Is this summer ..... it's becoming quite the norm to get bloody lovely weather in April, only to find that the summer ends up on the wet side of shiny!
Lisa, me and Tilly are heading off to Exmoor (well, the edge of Exmoor) for 4-days later this afternoon. The plan is to get some proper outside time, with a spot of surfing mixed in!
My tattoo has settled in well and it's ace having some ink that was specifically sketched for me, with bits about me, Lisa and even Tilly in it!
Really looking forward to the summer hol. Doing our PADI, a spot of 'nice' mountain biking, a Spa (Lisa's idea for me to do it as well); Lisa is planning on doing morning yoga and I'm going to be surfing in-between it all.

Yay, a spot of sunshine!

After last nights mid-week drinks I think hitting the gym this evening is going to be a struggle. I'm even struggling to get changed and take Tilly out for a walk in the lovely sunshine. I think it could be the fact that I just need to survive 'til the end of the week and then we're off to Exmoor for a few days (staying in a cottage & not camping) for some fresh air and a couple of dashes to the beach if the surf and sun make a decent appearance.

The www.eyeballhq.tv  re-launch was a cracking weekend. Lisa and me didn't arrive 'til late in the evening (M4 was jammed) but we still managed to pack the drink in, meet with friends and have a lot of fun - Lisa was a tad confused when the bar was found to be closed at about 12.30am. Trev looked seriously chuffed that so many guys & girls had turned up to help get the party started.

Also, after catching up with Jojo at the weekend I think we're going to give NASS a go this year. Lisa and me went to Wakestock last year but it's a bloody long way to go for a Saturday & Sunday - I loved the wakeboarding though!

Bring on  the summer ...

Hate being ill!

Thank f*%k it's the end of the week. It' actuually been a pretty short 'working' one but flipping heck it's been a hard one. Should have run the Reading Half on Sunday but was in no condition to be leaving the apartment, never mind running 13 miles. A tad gutted, as I was planning on using the run as a training session to help with the GWR atthe beginning on May. I'll have to put the effort into running 13 miles another weekend, with out the motivation of being surrounded by hundreds of other runners.

No real plans for this weekend apart from taking it easy! Next weekend I'm in Woolly (need to get down pretty dam fast on Friday night) for something special happening with Trev and Eyeball ... as usual trev has been a wee bit secretive about what his re-launch actually include - although the new graphics on his van give a few big hints.

Must also throw an email in the direction of the lake guys, to find out when wakeboarding starts up again. It's usually around Easter that things start up again but when with the Royal wedding etc, I don't really know what's going on with holidays and weekends. Still, I'm really looking forward to strapping on the old impact vest again.

A bottle of wine will help me feel better ...... I just know it will!

With a week off work ahead, I'm looking forward to a spot of sofa-time. Have work to do and a bit of DIY but I should be able to find the time to get my brain working closer to 100% again. The motorbike needs checking out before I start using it again  and I want to do a bit of fiddling with my mountainbike before hitting the welsh hills with Barney on Friday  
In slightly bigger news, I'm also planning on getting my new tattoo started. It's going to take a few hours and possibly a couple of sessions 

Man, it's been a hard few months. I'll not go into any detail but I feel as though a huge weight has been removed from my shoulders.

Hit Woolly for the weekend and as sad as the reason was, it was great to see everyone. The surf club all made the effort to attend this weekend to say goodbye to Indian, who sadly passed over Christmas. It was a lovely memorial paddle-out. the sun made an appearance and we even managed to find a slightly more sheltered spot to gather and join in a circle. Both Indian's parents and children attended the day and it was very strong of Indian's dad to thank us all for coming together to say goodbye.

We all had a few drinks to celebrate Indian and his life on Saturday night, and after a couple of months off the beer, I felt a little hung-over the following morning.

It was a beautiful weekend and no better way to say bye to a friend.

Santa is a professional surfer ..... link

Sad news has made its way over the ocean this morning. Confirmed reports that 3X World Champion Andy Irons has passed away.

HONOLULU – (November 2, 2010) — The world of surfing mourns an incredibly sad loss today with the news that Hawaii’s Andy Irons has died. Andy was a beloved husband, and a true champion. Irons, 32, withdrew from a professional surfing event in Puerto Rico last weekend due to illness and passed away during a layover en-route to his home in Kauai, Hawaii. He had reportedly been battling with dengue fever, a viral disease.

At this time the family thanks his friends and fans for their support, and asks that the community respect its privacy. The family also asks to not be contacted so their focus can remain on one another during this time of profound loss.

Andy leaves behind his wife Lyndie and their unborn child.

Ok, so neither Lisa or I were completely prepared for the challenge but I was at about 85% so wasn't worried. Lisa was a little more concerned

Actually it wasn't that bad at all. With a bit more training we'd have improved on our times but Lisa's biggest challenge was the mountainbike section. Lisa loves pottering about on her mountainbike and following the occasional bumpy track but off-road really isn't her thing & so screaming down hill over wet roots and rocks was a complete unknown for her. Still, she did very well and with a bit of ahead shouting/warning from me, she really

pushed her skill limit (with out falling off).

