1. Know Thy Driver
While the majority of New Yorkers are content navigating the city using public transportation, there are the few brave souls that choose to face endless parking tickets and banged up bumpers in exchange for the freedom afforded from owning a car. These few have chosen to forego the “convenience” of the train with all of its accompanying charms (packed rush hours, delayed trains, missed connections, smells previously unknown to man, “showtime”) and instead traverse the boroughs on their own timetable. As a surfer, it’s absolutely essential that you not only befriend one of these people, but that you look after them.
If you are one of the #blessed few to find someone that A) is just as stoked as you are to get up at 4am and go surf before work, and B) owns a car, then you have won the lottery my friend. This is your ticket to surfing salvation. And you must Know Thy Driver. Thy Driver is just as grumpy as you are at four in the morning, and doesn’t want to hear why your friend (ahem, you know who you are) is 20 minutes late meeting everyone at the rendezvous spot because he “had a late night”. We all have late nights; it’s NYC and every night is a late night, and you need to buck up and shut up.
Thy Driver needs not excuses, he needs quiet reverence and hot coffee as he guides his faithful flock to the beach just in time to see the sun come up over the waves. He needs you to pay the tolls, offer him free wax, sacrifice the best set waves for him, and buy bagels on the way home. He needs you to stop suggesting music choices on the drive there, he needs more than one coffee stop, and he needs you to be able to fix that weird humming noise the rooftop straps make when you don’t put a twist in them. It’s important to note that each Driver is different so tread carefully and adjust according to their own needs. If you are a good Passenger you will be repaid tenfold and spared the hell that is navigating the L train at rush hour with a surfboard.