Who Lives a long way from the ocean?

well, what is your distance? I am about 45 minutes without traffic

 

45 to an hour here...skate some concrete HOL, hike those hills around you...waves are the best, but there are other good things to do outside.

 

depends what beach, if I head directly east it's about a 50 minute drive to that island plus 20 mins to a decent break. Anywhere else it's over an hour. This is about as far away I'm willing to live from the coast. I've got some friends that lived west of philly before and would make that drive every time they wanted to surf, I wouldn't be able to handle that kind of drive, especially if it's waist high and mushy

 

I don't. I'm right there. surf more days then i don't
I have to give you respect because i honestly don't know how you guys do it. when i lived in Richmond for a year i pretty much gave up surfing except for a couple trips to the tropics, and few road trips up and down the coast. And when i did surf i surfed like ****. i went a little stir crazy not being able to see the ocean any time i wanted. i drank barrels of bourbon and i got fat on southern cooking. i looked like a meatball in my too small wetsuits.

when i moved back i told myself never again. Nothing against Richmond it was a hoot but i love Ocean.

 

that's one of the things I didn't like living on the east coast. You basically have to live in or near a coast town to catch the good days...or to even stay in good enough surfing shape to be able to really perform on the good days.

The west coast is so consistent, you can live up to a couple hrs from the beach and still get to surf several days every month. Anytime you get a chance to go to the beach, there will probably be some point in the day you can get a decent shortboard session.

 

I don't know how I would react. On the one hand, I would like to think I could use the distance as the ultra motivation and be a dedicated machine about waking up early, driving out and surfing. But I also told my wife years ago, that if we ever moved to a place like Baltimore, DC etc. I might get so frustrated and angry about it, that I may just quit surfing. And I don't mean like, not surf as much. I am talking about taking a 2 week vacation to Hawaii and not even looking at a surf board. Like, selling off the whole quiver. I would like to think that is not what I would do. But I don't know how many 2 hours drives to get skunked it would take. Or how many epic swells that I was stuck looking at pictures of, instead of surfing.

I know a lot of guys that make a LONG commute to surf. And I guess it just becomes a lifestyle. The norm. So, if that is what you are used to, it's no big deal. But when life catches up, and I start missing swell after swell, and it becomes so frustrating. I don't know. I would hope that I would take the high road, but I definitely could see it driving me mental.

I have friends that lived right on the ocean, surfed with me every day for almost 10 years. Now a couple of them live in western/central MD. I ask them how often they surf. My one friend said last time he surfed was like 3 years ago in Myrtle Beach. They go to OC MD a few times each summer. Don't even paddle out. They still have boards. At first, they would drive out and surf when major swell events were happening, then over time, they got fat, stopped surfing and literally would rather golf than do any kind of physical activity. They all had high hopes and told me that they would keep surfing. None of them surf. At all anymore.

Makes me wonder, how could you have done something, so fun, everyday for so long. Now, it means nothing to you. It's just a distant memory. It's a line you use at a bar to pick up a chick. Its nothing but the past.....

Good on anyone who stays stoked and puts in that work. Gotta be tough.

 

I gave up good steady jobs to pursue work where I could surf. I would need boatloads of women to satiate me if I didnt surf

 

x10

The west coast is not tide dependent. Nothing. You just grab a board and go whenever you want. Round here, I can't tell you how many days I score, albeit nothing epic, pretty fun days that are completely off the radar. Sometimes there are little bumps out there. The tide will magically start producing waist high lines out of no where. There is a lot to be said for just being there. There are so many "Flat" days that really aren't flat.

Can't tell you how many days I actually see a wave, go grab a board and go out. When if I just looked at the cams or the forecast, or the buoys, I would have not even gone to look. I would have just moved on with the day and checked the forecast again the next day.

 

Nah man an hour ride is just enough time for coffee breakfast and 2 spliffs...just gotta get all your ducks in a row and plan ahead...mind you I feel like my life has been one big avoidance strategy when it comes to all the sh!t we;re supposed to do, but I'm ok with that b/c I'll die smiling.

 

Only white women?

 

I edited it, let me add blow to the list

 

Amen. Same here. Looking at the forecast can make you miss out on some surprises that are so fun. And sometimes it seems they're re running an old cam, cuz the cam video sure doesn't always match the reality...Go before You Know.

 

Right on. The Main Line is a torturous option. Living in lower bucks county is about as far away as i can be happy with. Taking 195 straight to belmar tomorrow after work.

 

depends on the spot, but, in general, that is the case.

For instance, the spot I learned in wouldn't even look surfable at anything under a 3 point tide and would start to swamp out at over a 4 point tide.

The spot I surf now (30 min drive) is makeable at a much larger range of tides. Many days, depending on the wind, it's surfable from dawn to dusk...a cold water version of smyrna, with plenty of scary pacific swell days thrown in.

 

jeez im 15 minutes from the beach and I thought I lived far as fuk.its basically 15 minutes to ocean ave for me(nj) but once u get there,where im at,its all private beaches and luxery houses so u have to drive another 15 minutes to get to the regular beaches.iv been super lazy lately missing swells I hate myself for it.looks like 8footers for Thursday which sucks cus I have a dr appointment after work,but whateffs.

 

20 minute drive to the closest beach for me. Even at that short of a ride, it feels like im always in a huge race against time to get to the beach. I'll start to get all fidgety and aggro at other drivers, but in reality that stop light will only hold me up 30 seconds. I always get this feeling like I "just missed the good ones"

 

I live in Illinois so...

 

am I the only one that feels like I have to take an enourmous dump everytime I get to the beach?everytime,I think its fear mixed with pleasure