Wakesurfing – Lake Tahoe

The Truth from Liquid Force Films

Like ski movies, I often look to wakeboarding videos for new music. The Truth is by far the best wakeboarding movie released in the past couple years. The video editing is amazing. The soundtrack isn’t bad either. Here’s a link to the soundtrack on iTunes (it’s not the complete soundtrack, some songs aren’t available at iTunes).

Movie – The Truth
Producer – Liquid Force Productions
Soundtrack Rating – 4 Stars

Also see ski movie soundtracks at:

2006-07 Ski Movie Soundtracks
2005-06 Ski Movie Soundtracks

Mason Jennings

What is it about musicians from your home town? If they’re good, that simple relation makes ‘em GREAT. I saw Mason Jennings here in San Francisco last night, and wanted to know more about his Minnesota roots. Here’s what I found:

Mason Jennings is what you call the complete performer. He is a committed and honest performer and musician. This quality has made him one of the most popular artists on the acoustic music scene. He has cult following. Amazingly he has sold 30,000 copies of his first two albums and has performed at sold out shows around the country and all that without any major label backing.

Mason Jennings was born in 1975 in Pittsburgh, PA. His father moved to Minneapolis, MN, when Jennings was very young. Mason Jennings was already interested in music and his father occasionally gave him tapes of bands that were prominent in the Twin City music scene. He developed the love for the guitar when he was 13 years old. He also stared writing songs at this young age. Eventually his love for music convinced him that this was what he wanted to pursue.

Mason Jennings dropped out of school and moved to Minneapolis. Here he started to work on his music full-time. By the time he turned 19, he was already catching the fancy of recording labels. But for Jennings his artistic and creative freedom were very important and therefore he stayed away from the labels. Jennings worked on his first album and featured only him and his guitar. He also produced his first album. The album was a hot and got a lot of airplay on the local radio stations. He also played at Minneapolis’ 400 Bar, and this help him build his fan base.

Jennings formed his band soon after, it consisted of bassist Robert Skoro and drummer Chris Stock. He started work on his second album, but Jennings contracted mononucleosis and was forced to take six months off from performing and recording. After he recovered he released his new album, “Birds Flying Away.” Jennings continued touring and released his next album “Century Spring” in 2002. It as eagerly anticipated and was very well received.

Surfing Sayulita and Punta de Mita

If you’re looking for a nice surf get-away to Mexico, consider the Sayulita, Punta de Mita area. With regular flights into Puarto Villarta, you’ll be surfing within an hour of touchdown.

Where to Stay?
The two most popular towns are Sayulita and Punta de Mita. If you’re looking for action and don’t mind a crowded break or driving 30-40 minutes for some solitude, Sayulita is your place. The road between Sayulita and Punta Mita is now paved, and takes about 25 minutes, see route. Without any “real” hotels or condos, renting a casa is the call. See www.sayulita.com for listings. On the other side of the peninsula is Punta de Mita (see route from PV airport), a chill fishing village experiencing rapid condo growth. Enjoy the pool and privacy of your condo. Eating options are a bit limited. Another option, several clicks down the road, is Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa, an all inclusive resort. The resort is a good size, priced well, with fair quality. With Burros at your front door, a couple morning sessions make everything right.

There are a few more breaks in the area, but here’s the short list.

San Pancho
Location: Town of San Panco, a.k.a. San Francisco, next exit (road) north of Sayulita.
More: Fast short break that doesn’t always go.

Sayulita
Location: Town of Sayulita (GPS 20.87036, -105.44152)
Type: Longboard, shortboard. Mostly rights
Quality: decent wave that goes without much swell. Facing more north west, it picks up swells.
Tide: works on most any tide
Vibe: Crowded with locals and tourists
More: The chill little surf town has become crowed and too busy for my liking.

The Cove
Location: Punta de Mita Point, southern most bay
Quality: Ponga drivers and guides say it’s the best break around. But, they’re after your pesos.
Access: Ponga from Sayulita or Punta de Mita, or 40 minute walk from the town of Punta Mita (rocky walk that can rip your favorite old flops)
Tide: High, gets shallow on low tide
Vibe: Tourists competing for the ride of their trip. Go early.
More: Exposed and not protected from wind, gets junky.

