The Changing Mat

My friend Rob rides motorcycles. Big, no bullshit bikes. He rides everywhere, and often. Sometime last summer Rob realized he needed something to set his wheel on when changing a tube, something that he could also use as a doormat for his domicile. Enter the Trailmaster Adventures Changing Mat. Developed in the Colorado backcountry, the Changing Mat is a lightweight, quick drying, American made mat that just so happens to work wonders when you're climbing out of a wet wetsuit.

CD | TG

Clovis Donizetti and Trevor Gordon surfing a smooth little single fin somewhere down south.

Surf Wagon: Volkswagen T3 Vanagon DOKA Syncro

Spotted this uber rare 1987(?) Volkswagen T3 Vanagon DOKA (Doppelkabine) Syncro truck on Sunday. Don't know the details, but it's safe to say this is one of the wildest Surf Wagons I've ever seen!

Click here to learn more about the Type 2 Transporter.

Finterview: Christian Wach Canvas Fin

It's a big bastard. Ten and a quarter inches tall and seven inches across. A fin that allows for a lot of upright rotation. Designed by Christian Wach from Canvas Surfboards, this True Ames fin is sorta like a late seventies mullet - all business up front and a party in the back. I put it on my 9'6" Becker UFO, a board that I really haven't been riding, but has been the basis for most, if not all, of our Finterviews. So I stuck it on the stern and paddled out to find a few peelers.

Isaiah Toothtaker

What I've been listening to lately...

Seems So Obvious

A few folks have asked us about the custom motorcycle and classic surfboard show we're hosting next month. Not questions regarding its location, or whether there'll be beer, but questions about our intentions, about whether we honestly think these two tribes can co-exist. Come together. Well, we say of course they can! In most parts of this planet, where people surf and the sun shines, there's an abundance of motorbikes. So-Cal, Australia and Indonesia - home to both misbehaving motorcyclists and loggers alike. Don't you know Deus!? It just seems so obvious. Bikes and boards. Two of the three infinite cools. So there you have it. An explanation. A why-you-doin-dat for those that don't know.

Click here to learn more about Two Tribes: Custom Motorcycles + Classic Surfboards.

Bing Boys Surfing San O

Mick Rodgers, Adam Cap, and Kyle Chambers from Bing Surfboards spent some time at San O.

Oliver Parker

A short bit of film featuring So-Cal slider, Oliver Parker, produced by Luca Merli and Matteo Ferrari.

A Going Away Gift

I went away for a week. To the midwest for a motorcycle rally. Work and whatnot. But before I left on Sunday, we surfed. It wasn't what we expected to see when we showed up. There were signs - swells rolling through, strait and narrow, breaking on a beach we never see break. But this big?! A going away gift, clearly. So as soon as we parked, I slipped into my suit, grabbed the blue banana and paddled out as fast as fast as possible.

Cherry Pie and Windy Waves

We knew it'd be windy, with waves from the west. But it wasn't that bad. Better than it looked. So after a banana and some sorta chocolate protein juice box thing, I paddled out to find a few. A couple of clean little lefts, rights that were alright. It was crowded by comparison. Ten, maybe twelve people had also paddled out. But I don't give a damn. Makes things more interesting.

Karissa came out, as did Derek. I had been surfing the south end with a friend from Bremerton, but paddled north so I could snake a few waves from my future wife. She didn't seem to mind, though. After a few hours, we went in and found some friends we hadn't seen for many moons. Then dinner, drinks and some damn good cherry pie.

Poler Stuff & PBC Schwag

Interested in a Poler shirt, some stickers, a key chain and a couple of Peanut Butter Coast wax scrappers? Just share this shit on your Facebook page and we'll pick a winner when we get back from the beach!

Secret Stache

A couple of quarters can fund a lot of fun. We've done it once before - picked up some stick-on staches at the general store and wandered around town while everyone eyeballed are business. They were milky white and wouldn't stay on the last time we tried. So, not wanting to waste a weekend, we bought a handful of big black mustaches and took a few photos. Funny, but I kinda want a fu-manchu now...

