Surfing Waves

Are the rediculous gas prices going to cause you trouble getting to the beach as frequently as you'd like to? Just wondering. I live 200 miles from the beach. I have a small SUV that gets about 23 mpg but I figured if I do a day trip later this week, its going to set me back about $70-$80 just in gas to get to and from the beach. Thats almost 1/2 price of purchasing a good used shortboard. If prices stay above $3 per gallon, I'm not sure I can afford to make a trip down very often. Is the gas prices hitting the UK and Aussies at all? I'm guessing its primarily a US problem (although I think gas in Europe has been much higher than US for quite a while,

gas prices in uk ave always been stupidly high (having lived there for 14 years) Havnt been back in 2 years but i bet they are still astronomically bad.

What about taking a train?

Bub wrote:I'm guessing its primarily a US problem

OMG you US peeps crack me up. Uk pays $5+ per gallon and sits in traffic jams 90% of the time yet you Yanks with 5.0v8 SUV's complain about $2 a gallon...

isaluteyou wrote:gas prices in uk ave always been stupidly high (having lived there for 14 years) Havnt been back in 2 years but i bet they are still astronomically bad.

What about taking a train?

I figured the UK has been high (gas prices that is) for quite a while. Train is not an option, no trains run to and from where I'm going and it would be more expensive anyway even if it did. My wife and kids want to come along so on this trip I can't split the gas bill with 1 or 2 fellow surfers. Maybe next time.

RJD wrote:

Bub wrote:I'm guessing its primarily a US problem

OMG you US peeps crack me up. Uk pays $5+ per gallon and sits in traffic jams 90% of the time yet you Yanks with 5.0v8 SUV's complain about $2 a gallon...

I meant the drastic increase in price recently is primarily a US problem (and the price went from $2.75 pg to $3.25 in about a month). I realize we were cheaper than alot of Europe gas. Lets not get into international politics please, this is a surfers forum. My SUV is a small 4 cylinder (Mitsubishi Outlander) If I didn't own a 4-wheel drive vehicle I couldn't get to my house, my house basically sits on a mountain top with a bumpy gravel driveway as the only way up. So anyway is some of our surf pals getting landlocked from this recent gas trend?

Hm Uk prices seem the same as when I left 2 years ago.

Prices here have fluctuated between $1.30 and $1.60 or so. its at the high end now.

Currently $3.27.9 USD to $3.75.9 USD in San Diego.

Otter wrote:Currently $3.27.9 USD to $3.75.9 USD in San Diego.

Yep its kinda putting me off getting a car but hell i want to bebale to surf north county as well so im just gonna have to grit my teeth and do it

LOL - fuel over here is more or less £5 per gallon (which is about $10USD).

A weekend surf trip down to the SW of the UK costs me at least £60 ($120USD) in fuel (and that's in a vehicle getting twice the MPG that you quote).......

They call it 'rip off Britain' for good reason!!

I heard on the news this morning that if you live in Saudia Arabia, gas is only $0.20 per gallon. The Saudi gov't (if you call that a gov't) subsidizes the local gas economy and they make all of their money off of foreigner countries. Sand surfing anyone?

..

Quiksilver54 wrote:haha i live in Atlanta, wave breaks are all atleast 4 hours and gas is like 3.19 right now and my family owns a van, and a F150 sooooooooooo its pretty expenive to get down there, i dont go on a "surf trip" i only get to surf on the "family beach vacation" trips but i make sure we go somewhere with waves and none of my family complains because my little brother bodyboards alot so whatever

Yeah, Drving from Atlanta to beach in an F150 or van would be over $100 round-trip gas easily. What's up with the Reno Nevada "location" tag? Is that a joke or something?

RJD wrote:

Bub wrote:I'm guessing its primarily a US problem

OMG you US peeps crack me up. Uk pays $5+ per gallon and sits in traffic jams 90% of the time yet you Yanks with 5.0v8 SUV's complain about $2 a gallon...

Thought that's per litre? Which is quite a bit smaller than a gallon.

We are still in the low 3's here. Going up quick though. I get my gas out in a rural area, so it's generally older gas (they sell it for what it was bought for, so 3 dollar gas under ground is sold for 3 bucks) plus it doesn't have as much ethanol, so the gas burns slower and the ethanol makes it more expensive. Traffic ain't too bad if you know where to go. I do a bunch of driving for my job (30k miles in 3 months last year) in a bunch of strange areas, so I know pretty much the entire state like the back of my hand. It's handy

Unfortunately public transport sucks in the US. No trains really go to the beach. Passenger trains are really only big in huge cities like DC has the metro system and the subway system in New York. We've got Amtrack, but a ticket is almost as much as the gas, and you have to deal with all the headaches. And I still don't really remember them having a train going to the beach.....then from there you gotta get a cab or something even if they do have a stop that direction. Charter busses are ridiculous too.

In Cali, we have a metrolink train that goes from the Riverside area (inland SoCal) to San Clemente, runs daily during the summer, and I think just weekends during the winter. Plus Amtrak surfliner runs along the coast, just have to get to the coast.
My problem isn't that I don't live near the beach, it's that I work too far away, hour drive to and from work. The beach is another 20-50 minutes away depending on traffic, and have to be at work before 7:30 am, and don't get home until after 5 pm (and that's early for me).