H
Harpoon
Because I'm a NUT and probably an idiot too, I dug out my pads and my skateshoes and tossed 'em in the trunk with my board and headed down to the new skatepark the city built for the kids....
Whoah... Man, let me tell you, I'm WAY outta shape!!!!
In high school I had what one would call a "mini-ramp" in my backyard, a wooden skakteboard ramp that was about 4 feet high, 24 or so feet long, and 8 feet wide. It wasn't the "prettiest" thing but it was functional and my brother and I and our skateboarding friends had a lot of fun on it.
That's what I did, skating. I slacked off on it a lot when I got into college and didn't skate all that much afterwards for many years, but I still have my board and my pads and I'd ride around once in a while when I could.
This summer there was a final push to set up a park where kids could skate and be off the streets and out of trouble. A lot of effort went into it and finally they had a nice, concrete "street course" built about two weeks ago.I've been there twice now since everything's been finished and all I do is ride back and forth some on a mini-ramp that's narrower than the one I had but has higher transitions (the curved part) to about a five foot deck (the top landing.)
I can roll around just fine, have a blast doing it though my balance isn't quite as sharp as it used to be, that will get better. Problem is going up and down the ramp. You use a technique called, "pumping" where you kind of squat down on the board as you go up the side of the ramp and then stand up (though you're really pushing down with your feet) as you go back down the ramp. The result is a lot like when you pump your legs on a swing, you build up momentum and speed and can get higher on the ramp.
I do that, but MAAAAAANNNN are my calves sore afterwards. I can just feel how much muscle mass I've lost over the years... Wow....
But hey, it's still all cool and the kids (mostly high school age) all get a kick out of this "old fart" coming in with his old school skateboard and his old school bag of tricks.
It's all good.
Whoah... Man, let me tell you, I'm WAY outta shape!!!!
In high school I had what one would call a "mini-ramp" in my backyard, a wooden skakteboard ramp that was about 4 feet high, 24 or so feet long, and 8 feet wide. It wasn't the "prettiest" thing but it was functional and my brother and I and our skateboarding friends had a lot of fun on it.
That's what I did, skating. I slacked off on it a lot when I got into college and didn't skate all that much afterwards for many years, but I still have my board and my pads and I'd ride around once in a while when I could.
This summer there was a final push to set up a park where kids could skate and be off the streets and out of trouble. A lot of effort went into it and finally they had a nice, concrete "street course" built about two weeks ago.I've been there twice now since everything's been finished and all I do is ride back and forth some on a mini-ramp that's narrower than the one I had but has higher transitions (the curved part) to about a five foot deck (the top landing.)
I can roll around just fine, have a blast doing it though my balance isn't quite as sharp as it used to be, that will get better. Problem is going up and down the ramp. You use a technique called, "pumping" where you kind of squat down on the board as you go up the side of the ramp and then stand up (though you're really pushing down with your feet) as you go back down the ramp. The result is a lot like when you pump your legs on a swing, you build up momentum and speed and can get higher on the ramp.
I do that, but MAAAAAANNNN are my calves sore afterwards. I can just feel how much muscle mass I've lost over the years... Wow....
But hey, it's still all cool and the kids (mostly high school age) all get a kick out of this "old fart" coming in with his old school skateboard and his old school bag of tricks.
It's all good.
