Holy Sh*t What A Ride

**Eli** · 12-23-2013, 03:00 PM

This post may be a repeat for some, but decided I would post this here for those who haven't seen it. So here is a little adventure I had this last July. I haven't been wake boarding since and I am itching to go! I hate winter!

I'm finally home after a spontaneous weekend of events that I least expected. Thursday night I get an invitation to go to Las Vegas, since my weekend plans fell through, I thought what the heck and accepted.

Friday, I drove from San Diego to Las Vegas with some time to spare before whipping up some salsa, guacamole and grilled Carne Asada for dinner. I was informed that tomorrow's plans would require a 4 am wake up call. I am accustomed to waking up at 4 am, but on a Saturday? I figured, no worries…for a good cause, I can handle this. I'm in bed early, so as not to disappoint the group of people who kindly invited me out in their excursion Saturday morning...a sunrise boat ride at Lake Mead. A few Shocktops and a glass of wine and I'd say I was pretty much "sleeping" by 9 on a Friday night. Thankfully, my beverages over powered my excitement. I had the fluttering heart of a 10-year-old kid who was going to Disneyland tomorrow.

The exhaustion of my Friday and 5 hour drive couldn't be overcome enough by the time I heard the alarm. Half asleep, groggy and discombobulated in the distant background I hear...

"shortayyy aww shit...get your towels ready it's about to go down. Everybody in the place hit the Fucken deck. But stay on your motherfucken toes. We're runnin this place. I'm on a boat. I'm on a boat. Everybody look at me 'cause I'm sailing on a boat."

When I remembered what the day had in store for Eli, I quickly jumped out of bed and made my way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee already prepared for me to enjoy. My time was limited, so I had to move quickly. Drank my coffee, put on my face, threw on the bikini, grabbed my beach bag and ran out the door. After a short drive we arrived at the destination.

Sunrise

My friends were going to wakeboard and I was on the roster to go last. I am immediately faced with my fear of fish, which I saw plenty of as I walked down the deck. I swear a few were staring at me. Oh and not to mention, I've never participated in any water sport activity. Until Saturday my experience had been limited to bringing eye candy for my friends' boats. I must admit the 10-year-old child quickly evolved into the "oh shit" adult. I sat at the back of the boat and admired my friend’s wakeboarding with such ease. They made it look simple. But, I wasn't fooled. I'm fully aware of the skill required, and appreciate the difficulty in the task at hand.

First up…Jay. He showed off his talent and skill as he glided over the wakes and improved his skills right before my eyes. Here is a video of Jay.

Next up…Billy. Billy danced over the wakes effortlessly with precision and skill that not only impressed me, but left me inspired. Watch Billy show off his skills.

Third to go, Amanda strapped on her pretty pink wakeboard boots and hopped into the water without hesitation. She claims it took her a year to finally get up. I think she was exaggerating. Watch her make this difficult sport look like a piece of cake.

Finally, it was Eli's turn. Don't think about the fish, I kept reminding myself. Billy, our captain says, “Okay it's your turn” and gives me my instruction. “Standup like you would on a snow board, now sit down, give me your hands” he pulls me up and says, “that's all you have to do, now go out there.” I pondered whether the limited instruction was a good thing or a bad thing, but I don't ask questions as I repeat the instructions in my head over and over again. First, I put on Amanda's life vest and Jay helps me with the boots. After I have the board securely attached to my feet, I begin my descent into the water. I am about as graceful as a drunken seal. With great hesitation and a lot of coaxing, I finally drop into the water. I make a rookie mistake and roll over onto my stomach and quickly realize just how difficult this will be. I make several attempts to 'rollover' without success and for the first time in my life, I think I know what a turtle feels when it has rolled over on its shell.
I concentrate and realize that my legs aren't doing the work; I use my body strength, let out a grunt and rotate the board over. You know you're in for a challenging task when you get an applause for rolling over! At this point, I am already winded and evaluating my decision to be amongst the fish. Billy shouts, “ready?” I hesitate and repeat my instructions in my head and confirm I am ready. The boat starts to slowly pull away as I watch the rope extending. I know my arms will be tugged, so I brace for THE TUG. I follow my instructions and feel my body rise out of the water. As quickly as I begin to emerge the rope pulls me forward and I face plant straight into the water. I'm grateful it's not salt water, but my face isn't as pleased. Now, I begin to question the sanity of the people who agreed to teach me to wakeboard. Do they really think I am going to accomplish this and how long are they willing to sit there watching as my face plows into the water? I am tempted to just tell them, 'thanks, it was a great attempt by us all' 'But, I can't and don't succumb to defeat.

I regroup and decide it's time for my second attempt. As I float in the water, I repeat the instructions in my head and this time imagine lifting up on the wakeboard. "Ready?" I hear Billy shout. "Ready when you are?" I shout back with determination. The boat starts to pull away once again and I allow my limited instruction to take over my own thoughts. Slowly, my body emerges out of the water. Before I know it, I am standing on the wakeboard and being pulled across the water. One might even say I was almost gliding. I am so thrilled, I start screaming like I am on a roller coaster. It felt so invigorating. I held on tight and had a good first ride for what seemed like 10 minutes and was probably only 3. I could feel my body slowly becoming more fatigued as I hit a wake and fall back into the water. Jay was in charge of the camera and didn't record the event but, here are a few videos of my third and fourth attempts.

It was a wonderful experience and I am hooked. I am excited to go out again!! Today, only my forearms are sore, but I feel like a million bucks!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my wakeboarding experience. I hope you're inspired to try something, that will challenge you mentally, physically or both.