El Anclote
Location: Town of Punta de Mita (GPS 20.177172, -105.51925)
Type: Longboard, right
Quality: Good beginner break. Mellow pitch, slow, and long.
Tide: Most, inside gets shallow. Be sure to find best path out.
Vibe: Mellow
More: Usually 1-3 ft, right

La Lancha
Location: South or east of Punta de Mita (GPS 20.76375, -105.49411)
Type: Lonboard, most rights, few lefts
Quality: Good longboard wave
Access: Ponga or 40 minute beach walk from Punta de Mita, see route.
Tide: Best on incoming tide, then outgoing tide. Shallow on low tide
Vibe: Mellow
More: Goes when everything else is flat, small but better than nothing. Watch out for Coral heads, especially near the take off. More photos.

Punta Burros
Location: Palladium Vallarta Resort and Spa (GPS 20.75163, -105.45307)
Type: Longboard, shortboard
Quality: Great, favorite break in the area
Access: Stay at resort or park outside the resort gate on the left, near the taxis. Find path along the fence line to the left. See route.
Tide: High is best, but works on most anything
Vibe: Decent, can get busy on weekends with locals and resorters
More: Left is steeper and throws a bit. Right is longer with a mellower pitch. Because Burros has easy access, ponga drivers and guides push The Cove and La Lanca. But don’t let them steer you away, don’t miss this wave. More photos.

Downieville

Downieville is mountain biking heaven. You shuttle to the top then descend, what seems like, endless single track. For whatever reason, we took a different approach.  We shuttled as high as the vans would go, then climbed for a couple hours under pedal power. All in all, it was a great adventure, a well documented one too.

Helmet cam footage – Baby Doll Heads

More helmet cam footage:
Divides (crash) – I’m still unsure what happened?
Big Boulder

Wakeboarding 2006

My blog is slowly becoming a bunch of video clips….oh well, it must be a phase.

He’s another clip from the cabin in Minnesota.

Wakesurfing

There’s nothing better then an endless wave. Without question, wakesurfing is the best thing to happen to water sports since wakeboarding….

Chris Holmes is the second rider, he’s an insane wakeboarder too.

Waterski Paradise

B, I, and a few friends were fortunate enough to spend a day on a private water ski lake in Northern California. A hand carved lake in the heart of wine country. Butter smooth water surrounded by vineyards… paradise.

At its deepest point, the lake is only 5 feet deep. Not quite enough for a sizable wake boarding wake, so I went back to my water skiing roots and took few runs at the course. What a blast! I totally forgot how fun it is.

Thanks a million to for sharing your little slice of heaven with us.

Check out the below video:

Ski Movie Soundtracks – 2005-06

Looking for a few new tunes? How isn’t? Fresh music isn’t easy to find. When in need of new beats, I turn to ski movies. Why? Because the producers share the same passion, and most importantly, their shallow pockets can’t afford big hit titles like: ‘Til Tuesday, Great White, or Berlin. They’re forced to scrape the doldrums of the music vault for undiscovered, inspiring melodies.

Here’s a list of this seasons best videos with links to their soundtracks (iMix) on iTunes. (iMixes only include songs available at iTunes, about 80%)

Movie – Hit List
Producer -  Matchstick Productions
Songs - 18
Soundtrack Rating  – 4 Stars

Movie – The Tangerine Dream
Producer -  Teton Gravity Research
Songs - 15
Soundtrack Rating  – 4 Stars

Movie – Teddybear Crisis
Producer -  Teddybear Crisis
Songs - 11
Soundtrack Rating  – 3 1/2 Stars

Movie – White Shine
Producer -  Pléhouse Films
Songs - 8
Soundtrack Rating  – 4 1/2 Stars

And then there’s Warren Miller. Since someone already created they iMix, here it is:

Movie – Higher Ground
Producer -  Warren Miller
Songs - 24
Soundtrack Rating – 2 1/2 Stars

Appetite Seminar

Every Thanksgiving, the mounting biking community of the Bay Area gathers for the Appetite Seminar. It’s exactly what the title suggests. A party ride  to build your appetite for an endless feast.  The unorganized/organized ride starts out of Fairfax and climbs Bolinas-Fairfax Rd to Pine Mountain Loop and descends Repack.

I wasn’t super stoked to descend Repack, until I heard of its recent make-over. The dirt-cats worked over time to transform the rutted fireroad into a high-speed groomers choice.

Next year we’ll make better time and get to Fairfax before the beer is gone…

See more pictures here