Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 18, 2009 - 02:16pm PT
ive seen a few posts of some rad dads folling their kids doing insane speeds on skateboards here...
borrowed the neighbor kid's yesterday and had my first crash.
i have beautiful hills in my hood, super wide, some super steep, some not, new asphalt, very smooth, long gradual decents, some up and downs, its a cool hood for skateboarding!
was with my wife and kids and got cocky on a narrow fireroad with a big gate at the bottom. thought i could do a bunch of small hard turns and just bail a little before the gate.
wrong. face f*#kin first into the asphalt. luckily i rolled and skidded most of the way on my back. minor knee, hip, and elbow road rash.
f-d up my blackberry and my gps (wanted to see how fast i was going...20mph)
worst is i re-inured my long standing shoulder tendonitis.
had a bottle of beer in my pocket, but it didnt break. kids thought i was dead. super funny.
My longboard is a 9'6". Went out today north of Santa Cruz. Occasional double overhead sets. I got caught inside for a few sets and was so wasted I could barely get back to shore. ha I never should have been out there truth be told.
We don't get hurt when we fall - but drowning is always a possibility.
speed wobble sucks!
yo longboarding is way fun and they come in handy on flat days.
it's good to hear you did the ol' tuck and roll manuever. damn it could really jack a face up
gotta realize the situation your getting into though....
watched a good buddy get ko'd; lose most of the skin off of his face (maybe 35+)....and had another good buddy hit his head so hard that it killed him....super sad for sure.
pretty much havn't bombed a hill since.
i've got some super scary footage of my older brother i should post up some time....
good luck on the hills
cheers,
patrick
edit: better to buy em' and ride em', rather than most the kids at college carrying them around like a suitcase
I ride a comet voodoo with randall trucks and abec 11 gumballs.
Don't bail. Learn how to slide, learn how to footbrake. Bailing is NEVER an option. It just leads to really bad sh#t like hyperextended knees and patella-femoral displacements (yuck).
As for speedwobble, stay on the gas and it won't happen. That means more of your weight on your front foot, lean forward.
I used to longboard. The Alpine Meadows access road is super fun.
That said, I switched to a street deck with big/soft wheels (bear bellies) and cranked the trucks down.
In 2001, I was living in Sierra Meadows (Truckee) and decided to head out for some downhilling. I had my roommate in a car behind me, swapping driving time for skating time.
So, I head down this short steep hill (I had the power slides worked out, no big deal) when some A-Hole in a Jeep comes up the hill. He's honking his horn and swerving to my side of the road, forcing me to straightline the rest of the run.
100 yards from the bottom, the wobbles caught up with me and I was tossed onto the road on the first impact, then bounced into someones yard.
I woke up with Josh standing over me, looking worried. Once we got home and I got bandaged up I assessed the damage.
Concussion, a chunk of scalp down to my skull missing, a palm skinned to the muscle, lacerations from shoulder to hip on my right side (still have scars), a skinned face, a broken ankle and a dislocated shoulder.
Regardless, I still get out on a longboard occasionally, but with much more caution.
Have fun and be careful!
I may have already told this story on another post but can't remember...concussions ...
I'm 42 and still ride my longboard. I actually started riding again when my dad who started making street luges several years ago after watching one of the first X Games at the fire station he worked at. My dad and one of the other firemen said "we can make a better luge than that". Within a year my dad who was 58, was racing luges around the country and started his own street luge business. Part of the business was making trucks for luges. His luge trucks were wide to fit the luge which was perfect for a longboard. He retired from racing Luges but still makes trucks for those who want them. They are very nice billet aluminium trucks with independent axles for each wheel that are changeable. His changeable axle design made it more affordable for lugers, instead of buying a whole new truck if the wheel axle bent due to a crash, they could now just switch out the axle in seconds for just a few $$.
I can think of at least two over forty dads, who ride street longboards both for accomapnying their kids, and for their own, unwindment. One of them, who might read this and post details, in an unrelated accident got T-boned by a street Longboarder in the avenues, in SLC. Anyone who knows the area in question can imaginae the potential mayhem. Boarder went to the hospital, but his Mri's cost less than the bodyshop costs to fix my friend's VW. I think...
i always kinda wanted one...
Bart, I wouldn't call the contrary orientation, or really anything else, wrong...
Got my setup last Friday. Picked up a Gravity 47 inch Hyper Carve, Randal 150mm trucks and the 76mm high grade wheels. Got lots of freebies too. Cool shop.
Awesome ride, Salad. Hey at least your beer made it out o.k.!
I don't skateboard anymore or surf, but...when I was in 4th grade living in Italy, me and best friend Ritchie Watson decided to shoot one of the out of commission ski slopes in a plastic sled! I was in front, he in back. My Mom and another mother spoteed us just before we went and knew what was coming...trouble.
They started running over screaming, we couldn't hear 'em and set out. We came damn close to ski-lift poles a couple of times slaloming through them.
Them, at the bottom, at maximum speed there was a stone formation that resembled a stone telephone booth. Well, the brakes didn't work at that speed and we SLAMMED into the corner of it.
I cartwheeled like a rag doll around it, Rich wasn't as lucky, he smacked right into it. When I regained consciosness I looked over and he had blood running all over his face. I got a huge bruised thigh. Rich got a skull fracture, teeth through his lower lip, and a shattered leg.
He recovered pretty well too, some scars, but same 'ole Richie.
My bro gave it to me for a b-day present. Tried it out in the local shopping mall at 1am..police spotlighted me, called me over and paused as he shined the light in my face. He asked "how old are you?", "36, it's for my birthday today", the cop shook his head and said "you should know better, ride it in the street"
I never had a true longboard, but the most intense downhill riding I had was when I was 13....I just got new wheels for my birthday...Syms Pure Juice. I had a beautiful Hobie deck (laminated wood made by Maharishi). Some older dudes drove a couple carloads of us to a MASSIVE hill that before that day only existed as a rumor....unbelievable steepness.
The speed was a fantastic rush but my trucks were not tight enough. I got the most intense speed wobbles I've ever experienced. I held it together as long as I could but I got to the point that I knew I had to jump ship or wait to get pitched. I jumped. The moment my foot hit the road I was launched.
No one made it to the bottom; I ended up with a broken arm.
I still own a first generation Alva skate deck (circa 1976), Tracker half-tracks and Park RIder 5s. I've eyed longboards but not much place to ride to full advantage in NYC.
Had the Flexi-Flyer with brake springs removed of course.
I guess that would qualify as a Longboard.
LA Hills was perfect.
Los Altos, that is.
Swimmijn Pools, Movie Stars.
May as well just jump off a building head first.
Notice the direction arrow for the IQ Impaired.
wondering if i really hit 30 last night or if the garmin hiccuped.
had a good mellow skate tonight, hit that same hill with less agression but at the same time tucked pretty much from that same spot and only recorded 23mph.
Back in the day, even before Tony Alva was blasting aerials out of pools, I had a knee-board for speed runs. 3/4" CDX plywood, lotsa foam padding, and goddamn those stupid steel Chicago trucks we had to use back then.
A local guy would drive alongside (not behind, right?) and I'd get something like 35 mph. Not that impressive, but the setup was very stable and easy to control, even for a 14-year old.
To stop?
The sideways slide on the kneeboard was so stable, I could take out all the flower beds after drifting twenty feet across the lawn.
My 2000 Limited Edition (wood reproduction) 91.5cm Quicksilver w/ Pivot 9" trucks and Sector 9 hubbed 80mm wheels (ceramic bearings).
I'm almost 44, and while my speed days are far behind me, it sure is nice to have a carving machine around for the pavement.
man, i went over to cardiff last night and skated some of those hills. soooo narrow compared to what im used to. lots o traffic. was riding a prototype bamboo job from gravity, must get one asap!!!
pretty cool the hot shots let the total gumbie tag along...
