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!