Cornwall you take our breath away ..

Who needs to holiday abroad with this on our doorstep?  Join us in Cornwall this summer and wake up to this vista every day .. we have weekends and 5 day courses to choose from ..  see you soon!

Cycle Surf Count Down: How to fix a puncture!

The Big Friday cycle surf is fast approaching and although the Big Friday crew will be on hand for puncture repairs, we are girl guides at heart and like to 'be prepared'!   So when we saw this great little vid by the girls at Adventurely on how to fix a bike puncture we had to share it ..   thanks Adventurely, no excuses for us not to keep on riding now ..

We've got that summertime feeling ..

Shopping for Pineapples with Silverstick

Silverstick are ticking all the boxes for us at the moment with their cute organic tees and hoodies that feel super soft on our freshly sun and salt kissed skin!    If you haven't come across Silverstick before then go and give them a peek we think you will like them ..  they are an indie label based in the South of England with outdoor living at the heart of everything they do.  We love that they hand print all their apparel in the UK and are dedicated to sustainable manufacture, leaving us free to wear our tees with a clear conscience.   

Our Silverstick faves are the stone tee with original logo in a sunshine yellow, California stylee, and the Beau Sweat in Ash Marl. The Silverstick tote bags in our pics, perfect for shopping for pineapples, were made specially for us to take to Costa Rica .. yew!    We're secretly hoping Silverstick add them to their range as a girl can never have too many cloth totes when travelling .. shopping bag, beach bag, laundry bag, bikini bag, swim fins bag ..   yep we are cloth bag addicts! 

Check out the Silverstick website and Facebook page and follow their adventures over on instagram .. you might see some faces you recognise from our Big Friday and Surf Sistas trips in Costa Rica as well .. 

Tortuga Island Snorkel Trip

We just found some previously unshared pics from our trip to Tortuga Island on our last Costa Rica surf road trip .. happy memories!

Our next surf road trip in Costa Rica is 1-10 March 2014 .. check out all the details here and book your spot!

surf. cycle. explore

 surf. cycle. explore

NEW DATES: Cycle Surf in France

Due to popular demand we have added an extra cycle surf for this september, still a couple of spaces left on the first week (31 Aug - 7 Sept) but now you can choose to head back the other way with us as well .. we'll be headed Lacanau to Hossegor by peddle and paddle from 8 - 15 September!

This is the ultimate summer adventure, surfing great waves, sleeping under the stars to the sound of the ocean, peddling through sleepy French villages, meeting new people, eating good food .. enjoying the outdoors!

Check out all the info here

Costa Rica 2014 - New Dates online!

Our Costa Rica road trip and Surf and Yoga retreats are back for another season .. check out all the dates on our website and reserve your spot now with a deposit payment, the remainder won't be due until 8 weeks before the trip.  The perfect way to guarantee yourself a warm winter adventure in paradise!

Our Costa Rica Surf Road Trip is a 10 day Surfari along the stunning coastline of the Nicoya Peninsula, its an amazing adventure and perfect for all surfing abilities.  Beginners will love learning with our Surf Sistas coaches on sandy bottom beach breaks, while improvers and experienced surfers will benefit from our higher level coaching and the incredible surf we will encounter on our route.

Our Surf & Yoga Retreats in Santa Teresa are 7 day escapes packed full of waves, Yoga and beach and jungle activities. Again great for all abilities and we will be exploring all the different breaks on offer in the Santa Teresa area to make sure you are surfing the right waves for you each day.   Our surf and yoga retreats include 2 surf coaching sessions each day so perfect if you really want to progress with your surfing, if you just want to spend some time chilling in a hammock thats fine too!

Surfari Fever

Train, airplane, taxi, car and driver, moped, chicken bus, high speed ferry, water taxi, feet and arms ..  all of the above have propelled us from home to Bali to the island idyll of Nusa Lembongan, to countless amazing surf breaks and then back again.      When we are in Costa Rica we are all about 4 wheel drives, quad bikes, ferries, tiny propeller planes, motor boats, mopeds, bicycles .. and of course feet and arms .. always paddling!          

Its good to go and immerse yourself in one place, and we do alot of that, most of the week long surf camps that we run are fixed in one place, even if we do drive around a bit each day to make sure we are finding you the best surf.  In the last few years though we realised that if we were going on a surf holiday ourselves, only had a few weeks to spare,  and were jetting half way around the world .. we would want to see more!   Sure we want to surf great waves every day, ideally in bikinis, and with some beers and cocktails at sunset for good measure, but we also want to explore, see more of the country we are visiting ..    so we created our surfari trips and our surfari fever has taken hold and now spread to take in Bali, Costa Rica and France.

