Blog: Things are more fun in the darK

In the past few weeks my skating has achieved new heights. Thanks to more activity, mainly more skating , but also a few power cleans from time to time, I'm carving tighter and skating longer.

My buddy Dave scooped a longboard and it's healthy to have a new person in the crew. Dave was always an accomplished shortboarder, as I presumed he picked it up well. Last Saturday afternoon he, Bill and I all rode the parking garage downtown. Dave picked up the nuances well, however that only led to Dave becoming dangerous. Over 75 runs under my belt at the time and not a fall yet...then came Dave. Dude was trying to squeeze both of us through the tighter turns at the same time, usually without me being aware he was right on my ass! On level 4 he forces me to go too wide and I basically ran between two poles! The worst injury was to the camera I was filming with, but I did stub the hell out of my toe and it bled! Dave ended up doing it again later, which caused me to fall-but not as bad as the first. Dave is smart but when it comes to having that "Hey I actually give a shit" type of attitude, Dave doesn't. He has no regard to safety or any other crap he thinks is lame. He was apologetic though, through his laughter. He finally calmed a bit and we ended up staying for 3+ hours, a ripping session and a great workout!

When you're skating you're not sore, but when you hop off the board to walk you notice how tight you've gotten. Riding and carving is taxing work, don't kid yourself! Combine that activity with my power cleans I'll be putting people in their places in no time!

Since that day I've decided that I'm not falling enough. If I'm going that many runs with no falls I should try to add some new difficulty? I love just cruising down the garage, it's fun even when your not trying difficult maneuvers, however I'm in this for the pleasure and the pain so I should be tasting slightly more pavement.

So last night, after a rousing day on the lake with my buddies John and Reed, John and I had gone to get a few beers and hang out. I'll spare all the details, but phone calls were made, decisions executed and next thing I knew John, Bill and I were in Bill's truck headed to the garage at around midnight.

John has a boarding background but this was his first time on a longboard. The three of us split time riding the two boards we had among us and went about it. John was impressive for his first time at the garage and being at night. Several floors are almost pitch black! You really have to have a feel for the place and I was surprised that John held it together...especially considering the alcohol! Actually, he mostly held it together. He did take a bad spill on the top floor and skinned his palms and knees; he also t-boned me on the 3rd floor but miraculously we both were able to run it off with no fall, so oh well!

Skating the garage at night is one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life! Standing up on the top floor waiting my turn to go again, I was mesmerized by all the buildings surrounding me. They were shining and lit-up and some were so close I wanted to reach out and touch them. I don't know if I enjoyed the skating, the scenery, or the homeless lady sleeping in the elevator the most? Staying until after two o'clock, this was truly an epic session. I cannot wait to go back at night again... I'm hooked!

We now have four of us in the OKC group and we seem to be growing weekly. All it takes is one visit and anybody who can ride a board is hooked! Coolest thing going on in Oklahoma right now...period!


We also have representation in Eastern Oklahoma now, with Jiz picking up his very own longboard. Talk about a big fish in a small pond...he skates alone while people follow him in vehicles...filming! That's cool, hopefully he can get to OKC and the parking garage soon. We'll try to head that way as well.

One last thing. I traded boards with Dave and I now ride a 43.5 " Arbor Koa Pintail. I love the pin shape, it really is the best for carving hard and maintaining speed.

Thanks for reading. Have a happy Father's Day and a memorable week!