RC Hobbies and/or Hobby Town to promote a "run what 'cha brung" kind of event.  It'd be cool to get the local enthusiasts out and get them involved with the whole thing.  Plus it'd be a good way to see what the "market size" is for the business proposal on the outdoor track.

Any way, here's to future plans.

Keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

X Fusion bicycle forks

Original photo by

Chris Yarzab

X Fusion forks are a relatively new company in the mountain bike game.  For the sake of simplicity on my part, I'm not going to discuss any of the Freeride/Down Hill, Trail/Enduro, Enduro/Freeride, Enduro/All Mountain forks X Fusion offers.

Instead, I'm sticking with the XC/Trail offerings: The Slide 29'er fork and The Velvet 26"/27.5" fork.  Both of these forks can be found in X Fusion's RL2R or RL2 configurations.

Both forks have a climbing lock-out feature.  The last "R" in RL2R is for the handlebar mounted remote, allowing the climbing lock-out to be controlled without moving your hands off of the bars.  That's a nice feature for hard-core XC racers.

The 100mm travel Slider is a bit heavier in weight at 4lbs compared to the Rock Shox Reba RLT at 3.67lbs or the Fox Float at roughly 3.5lbs depending on the configuration.  Not a show stopper, it is easier to lose a pound or two from riding more as well as gaining the power and endurance from all the riding, than it is to shell out several hundred more dollars for a lighter fork.

The X Fusion Slider RL2 can be had at $500, the Reba RLT 29'er sells for $700, and the Fox Float 29'er sells for around $750.

The Velvet fork has all of the same technology as the Slider, but instead of 29" wheels, it is geared towards the 26" wheel and 27.5" wheel.  The Velvet fork can be found for around $570 for 100mm of travel and 27.5" wheel size.

So, if you are in the market for a new front fork check out X Fusion.  They have a fork for whatever type of riding you plan on doing.

As always, keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

My newest toy

Original photo by

Les Chatfield

So, I recently got back into RC cars.  It has always been an interest of mine.  My dad started it by buying my brother and I static models to build.  I absolutely loved ships, jets, and airplanes.  Then, my brother got a Tamiya Hornet one year for Christmas or his birthday, I can't remember.  What I do remember is watching him and my dad build the kit and then watching my brother race it around the yard.  I was smitten.

Original photo by

Marcel030NL

I had the Nikko Turbo-Panther RC car and then I upgraded the body and front wheels to make it look like the Turb-Aero RC car.  That was my ride until I was old enough to have my own job and my own money to buy the real thing.

My first proper kit was the Traxxas Rustler. I bought a "ready to run" package from Stormer Hobbies that included the kit, a battery pack, a charger, controller, receiver, and two servos.  Keep in mind, this was back in the mid-90's, there wasn't a single "Ready-to-Run" kit on the market.  You had to build the kit yourself and supply all of your own electronics to it upon completion.  When I had more money to burn after the initial investment, I upgraded to a Hitec SP-520 electronic speed control to replace the servo controlled mechanical speed control.

Then, a buddy of mine sold me his Associated RC10-T.  This was still the mid-90's and Associated had only just released their updated version the RC10T2.  What an awesome machine the 10T was with it's aluminum tub chassis.  I made that thing into a serious racer, but never raced it.  I had the MIP CVD's, Lundsford titanium hinge pins, Lundsford titanium turn-buckles, RPM 2.72 transmission, several motors of various turns, Novak forward and brake only esc, etc.

Original photo by

BHS Black Hole Sun

Finally, this saga ended at the end of college with my Tamiya TB01 on-road touring car.  That thing was a blast too.  I did many upgrades to it as well, including finally purchasing an FM controller which were a big deal in the late 90's/early 2000's.

I gave it all to a local hobby shop when I moved away from college.  All my parts, controllers, the three kits, everything.

