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worldwide and is very broad, involving professionals and amateurs. All share the passion for “bombing” hills, and through this bond a growing, diverse, and eclectic group is forming.
t e s t i n g t h e wat e r s But this sport isn’t your typical after-work activity. The rewards are big and the risks are high. Wiping out at speeds exceeding 40 mph means losing skin and injuring body parts. Blind corners, guard rails, pot holes, and debris all pose serious hazards even when skaters are protected. Longboarding requires wearing safety equipment, including a full face helmet and slide gloves as a minimum, while kneepads and elbow pads are highly recommended for a beginner. Because longboarding is an individual sport, you can learn at your own pace, which is often necessary considering the risks involved. Growing accustomed to the prerequisites such as braking and turning are vital basics in order to progress further in the sport. Beginners should never skate onto an open road where speeds average 40 mph, even reaching 50 mph, and above. Baby steps are crucial. In order to maintain safe control while longboarding, sliding and braking techniques are practiced and honed alongside the skater’s progression in other skill areas, including higher speeds and steeper mountains. Sliding consists of pushing the skateboard out and drifting by falling down onto the left or right hand and using glove slide-pucks on the ground as support to break traction. This technique is beneficial for 86
| March 2015
slowing down and takes practice to develop the proper form. Another braking technique is known as the foot brake, which involves taking the back foot off of the skateboard and dragging it on the road to regulate your speed. Tucking is another essential technique for longboarding. Mastering the tuck means being aerodynamic. The proper tucking position requires placing the chest on the knee at the front of the board and angling the back foot and back knee into a position against the front calf muscle. Getting the form right takes practice. Maintaining this form on multiple-mile downhill runs, often lasting three to six minutes, takes training and endurance. Once the proper sliding, braking, tucking, and turning are developed, the goal is to hit the streets and practice these techniques.
t h e n o rt h c a ro l i n a d ow n h i l l s k at e b o a r d i n g s c e n e Compared to the steep, straighter roads out west in the Rocky Mountains, the Southern Appalachian mountain roads are more winding and gradual. The lack of elevation doesn’t affect the level or intensity of skateboarding. However, one unfavorable tendency does occur on these east coast roads, gravel deposits, especially on unpaved and older quality roads. Riders here have found ways to work around these road-quality issues. They use topographic maps or simply go and seek roads firsthand. Local riders become local road experts on their home turf. Each road holds different obstacles, and requires