The joys of being a landlocked surfer in the UK are few! Long journeys, gridlocked roads, expensive fuel… all to surf 2 foot of gutless slop. It gets a bit demoralising after 15 years! So when my friend discovered your website we were intrigued. We ordered a boardbungee and started exploring our local rivers for somewhere to ride. The weather in the UK is notorious for its unpredictability and this year saw floods in the summer followed by a dry autumn which meant low river levels. We were struggling to find somewhere with the required current and exit point downstream. Then in January things changed. It rained…hard. The rivers burst their banks creating flooded fields over really short grass. We tied the bungee to a sign, stretched the bungee by hand which was no easy feat in the slippery conditions, and went for it. The rides were fast, shallow and like nothing we had ridden before. Such good fun and it was on our doorstep. Shame we were in 5/3 wetsuits boots and gloves and not boardies but you can’t have everything. We have had one session in a snow storm and when we came back the next day we had to smash through the ice that had formed before we could ride!!

We have since taken the boardbungee to the south coast and have had several sessions around the Bournemouth area. This area is made for bungee boarding as there are large wooden groynes every 300m so you can find the best banks, tie up, stretch and enjoy. There are also some spots that don’t have anywhere to tie to so we have purchased a 3 foot land anchor that you screw into the ground and tie to, so now we can ride anywhere, rivers, lakes and the coast!! We are exploring our local rivers looking for suitable places to ride and have already found a lovely sandy beach. It is only accessible by kayak and we have to load the boats with boards and bungee to get there but it is a magical spot as you can camp on an island in the river nearby.

At the moment the sport is in its infancy in the UK. We have never come across any other bungee boarders on our travels but the potential for the UK to have a healthy scene is massive. Skimboarders, wave starved surfers, wakeboarders, wakeskaters, skateboarders, snowboarders ,even kayakers, could all be riding and there must be some awesome spots waiting to be discovered and ridden. We have only explored a tiny percentage of coastline and rivers in the south but who knows what Cornwall, Devon, Wales and the east coast hold. The mountainous areas of Scotland and Wales hold some powerful rivers but its cold,cold,cold.

We will have to see what discoveries lie ahead but this exciting new sport could lead to the unlocking of the landlocked and I’m all for that!

- Guy, Bracknell in Berkshire, UK

I primarily got into riverboarding due to having already been an avid river enthusiast. I had already spent countless days playing with anything that would surf, skip, pop, glide, or just cruise across the surface of moving river water for years, so trying riverboarding was a natural next step. Riverboarding is sweet because it’s a relativly low cost and commitment sport that makes for a great way to have fun on the river, chill on the beach, and enjoy those hot summer days. Riverboarding is a sport that uses the combined forces of river current and bungee recoil to launch a rider across the waters’ surface.

 
- Carson ‘Snug’ King

Its the middle of winter,I have had my fare share of the steep and deep, and somehow I yearn for longer warmer days. as I ready for the commute to the daily grind, cabin light on, I glance around to check my gear. Something catches my eye. straight ahead up on my visor is a photograph. reminding me of an adventure I had… Kinda like my first date. boiled with excitement I want it again. The photo starts to blur and a popping sound rings in my ears. A feeling of acceleration pulls from the center of my body like an invisible string. Wanting to squat lower my feet naturally move into a better position. Adjusting my balance I anticipate maximum zing on top of the water…

 
My eyes focus again, out goes the light. With the whisper still burning in my heart, I know that spring is around the corner. To me that means the possibility of yet another magic ride on my Riverboard.

 
- Chris, Southern Colorado

How are they doing that? My cousins and I sat on the rocks along the Arkansas River wondering, what contraption is responsible for making these boards go so fast. It is embarrassing to admit it now, we thought it had to be some incredibility fast machine that winded and release like a toy car. But where was it?

 
A couple of days later the mystery was solved by Kevin Veon and a group of other riverboarders. They explained the basics of the sport and threw wet suits on us (and lifej ackets and helmets too)! The crew showed us every step from how to jump into the water, to retrieving the board. The most difficult step for me was keeping steady as the current stretched the bungee.

 
My cousins and I had a blast watching the pros do fancy tricks. It was even cooler when we got to try it ourselves. Riverboarding is a challaging and intense sport for anyone who loves a rush. I cannot wait to do it again!

 
-Jacqueline, Illinois

My first introduction to riverboarding was when Banshee Bungee flew myself and fellow skimboarding pro Justin Boisclair to Idaho for an R&D trip that would cover miles thoughout the potato state, ending in a Forth of July demo/fiesta on the Snake River in Jackson, Wyoming. At first I was a little skeptical to it all, coming from a surfers/ skimboarders perspective where you ride with the flow of a wave and ocean, and not against the flow of the river like I was about to do. But I was ready to jump in and give it a try. I got in and tombstoned my board, streching the bungee very far back before it whipped me out of the water doing at least Mach 30 upstream. A couple more bungees and I was cruising upstream doing sprays and bigspins. It felt like I was skateboarding on my skimboard and all against the flow of the river. I was hooked.

Since then, board and bungee design has drastically improved with river riders now riding carbon fiber boards that look like advanced ocean skimboards. New spots and rivers are being searched out everyday by growing riverboarding enthusiasts, in search of the perfect ride. With a feel of skimboarding and skateboarding mixed, riverboarding is the next “big thing” as far as summer boarding sports in the river regions.

- Pete Anderson, Florida