No prob, Jb. They're way harder to fall off than a short board once you dial in with the turning radius. Plus..."Old guys rule"
Still got my 1980 forty inch Santa Cruz kicktail...with Gullwings and Yoyos, haha. BTW, one of those trucks is cracked. What's the go-to truck for longboards these days? TIA, hotdoggers.
Not really LB since it was too early, but in the documentary (EXCELLENT!) "Dogtown and Z-Boys-The Birth of Extreme" there is a shot* of Jay Adams blasting down a hill.
Nothing new about that.
The difference is the attitude and style.
Jay starts with a couple of lazy 360's at the top of a hill. Next thing he drops into a tuck, adjusts a few ounces of body-weight and commits. The shot goes on and on and on. And on again! The boy is in total control, relaxed... screaming speed.... perhaps a slight adjustment of the hand as the board wobbles. The shot just tracks him while Hendrix does his thing ("Freedom") on the soundtrack.
I keep waiting for Adams to bail or tumble or rise up and drag a foot.
Doesn't happen.
And all of this on old boards... old wheels... no skullcap... no pads. Just a boy, a board and an attitude.
If you haven't seen this film do it now. The fictionalized version with Heath Ledger et al is pretty good, too. But the doc just makes you feel weak.
*If you want to see the Jay Adams scene... his part starts at 1:02:57
Mike, I dont know jack about the hardware yet, but I have randal 150mm on my 47 inch hypercarve. give the folks at gravity a call, uber class act company...
760-591-4144
Greg Weaver represented one pole of influence on my own skating as a teenager, with Z-boys/Dogtown representing the other pole.
It's great to watch this footage. I wonder who the analog is to Greg Weaver in contemporary climbing? It would be nice to see more of this approach and style in climbing. Climbing that exhibits fluidity, efficiency, grace, and poetics is capturing my imagination. Raw power and technical difficulty, the send....although impressive, without an aesthetic dimension, is missing something. Time to amp up the poetics of movement.
I was in the Whitney Museum here in NYC a few weeks back. I was unexpectedly enchanted by a video artist's exhibition, 'Elad Lassry: Three Films'. On of the films was:
'Untitled (Agon) (2007) records two dancers performing the pas de deux from George Balanchine’s 1957 ballet Agon. Using a diagram from Doris Humphrey’s 1958 book The Art of Making Dances to determine the camera's positions, Lassry examines the way cultural production is framed and transformed through different methods of representation.'
This is a black and white film of a dude and a chick, both in phenomenal condition, practicing the dance in a studio. What struck me was they both had bodies that looked like they would translate perfectly into climbing but yet seemed much more powerful, more graceful, and better balanced. I was transfixed watching them move...the way they were filmed added to this as...therein lie this particular video artist's vision. I knew what they were doing took incredible strength...but it was hard to discern any strain. Pure art.
edit: My first "real" skateboard, a 21" Fibreglas Bahne with Bahne trucks. I re-fitted it with modern wheels (Krypto Route 62's) and bearing--the old Cadillac DK-51's weren't cutting it.
This thing is a pure sidewalk surfin', turnin' and pumpin', silk-ridin' MACHINE
Longboarders: Wanna trade a so-so long board for some crappy FISH gear?
Last good ride I had was from the mine in Pine Creek down to 40 Acres on a FreeBord... are you familiar with those death machines? Must have crashed 300 times. Then some c*#ks@cker stole it!!!!!
I did shoot the Wawona Tunnel in cowboy boots one night though.... probably on my old Sims 42" maple with the Tracker trucks and Road Rider 4's..... damn expansion joints are eye-openers.
Longboards are a lotta fun, but don't forget to ride your bowls......with long boards even!!! Check out the guy in the middle background. HUGE board and he could rip the thing in that bowl. I had the pleasure to watch him tear it up in Ione, CA. Great stuff.
Wish I had a shot of him. You'll just have to see one of me on a not so longboard.
Bob J,
Please post long board recommendations so we can all read 'em.
My old mid to late 70's boards are just conversational pieces now. One is Logan Earth Ski, Tracker trucks and OJ/Simms pure juice wheels.
Used to have a 3 foot plank, no rounded corners, with cutouts around the wheels to keep a low center of gravity. Used to blast it down old S J Capistrano and Irvine Turtle Rock area after all the streets were freshly paved prior to the houses going in.
Please post some long board recs and specs. Knee rebuilt and rarin' to go.
"My old mid to late 70's boards are just conversational pieces now. One is Logan Earth Ski, Tracker trucks and OJ/Simms pure juice wheels."
I used to own a Logan Earth Ski, kickktail, 27". Fantastic freestyle board. Wish I still had it. Not a longboard by any stretch, of course.
I still have and ride a 1976 Alva skate w/Tracker Half Tracks, also a superior board.
Out of all the boards I've owned, the Logan was the best freestyle board I've owned. The weight, truck drill-hole geometry, solidity, width, kicktail geometry all added up to a super responsive board. Wish I still owned it. BITD, I've seen some amazing riders do amazing things on Earth Skis.
a pretty fresh session yesterday afternoon. we hit all the cool slopes in my hood. i turned it up a notch (for me) and skated a little more aggressively. had a good run down hidden trails road. tons of traffic but i kept to my lane and switched lanes when cars were coming downhill. got 'er done without having to get off the board.
it was about 5pm and i hadnt eaten all day, 10 ales in the gullet. the super steep concrete hill was more than my balance could handle. several shirtless falls but very little road rash.
multiple runs into the night down my street. super fun, stiff today. thinking about going back out when it cools down.
it was about 5pm and i hadnt eaten all day, 10 ales in the gullet. the super steep concrete hill was more than my balance could handle. several shirtless falls but very little road rash.
My bro told me last night that last weekend Old Priest was closed for construction and he skated it 5 times. When he tried to skate it for the sector 9 movie they made last summer, they got popped by a cop. I think it somehow still made it into the video.
Board has arrived..... Blitzo drove me up to Indian Cove..... this rig sure is more responsive than my 42" Sims oak board in 1983.....
UNHOLY!!!!!!!!!!!111111666
I could see getting pretty jacked up on one of these rigs. Did the ride no falls, but there were moments. Shaking off 25 years of dust will take a while. I am no longer a fast healer..... 3 miles total.
Did the Keys View today..... everything was going quite well, until trying to slow down the hot asphalt basically ripped the sole off my drag shoe and rotated my amble bulk around pretty fast..... got a flank steak sized roadrash on my lovehandle and a bruised butt. The rest of the ride was cool! Got almost to Cap Rock.
I got's to get the hang of slowing down without flailing around and crashing.... maybe even some knee/elbow pads or something (ghey) That tarmack is pretty unforgiving in OP Shorts and no socks.
From the technical angle, I think I crashed 'cause the board got too wiggly... and my leg got too tired to hold form. I probably would like to stiffen up the rear truck. What color will help out with that. I'm running red in there right now I think.
And I need to pay you and your guys. Let me know about it.
RUSS, I did Keys last fall and the blacktop was perfect. I posted it on Silverfish and tried to let folks know what a great ride it was. My GF pulled me up most of the way on her bike. I would suggest at least knee pads, some slide glove and ALWAYS a helmet. What a great ride.
Justin....nice vid....looks like you know what your doing.
Email sent.... I wonder why my outgoing stuff is not getting where it should??? Weird. Seems like a recent problem with my mail. Probably on a banned list somewhere.
Thanks for looking into the bushings..... Damn that rolling to a stop on asphalt is painful!
Bump for 400degree asphalt and 108degree temps....
Question for the guys who know what they are doing:
It sure looks like in the vids that when you are flat out pimping, the front foot is almost right over the front truck.... does that mean you are doing a Republican "wide stance" to keep the rear wheels from getting skittish? This is on a 47" board.
Seems I have better luck with staying near the rear of the board as those rear wheels sure do want to wash out and chatter at the hardest parts of the turns.... maybe I'm pushing the curves too hard? Bad weight balance by leaning forward too much?
