MINNESOTA Rider's Thread!

The last time I checked you could use a Guru board and tie off a handle at Gleasons Gymnastics School. They have an open gym time, my buddy Matt went down there a couple of times till he busted up his knee.

Gleasons has two locations, one in Maple Grove and Eagan.
Here is a link to the open gym page.
http://www.gleasons.com/Pages/opengym.html

Minneapolis Boat Show Is Nearing

Hope everyone can make it out to the boat show, its this January 23-27 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Were (MWMC) taking 12 boats this year including the new X-35 as well as a ton of new gear. I am pretty sure Shane Bonifay will be there for a couple of days as well as some factory reps from Hyperlite, Obrien, Liquid Force and hopefully Ronix.

Wake Boats that will be there include
MasterCraft
Correct Craft
Supra
Moomba
Malibu
Centurion
Tige' (I think)
Gekko (I think)

Send some of the pros up to the Winnipeg boat show...

I'll be at the show for sure. I love going to the boat show but hate leaving it and having to walk outside into the bitterly cold winter. All your boating and wakeboarding visions and aspirations are demolished when you leave the convention center...sorry i got a little dramatic there

Sounds like Adam Errington will be making an appearance as well, this is shaping up to be one of the best rider turn outs ever!

Corey - when I was in on Saturday I over heard Andy talking about another pro that might be there. What's the dilly on that?

me I will be there

Jay, not sure. Who did he mention? It's been kind of hectic around here so I havent been in on all the meetings.

Andy, are you guys having a booth this year?

I've talked to Flips a couple of times back and forth. Doesn't seem that using a rope is a possibility. I'm not interested at all with just jumping on a tramp. If anybody still wants more info pm me and I'll tell you who to talk to. She did say however we could have something attached to our feet on the tramp supplied or not supplied I'm sure?

Hmmm lets check out that other pace.

I wonder why they wont allow a rope? Its not like its a insurance problem.

Hey guys, i work at an ice arena in woodbury, Bielenberg Sports Center. Been workin there for 6 years now. If any of you guys play hockey and are interested in getting a WW adult hockey group going let me know! I could score a sweet deal with my boss, we could skate once a night, full equip or not, have fun and probably $5-$7 a person for 2 hrs of ice time or so. Let me know, if we get enough people in on this ill talk to my boss asap and set something up. We could skate late nights, like 9:30-11:30 or so, once a week. Post here or PM if interested!

Corey, he said Rusty might be there too.

Yep, Rusty should be there. He may have some issues as he is going to be a dad, so we have to play it by ear.

I know it's not wakeboarding, but he's a native of MN (Byron...by Rochester). Just thought I'd show another Minnesota guy tearing it up. You should see him on a board.

I would love to have Pete come up for a summer demo. We've sold some of the wakeskis and I know a couple of people that would love to see him rip it up and get some pointers. I actually mentioned this to Tyler but the idea may have gotten lost with all of the boat show stuff.

All is not lost... I talked with Tyler about it and he has been talking with Pete about getting up here. they were trying to work something out with HO. That was the last I heard.

i'm sure you'll be able to get him to do one at some point this summer. he usually comes up here two or three times while we have decent weather.

Out of curiosity guys...whats the earliest day (after winter) you have began wakeboarding...this should be fun and intersting. Mine was last season, i was in the water April 12th, 4 days after the ice melted on Lake Elmo. there was still some ice on a few parts of the shore line!

I got April 10th on year in Bald Eagle, there was still lots of ice on the north end of the lake.

i started on March 26th last season on the mississippi in champlin. it was the one day that it was 75 or so. then i hit up bryant lake on the 28th. there was still a bunch of ice in the north bay there....went out in a 3/2 shorty pretty dang cold.

Jay, that's F-ing crazy!! If you do that again this year for sure let me know! i would love to join you crazy folks in the water that early in the season...makes a good story too!