Then in 2012, I finally stepped back into RC.  I had been keeping in-touch through the various publications like RC Car Action and RC Driver.  I purchased a Losi Mini 8ight from the RCX show at the Long Beach Convention Center.  The 1/14th scale Mini 8ight is based on Losi's 1/8th scale 8ight buggy.  The mini version rips.  It comes ready to rock with everything in one package; brushless motor and esc, 2.4GHz controller and receiver, painted and cut body, etc.  All I had to do was charge the battery pack over night with the cheap little wall charger and play in the morning.  At the time, I was living near all sorts of popular tracks like OCRC Raceway in Huntington Beach, CA and West Coast Raceway in La Mirada, CA.  West Coast Raceway has since closed its doors to the public.

However, neither track had a 1/14th scale race at the time and the Mini 8ight doesn't make a good backyard basher.  So, I sold it to a co-worker and went searching.

Original photo by

Yada Liao

I have since landed on my newest toy, The Traxxas Slash 2wd VXL.  It is a Short Course Truck and it is awesome.  Basically, the Traxxas Slash is the SCT that all of the other trucks on the market currently try to emulate.  Sure, there are more race pedigree trucks to be had, but overall the Slash is #1.  Plus, everybody and their brother makes aftermarket replacement parts for the Slash.  You could basically build one without owning the original Traxxas version to start with.  The only upgrades I've made so far are an IFA billet machined gearbox in green, a Proline Flo-tek body, and a set of steel race duty MIP CVD's.

I'm looking forward to bashing and racing my Slash. I live near another cool track called SDRC Raceway.  They have local races twice a week: Wednesday Night Worlds and Friday Night Fights.  So, we'll see and go from there.

Until next time, keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

ERMAHGERD WE HAVE INTERNET!!

Original photo by Marcelo Gragiolli

Internet, wow, who would have thought it was so essential to life?  I have made the personal discovery that it really is necessary for everyday things, like blog posts. . .

So, in my previous post I talked about how I was moving down to San Diego and quitting my engineering job to pursue my first small business in personal training, Bodies By Clayton.

I use a website called Thumbtack to check for and receive inquiries from people in my area looking for personal trainers. Thumbtack can be used to hire other professionals for other purposes, but I use it for my personal training business.

I'm also taking a summer session class at the local junior college. Funny enough, it is an on-line class. The course is conducted through a website called Blackboard. I need to check it every day for assignments and other announcements, like midterms and projects.

Today, the first Monday of Summer (officially) we finally have internet at our house. It was quite the process to get internet at all due to where our house is and the property it sits upon. Long story short, we're juiced.

It really is the simple things in life that make a difference. Who would have thought that internet would be one of those things?

Here I sit broken-hearted. . .

Original photo by Erik Cleves Kristensen

OK, I'm not really broken-hearted, nor was I in the bathroom recently.

It's been about a month since my last post and a bunch of things have changed in my life.

I am no longer gainfully employed.  Well, let's re-qualify that statement:  I am no longer employed by Corporate America.  My time with the company was like a former co-worker used to say: "It's been real and it was fun, but it wasn't real fun."

So, I felt the need to make a change, a rip-the-roots-up and start all over kind of change.  I don't think there is ever a good time to do something like this, nor is there a bad time.  It is a matter of a bit of planning and a bit of a taste for adventure.

We'll see where this goes.  I'm building my own empire and going back to school.  I also need some form of income as well as my own insurance. 

My newest adventure will focus on personal training.  I have my certification and I'm getting started with Kinesiology classes this summer.  I'm also training clients in the San Diego, North County area.

I'm on the climb of the first hill of an exciting roller coaster.  Click, clack, click, clack, up and up we go. . . My hands are in the air.  I'm excited.  I'm ready.

Saturday Surf Session

Original photo by Clayton

Well, it has been quite a while, I think a solid month, since I went surfing on Saturday.  I did in-fact make it to the water this past Saturday and Sunday.

I went to Anderson Street both days.

On Saturday I surfed my Grain Steamer.  It was a lot of fun.  The swell came in from the south and had nice shape with a decent period between waves.  It made for a fun two hours of surfing.

