Thursday morning and the lake was up, perfect for a 6AM paddle/surf. Okay, I slept in so perfect for a 6:10 paddle. As I approached JD park I could see the gate was still locked and was heading east to Richards Memo when I saw the security car pass in the opposite direction. I turned around and followed him back.
I didn't recognize the security guy - the one I usually see looks a little like Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and opens the gate promptly at 5:45 so this new guy must have stopped at Starbucks. I'm not being cranky,  it's just that my window for paddling is tight and I was already too late to go anywhere further from home. I have to be off the water by 6:50 to get to work.
The waves looked good from the beach - steady sets from the east - but the lake waves are weak and, at this beach, break too close together. If the wind kept up all day, they might build enough to be decent by 1-3pm. It would have been better to drop my board in at the harbour where the rollers have lots of room to get stretched out but... no time!
In fact, the original plan was for me to paddle over and meet up with Chrissy and Eve, who were dropping their boards in at the Port Credit boat ramp. Under the circumstances, I figured they'd elect to stay and play in the harbour. As it turns out, they elected to stay in their beds so just as well I didn't make the effort.
I was having some fun - the water's warm and the air fresh - and had just finished a decent little ride. As I approached the beach, I was on the wrong side of the break and dropped into the water, intending to turn my board quickly into the next wave and paddle back out. I didn't realize how shallow it was - the waves were really sucking up the water. I dropped with both knees straight onto rocks - basically the only rocks along that stretch of beach. The next wave scraped me back and forth across them until I pushed myself clear. I paddled  back out but damn! my knees were sore and stinging.
After one last half-hearted run it was time to pack it in. Fine with me. Bashing my knees really took the fun out of things.
The fronts of my legs were already turning yellow and purplish under the scrapes. Perfect. My legs are uncovered from April to November (and beyond if I can help it) and now they're a mess. Add that to the bruises on my arms and it look like I've been acting out chapters from "shades of grey".  
I know I'm making a big thing out of bruised knees but when I left the house this morning, I didn't expect an injury. This is JD beach on Lake Ontario, not Mavericks. I've sustained MUCH worse injuries surfing on the ocean, usually Marisha and I are thinking its time for a girls get-together and that Saturday September 14 is a good night for it. She is going to bring over 'cards against humanity' which everyone tells me is a GREAT game plus we gave been trying to watch my box set of the Mary Tyler Moore show for about 5 years now (or I have on demand movies. ) Really, let's just get out of the house, drink wine, catch up! Lynnefrom contact with fins, board and ocassionaly the ocean floor. (One time I thought for sure I'd ruptured my kidneys when I went over the nose of the board and it bayoneted me with the full force of the wave.) And every time, I carried on happily surfing, ignoring the pain or the blood. But you go out on the ocean anticipating a tangle of some kind. You're engaging the farking ocean for crying out loud!
Anyway, I'll give the lake due respect from now on. I still don't expect the wipeouts you'd get on the ocean but it's still a big body of water. With that in mind, I'm actually more excited for the next wavy day on Lake O! 

Life is especially great in the summer!  The weather has been amazing so I'm up before sunrise to paddle, then jump on my bike or into the convertible to go to work.  Also, there's lots to do in the evenings and on weekends.   I'm only working a 4-day week for the summer so if it's my day off, I enjoy a post-workout Starbuck's and then do what stay-at-home moms and retired people do; meet friends for lunch, take naps, read books, dig in the yard.
Louise is in the country for a few weeks. Rather than sit in a bar or backyard, we decided to meet up for a paddle one night. I'm so glad I bought that extra board and paddle for exactly this reason - although there's no shortage of people offering loaners. She's never tried stand up but of course she was naturally good at it. It was a choppy night too. We had a great time catching up. She's off to the cottage for a week or two but everyone's hoping we can organize a dinner or something with her before she heads back to Singapore. 

Meanwhile, The No Book Book Club has developed a collective crush on Channing Tatum so we went to see Magic Mike on Friday. Overall a fun night out, starting with sangria at Philthy's, while we waited for Jackie. The theatre was PACKED with women in the 36-60 range (plus 3 adolescent boys, one with a date, who sat in the back row and giggled). The movie was pretty awful but I don't think any of us were expecting something Oscar-worthy. I mean seriously, Olivia Munn is in it.

I was glad I'd put in so many kilometres on the lake on Friday because Saturday morning was miserable. Thunderstorms, excessively hot and humid, zero wind. I rolled over and went back to sleep.
It's too bad about the conditions because it was Derek's 'downwinder' race that day. This is the second year for his event. I haven't done this race, mainly because he doesn't allow race-day registration. I understand his perspective - if he didn't get the money up front, a year like this would put him in debt - but with our less-than-ideal stand up conditions on Lake Ontario, it's a deal breaker for a lot of people. That stretch is an agonizing 15km slog on a flat day. The only thing that could make it worse would be knowing you actually paid Schrotter money to DO it.
As far as connecting with the sup community? Well, the people I paddle with are great and we get together regularly. Unfortunately, the southern Ontario sup scene is dominated by middle-aged suburbanites who run around squealing "Sweet!!", "Brah", "Stoked!!" and throwing up shakas every couple of minutes. They're all really nice people, just a little ... uh, you know...over the top.

I met up with friends who did the race at a party later in the evening and it sounds like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The race start was delayed for a number of reasons; unexpected road closures due to the Indy and a broken water main on the Gardner, thunderstorms with pelting rain rolled through right around the planned start time, there was no organizer at the rec race starting point and participants were left to wander aimlessly, the wind direction shifted to easterly after he declared a westerly race direction. Racers had to paddle into a stiff headwind and a west-running current. The after-party dragged on so long, lots of people had to leave before the awards even started.
Quite a few "names" from the U.S. stand up community had made the trip to Canada to support this event so it's too bad the conditions didn't cooperate. (although I'm sure Derek made sure they enjoyed themselves). I would like to have met that group - I own their boards, use their paddles, follow their blogs and facebook groups - but I'm sure the chance will come up at other, legit races.