Dave & Barney did very well & if it hadn't been for a slight direction issue, they'd have come very high up on the list of finishers ..... as it happened they did the same distance as everyone else but missed a check-point and so received a time penalty - at least next year should see a significant time improvement should they remember to hit every time-check.

Will I do it again ..... most definitely!

Last wakeboard of the year ..... Went out last night and had a few beers (followed by a curry & then more beer) and so getting up this morning was a struggle. Still, after a spot of grunting and groaning I did make it out of my pit and into the car. None of the promised sunshine but unlike last week the lake was nice and calm (last week was a bloody nightmare with strong wind and rain) and it just felt good ***COLD*** to get wet. Still loving the heal-side but switch is hard work. My jumps are coming along and one of my wake-to-wakes was so big that it not only surprised Lisa in the boat but it pretty much shocked me as well Lisa's riding is also improving and growing in confidence .... really a shame the lake will be closed 'til April next year.

Went out last night and had a few beers (followed by a curry & then more beer) and so getting up this morning was a struggle. Still, after a spot of grunting and groaning I did make it out of my pit and into the car None of the promised sunshine but unlike last week the lake was nice and calm (last week was a bloody nightmare with strong wind and rain) and it just felt good ***COLD*** to get wet. Still loving the heal-side but switch is hard work. My jumps are coming along and one of my wake-to-wakes was so big that it not only surprised Lisa in the boat but it pretty much shocked me as well Lisa's riding is also improving and growing in confidence .... really a shame the lake will be closed 'til April next year.

Still torn between my MYOPERA blog and BLOGGER. Established and have loads of pics etc on MYOPERA but like the simplicity of BLOGGER ...... Mmmmmm!

Anyway, summer is well and truely over. Only a couple of weeks left of the wakeboarding season until the boats & boats are locked away for the winter :(

It was Rich's birthday last weekend and even with a nasty bug we headed to the coast for beer, surf and more beer. Planned to be in the bar by 9.30pm on the Friday but the M5 had other plans for us - it was completely closed from about 7pm-2am ..... Aaaaagh! So, we eventually arrived at 1.30am after taking a few sneaky detours (once we had managed to get off the M5). The guys who didn't know the sneakier routes didn't arrive until closer to 3am! Still, once we all arrived the weekend was a blast. Softball on the beach followed by a surf in the afternoon. The bar soon followed & then it was into Woolly for food, more beer & Mariscos (all Good!). Lisa managed to pull the second scariest man of the evening (the scariest man was his mate & was eagerly looking on as I contemplated stepping in to protect my honour - & that of Lisa's). Although I think I had the scariest man of the evening was caught on his back-foot due to the fact that as soon as he entered the club I wandered up to him (in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle outfit) & asked him what the hell he did for a job ...... he was huuuuge and covered in tattoos & I was curious was such a scary man would do for a living! You'll be amazed to know that we/I survived the night and safely arrived home late on Sunday.

Wakeboarding tomorrow morning. It's been a couple of weeks since I last hit the lake & I'm hoping that I can improve on my jumps and that my wetsuit dies out (I hate putting a damp wetsuit on). looks like heavy rain tomorrow :(

Think that's about it .... Oh yeh, I now have a motorbike. Definitely going to avoid riding it to work in the wet (that's why I still have a car) but loving the freedom. Just a tad frustrated/confused/annoyed that somehow my bike-box actually fell off the other day en-route to work ..... didn't see it, hear it and no one flashed or beeped to tell me hit had fallen off (or hit their car. Reported it's loss to the Police thinking someone would have reported me for an unsafe load but no joy. I think gremlins must be taking the piss out of me from the bushes!

Back at work and the weather has completely changed. We've gone from the barmy 28'C of the weekend and the triathlon to cooler and much wetter weather.

Looking at the Wakestock line-up the festival should be a great one..... Ting-Tings, Maximo Park, Plan-B & Feeder are just a few of the guys and girls appearing ont he variety of stages. Radio 1 are also going to be there.

How ever, before hitting Wakestock I really must get my arse in gear and do some actual work so that I can afford to keep going on these little adventures.

It's the rough Ride this weekend as well but I think that I'll gve it a miss for either a laid-back weekend at home or a spot of wakeboarding ..... Mmmmm, what to do?

Finally .... I need to get fitter!

Just messing with Blogger again and wasting a bit of time before hitting the shower and then going to bed. Over the last year or so I've been blogging on myopera but a load of my mates use this site to blog their world.

Ok, so there is a lack of smileys etc but it might be worth a play ...... myopera is a lot more user friendly though and photo albums are very easy to throw together.

..... lets see how this looks.

True to form, I have some free time at work in which I should be catching up with things and instead I'm faffing around on the old internet looking for the best blog site to switch to ........ I have too many sites and email addresses on the go!