Some of the guys went to a baseball game to support our local minor league team - the Trenton Thunder.  As you can imagine, lights came in to play. In this case, the Swerve was taken out and turned on. All was great, until they were shut down by the man. Damn the man, man. The Swerve is just too powerful. I guess it makes sense, but still, damn the man.

Latest issue of Urban Velo kicked live yesterday… I was taking a nap. Read it. Then go ride something. As usual, I will be doing laps in the parking lot.

Eric says nah, this works for me just fine:

2 Sea Kayaks
1 Surf Kayak
2 Mounain Bikes


All other camping gear inside. Now he just has to hope he doesn’t get lifted off the ground for take off.

Admittedly, I don’t remember this cereal, but I do like anything that attempts to make wearing a helmet and a light cool for kids. 

As the advent of stand-up paddleboarding has caught the interest of all types of watermen - from New Jersey salesmen to Big Island tube riders - the sport is still, well, different from surfing. Yeah, you’re catching tons of waves, but you also might be catching stink eyes from other bros in the line-up for stealing their waves - unless your name is Laird, then you can do whatever you want. 

If you’re thinking of standing on foam with a paddle in hand, take the quick 7 question Dave Cozzone vs. Laird Hamilton challenge first and plan your entrance into the water accordingly:
 

Living On The Dash: What’s your occupation?
Dave: Director Domestic Sales and Marketing for PTec, full-time Dad.
Laird: Catching big waves, looking good – huh, great.
 

LOTD: Favorite food and drink?
D: Pizza and anything Italian – a nice Pinot.
L: Organic pine nut and wild oat hummus – water (sometimes a Fresca after a big 50-foot day at JAWS).
 

LOTD: How’d you get into stand-up paddleboarding?
D: Watching people who made it look easy – I’m over the whole laying on your stomach thing, plus my arms got tired.
L: I was catching TOO many perfect tubing waves while just surfing regularly and needed more of a challenge. Riding Teahupoo standing up, big challenge but nothing too heavy for me.

LOTD: Paddleboarders in the line-up, thoughts?
D: All I have to say is if you see me honking down a wave, you better get out of the way, fast.
L: Hey, a wave’s a wave – there’s one out there for everyone. Although it seems that I catch more than most. (laughs).
 

LOTD: How do you keep fit for paddleboarding?
D: Dreaming – it works the mind and body. But, weirdly, what really keeps me fit is looking at headlamps and handhelds all day.
L: Eight mile beach runs every morning before sunrise, followed by 2,000 pull-ups, 3,700 ab crunches, six hours in the water, meditation and two strawberry/banana smoothies.
 

LOTD: Advice for first-time paddleboarders?
D: I mean, I’m just starting out, but I’d say keep a mellow state-of-mind and practice your balance. For me, looking at PTec’s new SWERVE all day keeps my eyes trained for quick decision making in the water. Fishing also helps – you really learn how the ocean works.
L: Try it at your local break first and don’t expect fast results – practice is everything. Also, don’t expect to be Laird overnight.
 

LOTD: Biggest paddleboard role model?
D: Laird.
L: Dave.

Disclaimer: The rad Laird Hamilton had nothing to do with this story but inspiring us all to ride big waves. As for Dave, he’s still trying to figure out if wearing a leash is cool while paddleboarding. Good Luck!
                    

but at least Eric isn’t alone waiting for the dam to open… the Swerve is always with him.

I don’t know why, but this somehow makes sense to me.

Freshly back from Ontario. Long ride up, long ride down  - good stuff in between. A whole lot of racers (more than 2,000), along with a solid social scene, and nice vibe.
The guys from Chico Racing really know how to put together a great event. The race is well organized, and everything feels really easy.  The course is sweet. Every year they mix up it up, and this years course was fun, fast and clean. If you have any inclination, we highly recommend heading north of the boarder for next years race. They know how to have a good time, and how to build fun trails.
If you can’t wait til next year to ride in Canada, check out their 3-day mtb stage race - Crank the Shield.

Some quick pics:


Justin actually does work - we rented out a trailer load of lights:





and serviced lights during the night:





The Chico guys get people involved and have some some fun:





1-3 am dance party on the course and in the Misfit Pscycles camp pit:





Got some head and then got the boot:





Not to mention some good meals and chats with the Justin and Amanda from Dirt Rag:

Already looking forward to next years trip north.

Tomorrow we hit the road for the Canadian border and the wonderfull world of Bolton Ontario for 24 Hours of Summer Solstice. This is our second year at the race, and we are stoked to catch up with all of the great folks we meet last year.

As always, if you’re there,  stop by and say hi.

Saturday the 14^th marked the first of many Sherwood, Genesis, Akona, Henderson, Sealife, and Princeton Tec Demo Days.  All the manufacturers were on hand to demo all sorts of gear from BC’s to Wetsuits, and most importantly, a whole lot of lights.  We set up on Friday and managed to get a few test dives in with some new product, as well as some super secret prototypes we have around the office.  I also managed not to break anything, go me.  Saturday started fantastically early and before we knew it we had already lent out a bunch of gear.  There was a lot of interested surrounding the Shockwave LED; I often heard “I want one” or “I’ve got one and it’s great.”  We had a ton of burgers and dogs to hand out, which we had our first sometime around 9:30AM.

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As the day slowed down, most of the day divers were gone around 6, but a few stragglers were still around awaiting the night dive.  We had packed up most of the car, but left the left over hotdog and hamburger buns on the roof of the car so they could be placed inside last.  This was great idea right up until the first lightening storm arrived…then the second.  After 30 minutes of downpour, there was an executive decision made that the buns were most likely not going to make the ride home.  The night dive was moved a few minutes earlier in anticipation of the oncoming storm, as no one likes getting out of dive gear when there is lightening.  We rented out most of our shockwaves, as well as torrents and flares to match.  It was a fantastic day and hopefully we’ll get an even better turnout next year. 

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