I was there early enough in the morning to see the family of dolphins lazily swim by.   They would surface for a long time, go under briefly, and then resurface and just sit there.  It must be a lot of fun to be a dolphin.

Original photo by Clayton

Saturday was a sunny and hot, beachy kind of day, too.  I made it to the beach by 8:30 and it was already packed with muggles of course.  Sorry, Potter reference.  It was crowded, even out in the water.  Thankfully, I know how to surf well enough that getting my fair share of waves wasn't an issue.

On Sunday, I was lazy and didn't make it to the water until 10am.  By then the wind was already howling and affecting the waves.   The swell direction had also changed from southerly the day before to northerly.  Despite the wind and the swell direction, I still had fun for the hour I spent on the water.

I surfed my Meyerhoffer Lemondrop for Sunday's session.  That board never disappoints.  It is so easy to paddle and so fast down the line.

As I paddled out into the line-up on Sunday, I noticed that my ribs were sore from Saturday's session.  I also noticed that my arms were heavy.  I had no paddling power.

After Sunday's surf session, my girlfriend and I went for a hike at The Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.  It was a lot of fun.  We powered around the 3 mile loop taking in the beautiful SoCal day.

So, now I'm pooped and it is time for a nap.

Happy Star Wars Day,
And May the 4th Be With You!
Clayton

Flow Rida or Florida, Whichever You Prefer

Original photo by Clayton

This past week my girlfriend and I took a trip to Tampa, FL.  We went for a writing convention for her.  The convention was held on Thursday through Sunday.

It was a lot of fun and we had pretty good weather.

We rented a mother-in-law suite from a young couple off of the Air BnB website.   We've used Air BnB often with a lot of success and this was no exception.

The place was a stand-alone apartment with a small kitchenette, shower, Murphy bed, and living room.  It worked really well for us.

We bought groceries the first night so that we would have food instead of eating out.  We did pretty good with our food, but we did eat out occasionally for dinner.  One of my favorite places was the Brick House Tavern and Tap.  I had a beer called Mamas Little Yella Pils and a burger called The Gun Show.  It was an excellent meal, even if it was WAY too many calories at one time.  My gut was stuffed for a while that night.

Original photo by

psyberartis

That night after the food we saw Captain America: Winter Soldier.  It is an excellent flick, lots of action, a must see for any Marvel fan.

On Sunday we went for a walk on Bayshore Blvd and saw Manatees!!  It was SO cool.  There were four of them together.  I'm guessing it was a family with a mom, a dad, a baby, and a juvenile all together.  It was neat to see them eating the seaweeds along the sea wall.

On Monday, we took the time and money to go to Disney World.   It really is magical.  Disney World is so much larger than Disney Land, surprisingly so.  We spent the better part of nine hours and barely scratched the surface of walking around the park and riding rides.  We did the Tiki House (Land's is better), The Swiss Family Robinson Tree House (World has the better one by far), The Jungle Cruise (same, but World has a longer boat ride), Pirates of the Caribbean (the two rides are completely different), Space Mountain (again the two rides are not the same), Thunder Canyon (the ride is the same, but World has a bunch of fun interactive things to do while you wait in line), the Haunted Mansion (also the same with interactive things in line), and a parade (identical).  That was it for our nine hours in the park.

Original photo by Clayton

We did stay for the fireworks and light show.  We got really good seats on one of the bridges looking at Cinderella's Castle.  The show was in two parts and went from 9:30 through 10:30pm.  The way they used the castle and fire works to go along with the music and tell the stories was neat.  After that it was a mass exodus from the park and "Home, James."

Tuesday morning we barely slept three hours, then it was time to go to the airport.  The trip was uneventful, which is always good, and we were home safe and sound by early afternoon.

It was a good trip and it looks like we'll be going back again next year, but in the summer time this next time.

Clayton

Saturday Surf Session - in the desert?

