So as some of you may remember I started a thread a while ago about moving to the Pacific NW for better a better outdoors lifestyle. It then led to debates about shark attacks and hipsters and which regional cuis- oh wait, that was a different one. Anyway, I recently talked to someone in Colorado who extended a tempting job offer. The area has everything I'd want (mountains, great beer scene, climbing, hiking) except for surfing. But I've seen a lot of stuff about this river surfing now, and wondering if anyone's tried it. You think it'd scratch the itch? And besides...no sharks, right? As awesome as CO sounds, I'm still wary about having to give up surfing and the ocean, but this may be a solution to it all.
Doesn't look like it'd come close to working to scratch it. Watching the videos you have very limited movement and the water isnt too deep. For me surfing is the feeling of flying down the line or cutting whatever way you want in the wave whether it ends up with you eating sand or not, its still fun.
Hey bud I live in Co. near Vail, in spring we get some wicked holes to surf on the Colorado river. Summer we sup the upper Colorado. Late winter and late fall we travel to surf. South cal is only a 10 hr drive not so bad. Sure there is some really cool river videos of guys taking big drops over falls n such on sup s. I don't do that because I use it to train for when I go on trips. Broken bones don't do me any good in the ocean. Not a bad place to live. Good luck on your choice.
I've never river surfed, but I do whitewater kayak. That could be a really good alternative to surfing during times when you can't make the 10 hour trip to the coast. You can get a whole used setup (boat, skirt, paddle, helmet, life jacket) off craigslist for less than $400. It's a blast. The only downside, you ALWAYS have to go with someone else who's good enough to pull you out of a potentially sketchy situation.
^^^ agreed. The part I left out is that I recently sold all my kayaking gear to buy more surfing gear. There's no ideal substitute for surfing a real ocean wave.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Keep up practice and get to the coast when I can. I love surfing, but I also love the mountains just as much. Delaware is a pretty crappy place to live as an outdoors lover, and the surf here isn't even great to begin with. Especially now since they've dredged one of our two spots into oblivion and the other has just eroded all wrong over the course of this summer. I'll miss the occasional barrel ride...but honestly, it's pretty rare we'll have a day down here where that can actually happen. I'm sure in a place like CO it'd be easy enough to meet some experienced rivermen to link up and get out there with. I've got some thinking to do.
ever thought of moving to central virginia? It's got mountains, rivers, lakes, a bunch of craft breweries, AND it's only a 3-4 hour drive to VB or the OBX. I'm living in charlottesville right now because of work, but I manage to meet my waterman's needs by fishing and kayaking when I can't get down to the beach. I'm sure there's some river waves around here too. Just gotta find them during the right season
I've lived in the Appalachians before...they're nice, but I'm definitely looking for bigger peaks than anything the east coast has to offer.
Not saying I'd do it, but if I had to move somewhere inland away from surf, CO would be among my top choices. Just think of all the powder you could shred.
That's too bad, I was going to make a pitch for Maine. Best of all worlds. Waves, skiing, hiking, lakes, rivers, loads of breweries in Portland, kind folks, good food, and better yet...it's affordable by New England standards. Is this career opportunity at all brewing-related? I'm a chronic home brewer and fantasize about being paid for it.
Sounds like you are posting on the wrong side of the forum. You are not going to surf any rivers in CO. Do snow stuff. Ultimately it all depends how much money and time you got- 10hr drive is not bad if you can stay a week and get there reasonably often. Surfing is very cool but CO doesn't have that.
FYI, the beer scene in Colorado is nothing compared to the scene in Cali or Oregon. Personally, before I lived on the coast, Denver was one of my top pics for relocation. The main downfall was snow, and I am talking sh1ttons of snow. One year I was up there, J-town (outside of Denver) got over 3 ft in one storm. The whole area was shut down for a couple weeks. Once I had experienced living on the coast, I knew I would have a hard time leaving. My 3 years in Richmond seemed like an eternity, despite being a short drive from the coast. If you do end up in Denver, make sure you hit Falling Rock. That bar was really impressive.
It isn't as fun as it sounds. Long hours, hard physical labor, low pay, and no benefits most of the time. I have brewed a few commercial batches, and I can tell that it is nothing like homebrewing. Even if you get some input into the recipes, your creativity is often limited by the available ingredients. It would be really hard to brew for a living and be a surfer. Now owning and/or managing a brewery would be cool. That usually isn't an option for most people.
Not sayin Co. Is the best option. I'm stuck here and make the best of what I got. It ain't all bad. If I can't ride blue waves i ll take some white ones instead. I make the time to travel to surf. if not I would go crazy. Good luck with your choice.
Yes, it is. Homebrewing is what got me into it, but like Brewengineer said, lots of physical labor and a lot different than homebrewing. There are good and sh***y breweries to work for. It's a great job if you love it and don't mind not making much more than 30-50K a year...even less at small places. Owning a brewery, though it is my ultimate goal, is just owning a business in the end. It's a lot of work, and you won't do much/any brewing as an owner. The business side itself is more than a full time job; you need to hire a staff to brew for you. Unless you find partners who will just let you brew for your share and who you trust enough to run the business side. Disagree. I do plenty well at it. I manage to get out at off-peak times several times a week due to odd hours Just have to find a brewery near a beach to work at.
You are lucky. The place I brew at is near the beach, but the brewers usually work 10-12 hour days. They have to brew two batches to fill one fermenter. They go in around 7 and leave around 6 or 7. That is the norm for most breweries down here. The only comfortable breweries to work for, are the bigger guys. I heard Oskar Blues is pretty awesome, if you are set on CO. Their marketing guy took me around when they were building the new brewery in Lyons years ago. Real relaxed atmosphere. Avery is decent, but Adam is an odd dude. Good luck on whatever you choose.
I'm with ya on that. I wouldn't/couldn't leave my career to work for a brewing co...it would have to be my own. Got the biz plan all written. I've been in ops management long enough to understand what makes a factory successful or unsuccessful so I know it could work. With craft beer, making it is the simpler part (imo)...the tougher part is being more innovative, more original and higher quality in order to carve out a the right niche. It's a crowded market, but what's great about brewing is you can start really damn small (nano) almost as a side job with next to zero OH. Profits might be small, but any profit is supplemental to the salary you're taking home from the day job. Anyway, congrats on making it in the brewing world. You're living the dream of many. Maybe we should be on a brewing forum? Sorry to all those non-brewers out there.
I'm with ya on that. I wouldn't/couldn't leave my career to work for a brewing co...it would have to be my own. Got the biz plan all written. I've been in ops management long enough to understand what makes a factory successful or unsuccessful so I know it could work. With craft beer, making it is the simpler part (imo)...the tougher part is being more innovative, more original and higher quality in order to carve out a the right niche. It's a crowded market, but what's great about brewing is you can start really damn small (nano) almost as a side job with next to zero OH. Profits might be small, but any profit is supplemental to the salary you're taking home from the day job. Anyway, congrats on making it in the brewing world. You're living the dream of many. Maybe we should be on a brewing forum? Sorry to all those non-brewers out there.