Day one of slide school in the bag. No injuries yet, except for the paper plate sized bruise on my ass from last weeks crash. NBD.
Just did some A3+ speed wobbles and instead of screaming and waking up in bed, I hung with it and slid out of it...... pretty scary..... probably the ugliest Colman ever witnessed.... but effective! Then I noticed that both trucks were loose, and at least three wheels have a good bit of slop when you wiggle them.
hmmm.... might this have something to do with it? (the wobbles)
Side note: It seems I'm a one way slider (heel side) and the wheels on that side are getting pretty conical.... so I rotated them like on a car. Any problem with that?
if you can get michael bream on the phone great, otherwise the rest of the guys know there sh#t too, obviously. super cool shop, they will take care of you. tell bream you are the guy the gilbert bought the board for.
dont forget to oil the bearings every once in while (both sides of the wheel). you dont want to blow one of those fckers at 40mph. i did at low speed and still sucked.
when I rotated the wheels I had to clean and lube two sets of the bearings... 4 bearings basically seized! The bearings have been spraying out some petro, probably from the heat and my weight!
I just cranked down the bushings a bit more and tightened up all the screws and bolts.... it is probably getting the crap shook out of it during all the practice slides. It is kinda violent.
I bet I'm good on the bushings for now.... thanks for the info!
Blitzo has a movie of my sad action. This is a preemptive strike to say he missed the actual speed of the run, and I still have a very tender asss..... so I'm cautious.
He'll post it up in a bit..... I would not wait up.
One comment. I thought the music choice was . . . ah . . . well . . . ok, it sounded like the background music to "Leave it to Beaver."
If this was your purpose, and that is what Russ is all about, then ok. But the music could use some spruecing. Just saying . . . You could go from elevator Muzak to something more . . . well . . . how . . . do . . . I . . . say . . . it . . . without . . . ah . . . feelings being hurt. Well, something more interesting.
No Munge, it's like playing in traffic without the traffic. Um, well, maybe like running with scissors. Or "any profession dealing with precision: diamond cutter, heart surgeon, pool hustler" (J. Long) It's a minute to learn a lifetime to master. Just keep the foam side up and the rubber side down!
I just told her the other day.... it ain't like I'm new to this.... a speedrun crash ended my High School soccer career..... I found out pretty quick that I can't run 37MPH, especially in slip on Vans, no shirt, and OP shorts..... that was ugly.
Then she told me I was "old" or something.... I'm thinking my skills, albeit dusty, have not eroded at all in 30 years.
wonder if i can talk MisterE into bombing somes hills in my neighborhood...
google map willow tree lane, 92027 and put it in terrain mode. drop the little yellow guy on willow tree. this is the gem in the hood as far as speed goes.
... ... I look for longer sweeper turns ..
never been able to find enough skater terrain to run SG or DH sized turns
but premature wear knee stuffs keeps my skateboarding at an elderly adaptive / skate to never crash level
seldom push it up above 15 - 18 mph
spring valley school , madera county .. so far as i can tell . is where its at for terrain
but 65 mph car traffic is a big safety concern.
actually, rolling some turns sounds good right about now
my legs were trashed from the weekend so i took it chill.
tried a fancy slide into some sprinkler run off and lost it, didnt hit the deck but the board shot down White Oak for a solid 100 yards at full speed. thank goodness it didnt hit a car.
Went climbing at Squamish today, at the base of the Grand Wall. Lots of nice 1 - 4 pitch crack climbs there. We ran across some climbers who were carrying a skateboard, and asked if they were planning the first skateboard descent of the wall, etc etc. (No camera visible, though.) They said no, we were on a route called Seasoned in the Sun, and the board came out of the sky and nearly whacked us.
The route is directly below the Roman Chimneys at the top of the Grand Wall, a spot accessible to knowledgeable hikers. Perhaps a skateboarder was on the summit slabs and lost it over the edge? Very mysterious.
This also helps prove that skateboarding is dangerous and not to be attempted. I stick with safe things like bicycle racing, climbing, and backcountry skiing.
failed attempt at the fire gate. cruizer little hill on the way back to my house that narrows to a fire road with a gate that's always closed. made it through once before but rubbed out on the curb a few feet after and ended up on my ass.
holy shlt! i hooked up with some dudes from sliverfishlongboarding.com tonight....
those mother f'ers are FAST!
so cool, no attitude, just sharing the stoke...
people in the neighborhood just watching those guys bomb hills at what (they estimated) at 45+ and giving us rides back up the hills just to watch us (well them, not me, i was far behind) do it again.
Had my longboard lifted from my front porch! It's been 20 days and nothing has turned up. Someone got some BAD Karma coming. Could not take it any longer and order a new board.....
The sergio looks pretty cool. The hard wheels will help with the sliding. I ended up getting a LY dropwedge with some 83mm flyhwheels. Arrives on MOnday...I think I will miss NOT having a tail. I hope my wheeells are big enought to run over small children. I though about the PP ray Barbie as a trick board to work on some kickflips, love the options of upturned nose and tail...sweet.
Man I need to learn to post photos. That guy in Josh has the worst FOOT BREAK ever! more like a toe break.
alex envies road 200 3 miles southeast of highway 41, hill above minarets high school ... ...occasional trafficks hairy scary, cowboys and soccer moms driving a back highway at 65 - 75 mph ...
good pavement
big sweeper turn
scenic background all pasturage , oaks , chapparals , central sierras above all
Who has skated from Lake Sabrina to Bishop? I've done all the other descents around Bishop area, but haven't done this road. Well, haven't done South Lake either, that would be a good run. It's busy. Have to be a late night run on the Carve board to do it.
Well, ok haven't done the Sherwin Grade, but 395 freeway is way busy. Old 395 or Old Sherwin grade Road is awesome. Great run.
My daughter w/ her first board, a Sector 9 Bamboo Mini. She rides Element now, and has a Sector9 fiberglass longboard. She's on our old mini-ramp in this shot- I'll post up some pics of it when I get them scanned.
Saturday's Indian Cove run... wish it was better, but I couldn't keep that animal nickname guy in the viewfinder for long... board too stiff, complete rookie, turns not sharp enough to cut the speed, no slide gloves, no helmut, etc... In a nutshell, I suck.
I just checked it out on the G4 laptop.... with nothing but Safari running and it went well.... nice stuff!
If I open up any apps at all, the Vimeo starts to chatter.... somebody had the explanation a while back.... maybe Hardman, about the problem. I recall it was something to do with Safari. Anyway....
Good stuff. Now all we need is Salad out here on a fake climbing trip and we can rool the blacktop.
im down for the journey. lotta busy weekends coming up but will check the calander.
i went out last night with a helmet with the intent of pushing my speed but wiped out right out of the garage (9 beers) so i kept it chill after that. mid 20s.
Got my LY drop wedge. Damn that thing is heavy. 9 plys of maple. Took my board out last night too. Did a few speed checks and worked the foot break.....Going to ride it to class today and get some fresh dead dinsours down 168(west line) to the CC college. More too come......
All sk8boards must have one of the following 1. boobs 2. snakes 3. flames 4 skulls/bone
also - trying to get a group to bomb in esco thurs nite. if you are local to san diego and reading this and want to skate some good (shorter) hills that go at 40-45mph on good asphalt let me know.
would be great to mob the hood with as many as possible.
after 7pm when it cools down and tessa's soccer game is done.
ho man... i just went down to gravity to talk to em about a shorter setup. was all set on the ben logan 36 then michael told me they are selling the drop carve kalai. that thing is so dope!!! now im torn.
Great, going faster these days.
Let me know when and where. The other hill just a couple MPH
slower than the one in PVP (Palos Verde Peninsula) is in Anaheim
Hills.
steelmonkey-
we used to shuttle the Granite Mtn road when it got repaved(mid 90's). Not on cruiser boards though, full powerslide, numbfoot descents.