Original photo by channone

That's right!  And that is how I roll!  Like a tumblin' tumble weed.  OK, not really, but my girl and I did head inland this past weekend to do some camping and climbing in Joshua Tree National Park.

It took longer to get there from the coast than I had anticipated.  According to Google Maps it was roughly two and a half hours of driving.  We also stopped for some last minute groceries and then lunch which together added about an hour to the trip.  So, our drive was three and a half almost four hours total.

When we rolled into the park Saturday afternoon we met up with some of my friends that happened to be milling around the campsite and went bouldering.  It was a lot of fun and a good intro to climbing at JTree.

The rock in the park is very crystalline, so it has a lot of grip.  It also does a number on baby soft hands like mine that aren't used to climbing.  It didn't take many bouldering problems to fatigue my muscles and my hands.  I wish I had brought some sort of pants to climb in too.  Again, because of how abrasive the rock was, it didn't take much of a scrape to draw blood.

After bouldering my friends continued to climb, so my girl and I set up our camp.  We have all the gear, but haven't really used it.  It was fun to finally break it all out.  Well, most of it any way.

My tent is an REI Quarter Dome 3 three person tent.  It can be set up as foot print and fly only or the whole hog.  It works really well for two people and gear inside the tent too with the floor space being square.  We set that up then threw our pads and bags inside.

That evening people started to migrate back to the campsite and we started dinner.  Oh My Word, what a feast it was.  Prior to the weekend, one of my friends had stated that Saturday night was Taco Night.  We had quite a smorgasbord of taco fixings; chicken, tri-tip, salsas of all kinds, chips, limes, cabbage, rice, beans, tortillas, and hot sauces.  To wash it down we had all the alcohol you could imagine.

Once everyone ate, we wanted dessert in the desert.  So, someone produced a cast iron dutch oven and the baking over an open fire began.  We had two rounds of cinnamon rolls followed by cookies.  They were all SO good.

After the dessert in the desert we proposed an adventure to go to The Chasm of Doom!  It is this awesome fissure in this huge rock that you have to scramble up and down and through.  It is done at night because there are plenty of places that are pitch black.  The idea is to keep in physical contact with the person in front and behind you.  Each person talks the next through the chasm.  Only the leader of the group is allowed a headlamp.

The Chasm was a TON of fun.  We had a nearly full moon blazing in the night sky, so there was plenty of light in the lit places.  We also ended up with a group of 30 or so people doing the chasm in various stages of drunkenness.  It made for some very funny moments during the adventure.

That ended the first night.  Sleep never felt so good.

The next morning, since she had skipped the night time stroll, my girl wanted to go to The Chasm.  So I led the day time stroll.  I think it was actually a bit scarier in the day time because you could see how far down some of the cracks went.  Some of the cracks were wide enough to fall into for sure.

After our adventure, we ate lunch and headed home.  Three almost four hours later, we were home and TIRED.  A shower and a nap and we felt almost normal.

It was a lot of fun and I cannot wait to do more.

Until next time,
Clayton

Saturday AND Sunday Surf Session - WHAT!

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

That's right!  I surfed Saturday AND Sunday this weekend.  I was down south in Northern San Diego County.   So, I went surfing at one of the best spots down that way, Cardiff by the Sea. 

Saturday's session was on my Infinity Phoenix V4 SUP.  I love my asymmetrical board.  I did the paddle thing for an hour.  It was fun.  I'm starting to get it more and more.  It is definitely harder to paddle into a wave than the Walden Magic Model I had before.  At the same time, it surfs so much better.

After an hour or so of that I ditched my paddle on shore and prone surfed for another hour.  Again, I love my Phoenix.  It surfs so well.  It is confidence inspiring even in powerful surf.

This weekend's surf was not powerful, but it was a lot of fun.  I think both Saturday and Sunday ran about waist-high for most sets.  Every now and then a larger set would roll through. 

