Tag: longboarding

Another Wednesday, another PR

Another Wednesday, so I headed off to longboard Mt. Tabor to get the PR that SpeedMeter glitched on last week. I was successful — 35.54 mph!1 :-)

I saw only two other longboarders on the hill and met only one of them. I’m looking forward to skating with (ok, getting dusted by) Hopkins again. At least I kept up with him hiking back up the hill. Once again, I continue to be impressed with the longboarding community here in Portland — it’s a very accepting and supportive crowd.

I skated twice from the non-Wednesday midpoint, once from near top of soapbox hill, and then six times from the top, where I took a few pictures and used SpeedMeter a few times. I’m looking forward to rain to quench the wildfires and wash the air.

In addition to longboarders, Mt. Tabor is a haven for bicyclists who want to work on their hill climbing and descent skills. Their presence made up for the dearth of longboarders. Turns out, my downhill time isn’t much different from the bicyclist I was tracking.2 More surprising, my quarter mile hike up the hill takes about as long as the return trip for him. ‘Course, once he got to the top, he kept going on down. I wanted to cool down for at least one of his cycles before heading back down.

Never Summer Clutch with purple Kegals. This setup seems to work for me.

Credits: Map tiles by Stamen Design, under CC BY 3.0. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  1. Sing along with me! ↩
  2. His bright yellow shorts and jersey made him easy to pick out. ↩

Wednesday at Tabor

Thanks to Ethan texting me Daddies was doing a demo day at Tabor, I had a great time at Mt. Tabor. Going down after a large pack really relieves the concern of pedestrians and dogs on the route (though one rider had a close call with a squirrel). Some of these guys are just fast. ‘Course, they’re the ones that talk about Tabor being boring, it’s so easy. I’m not there, yet. But I’m getting there.

I did all but my first run from the top. That, plus a better tuck from doing the Banks to Vernonia trail with Jamison multiple times, resulted in another PR for me. I think my next run was even faster, but SpeedMeter had an issue with that run. Oh well. That leaves more room for another time.

I miss Jamison on the hill.

o/-<|:

Going downhill at Mt. Tabor

Wednesday means Mt. Tabor. Unfortunately, longboarding is just not the same thing without Jamison. Little buddy!

I did some runs from the bottom third or so. It’s the most efficient considering run length vs. return walking. And it does eliminate the risk of all but one blind corner, a good thing when skating alone.

The views are spectacular! My photography and the time of day don’t do it justice.

Longboarding Mt. Tabor with Jamison

Being Wednesday and all, Jamison and I decided to downhill Mt. Tabor. And, being Wednesday and all, we ran into other longboarders.

Robin and Sky showed us how it’s done, with tight tucks and fast runs. Sky was hoping to break 33 (or was it 34?).

I was happy to hit 30.49, a personal record.

Regardless, it was nice to have other longboarders precede us down the hill, alerting any pedestrians1 to our approach.

o/-<|:

  1. And toddlers and chihuahuas… ;-) ↩

Quick Banks Vernonia Trail Longboard Run

Jamison and I tried to get Longboard SpeedMeter going the last time we longboarded the Banks to Vernonia Trail, but it couldn’t get enough GPS satellites in view at Tophill.

This evening, I waited until the first gravel crossing before starting SpeedMeter and it worked — I think. It captured a top speed of 25.14 mph at the location I would have expected, but then recorded the run’s top speed as 9.73 mph. Oopie!

Regardless, I’m looking forward to trying my top-mount board on the trail and then at Mt. Tabor.

Longboarding the Banks-Vernonia Trail

Hands up in celebration of another great ride!

Jamison, Ethan,1 and I longboarded twice2 from Tophill down to Buxton3 on the Banks-Vernonia Trail. A fair number of bikes4 and pedestrians joined in the fun.

Jamison took a bunch of videos using his new Yi action cam5 and snapped some stills with it, too. I’m looking forward to his video edits. Stay tuned…

o>-<|:

Update: Jamison’s video is live!

  1. Ethan is the master of riding fast and looking fast. One trick I learned is to wear an untucked and unbuttoned shirt. When it flaps in the breeze, you look fast. Being able to “match” a plaid shirt with plaid shorts is just bonus! ;-) ↩
  2. It takes a few trips between Buxton and Tophill to reposition the cars, longboards, and longboarders. ↩
  3. It’s 5 miles each time. That’s 10 miles on the longboard — a good day. :-) ↩
  4. One fat-tire bicyclist was so enamored by my steeze that he couldn’t avoid heading my direction. Fortunately, there was (barely) enough pavement left over to sneak by. ↩
  5. Not an ad, just a hopeful observer of the consumer. The price and specs seemed right. We’ll see. ↩

#goskateboardingday at Mt. Tabor

Do one thing every day that scares you.

—Mary Schmich

Today, I succeeded.

Jamison and I took #goskateboardingday seriously and went to Mt. Tabor. It was my first downhill runs of the year, and just like last year, the first run was terrifying. Actually, that’s not quite true—preparing to go on the first run was petrifying, starting was a little less so, and by the time I was speeding down the hill, I was having fun. It only got better on the next runs.

We met up with nephew/cousin Ethan and made a new friend, Jeff, once again proving that longboarders are the nicest bunch you’ll meet on the hill.

I used the board I got for last year’s Fathers’ Day the whole time today.1 That way I can leave my double-drop set up for push and this one for downhill. It felt more comfortable than the last time I used this board. Now I wonder what the other board would feel like.

The strangest thing about downhilling: when I tense up, the board wants to go all skittery under me. When I relax, it calms down. I’m sure there’s a life lesson in there, somewhere… ;-)

What scary thing did you do today?

o/-<|:

  1. Yeah, there are four boards in that picture. Jamison and I both brought our top mount downhill boards and our double-drop push boards, just in case. Only two boards left the car. ↩

Bombing Tabor to close the summer

A day or two ago, Jamison asked me if I could longboard Mt. Tabor with him on Wednesday. As Jamison is getting ready to head off to college, that was a definite yes.

The last time I’d downhilled was in April, so I was a little nervous.1 The first couple of runs helped both of us get back in the groove. By our last run, we were again feeling comfortable and relaxed.2

We met some other skaters and bombed the hill a couple of times with them. They are definitely faster than we are, but it was still great.3

Although I took both boards, I used the drop mount because that’s the one I’m more comfortable with. It’s the one I ride during lunch, pushing through Hillsboro.4

I skated from the top for the first time. Other than a wet, chundery patch in the middle parking lot, the top portion is easier than the bottom.

I feel like I’m a few more skate sessions and a full-face helmet from next year’s Mt. Tabor Classic. :-)

o/-<|:

  1. Okay, I was terrified, but that’s okay. :-) ↩
  2. I don’t understand it, but faking being relaxed helps the board run smooth underneath me. Tense up and it wants to jitter around. It’s a lot more fun actually being relaxed, though. ↩
  3. I bombed the hill doing the “Ethan”: wear an untucked, unbuttoned shirt — its flapping in the breeze gives the illusion of speed and looks cool. :-D ↩
  4. I think it’s time to make the transition, though, and keep one more focused on push and the other on downhill. Or not. ;-) ↩