P.S, i saw your post bout you needing a roomie. Damn brother, if i didnt live in woodbury right now id for sure consider it but plymouth is way too far from even St. Paul where i go to scool man! Good luck with that tho!

it was my first time to take my new boat out, as well as my first time to really actually get out and wakeboard in 6 years. needless to say i was wayyyy anxious to get out there. i don't know if i'll be going that early this year...mainly because i won't have a heated garage anymore and i don't know if i'd want to drain everything again. but if i happen to do it early again i will definitely let you know.

Jay- why are you moving out of Zac's place? that was a good set-up! I'll get you out early this year- we'll use my dry suit!

will - he's movin into a place with his lady. plus i want a house with a garage, and cheap rent! sounds good about the early pull. i snagged one of the full 4/3 ripcurls off whiskeymilitia a while back so i'll be set to go when the ice breaks. i'd use you're dry suit, but i have a strange problem with things breaking when i ride.

has there been any progress made on the Minnesota get together? we should definitely make this happen. last year we had one on Medicine Lake, with a decent turnout.

Eder, do you guys at the rink have old sheets of hockey rink boards laying around. I've heard they work great for sliders and most hockey rinks have a stack of them laying around some where. I would be interested in a few of them. Would love to make something out of them.

Hey Nick, trust me brother i have tried to scam my boss of them numerous times but theres no go yet. We're on the same page here, but out puckboard has not been replaced yet, but i think the rinks (2) are up for new boards next season, perhaps i get to do it this summer...if so there will be a lot of kickers and rails to be made! Ill keep you informed

Hey, there was some mention of some Hockey on here a while back. That still going down?

Hey Ryan, i mentioned that...i would still love to do it, i havent set anything up since no one has shown interest or PMed me. Let me know if you are interested, and if you have a few buddies and we could for sure set something up.

As the official worst skater on the planet my hockey time is spent in a seat with beverage in hand. Actually I'm headed to the wild game tomorrow and I'm pretty pumped about it!

Corey, great fricken game last night! i was there too! too bad they didnt win, they had it! And Voros....haha thats all i gotta say bout that, hes my boy, cant believe he took on Nolan! Anywho, im going tomorrow, watch em play the ducks, ive been waiting all season for this!

Yeah, we had a great time, first time I've been to a game with a shootout! A win would have been sweet but it was still awesome.

Did you know Manny Fernandez has a wakeboard boat? He bought an X-9 from us about 3 years ago, he never actually came in but he's called a couple of times with questions.

Well i knew he was in the market for a wakeboat in the pastbecause Manny actually, at first, wanted to buy my buddies last boat -- 04 SANTE, the one they had a the boat show. Brown and orange with an orange powder coated tower. They sold it and now coincidentally have an 06 Xstar. My boss at the hockey rink is +/- stat keeper for the wild so ive met the team before and opened up the rink for them to practice in the summer so i got my jersey signed and all.

(Message edited by spicychalupa69 on January 17, 2008)

I totally remember that SANTE, normally I'm not a big orange fan but the orange tower really looked cool.

Last I heard Manny wanted a bigger wake so maybe he got something new. The X-9 is a direct drive and it can have a pretty good wake but nothing like most of the newer V's.

By the way all, Rusty is out for the boat show. He has a new baby and thus is spending some time with the family. We wish him the best and hope to see him at the Pro Tour this summer.

We have Josh Palmer filling in Rusty's spot as well as Paul Hatton from the factory.

Sounds like Kevin Henshaw will be replacing Shane as well.

Sweet, ill probably see you guys there!

I figured since this was the minnesota riders thread there was no better place for a guy from california to say how impressed he was by minnesota and the riders who live there. Although i was only there filming for a short while, i have never had a better experience and more cooperation on a film trip ....ever. I gotta thank Andy nintzel for letting me crash at his house and introducing me to grain belt ale, mich golden light, beergo, and the hippie drum circle. Colin ryan for gloriously dragging me and nintzel to brainerd for a weekend of rediculousness, that involved lost phones, puking in peoples yards and watching sisters in law fall down the stairs. I gotta thank ryan taylor for coming up big with all his help with the shoots. (ryan is a kick ass photog and filmer, you should hire him...now.)jesse ventura for entertaining colin in the gas station. some random girl in wisconsin for helping me realize that a cheese curd was a laymens term for a mozzarella stick.
And last but not least, nintzels girl.....for consoling him after i smeared him all over the living room in wii bowling... bottom line is this....To me, Minnesota was amazing, and honestly even though its only good for riding a few months of the year, i would trade Minnesota for CA any day of the week. Cheers...kyle.

