I talked about it last year and I am going to tell you about it again this year.   The Ice Breaker Wakefest is going down.  This is a Midwest wakeboard event you do not want to miss.

The Ice Breaker Wakefest

…is for the good of people, and good people are putting it on.

This is where I rode behind the Best Boat of 2010.  And where I hope to ride behind the best boat made in 2011.

It’s where wakeboarders from around the Midwest met and rode together for the first time.

It’s where people grouped together to fight cancer.

If you have never heard of the Ice Breaker Wakefest, that is fine because about a year ago I didn’t have the slightest clue of what it was either.  This will be my second year going, and after last year, I think you should come out and enjoy the day at Bixler Lake with us.

If you are not a wakeboarder, you can come for the Breast Cancer Walk, for the 5k Run, for the Bag-O tourney, or for the many other events.  If you like music, there will be different bands playing throughout the weekend.

If you think you are going to make it to the event, hit me up on my Facebook Page.  If you want to know more about the Ice Breaker Wakefest, make sure to check out the official Ice Breaker Wakefest website for more information.

I have never highlighted my wakeboard skills on this blog, and I think that it is time to put myself out there and let my readers to see what I can lay down.  Here you go!  I took this video part out of a longer video I put together from a trip to Lake Cumberland.  I put my part at the end of the video, and I figure some of you did not see it. So here I am to give you a chance to critique what I can do on a wakeboard.

Best of Jon on a Wakeboard

Like it, hate it, think I am a poser, whatever you think doesn’t really matter if it is negative.  I need to learn new tricks, I need to get more air, and progression is always on my mind.  What matters the most to me is that I am out on a boat with friends chilling, boarding, learning, teaching, and talking about the good old days.  Add a cold one to the picture, and there’s really nothing better than getting out on the water, taking a few sets, and figuring out how we can all Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday!

Over the past two years of my wakeboard life, cable parks have crept in and now I want to ride all of them.  If you don’t know, cable parks are basically skate parks on the water that you can lap for days.  They are filled with sliders, kickers and many different obstacles.  I have a problem with the kickers.  My problem with them is that the landing is brutal and flat.  With bad knees you can see how this is an issue.  To counter act the problem, I have an idea on how to make the landings soft.  Watch the video below to see what I am talking about.

My Cable Park Idea

I have been thinking about this idea for awhile.  If you can visualize big jets sitting on the bottom of the lake that blow a ton of air to the surface, you are on your way to understanding this idea.  The details would have to be tested, and I am sure you can think of different issues that come along with an idea like this.  Other than the issues, can you imagine flying through the air and landing on a big soft pillow or a nice cushion like wave.  Heck, if you have big enough jets you can design this so the air flow creates a down sloped landing.  Either way, I think if we can break up some of the surface tension of the flat glassy water, I believe the landing would benefit everyone who came to a cable park.  If we could create a safe landing period, everyone would be a lot better off.

I can’t wait to hear what you think about this idea.  Is it stupid?  Am I stupid?  Would it work?  How can we make it work?  Does anyone own some air pressured jets I could barrow?  Maybe I just have to learn how to hit the kicker better?  I really don’t know, but I love this idea and I can picture it.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

As you grow your wakeboard trick list there is something you can do to make that list grow faster.  All you have to learn is how to hold on to the rope no matter what.

Hang on to the Rope Wakeboarding

I see people not landing tricks because they get scared half way through their trick and let go of the rope.  It happens all of the time.  I know it can be scary, but hanging on is going to improve your game 100%.  In the video below, you will see how I power through the landing on a switch backroll.  It would have been super easy for me to let go of the rope in this situation, but I gave up that letting go stuff a long time ago.  You should do the same!

Click here if you cannot view the video of me hanging on Tight!

Rain comes and goes, water freezes and thaws, Placid Wake Park meets Marhar Snowboards, and Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday slowly becomes a reality.  We met up with Josh (owner of Marhar Snowboards) this past weekend at Placid Wake Park, which is located just outside of Grand Rapids, MI.  Placid is set up with System 2.0 which is one of the newest cable systems on the market, and it is also the one thing that allowed all of us to wakeboard until our arms were about to fall off.  Enjoy a few pics of our day!  If you snowboard and want to learn how to wakeboard, find the nearest cable park and go there.  You won’t regret it!

Placid Wake Park Pictures

From Left to Right: Andrew, Jon T, Josh, Dave

Andrew Shredding Placid Wake Park

Josh gearing up to dock start his second time ever wakeboarding!

Myself making the corner and ready to destroy the the next obstacle.

To see more photos of Andrew, Josh and I killing it at the Placid Wake Park CLICK HERE!!!

In the last week we were only able to get out and wakeboard one time.  During this time I figured I should start sharing lessons that we have learned while we are on the boat.  So from last week, here is what went down.

Lets start with our good friend Mickey.  This last week was Mickey’s first time out for the season.  What do most people do their first time out on the water?  They feel like gold.  This was exactly what Mickey was feeling as he was getting comfortable riding.  The only thing about feeling golden the first day out is that you try tricks that are over your ability.  This leads to injury.  Lucky for us and Mickey, he only ended up with a stressed ankle.  He was still able to walk and the hurt only lasted the night.  Pushing the limits from the git go is always a means of disaster.  The lesson, take it slow your first few times out.  Really make sure you have the fundamental skills of wakeboarding down packed before you move onto more advanced tricks.  Your season will last a lot longer, and your wakeboarding skills will progress twice as fast if you have the fundamentals dialed. 

