My new Flexifoil team mate Erika Lindberg and I missioned it from Tarifa to La Franqui near Leucate for the French stop of the PKRA World Tour. We decided to fly most of the way from Tarifa, south of Spain, as Erika’s jeep is broken. So we got the bus super early in the morning to Malaga and flew to Barcelona. Tour riders Bruna and Cesar were super kind and picked us up from the airport to make the last two-hour drive in their pimped white jeep.  Our flight was an hour late so they had to wait for us I’m SO SORRY guys! Owe you a big favour!
 
We got to the event, signed in and located my Irish friends and our apartment. Jenny Kinnear’s van had had to stay at home so we ended up with her brother’s work car that was a brand new little Fiat 500! So all the kit in and 7 people to get back to the apartment! What a car!
 
So Saturday morning and no wind for the day but meters of rain it seemed! There was some decisions to be made for the PKRA tour for this year so most of the afternoon was spent in the new Bleu bar in La Fraqui debating and discussing the effect of the world economy crisis on the Tour and other bits. A frequent forecast check was also necessary and it promised howling offshore wind for the next day.
 
Sure enough we woke up to the apartment shaking and the tree opposite looking like it was going to take off. Unfortunately the wind did not take the rain away. The day was spent dodging from shelter to shelter trying to keep warm and dry waiting for heats, occasionally dashing out of the mobile room by the judge’s tower to help someone for their heat. Every single guy that came inside after being in the water came running in holding their hands grimacing from chill blains!  Nice!!  
 
It eventually came close to my heat and I made the mission to get ready. The wind started to do some weird things in the couple of heats before mine, so all the girls started running to get bigger kites incase our heats were run as the wind died. But they cancelled for the day so we all packed up and rushed home to get warm and dry!
 
Easter Monday morning and the wind was relentless! A little less rain though and the sun even peaked out as the day went by so we were much happier!  I had my Single elimination heats and got through to fourth place which was stoked with and made it onto the Singles podium for the first time! Wahoo! They carried straight on with the Double eliminations so it was a full on day and I was back out in my Doubles heat by the evening. My last heat was with Joanna Litwin from Poland who beat me with some powered passes so I finished fifth overall which I was happy with!
 
After 12 hours on the beach we went home and collapsed! So the next day we had a day off with no wind and warmed up with a nice sunny day at the Mondial du Vent eating sorbet and yummy organic Sojasun (why do they not sell it in the UK?!?!)
 
The wind then came back and we got to do best trick and board off! It was RIDICULOUSLY gusty as it was now howling onshore and coming over the cliffs. I put the 5m Flexifoil Neutron up and hung on for grim death! Bruna won as she miraculously managed a blind judge in one of the lulls.
 
A storm then came through followed by no wind, some waiting around and some silly photos!
 
The wind then came back with a vengeance but from further behind the cliffs so there was a huge wind shadow. So they decided to run the board off comp further down the beach, with hundreds of spectators following us to watch! The wind down there was mental and I spent the whole heat just thinking I wanted to live! It was crazy hard even to ride!!
 
So prize giving all done, a little celebratory partying and we were all off on our separate ways before our next comp!