I have been practicing tic-tacs on the carpet. I had been practicing them on the grass. Next step on concrete. For those who don’t know, tic-tacs are moving the board to the left or right by placing more wait on your back foot on the tail to lift the nose and then swinging your body weight in the direction you want to go, then again the other way. Tic-tacs are a good way to turn quickly, but done consecutively they are also a good way to keep the board moving and to gain speed without pushing. I have an easier time going to the right than to the left, but am doing both now. I hope I can do it out on the pavement.
return to self 1
SK8R 4 LIFE
After Saturday’s disastrous bitch-out session, I was anxious to get back on a board. Most of the soreness is noticeable but not interfering with movement anymore, and it is a sunny day. So I grabbed Chevi’s Powell Peralta board and headed outside our apartamento. I started with pushing off, and then with mounting the board. I road downhill and pushed to gain momentum. Then I looked for something with even more of an incline, and saw a ramp up onto a sidewalk. It was very rough, with like serations across it for traction. It’s okay, I told myself, just lean your weight forward and bend your knees. Commit and you won’t fall off, you’ll go right across the bumps. Not sure how I knew this when I’ve never gone over such terrain, I nevertheless believed it, and landed the roll on four times in a row. I didn’t fall or bail throughout my how street practice, and then went skated a couple city blocks down the road. Got a lot of comments from guys, one told me not to break my ankle, one not to fall in the middle of the street, and they were egging me on somewhat. I nodded, and pushed on even faster and enjoyed the thrill of it.
Finally! I told you I wouldn’t let it go, and I didn’t. I went skating on Saturday (November 7, 2009). For some reason I was really afraid. I have never been afraid skating, not even the first time, not after falling over and over again. But I was scared this day, so much that my legs were shaking and I couldn’t hardly skate on flat ground. But I still tried to roll in on steeper ramps than I have ever skated. And I bailed a couple times, fell a couple times, but nailed it three or four times. After I fell on my tailbone pretty hard, I just focused on getting footage of my skate partners, Chevi and John Smith. It was an unseasonably warm day, the only thing bad about that, being we had to share it with A LOT of others. We went to Boyce Park. This skate park is full of equipment to skate. I think it is probably more enjoyable for an intermediate to advanced level skater, as there is not a lot of flat area, and as I said all of the places to roll in were steeper than anything I’ve ever attempted. There were two large bowls, one deeper than the other. They also had ramps, rails, stairs, boxes, transition, a half pipe, and plenty of other challenges.
- Park: Boyce Park 3B’s
- 75 Old Frankstown Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15239 - 1,096 acres located in Monroeville and Plum
- Built by: Bluestone Skateparks
- 75 Old Frankstown Road
- Board:
- Deck: Krooked Sam Cunningham
- 8.5″ wide
- Wheels: bowl bomber, 90 durometer
- Trucks: independent
Been on a bit of a skateboard hiatus lately, as my mentor has been going through some rough times in his personal life, and I don’t have my own board yet. No money, so I’m relying on others to pitch in parts for now. I didn’t want to stop posting, though, because I’m not going to stop skating. Skating is something I have wanted to do since I was a kid, and now that I’ve started, I cannot give that up. It is so freeing to finally be able to do it. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but are worried it’s not practical or people will make fun of you, or you’re too old to learn, DO IT! It’s never too late to learn, and it’s worse to regret not doing something than to regret doing it, because at least you know you tried and how it turned out and won’t have all the what-if’s. But I don’t think you’ll regret it.
For now, here are some photos from my past skating trips, and hopefully more to come soon! I was on my young friends skateboard the other day even though it is too small for me, and I jumped on a long board in Marshall’s department store, so you know I’ve still got the bug.
Until next time,
S
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- Alvaro gaining speed
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- Me gaining momentum
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- Chevi coming up and over
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- Chevi’s a blur
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- the sun sets on Chevi skating
I needed something to make me smile today, and this did the trick– A skateboarding cat. Well, they do have amazing balance. It has something to do with their whiskers.
