Back in September, before I'd even attended this year's Wave Daze in VA Beach, I decided to sign up for the Daytona Freeride event set for January 2022. Given the load of fun I had at last year's Wave Daze, I was understandably excited to attend an even larger event once the cold winter had settled upon us.
My wife was too busy at work to attend the event, so I decided to go solo. With that in mind, I decided to remove my passenger seat in order to fit the ski inside my Crosstrek instead of hauling the trailer. It worked great! With no more than a few inches to spare, the ski tucked into the hatchback and I set off to Daytona!
I arrived midday on Wednesday, visiting the site to get the lay of the land before heading to my campsite at the Nova Family Campground. I'd stay there until my reservation at Daytona Beach Club began on Friday.
On Thursday I made my way to the beachfront near the Hard Rock Hotel for the first day of riding. I set up camp and got a hand unloading my 650sx from the car.
Unfortunately, my ski was not running well. It had a complete lack of power, so I set out to diagnose the problem. By that afternoon I'd figured out that it was only firing on one cylinder. Too late in the day to continue digging into the ski, I decided to return to working on it the next morning.
Early on Friday morning I pulled the spark plug boots and decided to re-crimp a new end on one of the wires. It worked! I was delighted that such a simple fix was all the ski needed. By mid-morning I was in the water!
Between rides in the surf, I'd walk along the row of vehicles to see the other skis and engage with other riders. I also took to the skies with the drone, capturing some great footage of the more experienced riders throwing spins and flips in the turquoise ocean.
On Saturday morning there was a line of vehicles about five blocks long waiting to access the beach. Eventually the gates opened and we filed onto the sand, packing in what some agreed was the largest crowd at this event in years.
Each day I'd settle in with a new group of riders. We'd help each other launch, keep an eye out for one another in the water, and share stories once back on land.
My confidence must've been increasing, evidenced by the sprained ankle I suffered on Saturday. Although I couldn't pin it down to one particular jump or fall, I believe it was the result of coming down tail-heavy after a jump. I did take one more ride with the injury before eventually packing up at the end of the day.
Moments after leaving the high-adrenaline of the event I was hardly able to put any weight on that foot. That night I skipped the afterparty and chose to ice my ankle instead.
The next morning I hobbled my gear into the Subaru and set off for Savannah, GA where I stayed with a friend. Although I wasn't very mobile, it was great to catch up. My friend couldn't have been more hospitable - even sending me off the next morning with some homemade hotsauce and a "snack pack" for the road. By Monday afternoon I was pulling into Richmond, unloading gear and rinsing the salt water from my ski.
All in all, it was an amazing event and I'm excited to return in 2023!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Follow