I got a concussion from bombing when I was in highschool. Friends said I flew 40 ft, five feet in the air, after jacking during speedwobbles. Landed in a roll, though, which kept road salsa to a minimum.
Salas, got the digits will give you a ring on Monday. Look forward to sk8en with ya. I have to work the 10-12 of Oct but am willing to ride any time during the week. I will likely head to the VALLEY the following weekend. L8er sk8er -e
Just did a new easy cruiser: From the 29 Palms entrance to the Park at the Kiosk, down what is called Utah Trail. Wide, good surface, easy to see traffic as it is a straight shot.
Was thinking you could go all they way from Split Rock to 29 with no stops if you get lucky. Must be 7 miles?
I enjoyed the outside 1/2 pipe/bowls and Boise Idaho skateboard park,
more so than the outside parks etc. here in CA. I never got held up by lower
riders there. It was $2.00 for 1/2 day. Do you know if the outside park is still
there?
Again please let me know about the upcoming OC event.
Went out with a co-worker yesterday and ran 4 laps down the Owen's Gorge rd. 2.5 miles speed up to 30-35. Great pavement too. Worked on my switch heel side slides and a few toe sides. Left with a huge smile on my face....no road rash to talk about. Go get some!
Thank's guys. I like to be there live in person. I've been a little faster than that
though slower than Andy, but as I told salad outdoor pipes and bowls were
my favorites. Glad you smiled.
salad,
Orange park closed down after 1 schoolmate was rescued by the other in a
water slide. The fiber glass broke, impaled through his stomach walls
though did not cut through his spine and the injury saved him from
a fall that could have been as bad or worse. Boise was still open then but
I only see indoors there now. Bad Rap for us board riders who liked
the outdoors.
ho man! epic 5 hour sesh tonight! we had four guys and mobbed the hills in my neighborhood. partied hard and brought the car and shuttled so we got tons of rides in (had a 19 yo who was sober and drove).
first ride of the night there was a wipe out and a car freekin smashed the board. unfortunate, but we went back and got a back up board and continued to charge.
I lurk around this thread from time to time and still get the itch to dig my long board out and shred my own privet slalom run that is right here in front of my house. BUT, I stepped off my board last year at speed and completely destroyed my tibia platue!I had to fly from Maui with a compression fracture to N.P.Bch. for surgery! No docs on Maui would take cash! It cost 20k out of pocket. I lost 7 months of surfing and wave sailing here on the north shore. I think skate shredding is just a bit expensive for me although it's soo much fun! Keep shredding guys and keep posting but be sure to keep your insurance paid up cuz it isn't if you’re going to need it. It's WHEN! Aloha. Olaf
yup! seemed fun but concrete is even less forgiving than really icy snow. don't want to risk getting hurt on that and not being able to do other stuff i love.
I was still fine with *** diamonds just a few years back, but admittedly
slower than when I was younger. I'm certain i am still fine with that pure
steep stuff. Gunsight at Heavenly Tahoe would probably hurt too much
for my liking but Nevada side and Kirkwood steep I can't wait for.
T*R...I know of the school thing. At least I can sk8 to school if I want.
Man, we need a POSSIE in BISHOP. Looked at the Swall to Paradise road last night. Good pavement, just one or two corners that should be swept. Once in Paradise, there are a lot of blind corners and too many possibilties for cars pulling out. Half the day left...boulder or sk8?
SALAD got the phone msg. Will let you know by Mon-tues if I am heading to the valley. Nice to hear that you will be able to get away the followng weekend too. L8er Sk8ers
Russ and I did a quickie climb in Indian Cove this afternoon. I thought he was taking mercy on me since my trip to NM was cancelled. Just to find out that he conveniently had his board in the back of the car. Maybe he just needed a shuttle?
Anywho, this local guy is trying to dump his board. Anyone headed to Joshua Tree that's looking for a longboard & gear? Check this out, the seller has already dropped the price from $65 to $50.
Of my sector 9 pintail with indie 215's, 72mm wheels, bones bearings.
God damn that thing hauled ass. Until some fvcker stole it. May be just as well, I saw my life flash before my eyes several times while riding that thing down the hills of Berkeley.
just finished another great session! lots of hydrating going on if ya know what i mean...
highlight was going back out at 11:30 for a few more runs. my friend sean was drafting me around a 90 degree turn, we were probably at about 20-25 and i tried to slow down, he nailed me from behind, fully grabbed my waist, but the boards didnt touch...
we rode it out, soooo sweet!! i laid down about 10 feet of gnarly tracks on the 'oh fuk' slide, but stayed on the board.
Yaaaa. Salad is going to be on the Eastside starting Thursday. Hopefully we can shred some pavement before I take of on Friday to Santa Rosa. Maybe we get some video. If not this weekend, I think he will be in town the following. WATCH for rocks in the corners after all the rain/snow. Gotta study. Then maybe some riding.
yeah this storm is realllllly bumming me out. took two days off so i could have four days to bag peaks for my 40th bday. now i have mass snow and dirty roads.
no video last night russ. we went tech-free, not even the gps.
Nvlblv4..got a friend that drives and watches corners as I say my prayers going down the hill. We left from my place in Bishop.
Salad look like I will take off to Santa Rosa on Friday(maybe we will get to sk8). I will be back on Monday some time. We are having a rocking K keg party the following Sat the 24....band, shoulder of a pig, some lamb....and a keg of course. Things start at 3pm with some pumkin carving and a poor white trash raffle prize....ie.wife beater shirts, duck tape and bailing wire,40's of old E. Bring a side dish or another meat to put on a grill..... and 5 bucks!
Did pine creek today..at least from the top to the bridge...some BIG cracks around the bridge. Getting my pendies down...SICK!
i met sergio yuppie last night, that guy is fullllll of stoke! super friendly and positive. youtube him and check out his sliding.
wedge what time are you departing friday? we are staying in lone pine and might end up in rock creek friday, so i imagine we will be passing through bishop.
still pretty sure ill be up next weekend, if so, ill def bring some grub, etc and imbibe. thx for the invite.
That kalai looks pretty sweet. (what wheels you putting on that thing?) Looks like the Landy drop speed or drop carve. I like the symetrical design. I want one too. Sergie is a sliding fool. I like the part where they bombed the bridge.
Will likely take off Friday Morning around 6am for santa rosa. Seems that we will miss each other. I may get back on Monday before you leave but dought it. Have a good one with the Family. L8er Sk8er
salad,
I just got done with Hangmans Hollow when the girl bif'd on Scotty's. I
did not know her or see her fall, but saw her being carried away. Ski patrol
and the local news that night noted the outcome. A girl I went to JR. and
High school invited me to her motel this same day across the street.
Unfortunately I could not ditch my little brother (he was not invited) and
I had to drive back to Motel 6 in Bishop (already paid) for the following
day that time.
rode the drop carve down whitney portal road (the lower part, from lone pine campground). man that thing was drifting on almost every turn! i kept it really slow, it was close to a 20 minute ride. finaly able to get the heelside check slides in, pulled about 15 of them in a row.
arbor boards are sweet and reliable - very well made. they also make snowboards and were making eco-friendly gear before it became trendy. they're from huntington or long beach can't remember which one. tons of folks at school ride arbor longboards. most people have arbor or sector 9. i think the arbor boards are really beautiful. they are supposed to have a finish on them which is like grip tape but i've heard it's just a little less grippy. that's not as much of an issue for me b/ i want one to zoom around campus. some of the boys i know swear by arbor tho.
i am looking for a longboard, keep getting snaked on ebay and a guy on craigslist just flaked, looking for a deal on one to ride around campus. great practice for snowboading too, this chica is hooked, yo
213 those are rad photos! really want to ride 168.
munge - i woke her up so she wasnt thrilled with that. coupled with the fact that i have been rollllllin hard all month... and to boot, i smelled of cigs... she wasnt PISSED... just not happy....
and yeah, i pay the health insurance..
here is the official ride report:
another fun session in Esco last night. we closed down the bar, it was after 2 by the time i had all of the contraband cleaned up.