I was aimlessly wandering the South Side last Thursday when I saw…a skate shop! The first thing that caught my eye was the scene of two guys skating out on the sidewalk and part of Carson street. Then I looked above them and saw the sign for the One Up Skate Shop. I went in to check it out. They have decks, wheels, trucks, shoes, and apparel. There were a few guys there, and when I told them I had just started skating, they were really supportive. The guys behind the counter gave me a Low Card magazine and a dvd of Real Skateboards Everything and the Kitchen Sink Vol. 2 for free. They recognized my Ipath shoes, but their shoe selection was more geared towards mainstream brands like Nike and Adidas, which I wasn’t even aware had skate shoes. They had some Vans that I was really digging, too. I got my first pair of Vans in 1996 or so at Ocean City, Maryland. So even then I was bound to be a skater. I am a little leary of buying Nike because they kind of represent a lot of the negative aspects of capitalism. They had a few other brands, including Vox, and a great selection of board stuff. They were very helpful and supportive. The other stores around were closed or closing, so I asked one of the guys when they were closing, afraid I was keeping them. He shrugged and didn’t give a specific time. “We’re all skaters,” he said, “so we’re pretty laid back.”
IPATH LOGO
On my first day to go skating, Chevi took one look at my shoes and asked what size I wore. In mens? I said, 9 1/2. He brought out a pair of 9s and a pair of 10s. The 9s fit. They were IPath shoes. The shoes have elastic on the inside also, so they stay on without tying them tight.All IPath shoes also have a stash pocked behind the tongue. One thing I really like about these shoes is that they have Krishna on the front of the tongues. Krishna is a deity worshipped across many Hindu traditions and among other relgions as well. They portray him as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the Supreme Being. I don’t want to sound irreverent, but from that description, it sounds like Krishna would have liked skateboarding. Also, it seems a little like a protective talisman, which goodness knows, can’t hurt.
Krishna close-up
- Park: Action Park, South Park
- Board:
- Deck: Black label Duane Peters
- 9.5″ wide
- Wheels: Krooked, 80 durometer
- Trucks: Indy
Action Park
Today I went to Action Park Skate Park in South Park to the south of Pittsburgh in Bethel Park Municipality/ South Park township. Accompanying me were once again Chevi and Alvaro, and Rado, my recruit for his first day of skateboarding. If you want quantifiable progress, when I entered the skate park, I tried to go in the course on the roll-in and fell flat on my back. After practicing on the flat and slightly inclined ground, I went with Alvaro to try again. Alvaro told me to start farther back so I have time to make sure my feet are in place and I feel balanced. The key is to put most of your weight on the front foot, and to bend your knees. Alvaro told me to roll in and then put my back foot down to stop. I did it, and did not fall. After that, each time I rolled in, I went farther into the course before stopping with my foot. It was a great rush. Once I get the kickturns all the way down, I’ll be able to ride up the sides more.
South Park Crew 18 Aug 09 (l-r) Chevi, Rado, me, Alvaro
I borrowed Chevi’s 1987 Powell PeraltaTony Hawk skateboard to practice on in between sessions. The wheels are tighter, and I find it easier to carve (turn by leaning) with this board. I rode in an alleyway and in the street. The alleyway was toughest because it had a lot of potholes and loose gravel and debris which stopped my board a couple times. I then practiced kickturns on the carpet in my apartment. Got to keep up with this if I’m going to improve!
underside of the deck
Close-up of Hawk
Closeup branding
From my hardest fall at Imperial. I knew it was going to bruise as soon as I hit the ground. It is easier for women to bruise on the thighs, legs, and buttox. Also, because these parts of the body are below the heart, gravity can spread them out, and they take longer to heal. That said, it’s still pretty nasty! Good thing my favorite color is purple.
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- The bruise is on the side of my thigh below my hip
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- applying my eeyore ice pack
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- close-up of the bruise
pigeonpeanuts