(Message edited by kc700 on January 22, 2008)

Got to agree Kyle, Andy and the whole crew from the House Board Shop hooked us up every day last during the PWT. Props out to the peeps in MN.

I love Minnesota. I think we get alot more ride time than people think. And when you add in winter riding (snowboarding, kiting, others) I think we have alot more ride time than other parts of the country. Think of the whole middle of the country, gets cold but not enough where it would accumulate any snow and it doesn't take much longer to warm up the water for the summer. I could say we only get about 3 really good months for wakeboarding in the summer (mid June to mid September) but the month and a half on either side of that is fun also. Give me a 70 degree day with no wind and I don't care what the water temp is, it's trunks and a vest.

Big ups my Hometown my territory my state!

Thanks for the props Kyle however there is one fundamental flaw in your story. I kicked your ass in Wii Bowling every time we turned it one. Everything else is true, lots of puking, people falling, and drunkin debauchery. Some of my favorite things.

Randy Cannot wait to have you guys come back out here and Ride! Hopefully it will be in my New X-Star!

Hey Andy...what Xstar are you lookin at? what year? Just curious, i love that boat! But now-a-days, even tho im a BU guy all the way, im REALLY Diggin the Supras!

I'm saying it now- the BEST month to board around here is MAY- YES MAY! Before the dock go in- everyone thinks the weather's way too cold - all I can say is get some perspective. Now I've only been here for two summers- but the water was very nice in a shorty in May and there's NO ONE out there until Memorial Day. We started riding April 17th last year and I only made one outing in the dry suit - then went straight to the shorty and was trunking it by Memorial day. I finally put the boat up November 1st- and that was only because I wanted to go kill Pheasants instead of board. I loved my home town of Seattle and yeah you can ride year-round ( I've even skiied and boarded in the SAME DAY in seattle) , but I am seriously warming up to Minnesota summers.

Those hot summer days got to be some of the worst also. The humidity is so high that your skin drips all day long, sometimes it feels like you just jump out of the lake. Those are the best days to be on the lake IMO.

Man Nick I have to disagree. The Hottest days of the year are my fav. You stick to the boat seats. Cant wear anything except boardshort and those are even hot. Man I love it.

Will5150 I do have to agree the best water is in May to bad its so freaking cold. Late September was epic this year too.

Eder- I am on the hunt for a 03-04 X-star I wish I could afford a new one, but they are crazy expensive.

Hey Andy, I'll keep my eyes peeled for any boats that fit the bill. I just had line on a sweeeeet one but it ended up going out of state. Give me a shout with your budget and I'll see what I can find.

anyone go to the boat show today? if so how was it? I am going sunday and cant wait!

Holler at the Minneapolis boat show!!! To anyone who's going... see you there this weekend

I was there yesterday. It was good. Seemed to me that there weren't as many big yachts this year. Lots of MC's and Malibus.

Barrett - good meeting you at the Midwest MC site...I think you convinced may girl to get the LF Jett. Did you guys end up going out again Saturday night?

i hope she does! that would be a really good board for her.

yes we did, a night that ended with lots of drama... watch out for guys in minneapolis that have no idea about wakeboarding but for some reason are into kiteboarding. one dude tried to fight henshaw over it. but it was fun

I dont know if I would have called that a fight... He leaned in to Henny and then that stool jumped out and tripped him! its always a good thing to have stools on your side
see you 'round

We were a peaceful bunch until JB brought all the White Eagle. Thats stuffs fire water and it makes every one angry.

Thanks for hanging at the show Barret. Next time you see Megan tell her she folds her shirts like crap and then tell her its from me, she loves that!

For those that couldnt make it, here are some shots of our booth.

OK, I'm an idiot that cant post pictures.