RYANSHECKLEROFLONGBOARD showed up late, dismanteled his board and was unable put the pieces back together again. it was like fukin humpty dumpty but it gave the rest of us time to get good and lubed up.
we walked the first session and Conner managed to not get hit by a car this time.
back at the garage for a hydration break, everyone floundered on the climbing wall but the old fat guy who showed em how its done.
Omar showed up in a 5 series BMW so we went back out and hit all the runs several more times with a shuttle.
slooowyad was clocked at about 50mph. RYANSHECKLEROFLONGBOARD only managed to hit two of us while drafting.
at the end of the night, slooowy was seen absconding with a half empty, flat keg of sierra nevada pale ale. at least he seat belted it.
vague memories of losing the battle for the last smoke.
super rad session today. media whores, we had 4 different cameras. will take me a year to put it together, but will post up some rough footage soon. gps clocked matt at 45, the car following him had him at 50. sick!
Salad you missed a great Kegger Sat. keg was floating @ 9pm. Gave away all the free swag and came out 20 buck in the hole for the party. Not getting out much, got a big test to study for, on Thursday. After that may try to get out and tear up some blacktop.
hey when you did Lower rock creek did you start @ swall and then go down to paradise? I still need to do that one.
Its so hard to tell but it looks like BOMBER Matt hit 45 mph not 50. HAAHAHA. Nice vid none the less.
Heading over to Santa Rosa again. Still licking my wounds from the last trip over there. Took a digger doing a toe side pendy and stopped quicker than I was expecting and went down on my ass and have a nice strwberry. Now my pants and undies rub the scab everytime I make some fast move. MAY have to start wearing my pants LOW. Looking at getting some padded shorts now. May just blow a wade on some leathers..if im smart.
nav - he's hit 60 i think so not a record. he is a mess right now though. bad wipe out in sunday's race. grapefruit growing off his hip.
wedge - i started a little south of swall, then hopped in the car thru some of the steep stuff, then road not quite to paradise. was really fatigued so took the ride thru the steeps.
the new ride is tight! went out last nite for a couple of quick speed runs. topped at 29.8, which is probably my fastest. could handle more. need to tighten the trucks and thinking about putting harder bushings on.
I got back into skateboarding about 7 years ago when Sunnyvale skatepark opened up, now I'm out at Lake Cunningham in San Jose. Sooooooooo good, come bring those longboards out to the fullpipe!! Rad to see so many climbers that skate too, like me!
wedge - dont really know about bushing. when got my first board, they set it up with the yellow ones from gravity which are harder. once i could skate a little, they gave me softer red ones and man the board would carve so much easier.
my new drop thru was set up with the reds and very loose trucks.
one thing to note is when i first got the softer ones, they told me to just swap one out at a time which eased me into it.
karodrinker - doubt im up for a pipe but will have board in the south bay around xmas...
sick quiver pate! i wasnt able to see the pic as it was blocked at work...
frumped tonite. i started 20 feet higher and bombed in the same tuck but didnt clock a higher speed. same exact speed as a matter of fact.
almost an epic. i got skeered and tried to air brake but realized i was still goin pretty fast... to fast to carve. so here i am with a lot of ground to cover, standing up with arms out, hoping to slow down but im not.
got back down low and started woooobbbbbblllliing. in trouble! got the hand down and started hand braking. fingers burning! skateboard moving all over!
pitch started easing so i stood up and finally slowed down.
only hit just under 30 (29 and change says the gps), but for me it was a spooky ride, but good cause i kept it together...
South Bay? Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo Pacifica. Me gusta.
Nice quiver Pate! Seems you cover the range of skills there. Ever bomb some of the short, but fugging steep hills of Prescott? Carleton St. from up near Mt. Vernon to S. Cortez for the mega slide Steinlager finish?
The skatepark here would sure love those boards too.
Bob J.
yeah bob- i like it all! nothing like skating to the park on a long board with a vert deck in the backpack. my first board ever was a Sims Superply with big gummy OJ's, I'm steeped in long board tradition!
i love carving the kidney shaped park stuff with the fiberglass, especially heel-siding the rail nice and slow, hands over head for max style points! the bamboo is a little stiffer and i can get in the pipe with it. those mini's are sweet boards, they're really difficult to ride, but once you get it you can make seriously short radius turns.
i had only a SmallRoom vert board when i was in Prescott- and there wasn't too much skating available. i know the hills you are talking about- nice runs i bet.
in steamboat springs there used to be a new neighborhood planned that took about 2 years for them to build on. just smooth as butter blacktop winding it's way down a hillside for a mile, no one around. we'd run laps off of a vespa scooter. SO FUN! i've got some great vid/pov vid from those days, as well as a lot of vid of my miimi-ramp, which was known as The Destroyer- it was a savage ramp to skate- the fastest rail-to-rail ramp ever. i'll try to post up to YouTube soon.
Yea that does look like a sweet park. Makes me want to go out and but another board.
Re-video...why did he fall.. Just leaning to far forward over the front truck to cut down on speed wobbles? skidded all the way across the road too...that was some distance. Looks too that Matt had no knee or slide gloves.
Going to get some pavement today in Santa Rosa. Going to check out Fountain Grove while my GF is at work.
Went trick or treating as Specioli from Fast TImes at Ridgemont high, begal and blond wig and all...it was sweet.
yeah he just leaned to far forward and lost balance. he had slide gloves on but no other pads. wasnt really all that messed up. the boy knows how to fall.
And to top it off for the day, my favorite skater ever (Rodney Mullen is a close 2nd) Mark Gonzalez. Totally soul, roots as deep as a tree, Gonzo epitomizes smooth, fluid flow- like Osman did on the rock. This vid is so cool, he skates just like a little kid, loving it the whole time.
Thats a tough one- if they're little new school wheels most you can pop the bearings and turn them around. Big fat longboard wheels are tougher, because the bearings sit back in the wheel. You can take coned wheels to some skate shops and hand them over to be recycled, there are a few companies who lathe them down.
83a abec 11 flywheels. Just rotated them and moved the L front wheel to the R back wheels and flipped the wheel so the "white sidewall is on the inside. Will give a good slide or two. Maybe I should just move them front to back and run it that way?
OH MY GOD!!!
Finally, the project I'm supposed to not talk about has had the teaser relesed by sector 9.
Basically all the gnarly roads in Cali. Whitney Portal, White Mountain, West side of Sonora, Tioga, Monitor, Ebbetts, etc.
This is just the teaser. I've seen the whole movie, and it's super rad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wJlkErzEgE&feature=related
Edit: Underwater footy from "Rainbow Falls" on the Tuolumne.
Man, the longboard is such a good way to get hurt. It's a helluva lot of fun (especially at 2 in the morning doing the all downhill course from the hospital at 2 or 3 am wasted out of your mind)
Eating it on a board was, by far, the worst I've ever been injured: broken bone in hand, kneecap swelled to ultra grapefruit/ small melon status- I thought it was cracked for sure, shoulder got super tweaked from fall and turned into some tendinitis for a few years; oh yea, and the 'raspberry' (as they are affectionately called) running halfway down the outside of my ass check. That made it painful to take my pants off with the fiber mesh of my jeans friction burned into my skin... with the little pieces of gravel, not to mention working with my newly procured ground beef mittens.
Honestly though, I got off pretty lucky- almost rammed my head into the side of the curb. The reason I ate this huge piece of sh#t was because a car had pulled out in front of me and I curbed it instead of playing chicken with the car. Well this is mostly true, chances are that I would have biffed it hardcore within about 5 to 10 seconds from when I started down that hill regardless of the car being there or not.
You know how when you party super hard and get pretty randy you may find yourself waking up in a bit of pain? (and therefore getting drunk as soon as possible), well it was like that for a good month or so.
