Finish the Noseride~ #tiptimetuesday   While it’s great to get to the nose, a nose ride is not complete unless we get back to the middle or tail of the board and continue riding the wave! While the nose ride can often be the ‘pinnacle’ of long boarding, it is important to recognize how integral turning is to setting up and completing a nose ride.   Here we see Mahina set up her back side noseride with a stylish bottom turn. She then takes four rhythmic steps, pauses as the wave steepens up, and then takes her final two steps to the nose. If she hadn’t paused, the board could have easily nosedived, because she needed to wait for the wave to be just right for the nose ride. Once she’s on the nose, she does a beautiful job maintaining her balance and posture in the hang 5 to hang 10 sequence.   Once she sees that the wave’s steepness is fading away, she quickly moves her feet into the back cross-step motion. Her footwork is so quick that it is hard to tell how many steps she takes in fast motion. This is the goal!! Develop your backwards cross-step to be able to move quickly and without hesitation, because this technique will allow you to complete noserides more often. If she had slowly started to move back towards the tail instead of moving very quickly, it is likely that her nose would have pearled into the flat section approaching her. You can recognize that the shoulder of the wave goes very flat because she has to immediately make a cutback in order to stay with the wave.   It is critical to practice your backwards cross step and become proficient at it if you want to learn to nose ride consistently. In order to practice this, utilize your backwards cross step to move from the middle of the board to the tail in order to turn. Not every wave has a nose ride section, but it is a lot more likely to offer a place to turn and redirect the board, so this is an opportunity to practice your backwards cross steps.   Also, remember, cross-walking is sweeping the board under your feet. Push into the board with your feet and you will gain a lot more stability through your moves up and down the board! Words by: @leahloves Surfer: @mahina.akaka Video: @simplyserene546