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

The tide was a bit of an issue because it was really low mid morning and didn't really push in for the following high tide.  Cardiff is a reef break (rock reef - not coral) and a low tide brings a lot of the rock really close to the surface, but not quite out of the water.  There's usually just enough room for your surfboard fins and not much else as you get closer to shore.  It also makes stepping off your board at the end of a wave weird.  You have to be careful not to just step off because it might be rock, it might be sand, it might be shallow, or it might be deep.

On Sunday, I surfed my 8' Grain Surfboards Steamer that I built back in October of 2013.  It was finally done at the glass shop, Moonlight Glass, last week and I picked it up this past Saturday from Surfy Surfy in Leucadia, CA.  It turned out SO good.  It looks AWESOME.

I purchased a Progress Project Board Bag and a wood Rainbow Fin for it in the mean time.  The bag is made from a repurposed surf competition advertisement sign.  It is heavy duty waxed tarp like material.  It is very well made and I am equally stoked on it as I am with the board itself.

The Rainbow Fin is cool because the wood pattern matches the board itself very well.  Plus, at 9" it handles the heft of the board in surf no problem.

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

Surfing the Steamer was such an awesome experience.  It is a really heavy board, somewhere in the 30 pound range.  I was worried that the heft would be an issue, but the opposite was true.  Paddling was tough to start, but once the board was in motion, it was easy to keep momentum.  Turtle diving the board was equally easy.  The weight helped keep the board under the wave and going through the wave.  Paddling to catch a wave was again tough to get going, but once motion started it was easy to continue.  Once in a wave, it bottom turned like a dream and tracked down the line like a freight liner.  I'm not anything to write about when it comes to my surf style, but I was styling it up as much as I could on this board and those waves.  SO MUCH FUN!!

So, needless to say, I am happily sore and tired from all of my surfing adventures this weekend.

Until next time,
Clayton

No sleep 'til. . .

Original photo by  Brian Roberts

OK, I'm not really going to Brooklyn, but the song was stuck in my head.  So, you're welcome.  Just a small service I provide free of charge.

Any way, TWO WEEKS, it's been two weeks since I've surfed.  I've been doing other things, but I honestly miss the water.

Last weekend, the 25th and 26th of January, was an epic weekend for swell on the west coast.  We had a strong W-NW ground swell charging in that was the right period (time between waves) and angle (direction towards the beach) for most of California.  From Mavericks all the way down to Imperial Pier it was head high or bigger.
 
Speaking of Mavericks, they had the annual contest there on the 24th of January.  It was HUGE to say the least.  Mavericks did not disappoint.

Seal Beach, which is one of my local breaks, and Katin Surf Shop also held a contest the previous weekend.  Seal Beach experienced some very large surf and the contest had great waves.

I wimped out and skipped surfing both Saturday and Sunday.  Wah wah wah.  I live in the Huntington Beach area which is all beach break.  We haven't been getting a lot of rain (nothing significant since Thanksgiving) so the sandbars are not set up like they usually are in the winter.  As a result, the swell was more powerful than the beach could handle.

I did go to the beach that Sunday the 26th and watch guys hopelessly paddle out only to get pile-driven into the sand once they actually dropped into a wave.  It was both awesome and scary to watch Mother Nature doing her thing.

Original photo by Kristine Paulus

Now, let's move on to this weekend the 1st and 2nd of February.  Happy Groundhog's Day, by the way.  Sorry to anybody living outside of California.  Even if we get six more weeks of "winter", California winter is really weak.  It may as well be fall or spring compared to anywhere else in the country.

This weekend the swell and tide were all kinds of weird.  The swell activity went from epic last weekend to non-existent this weekend.  Plus, the tide was going through very large swings.  Really high High Tides and negative Low Tides made the surf hard to come by even with the little bit of wave energy we were getting.