If I were to do it all over again, I'd definitely be wearing some hand guards and a helmet; actually I'd just wear a whole hockey outfit or one of those man-bear suits that will keep you alive and well after being ran over at 30 mph; or, as the name implies, being mauled by a bear.
Beef,
That sounds bad. glad you are back in one piece.
I don't ride anymore, as in the last thirty years. I did take my board down to the local skate park a couple of years ago and ride it for a few minutes just for grins. Unfortunately the truck is cracked. Otherwise its still OK.
Gordon Smith Fibreflex board
Bennett trucks
Roadrider four wheels
Credit: Zander
Credit: Zander
The board cost me $75 in 1976 or early 1977, can't quite remember. I was making $3 an hour so it was a big investment. Even then the longboards were coming in. My buddies were swapping out the Bennett axles for longer bolts to get more width. Spacing them out with a bunch of washers. They were using long wood boards too. Sadly real life got in the way and I stopped riding. It was good times though.
Zander
Wheels are starting to even out. I sure does sound different. Got to ride a bit down in the VALLEY. The Valley pine neddles make for some interestion sliding.
Some people behind a badge just go bad. No wonder so many people don't trust cops.
Never heard him read them their Miranda Rights.
Painful to watch. Brings back vivid memories of Bluff Utah and my friend and I and my truck illegally searched for made-up probable cause just because we had long hair and were from California.
stoked! at last i broked 30! gps cloked at 31.4. didnt really start all that much higher on the hill but zero wind and i really focused on a tight tuck and got super low. almost plowed two rabbits that were snarffin around in my line.
Took a study break before finals and went to rent The Eiger Sanction at the local store, turns out they didnt have it...so I got Dogtown and watched it again.....Cool, still photos! It was even better with pizza and beer in hand!
So my youngest kid - 18 y/o - rides a Sector Nine & the other nite while out on the streets hits a hole and the front wheels vanish and she does a snout first plant of her schnozz rite into the freezin' asphalt.
Was sitting at the breakfast table the next day snivelling that her nose was broken ( it's not ) and whining that the scrape on her chin resembles the acne on her forehead ( it does )
But she was snickering about the fall sayin' she wished someone had been able to video it c'os it musta been really funny.
OK, I'm probably gonna get flak for this, but with a Carveboard road conditions don't matter much anymore . . . just can your legs hold out for 10 + miles of remote mountain highway riding?
Fine smooth concrete or asphalt: check no prob
Rough concrete or asphalt: check no prob
Wet roads: check no prob
Roads with sand or dirt: check no prob
Roads with pine needles, leaves and even some snow: check no prob
Roads with bumps, gaps, holes (not too big): check no prob
Miranda is dead. You tell a cop you don't want to talk to him, he will tell it to the judge in court, and they will both laugh, then the judge will sh#t on you at sentencing.
That board looks FUN. I usta ride.
Last time was in the parking lot at the lodge. Small, hard (urethane) wheels hit a pebble and dumped me, lost some skin on my shoulder and arm. It was all good though...
Can't you just simply ask a Cop to read you your Miranda Rights when arrested as a reminder? And then if he doesn't you just keep quiet? Actually, you should keep quiet anyway.
In court you can say the same. "Your Honor, I asked the officer to read me my Miranda Rights and he didn't."
From hearsay I read.
I read they no longer need to read the warning and it's up to the
person being questioned to invoke. I read this from non verified
legal news. It did not say whether or not testimonial evidence maybe
used that was obtained without the warning.
Yes I know they don't like it when you tell them you are not going
to speak to them, and they did not like it when I invoked USC and
CA. Welfare and Institutions code upon them when asking for my SS#.
I noted to them they are precluded in this state from SS#'s and applying
USC they can be charged with a felony with up to a $5000.00 fine and a
5 year prison term.
stoked hit 32 tonite!! a wee bit inhebriated so the technical stuff wasnt as good as it could have been, but the night was still. it was quick! a wee bit of blood and a re-bruised hip.
matt pulled the sickest run down Belagio - super fast on a steep hill, slid, rode onto the sidewalk and slid hard quick, back onto the steep concrete hill and pulled it off. coolest run ive seen in 12 months of chargin over here.
well 8 showed and it was epic. highlights were watching sean throw a fat slide and his front truck litteraly snap in half and the stupid fukin neighbor that was shooting us with a pellet gun because we were 'to loud' and 8:45pm. dont think he quite knows who he is dealing with.
oh yeah and watching the sponsored skaters flail miserably on the climbing wall was a hoot too.
Im staring at parking garages here in Park City. Its cold enough to wear all the pads. Would have liked to hit some of the 20+ miles straight aways out on Rt 6 in the middle of NV. GOing to rip some turn on the new skis instead.
Salad................get some more vide...32mph is my top speed.
Just got back from a long weekend in the J-tree. Had to stay at Jumbo for 2 nights and got a little sk9 on. Then one night in hidden valley. Could not get anyone to go to KEy's view. But still a good time.
ah man thanks for bumpin the thread! im still working on a good vid from a few months ago, been lazy and havent committed to getting it all put together.
got a nice shortish run in tonight, three free rides down the triple track, and two speed runs down the fast hill. maybe 30-32 nothing big. standing checks were coming in ok, but still cant keep balance when checking out of a hard 90 at decent speed.
last couple of times ive rode ive been a little on edge. looking forward to the next time it all comes together. most def comfortable when i put the hands down tho, and those colmens are coming pretty easy now.
best thing i ever did was make proper slide gloves...
Ya I was a little on edge this evening. Came down chipmonk chanyon, still a lot of grit, gravel, and sand. I good ride none the less. I need to tighten up my trucks too.....had a classmate give me a ride up the hill.
i have one! it's SO superior to driving the truck! a little tricky to get used to riding with a backpack full of schoolbooks but man it feels good to cruise on a board when i can't be on the snow :)
meet dora, dora the explorer! yes, named after the famed PBS adventurer!
we had 10 guys at my place last nite killin the asphalt till midnite. damn them teenagers are hard to keep up with.
edit: holy shit! i just remembered my epic save on the last big hill last night!!!! soooo close to a full on wipeout at 35. i hit every obsticle possible (not by choice) wobbling like mad, pulled it off and stayed in my tuck. felt like a hero for a brief moment.
Salad... let me know next time you're riding. I'm back on the horse. Also, gonna get some pix of the sick longboards we're cranking out down here at the shop... some cool shapes and features.
Chenchen, Mr Bond is my right hand man. We light up the park every fri nite & blast the tunes. Everyone is welcome. Bobcat, he's on is own time.
bajaandy, those are some sweet boards. I just rented a shop space and I was thinking... yep, I was thinking.
Kat, the dream is Alive.
I have a question.
When was the last time any one has done the Idylwild downhill to Hemet?
It didnt really go all the way to hemet But we pushed for awhile till we got to the abandoned chicken ranch. There was a big quarterpipe buildt right outside the door of one of the sheds. The concrete was sooo smooth and downhill. I guess so you could squeegee the aftermath out the door. So fun just to send it, crazy to make it back in through the door.
Anyone ever do this downhil - Idylwild to Mt Center and then to the flats?
Patrick been up around 70. One time we had about a 30 mile an hour tailwind going down the pass. I couldn't keep up in a little rally car, PUNCHING it on the straights, and scaring the sh#t out of myself on the corners. He's also done the pass barefoot and switch a number of times.
Ive been following this thread for a while.
I was never big into skate boarding. The surface is to hard/to much friction not like water or ice.
However I did build some decks BITD for sailing on ice.
They were pretty fun to ride as skate decks with no sailing rig because they had flex but were stiff enough to always maintain a positive camber even with a good size person pushing hard through turns etc.
Here's a couple pretty cool vids of my good buddy back east who rides a deck I built thirty years ago and it's still going strong.