Bali Surfari - A 10 day surfari based initially in Canggu to take in some of the best breaks on Bali, we then head to Lembongan for  tropical paradise and waves that we can only get to on small white boats with brightly coloured stabilisers ..   When not surfing we can mainly be found drinking from coconuts and eating variations of nasi goreng before a dip in the infinity pool, a motorcycle jaunt to the seaweed fields and a sunset Yoga session. Yew!

Costa Rica Road Trip -  The word 'road' is significant in this Surfari as the road (or lack of one) will be a glaringly obvious feature of the trip.  We will be 4 wheel driving up pot holed hill and down pot holed dale to get to our 3 destinations on this trip, not to mention through rivers (don't be alarmed when we walk through to check the height) and even across the beach at one stage. We will be rewarded with blissful waves, burritos the size of our heads, the best avocados in the world, plenty of hammock time and a laid back beach life that will make you want to give up the 9-5 pronto! 

France Cycle Surfari -  This epic adventure is all on two wheels, while your luggage will have the luxury of travelling by van to your next destination, you and your surfboard and day pack will be pedalling all the way from Hossegor to Lacanau along beautifully kept cycle paths in the pine forests of Aquitaine. Through little french villages, past refreshing lakes and to the finest surf breaks of south west France we go, fuelled by feasts cooked up on the campfire by our Big Friday chef.  

Bali Hai 2013

Bali Hai .. we are headed back to Bali in May for some consistent perfect tropical waves and bikini/board short surfing.  Check out our 10 day surfari on Bali and the little island of Nusa Lembongan, which includes transfers, daily coaching and guiding, daily Yoga, some meals, accommodation and a goody bag all for just £79 per day!  (AUD 121 | US$ 125)

This trip is great for all abilities - complete beginners looking to learn in tropical waters, surfers who have some experience and want to gain confidence surfing reef waves, or surf their first reef, or if you are just looking to explore Bali with some like minded surf girls ..

Surfgirl Magazine: Travels with my Bike

Arriving in South West France after a three month stint in London's urban jungle I am excited but nervous about our plan to cycle from Hossegor to Lacanau in search of uncrowded surf and life off the grid.  I love camping and being outdoors but I am definitely no exercise junkie and I am seriously wondering if Facebook can survive without me?

the simple life

Oakley team frother Gwen

The thought of sunshine, endless golden beaches, pumping surf (by pumping I mean 2-3 feet and mellow obviously), boardwalks, sand dunes, moules frites, croissants, and shady pine forests, spurs me in and we enjoy all of this and more! Team morale is aided by the presence of Oakley pro rider Gwen Spurlock, who has come along for the ride and takes the word 'frothing' to a new level. 

the hook option

"Note to self: Adopt Gwen as personal surf coach and little sister"



We cycle almost the whole journey by cycle path, just a few short road sections and a ferry journey to cut out a huge pedal around the arcachon basin.  The paths come in gradients of flat, flatter and gentle incline.. sometimes I long for a hill just to get some freewheeling in. But on the whole with a surfboard to deal with as well, the flatness works out perfectly.  Between us we are using a mix of side hooks to carry short boards and mules which drag mini mals and longboards behind us.  I've got a mule and once I get used to it and some of the things to avoid, like big kerbs and sharp turns, it works a treat. Every now and then I even forget its there - which is a definite no-no!

Jess with the mule option 

Our journey takes us through Hossegor and Seignosse, via Vieux Boucou, Contis Plage, Mimizan and Biscarosse Plage. Sometimes the paths take us inland around sections of military land and through tiny sleepy French villages where we can reward ourselves in the patisserie and have a quick snooze on church steps, patch up a few punctures and then hit the road again. Getting a little bit lost en route is all part of the fun, one day we find ourselves relaxing on day beds by a lake in an Ibizan style bar by a lake, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

the reward

Early morning glassy surfs and 'reward surfs' after a sweaty afternoon of cycling feel thoroughly well deserved and looking at the map and knowing that you covered every inch of the journey under your own steam is beyond satisfying!

local foods

The team from Big Friday who have organised the trip in association with Oakley Europe, pitch our camp each day in a new destination, each one seemingly more picturesque and escapist than the last. By the end of the week the enormous Pyla sand dune is reflecting the setting sun onto our evening feast while para-gliders swoop overhead, it is truly spectacular.

125 miles of peddling, paddling and sleeping under the stars later, we are all surfed out, saddle sore and 100% stoked, no-one has updated their Facebook status for 7 days and we can't be located by GPS. We are well and truly off the grid: mission accomplished!

Originally Published in Surfgirl Magazine September 2012 Issue 39

The next Cycle Surf is 1-8 September 2012 - find out more here or email info@bigfriday.com

Peddle and Paddle

Hurray the Big Friday Cycle Surf is back for 2012!  Dates for your diary are:
1st - 8th September 2012
We'll be sharing all the details as soon as the trip is online and open for bookings.