Out in the snow and looking for surf spots

Somewhere south of Duns

 

North Berwick

Hidden Beach

Bed

Nice surf and a new bike

Got in for a nice surf at Pease on friday morning, small but nicely lined up. Zip snapped on my wetsuit getting in so got done up by a dog walker. Need to work out a fix. Caught some ok waves, but regreted taking the longboard in. Went in and swapped for the carpet which felt better but was getting cold and tired. No pics so here is one of my new bike!

Xmas Surf

Had a belter in howling offshores at Pease. I checked a couple of Lothian spots I knew roughly about en-route but opted instead for Pease. It was pumping into the wind but approaching high tide, and still rusty after an autumn with no surfing I took the log along to Little Pease to avoid the pack dropping in on each other on the reef. Does anyone not drop in at Pease? Anyway I chased the lefts off the rocks and had some very high speed rides, chasing the closeout on each wave. No chance of a turn, just set the inside rail, grab the outside rail and hang on. The last wave was a belter, with a section that allowed me to slow it down, stand tall, enjoy the moment, reset the rail and haul arse down the line again. I came in after that, as I had flogged my arms and figured the session had reached its peak. Roll on more regular surfing in 2013.

 Took a snap of the reef as I drove up the hill.

 

Elise moves up to Scotland

The 19^th of Dec saw a major change in the life of the Elise as it once again moved up to live in Scotland and therefore to see service on some proper roads once more. Having not moved since the end of August I charged the battery, bought a tax disk and set off on the 250 miles schlep to just outside Edinburgh, stopping first for a morning’s work at the orifice. Gulp. All was well in the morning with the exception of the windscreen washer bottle that has lost its seal. After lunch I fuel up and head north. The first good news was that the change of fuel filler hoses seemed to have solved the fuel smell, which was getting very bad.

Bit of road dirt

Anyway, earplugs in and it was a nice cruise up the M6 and M64 until boredom struck at Moffet and I dived off to have a run at one of my favourite roads, the A708 Moffat to Selkirk. Heavy rain, darkness and a long time out of the car led to steady start but soon the pace was picked up and I was reminded about all the good things about the Elise. That mini LMC race-car effect given by the single wiper and view down the front arches; the usability of the 160 engine; the knowledge of its limits and the precision of the steering. Magic. An hour later I was home and to the surprise of my folks, without the aid of the AA man.

I have since been out in the car twice over Xmas, both times for short blasts checking out the local East Lothian roads. Going from Manchester to Scotland has once again transformed ownership of this silly little car. Gone from not making much sense and being a bind to own (at times) to feeling just right again. It felt like it needed more power on the M60 but on the roads it was designed for it is just about perfect. The paintwork aint going to last long on these winter roads, but what the hell, this is what ownership is all about.