Sunday Slides

There was some surf on Sunday. Small sets separated by a few seconds. The wind was working from the west, but it was better than I had anticipated. My first few were not even knee high, so I went south in search of something sizable. Chris caught a couple. A slow go'er standing up to his shoulder. I watched as he went one way, then the other. "Where the fuck did that come from?!" Chris just smiled and paddled past. I managed to find a few of my own. Grabbed rail and got in there before the stoke store closed. Ran out to the end on an ugly right. Still need to sort out all this backside cross stepping stuff. Ms.Wood took a few photos for me. Looks worse than it was. And now I can't wait for the weekend.

Motorcycles & Misbehaving

On Sunday, when there were no waves, my friend Joe and our buddy Bob decided to test their sand riding skills somewhere south of our surf spot. Now these aren't your ordinary motorbikes. These big Bavarian bastards are built for long, off-road adventures. And while they're ideal for riding a gravel highway to God knows where, they're a bit big, especially when you set'em down in the sand!

Small Waves & Strong Drinks

We knew what it would look like. A two foot swell from the southwest, sixteen seconds separating and wind from the west. That spells small. There was, however, the off chance that the sand bars would build. Maybe we'd see something a bit bigger. But when I woke up around six on Saturday the waves were waist high. There was a light onshore wind and sun in the sky. I paddled out around eight. There were two, maybe three other people out there. First few waves were fantastic. Clean little lefts. Karissa came out and caught a couple. Took two trips to the nose. Nothing to write home about. Wind turned on after a few hours. Crumble crap and inconsistent intervals. Oh well. It was wonderful for awhile.

Beach Day

A few friends surfing a small Florida swell. As seen on Stoke Harvester.

Memo from the Surf Desk: Salty Stink Eye

It didn't last long. Maybe just a moment. I was interested to know what he was riding. It looked long. And old. Yellowed from years under a southern sun. A dozen dings. Open sores and bandaged battle wounds. Some call it character. It was shaped by someone I sort of know, someone that's shaping me a stick. So I asked, "Matt make that thing?" It was an honest question. But I'll be damned if I didn't get some salty stink eye in exchange. Cause only kooks ask questions, right?

Shame on me for giving a shit. For acting interested. I guess you're supposed to stay steely-eyed at all times, staring straight ahead, acknowledging no one. Just you and your wave. Everyone else can go to hell! No, wait, that sounds like a buncha bullshit. All this hard as a fuck, salty stink eye stuff needs a new home. It's the ocean. You don't own it. And honestly, you probably suck at surfing. So lighten up. Smile when you see someone else sliding. When they're excited and you're envious. It'll make for more fun.

Sincerely,

Duke Dangerpants

Josh Constable x Byron Bay

Josh Constable surfing Byron Bay sometime in September. Really dig that upright action on the nose.

Two Weeks Too Long

It had been a bit. Two weeks since I was in the water. One weekend we were riding motorcycles, then a wedding the weekend that followed. So when Wednesday arrived, when we're supposed to be celebrating our independence, we decided to surf instead of staying in the city for shitty fireworks and what not.

We headed outta town on Tuesday. Had dinner and a drink at the Next Door Gastropub. Pitched our tent around ten. Beers before bed. I was in the water around eight the next morning. Banana and a slice of bread. Windless waves. Small but surfable. Joe Sanchez joined me, as did Ms.Wood. It was wonderful.

This Joint

What I've been listening to lately...

The Mechanics Mate

I'll admit, I am mildly obsessed with motorcycles at the moment. I've always been interested, but after two weeks away from the water, shit, I don't know if I can still surf! So while we wait for the weekend, I give you this, a 200cc no bullshit bike built by the guys at Deus Ex Machina that's currently sitting atop my #wishlist. Deus builds beautiful bikes. Simple yet sufficient. Fast and fun and affordable. A little something for us sand hippies. They're latest creation, 'The Mechanics Mate,' is a stripped down Honda GL 200, with 18" wheels, a custom tank, simple seat and a surf rack. What more do you want?