MALIBU'S JUST RIDE TOUR ROLLING THROUGH IT'S TENTH YEAR

From the rolling road report!

By David Thorpe

In mid Feb myself and Peter Kent from Regal Marine made a trip across Victoria kicking off the Tour for its 10th year. Our plan was to catch up with some Malibu owners, give them a tow , some pointers behind something new, check out some recently filled Lakes we had heard whispers about and show off the new 2010 VLX & Lxi Response. The Victorian leg was hosted by Regal Marine and we had fully booked out successful stops in Echuca, Bridgewater, Horsham and Mildura in which I also had young up'n comer Lauren Bell on hand to give some pointers to the younger riders and put on some demo's . We came across some great little lakes out that way that are hidden away so I wont give up the secret just incase !! They have plenty of water in the Horsham area which is good to see as they have been with out for so long. Cheers to Mark Skinner and the gang at Skin, Ski and Surf for looking after us when we were in Bridgewater..

Mildura as always is the Oasis and place we so look forward to reaching after a few weeks on the road, its always good to see those palm trees swaying in the breeze. The Fox guys and girls were in town for a Photo shoot with Surf Crew store so we checked out their flash hire houseboat and put the boat in for a late arvo session. The water conditions were epic as usual and we had two full days of demo's, freeriding and coaching, PK even spent a day with the LXi at the much talked about Cowra Station tournament site. Thanks also to Nigel Sparrow from Mildura Ski Club for taking care of us whilst in Mildura, he has been making us welcome for so long he should be the Mayor of Mildura! And the guys at Surf Crew......well what can I say but Glen you are living the dream!

After a few days back in the office at HQ I loaded up the F-250 up again and trekked up to the Hawkesbury River, Wisemans Ferry for GRE Marine's annual event at Del Rio Resort. Arriving at Del Rio I met up with team Malibu rider Sam Thomson and his family who had also driven a long way up from Conjola. We checked out the local sites on our mountain bikes and I was even lucky enough to score a" MUM" cooked meal off Mrs. Thomson before the busy weekend kicked off . We had good weather all weekend, scored some good water later in the days for some freeriding and as usual Graham and Karyn Roberts our hosts from GRE put on an amazing lunch and Dinner. We caught up with loads of owners, heard some funny stories around the camp table Sat night and I don't think the Tour boat stopped for the two days. Scotty Kell from Black Diamond was also on hand with his new Twenty 10 VLK taking plenty of people riding so all and all there would have had to have been some worn out kids on the way home Sunday night!! Thanks to all that came and brought their boats along for the weekend.... Some Hawkesbury magic was had by all!

Am almost at the end of the Tour with only a few stops to go in SA which will be on the mighty Murray at Morgan and Murray Bridge, W.A at Bonneys and Paynesville back in Victoria in April so check out your local Malibu Dealers website, Malibu Just Ride Tour Facebook page or www.malibuboats.com.a and get your name down for a session behind the new Wakesetter VLX.

In it's 10th year, the Malibu Just Ride tour has grown into a iconic part of grass roots wakeboarding thanks to the support from its corporate & event partners Fox, Globe, Liquid Force, Mountain Dew, Red Bull , Wake and Boarder Magazines.

Each Tour has become a show case of new Malibu models as well as a Malibu boat owners re union in that state which really allows myself, our pro team and the Dealers all a chance to catch up with owners and their families in may locations across this big Nation.

This year has seen the all new Wakesetter VLX and Response FXi revealed to many and they have been overwhelmingly accepted by the masses.

The SA stop will be held at Morgan and Murray Bridge on the mighty Murray, it will be hosted by Elite ski boats.