Ocean Beach Pier

Name: Mike Turner

Home: Chula Vista

Vehicle: 1995 Ford F-150

Surfing: Ocean Beach Pier

Mike Turner surfs a 9'4" Bear and is committed to environmental causes. He inherited a gas-guzzling V8 Jeep that didn't have enough space for his family or surfboard. "It wasn't a good vehicle for us," he says. "I only kept it a couple years, then I started looking for this." Mike searched the Web and found a 1995 Ford F-150 in Corona; he bought it used. The former owner fitted the pickup truck with a high-pressure tank and fuel-delivery system to run natural gas. The long bed holds his board.

"It's a bi-fuel vehicle," says Mike. "It can also burn gasoline, so I don't get stuck somewhere." Mike likes to run it on natural gas not only for environmental reasons, but because natural gas is cheaper: about two dollars per gallon.

Mike's a San Diego native and has surfed for 20 years. His usual spot is in Imperial Beach, but on some days he can sneak in a quick session at the Ocean Beach Pier. He prefers the longboard because it's what he learned on; he never thought of going to a short board.

When he's not surfing, Mike is attending his daughter's sporting events, and his truck hauls all of her equipment around.

Mike would like to surf more with his family and friends, but work and commitments get in the way. "My daughter's come out with me a few times, but she's more into softball than surfing. My friends and I work different days, so we don't get to surf much together. I'd like to. Maybe when my daughter's a little older she'll surf with me, but until then, I'll just cruise out here by myself."