I am definitely becoming more comfortable with a softer mat now and after a few nondescript rides on the less the perfect waves coming through a really nice left sat up for me. Boy did letting the breath out of the mat pay off for this ride as the Tracker took off down and across the face at great speed and then I really felt it kick into another gear and it gained even more speed. Absolutely sensational! I don't know the number of times now that I have needed to reassess my understanding of what the mat riding experience really is and it has happened again! It is such an absorbing process as I am thinking about it all long after I have gotten out of the water and just amped to get back on the mat so as it can show me more of what it can do that I have yet to learn.
I am so close now to giving up riding a stand up board entirely as the number of times I have taken out a board and then come back in to get a mat is starting to get ridiculous.
It is after a session such as this that I can so identify with PG's Incredible Dreams article where he starts off talking about how difficult it is to explain to others what is about mat riding that is so captivating and entrancing. He refers to it as "Real-world magic"! The frustration I am feeling in not being able to share this is beautifully captured in the following sentence.
"The catch, of course, is that our personal brush with enchantment is rarely applicable to those who are not of like mind, body and spirit"
Mat riding has thoroughly rattled my mind, body and spirit and I am completely and utterly grateful to those who have made this possible and proud for having been open enough to accept this great gift and emerse myself in the awe and wonder that it provides.
If I had a nickel for every time I rode a wave then said "Wow, what just happened!" Well I wouldn't be a millionaire but I would definitely have enough for a new mat! The adventure continues after decades of wave riding.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adventure!
ReplyDeleteRiding a mat is an incredible thing. I've surfed the same spot for five straight days this week. I've gone back and forth between the mat and a board. Today it was on the smaller side, so I thought I would need a board. Imagine my horror when few bombs rolled through. My first thought? "#$%#&! I could have been on my mat!!"
ReplyDeleteExactly what happened to me the other day! "Why, oh why didn't I bring a mat out?" I berated myself.
ReplyDeleteBok, bok bok.....if you're chucking your longboard this little chicken will add it to her quiver.
ReplyDelete