Strong enough for him to set a world speed record on it ;)
had an old sims pure juice that was somewhat long - lost it in transit a while back, but loved cruising "giant slalom" style and making turns down donner pass
ha played chicken with some dik with an attitude last thurs nite. was at close to my top speed, 35ish, when this jerk decided to come over into my lane and gun it hard up the hill.
held my ground and the bitch pulled away.
got some props from the young speedsters who witnessed.
T*R said: "i have one! it's SO superior to driving the truck! a little tricky to get used to riding with a backpack full of schoolbooks but man it feels good to cruise on a board when i can't be on the snow :)
meet dora, dora the explorer! yes, named after the famed PBS adventurer!"
Oh no... your board is not named after the Dora of Dora the Explorer. Any SoCal locals wanna explain that one?
but dora the explorer is also the nickname my friends gave me because i look like the cartoon character and am always off exploring with my backpack on! so i named my skateboard after dora the explorer too. i decided we (skateboard and i) get to share the nickname :)
the lighter flints work a bit, not as well as i had wished, although some kids were pretty stoked on the sparks the other night. i might put another dozen in and see what happens, or maybe a different shape or size of flint.
i got some durian 86a wheels, man those things sllliide like mad, scared to go fast in them. super fun gettin a grove and throwing noisey checks on each turn. just gotta sack up and commit to the standing 180s now.
gravity just came out with blue 83a wheels. gotta try them out soooon. hoping to hit up cardiff tomorrow night.
ouch. my bro's were doing a 6 man heat down the big hill in my hood. there was a crash at about 40mph and one guy got beat up pretty bad. broken rib and punctured lung.
We were driving down from Top of the World in Laguna and saw some kid with a full face hemet taking off atop Park Street on a fairly short board. Cool, we get to watch. We couldn't keep up with him! He did a righteous power slide to shave off some speed at the sharp corner, where we caught up a little, then he was gone again. Bottom of the hill I stopped and told him he did better than 45. He pointed at some gizmo on his shoe and said "yea, 52."
If someone has a very good condition old school BAHNE fiberglass skateboard, I would buy it.
Wish I kept the ones I had. I had 2 back in the day and rode them constantly. Great boards. Upgraded to tracker trucks and Stoker wheels, and then eventually wheels my Dad and I manufactured.
Oh, I didn't tell you guys about the time I went into the skateboard business with my dad. Newspaper article in the San Diego Union and also on CH 8 News back in '76 or so.
hey wedge - ima be in your neck of the woods thurs nite thru whenever monday.... bringin the board, lets try and get a ride or two in. my wife will shuttle fo shizzle. shred the gnar!
had a skate shindig the other night, we had 18 guys bombing my neighborhood. im no longer the most liked person on the block, but man, it was a hoot. we rode from 5pm till midnight.
You better buy some leathers. LOOks and sounds faaast. I have more and more interested in the Evo or Switch. Th quiver may get up to 3. . All my fiends say the venom bushings are the way to go. I need to get a set. Going to run some spacers in my wheels see if I notice any difference.
CANT wait for the mail man!
ima get all buzzed up and break 40 reaaal soon. hit 36 tonight and hit the only fukin rock in the road. super loud ass crunchy ass tightening sound, got some wobbles but kept her steady w/o much trouble. so much god damn fun...
hahaha bigger buzz tonight. managed to miss the rock, and thank you mother nature for the first downhill wind in two years on Willow Tree. hit 38mph and felt suuuper comfy. knew it was a speed record caust that culdesac came up suuuuuper fast. stoked!
I flipped my randells over. The Evo is practically a low rider. Running some VXB ceramic bearing, red barrels and green eliminators on the bottom, got me some Seismic 85mm 79a to run over small children that get in my way!
i worked that hill six times, and of course on the 'last run' i had 3 rabbits fck with me. the damn gps reset in my pocket, i swear i was at 42mph. felt really fast.
Yea, 40. Time to get yourself some leathers. The race was to be held on Mosquito Ridge rd in the Tahoe Nat Forest. 100+ skaters showed up in BFE along with a CHP airplane that attempted to get up to disperse with a bullhorn. So we all left after the 2 placer county sheriffs showed up and one CHP and hit another rd. about an hour away. I will tell yea if you give me a call or I can send you an emai, if your interestedl. But only about 60 of us showed up at the other spot. Had a great time. I will be editing some video soon.
Last weekend hit up Bishop and did Swall Meadow Rd (near bishop). Did 3 laps, 2 at night under full moon and one in the morning. Hit 40 a few time on the rd and never had to colemen slide. I did drift 1-2 corners. But consistant 30-35mph. I had my leathers so I was not too worried( only one gardrail to worry about). I was super stoked to finally do it without speed checking. I ran my evo with yellow orangethang durians....talk about drifting. I wanted to run the speed vent but will have to wait till next time and till all the cynder gets swept off. DAMN that road is good....as good and as long (4+ miles) as the race rd. ON one run I started way up in swall subdivision and went out to the swall meadow rd and down past Paradise to the Inyo/Mono county line. Frecken RAD! Then the snow came....ohhh well.
Rabbits that a riot.....I had a big buck FCK with me in Swall.
I dont use the wind sails but due wind break, by standing up out of my tuck and max. my surface area.
Bombed Lower Rock Creek road last week out of Bishop.....Damn that thing is good, no colemen slides. Just a little drifty in some of the corners. Think I will go with some bigger wheels next time.
dang i just rode willow tree from the very top of hidden trails without sliding, not even a check slide. its taken me two years to sack up and do it. 7 mph slower than when i tuck it from 3/4 of the way up. very stoked, this was a break through ride for me. knees were knockin on the walk back up so i called it. very very good night for me.
**Bringing Skateboarders Doing 60 to a Halt
By IAN LOVETT
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.** — Chance Gaul cannot drive a car yet. He is only 14. But he is already the fastest thing on wheels around here.
While Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes precariously descend the windy canyon roads here at 25 miles per hour, Chance bombs down at 40, sometimes even 60 m.p.h. on his skateboard, savoring the sea breeze on his face. But this may be his last ride here.
And the family of a 17-year-old boy sued and settled with the nearby City of Mission Viejo after he suffered brain damage in a 2004 skateboarding accident on flatter ground.
Wow. On what legal grounds can someone sue a municipality for a skateboarding accident? I'm guessing it has something to do with un maintained public facilities. If so, I'm going to Mission Viejo and fall over the first curb I can find.
i just got an ed economy 55 inch deck. monster. i got it slightly used, complete with near new gravity 82a's for 50 bucks total. carved down my street with the kids this weekend, super fun.
Picked up a new deck. Got a LY switchblade. Double drop. Drop through and drop deck. Simuliar to the Rayne Nemisis. Love the thing as a free-ride deck. Hit 40 a week ago on Lower Rock creek Road, and the thing started to shimmy. I will try farting around with some different bushing and see if I cant take the wobbles out of the ride.
Thought I would post my latest and greatest wipeout. Chris Summit was driving and did the video. He is also the one who gave me the "emergency beer" after my crash. Thanks Chris
Hear I am eating some concrete. I attept to take the right hand corner without checking...bad mistake. I speed check on my first run, before the corner and did great. The second run I thought I could take the last corner without checking...WRONG. With road rash I take a 3rd lap just get back on the horse again.
New deck LY switchblade
Credit: The Wedge
Funny thing is that my full face helmet was being painted, so I baught a new helmet. Too bad I did not buy another full face. I would have walked away without any scratches.
ohhh ya, I hit up J tree for a little climbing with some DRL's 2 weeks ago. I was eager to hit up Keys View. I gotta thank Jefe for the lift up the road, but the run down sucked. I beleive 2 years ago when I first did it, it was fresh pavement. Now the pavement suck. Mid way down I pulled over and jumped back into the car. I was all ready this time too. I had my leathers with me and stoked to go kill it down the road, what a bummer.
Since the topic of longboards came up, thought I would share my latest project. Probably more for casual around town riding than bombing down the local hill.