Instead of surfing, I purchased some TRX goodies.  I purchased the TRX Pro suspension trainer from a local dude off of Craig's List.  It is awesome and holy cow, body weight exercise is a lot tougher than I expected.  The other TRX goodie I purchased is The Rip Trainer.  It is a stick-and-ball type training device.  The resistance is attached to one end.  It creates a dynamic off-balance load.  The idea is to use it to help with my SUP paddling.  I also purchased an Indo Board trainer to help with my balance out in the water.  My new Infinity Phoenix is stable, but has different characteristics than the Walden Magic Model I had before.

I've been using my new toys and boy, are my muscles tired.  I really enjoy the workouts.  I'm ready to get back in the water though.  I need to man-up and just get out there the next time we have a good swell event.  Hopefully, all the TRX training during the week will pay dividends on the weekends.

Until next time,
Clayton

Saturday Surf Session

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

This past Saturday the 11th I went surfing for the first time in The New Year.  The last time I was in the water was the Saturday before Christmas.  It certainly felt that way too.

I met my surfing buddy at the tried and true Anderson Street.  That has become our spot.  We surf it no matter what, which can be good and bad.

This past Saturday was good.  We spent a total of 2.5 hours out in the surf.  Surfline kind of fooled me into thinking it was bigger than it really was so I grabbed my Meyerhoffer Lemondrop.  Thankfully, the surf did have some decent energy and shape.  Plus, the Lemondrop is just a magical board.  It paddles very easily, is fast down the line, and turns on a dime.  So, I still had a lot of fun.

It felt good to be in the water again.

Until next time,
Clayton

Amongst The Stars

This past Saturday, January 4th, one of my bicycling buddies decided it would be a great idea to ride Glendora Mountain Road up to the parking lot of The Mount Baldy Ski Resort.  Sure, why not?

I didn't think I would have too much trouble with the ride.  I've done 80% of it before and I just recently rode 160 miles total during the Christmas and New Years weeks.  On top of that, I own enough bicycle parts that I was able to switch from a standard 39/53 chainring setup to a 34/50 compact chainring setup.  I also put a few more teeth in the back removing my 12/25 cassette and installing my 12/27 cassette.

The problem is my buddy that made the suggestion in the first place.  The guy is good enough to have been a domestic pro cyclist.  The pro cyclist ship has sailed, but he still possesses the ability to just crush it on the bicycle.

The route from his house up to 4000 ft elevation took the two of us about three hours.  He stayed with me the entire time chatting away like we were on any other casual ride.  My conversation was labored because I was cruising up the hill with my heart rate at 175 beats per minute.  I'm 35, my theoretical max heart rate is 185 bpm.  So, I was clipping along at 95% max for those three hours.

Once we reached 4000 feet I was done.  I didn't know I was done until we stopped to eat and drink for a moment at The Buckhorn Restaurant.  Once I was ready again, we started up the final leg of four miles and another 2000 feet of elevation gain towards the parking lot.  I got about a half mile into it and my heart rate went through the roof.

From there I did the next three miles about 1/10th of a mile at a time.  That was all the longer I could sustain 185 bpm before my legs would start to cramp.  I would stop each time, unclip from my pedals, and bring both my breathing and heart rate back down to a reasonable rate before I started again.

I made it to 6000 feet elevation before I called it quits.  I was struggling and didn't know exactly how much further it was to the very top.

Humiliated that I couldn't make it, I returned to The Buckhorn.  Once I was there, I ate the remainder of my food, drank my Red Bull, and noticed that the temperature was dropping fast because the sun was starting to set.  I had been in the saddle for about four hours at this point.

I put on my arm warmers and vest and bombed down Mt Baldy Road to the bottom.  That was fun and totally worth all the pain getting up there.  At the bottom of the hill I was completely fine and able to clip along at almost 20mph back to my buddy's house.  What a difference oxygen makes!!

All total I did 65 miles, 6000 feet of climbing, and 4.5 hours of saddle time.  This ride was definitely a great way to kick off the new cycling season.  You can view my Strava file here and my Training Peaks file here depending on which you prefer.

Keep it rubber side down!
Clayton

P.S. This isn't over Mt Baldy and GMR.  I'm coming back and I will make it to the top.