What have you learned that could save people from getting injuries early in the season?  Any tip is a good tip, as long as it helps all of us board all day, everyday!

Board: 2009 Liquid Force S4

Pro Rider: Phillip Soven

Length: 142 cm

Rocker: Progressive 3-Stage

Deep Thoughts by Jon T

Keeping it raw and straight to the point, the S4 is a sweet ride.  I rode this board not knowing how it was going to react and I was generally pleased.  The S4 is a smooth buttery ride.  When on edge it would bite like a rattler.  For surface tricks, it was easy to break free which allowed me to slide effortlessly all day long.  Taking this board to the wake you will notice that it holds a consistent edge all the way through the wake, and when you stand tall at the tip of the wake you better be ready to  get boosted.  With a pop that is always the same, you can be assured to come back down with a soft landing.  Forgiving landings are huge when you take into consideration the speed that the S4 carries.  This board holds speed all the way through the wake, and soaring into the flats is not an issue.  In the end the board preformed better than I though, and it also has killer graphics.  Liquid Force, Phillip Soven, and their team built a killer board that has a Bay Watch attraction of Pam Anderson running on the beach!

If you have never wakeboarded before this is not the board for you.  Get a cheap board to get you out on the water so you can start to learn your riding style.  If you are looking to advance your skills and take your game out into the flats, go to the store and pick up an S4.  Wake to wake riders be careful of what you are getting into.  You can tame it, but can you tame yourself?

Riding The S4

In an economy that seems to be swirling the toilet bowl, it pumps me up to see $60k to $100k boats roaming the water everyday.  Where do these people get the money to own boats like this?  Are the boats paid for, what do the owners do?  Do they live on the boats?  So many questions go through my head as I watch these boats fly by.  I must also say that I am completely jealous of the kids who get to grow up and ride behind 2010 Malibu Wakesetters or Air Nautique 230s.

Lucky for me, my family has always owned a boat.  The boat they proudly owned was a 1988 Larson that looks as if it just came off of the lot today.  As I grew up this is what we had, and no matter how much I tried to convince my dad he needed a new boat, I knew it was not going to happen.  He always used a great line on me as I would rant about trading in for an upgrade.  All he would have to say is  “This one is paid for.”  Enough said!  He did pimp out the Larson with a homemade pylon that made a world of difference.  Now in my late 20′s and still wakeboarding, I get amped to go back home and rock the Larson.

What I want you to get from this short story is that you do not need the best boat, you do not need the biggest wake in the state, and you don’t have to spend $60k to have fun learning how to wakeboard.  If you don’t have something to get the rope off of the back of the boat, I suggest upgrading to a tower, or making yourself a pylon.  Other than that get out there, give it a try, and have fun wakeboarding.  I learned nearly every trick I do today behind the Larson, and you can do the same!  Sometimes the best things in life are the things that you think are not good enough.  Take another look at that boat that has been sitting in your backyard under a tarp for years.  Get it out, shine it up, and get out there with the big guys.  If you are good enough, you will find yourself mysteriously riding behind $100k boats.

In a post I wrote earlier this year, I stated that I was not sure if the Outlaw Slinger from Banshee Bungee was going to be able to pull me across the water.  Well it did!  One the flip side, we found a problem.  It did not pull me fast enough to do anything that I would want to do.  Now before I create a problem, I have always been told to solve the problem first, so I am going to take that route.

To solve the Banshee Bungee problem, I have came up with a few different solutions.

1.  Buy the Federal Offense.  This would give us twice the power, and is sure to get us across the water in order to hit a rail.  Need more people to pull this thing back!

2.  Get a bigger board.  This would help get us on top of the water, and hopefully help create more speed.

3.  Use a skim type board.  A skim board would help us keep the speed because skim boards have less rocker than a traditional wakeboard.  I believe the rocker that is designed into a wakeboard causes a lot more drag, and having less of this would defiantly help keep our speed to the rail.

4.  Use a better starting platform.  By using the grass as the starting point, I lost a lot of the initial pull that the bungee needs to get me going across the water.  A nice plastic surface would have been perfect.

5.  I could always loose 20-30 lbs, but I doubt that is going to happen.

So what do you think?  Do you have any ideas on how we could make this work?

Either way, I put together a short video for all of you to enjoy.  It was rainy and cold, dealing with the apartment manager was not fun, and thank you to my buddy Andrew for helping me out.  We had a blast testing the Banshee Bungee out on the water, and I am determined to figure out how I can make this work.  From there the possibilites are going to be endless.  Enjoy!

Preparing for the Wakeboarding and Wakesurfing season is critical to avoid early season injuries and mishaps.  Check out this video where I talk about a few different exercises to get you prepared for the season.  For some of us the summer only lasts a few months, so if you prepare early, you will be able to enjoy the water for the whole summer.

For more about flexibility check out this video.  If the pros do it, don’t you think you should too?