This is just a speck of information that's available in the link below....
Mat surfing takes a bit of time to master, even if you’re a talented surfer with years of experience. You can manipulate the air pressure as you ride, and that, combined with your swim fins, gives you a lot of control.
"3rd Gear" is a term George Greenough uses to describe high speed mat surfing. In simple terms, riding straight-off is 1st gear, while trimming across the wave at curl speed is 2nd gear. 3rd gear is moving beyond simple trim speed and running past one section, over a flat area, and through the next section.
Jumping from 2nd to 3rd coming off the bottom...
...and running across the wall in 3rd gear. Notice how far forward the rider's body is, and how little of the mat is touching the water at this point.
Using the 3rd gear speed to come off the bottom again...
...and redirecting the energy into a lip bounce.
George talks about running in 3rd gear, and being able to surf through a single section of a wave three times. If enough speed is in hand, he can glide over the top of a section as it's forming, cut back across it as it crests, then run through the same section again (heading down the line) as it breaks.
This is only a teaser to the information included in the 4th gear flyer riders guide from Paul Gross. You can get it directly from Paul
HERE.
To me, this cements the fact that riding mats is not only fun as hell (as i'm told) but a serious high performance surf craft.
thanks paul.
This is just a speck of information that's available in the link below....
Mat surfing takes a bit of time to master, even if you’re a talented surfer with years of experience. You can manipulate the air pressure as you ride, and that, combined with your swim fins, gives you a lot of control.
"3rd Gear" is a term George Greenough uses to describe high speed mat surfing. In simple terms, riding straight-off is 1st gear, while trimming across the wave at curl speed is 2nd gear. 3rd gear is moving beyond simple trim speed and running past one section, over a flat area, and through the next section.
Jumping from 2nd to 3rd coming off the bottom...
...and running across the wall in 3rd gear. Notice how far forward the rider's body is, and how little of the mat is touching the water at this point.
Using the 3rd gear speed to come off the bottom again...
...and redirecting the energy into a lip bounce.
George talks about running in 3rd gear, and being able to surf through a single section of a wave three times. If enough speed is in hand, he can glide over the top of a section as it's forming, cut back across it as it crests, then run through the same section again (heading down the line) as it breaks.
This is only a teaser to the information included in the 4th gear flyer riders guide from Paul Gross. You can get it directly from Paul HERE.
To me, this cements the fact that riding mats is not only fun as hell (as i'm told) but a serious high performance surf craft.
thanks paul.