Duhrrrrr

couple more

Final shots.

Temps are going up gentlemen...haha We're in the teens...soon to be in the twenties...then heck, who knows, negatives again!?

We'll be in the water in 8 weeks boys!...well some of us to say the least

Anyone score anything sweet at the boat show?

Why werent there any wakeboard companies there? Will they be at the St. Paul show this weekend?

When I went to the St.Paul boat show a couple of years ago, it wasn't worth leaving the house for. Has it changed? Hardly any wake boats or even nice cabin crusiers to look at. All fishing, almost like another sportsman show.

It was worth it for me. I looked at the Ronix stuff and ended up with some new cells. Now I gotta get some water to ride on. 8 weeks sounds about right...

The St. Paul show is typically more fishing equipment. We used to go to it but after being next to the million gallon bass tank we decided to skip it. The Minneapolis show is by far the largest in the area and the only one that all of the tow boat dealers attend.

We'll see what the future holds, we've talked about bringing more boards but we would have to get a bigger booth as our current one is already a little cramped.

Nick-

I am with you. Pretty lame even this year.

That bass tank could be put to double duty. That would be a good slide show.

I guess the guys at fresh tip have been trying for the past 2 years to through a contest at the boat show with no luck.

Corey-

they are showing a Mastercraft in the commercials for the St. Paul boat show? Is some other MC dealer attending?

Anybody else read the article on The Wake Park Project??? I personally think that MN would flourish from a cable park. We have the water, and I think its a sport here in MN that is taking off. I know there are a ton of factors that go into creating a park, but what do you guys think?? Sounds like a Hell of a good idea for starting a business.

I would go there every day.

i think a cable park would do just fine here in MN. i dunno if i'd be a frequent visitor though, there's just something about launching off the wake of a slammed xstar....

Bought my first boat, old Sea Ray, ill be holding down the St. Croix river on summer. My grandpa owns a private beach, just south of the 94 bridge. Love to meet up n ride with peeps

I talked about this before, but we would get way more use out of a cable park up here than the one in KC. I don't know if anybody runs one in the winter but I think with a little trial and error you could have a blast in the winter. Boxes rails and even kickers could be set up. You could also set up a wake style section shaped like a wake, or more like a really wide spine with a flat top of 10-15 feet for the gap, and only a foot and a half high. It would be almost identical to hitting a wake. You could get a good base going and get the groomer out just like they do at the ski hills. I think KC is only open mostly Memorial day to Labor day plus a few weekends on each side. We would get way more use out of it.

this is a ways away, but i'm planing on coming up to mn during the summer, and it would be awesome if i could be a third on someones boat. its been too long since ive wakeboarded in mn, so if anyone has no problems with it, let me know.

No problem here Cary. Email is in my profile, hit me up anytime!

Nick, my buddies and i have been to cable parks several times and i love them. they are the greatest innovation in wakeboarding, next to a boat obviously! I had an idea that in the summer and spring the cable park could run, with a dirt bike track and all, and some outdoor boat storage. Then in the winter, maybe pull some snowboarders on the cable, have some barns for indoor boat storage, heated or non-heated, and the dirt bike track would essentially become a snowmobile track. Anyone wanna take me up on this idea and get something going?! Im down for it for sure! tell me who to write the check to guys...

The MC in the commercial was just some stock footage the marketing dept. got their hands on. I don't think we've been to that show in 3 years.

Cable park would be sweet, I know that there are some additional private lake sights being planned and they are not your average ski lake. Sounds like they are going to cater to everything, possibly bird hunting, atv's, motorcycles, etc. Not sure how far out it is, but with that kind of facility you would think a cable could not be far behind.

Word Cory...Phase 5 in the house!

(Message edited by gb_rider on February 11, 2008)

Holmes I heard you moved to Utah, whats the deal and why wasnt I invited?

You headed back this summer?

Looks like we have about one more week of this crap and we'll be in the steady 30's boys!

Oh, and for those of you who dont know...steady 30's pretty much, for us Minnesotans, at this time of year, pretty much means Shorts and T's, its our spring baby!