Ryan Doyle Part 2 - After the Surgery, Riding with Harlos, BT, Daniels & Much More...

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Ryan Doyle Part 1

I like to be inspired when I ride, maybe because I lived at the Projects for so long and was surrounded by incredibly talented riders every day.  I just love being in and on water that people kill it on daily. I swear it’s more magical than random water.  When I picked up my knee brace, I wanted my first set back after surgery to be on a familiar magical body of water with someone that will get me pumped to shred.  There was only really one logical place for me to go.  The Harlos compound on Orr Lake.



Nic has always been a good riding partner and Orr Lake always has a calm shoreline.  We rode hard last summer and pushed each other to new heights.  Lately Nic has a new baby and is busy remodeling a house they picked up just down the road.  For me, between working and my own house, the hour drive between us seems to be a bit longer this summer. 

When I showed up at Nic’s place to ride I just chilled with Dan from Red Button and watched some new footage for his new wakeskate video FOCUS.  At around five the big whistle blew, Nic dropped his tool belt and grabbed his skate.  We headed over to the far side of the lake to shred.  At this point I needed no more inspiration than the calm water and the simple fact that I was about to ride. I jumped in, frolicked around a bit out of the pure enjoyment of the moment, and then after my longest time off the water in 8 years I was wakeskating again!  I had a great set, stuck some tricks, had a bunch of sweet bails and really tested out the new brace.  It was so great to be on the water again.

After that I decided to book a flight to Florida to catch up with everyone and get some serious time on the water to help get my leg muscle back.  BT (Brandon Thomas) and Grubby (Brian Grubb) live about 20 minutes from the airport, so I headed over for an evening set.  I really wish I had brought my video camera because the light was blinging and they where throwing down.  It’s always amazing going out in the boat and watching really talented riders put together seemingly impossible lines.  The water was 95 degrees and BT kept talking about amoebas, but I was stoked to ride the sun down into the trees.



A few days later BT, George (Daniels) and I cruised over to the Projects to hit up the S2 Park.  (Shaun) Murray and Travis (Moye) moved the Boarding school out there and partnered with the Projects.  It was great to see the camp again, bustling with campers, all eager to improve their riding. It took me right back to the early years.  Lake 3 was looking sweet and the old rail park was still there so you could take a waverunner set if you wanted. That said, most, as well as us, were drawn over the new S2 cable park, a single line cable running across the end of Lake 3 with rails, boxes and even a kicker. 



BT, as always was “ON”, sticking everything first try and with that unmistakable BT style making our sport look incredible.  George just had his knee fixed and CTI hooked him up with a brace.  It was great and extremely motivating to see George riding so strong with all the confidence he had before hurting his knee.  Being back on and in the Projects water was one of the best parts of my trip.



I stopped in to see Lidberg’s new place and catch up a bit before scooping up Steve and driving down south to Fort Myers where I used to live.  Steve and I stayed with Arian, the web/design/photo behind the scenes man for Gator Boards, and my old neighbor.  In the morning we stopped by the Gator Boards office to see Gator.  Erik took us through the warehouse and grabbed a few boards as well as some clothes and bags.  I guess he figured better us just take it than having to mail it out! 





We headed over to Revolution Cable Park to ride for the rest of the day.  It was really great to get a lot of riding in, going around and around was really working my leg. It allowed me to get more used to my new brace.  Right off the dock there’s a big floating A-frame with a mellow down.  I just hit it over and over, coming off early, landing hard but strong and confidently.  I was starting to feel like my old self again thanks to my brace.  Steve was killing it, looking as strong as ever. Arian was shredding. Matthew, Stink, Nick, it was a great day with my old neighbors and riding buddies.



I drove back to Orlando that night trying to make it back in time to see BT spin at this club.  I stopped by their house to get Spencer because I didn’t know how to get there.  It was a really good last night, chilling having a few beers, listening to my good friend spin some mad beats, and reflecting on my trip.  I feel really lucky to know such talented people and even luckier to be able to ride with them. 




Thanks for all the inspiration and motivation!  My knee feels great, my leg feels a lot stronger after getting to ride on it a bunch, and my brace is allowing me to ride like nothing ever happened to my knee.  Stoked!!!