My dad and I were in the skateboard business in the 70s.
At first I made the boards for myself and my friends.
I called my skateboard design "Pipeline."
My dad saw the $$$/business opportunity to side-line along with his Union Sheet-metal shop that was located not far from “Les Girls” in San Diego, on Hancock Street. Mid 1970s, Pipeline Skateboard Co., was born.
Sometimes I drive by the once grand Union sheet-metal shop. It’s no longer a sheet-metal shop. The industrial building is still very much there however. It is now used to overhaul large semi-trucks. I spent a lot of time (years) in that massive building in my youth making stuff out of metal on the side, and working for my dad and other Union sheet-metal Journeymen.
I used a particular high-quality Alcoa memory alloy aircraft aluminum for the board. The trucks were commercially purchased, Cadillac at first and then we used X-Caliber. We designed and made the urethane wheels also, called "Pipeline Pacers." Eventually we used precision-bearing wheels like everyone else was doing. They were pretty high quality boards for the day.
Back then I skated like a Fein.
We made 3 models: The Downhill, The Slalom, and The Hotdog.
I Googled and found someone who posted up an image of one of our boards, but then they didn't have a lot of kind things to say about the board. They auctioned it off on Ebay. They’re clue-less and don’t know the product or the history. The paint on the boards was very high-quality and bright resin based PPG paint. It was very durable and fairly scratch resistant.
At one time nearly everyone in the family was involved in putting skateboards together until we grew the company and hired employees for a true assembly line. Lots of fond memories.
Klimmer,
That's pretty damn cool. Full aluminium deck, perfect to slice the ankle. I sure it was light. Did the pipeline (green deck) have much flex? Those wheels are phat, even for todays standards. What was the contact patch(70mm?) for those fat wheels. My dad was a Middle School wood shop teacher. I use to build my own decks back in the day(1980's) . All the kids wanted little finger decks to play around with in class. Never really went any further than that. Thanks for the History, Great stuff!
Back in November you posted a picture and said that you flipped your Randall's.
I was wondering what the advantage was? I ride a pair of 180/s mostly at the local park on 33" Santa Cruz Landshark. and those trucks rip. i already replaced the bushings with some Bones hardcore softs and it rides much better.
any feedback would be appreciated. not looking to bomb hills just carve smaller ones and carve the bowls at the local park.
The wheels and trucks you see on the board were $30 "wheel and truck" package from ebay :) They were just for testing and drilling the hole patterns. The board just sold and I'm outfitting it with Paris 180's. This is a new arena I'm entering, so any feedback you or anyone else wants to offer would be great.
Dave,
When you flip your randells you are switching from a 42 degree to a 50 degree. When you do this you lessen the turning radius but you also lower the center of gravity of the deck.
When flipped, you get a less turny board, you also drop the ride height of your deck making your leg straighter and are therefore less likely to tire out. Lower board means more stabilty in corner and lower center of gravity.
When i flip the hangers on the trucks i noticed only a slight difference in the turning radius, its really hard to tell. Also you may get more wheel bite with the hangers flipped. Last, watch out for BOT stops, especailly those blue reflective ones. They seem to be just high enough that it can catch on your randells, and throw you too the pavement.
I have yet to read the article but there was a scientific study done of why speed wobble happen. It seems that skateboarding is very simular to grocery carts (hahahaha) and why sometime grocery carts have wobbly wheels. In short, you can eliminate speed wobble by running one truck 42 degrees and the back 50 degrees or visa versa...I can remember. Now you have a uni-directional board. No riding switch. Some of the newer and downhill oriented decks have a "wedge" front, and "de-wedge" back. This is the same idea wiithout having to run your trucks in the methode mentioned above. If you dont have randell's you can buy small angled risers that fit between the truck and the board and do the same thing. I know Landyachyz is making their Bear trucks similar to randells and can now be flipped.
Hope this helps, I will try to find the article and post it.
Interesting stuff. I stopped skateboarding over 20 years ago and just got back into it the last two years.
There is a good park 2 minutes from my house and I go when the kids are at school and just carve til my legs fall off. Found this great training for aid climbing- good cardio, builds strong legs for hauling and high stepping, balance, and you don't want to fall!!!
Switched from my Indy's to the Randalls just recently and can't believe how much they rip.
Curiosity, have you ridden any other trucks like- gullwing sidewinders, carvers, or seismic??
The two biggest charastics in a deck that can be easly changed are your bushings and wheels.
First buy a bag of bushing maybe $30, all types (stimulator/downhill/cones/ barrels etc) and colors(duro's...how hard or soft the rubber is). I and many other skaters like the Venom bushing. Then mess around switching out bushing to find the setup you like. Possibly a cone near the deck and a barrel closer to the ground. Or a cone/cone pattern. You are just going to need to fart around and find what you like.
Wheels, The bigger the wheels the longer it take to get up to speed. But also has a higher top end speed and rolls further. Smaller wheels get up to speed quick, but do not hold there speed very long. Harder duro( the higher number) will be better for sliding and riding on smooth surfaces. A duro of 80 -81 is about the middle of road. Last is how the wheel is made, some have rounded corners and are going to be better for slidding and drifting, these with no "lip" are nice because they are less likely to get hung up and produce less chatter. Other wheels that are offset that have a "lip" (the orangatang In Heats are a great example) are going to compress and rebound as you pump and carve, makeing pumping and carving easier and more enjoyable. Some wheels are a mixture of the two. For wheels check out Abec 11 and Orangatang wheels.
Before buying wheels, put them on you deck at the the shop and make sure you do not get wheel bit. Because of the size and how they are set, either centerset or offset (think of them like cams). They may or maynot work very well with you deck. I own 2 decks, one pair of randell trucks, a shiz ton of bushing, and 8 sets of wheels.
Dave wrote : Curiosity, have you ridden any other trucks like- gullwing sidewinders, carvers, or seismic??
Dave I use to street skate back in the late 80's and rode gullwing and tracker trucks with bullet wheels. With longboarding I have riden the 10mm Bears (very simular to the randells) but a little better on the downhill, but hated finding bearing and spacers for 10 mm truck. The Randells 180 for $50 bucks work great......and they are 50 bucks. The Caliber seem to ride simular to the Randell too. The Precission trucks for $280 seems super rad and can be changed to 205mm and have ZERO slop. but 280 bones....that is 5 pair of Randells. Its Skateboarding not rock science....In the end I find it hard to beat the randell for the price/performace.
I have check out the new gullwings with the double bushing thing......seeems super turny, and is a great idea. But have not spent considerable time on them. I also have never been on the seismic.
OHHH YA Randells Made in the USA. Lifetime Gaurentee!
I mainly bought my Randall's for carving on low hills and the park.
Do you like Randall R-11 for downhill speed runs or do you prefer another truck?
I have 50 degree baseplates and I am assuming that most people prefer the 42 degree for speed??
It seems like a carving style truck like the R-11 would get lots of wobble, but maybe not if you flip one of the hangers like you previously said.
I am getting a set up for downhill runs and not yet sure what truck type to run!!
Great info, thanks for sharing. I uh, kind of learned about "wheel bite" the hard way. Good news I wasn't going very fast. Bad news, our street has a fairly new seal coat on it...extra gritty. The board now has nice deep wheel wells.
Lovegasoline, I had been watching it only on Vimeo (YT is a better interface). Not sure of every pass they dropped on, but the Tioga footy itself is worth the price of admission.
Some of the same blue suit crew bomb Claremont Ave:
Damn this looks like fun sh|t!
I broke my arm bombing hills when I was 14, no safety gear or longboard ... our options were either make it or eat sh|t. It looks like things have come a long way especially the rad sliding action.
I moved on from skateboarding and for the past 35 years I've just done casual cruising on my OG '77 Alva Skate. Watching these videos is getting me stoked and making me want to buy a longboard! I'm getting a hardon watching this stuff.
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