Great Start to the '10 Season

I've been skating so much lately, that I welcome the rain, and a short break. A few of us attended Wheelabrator in Connecticut. It had been the largest ever, with around 40 people. The location reminded me of Overlook Park, here in Vermont, only industrial instead of residential. There is a drafting run, a slide hill, and a bike path. I really like the format of Wheelabrator, or lack of format, that is. There were no prizes, no competition, no ego trippin'. Just good'ol fashion skating around.

Made a couple trips out to Meadow Ridge, and it was fantastic! I really think I'm understanding the correct speed needed to make the flat right hander. Too fast, and you blow out, and you can't predrift because you kill too much speed. Most importantly, don't try to race the guy in front of you, just stick to the line, and hope you come out faster. It has been working well for me so far. I got some footage, but of course I'm totally slacking on that as well.

I have been landing B/S shuvit slides, and practicing switch check slides. My purple O-tangs are nearly cored, and slightly egg shaped. So far, freeriding has been ruling my life in Oh-Ten. Mostly because of how much I commute, I am able to find more time to throw slick slides. Maple Street has quickly become my choice hill get into Burlington. No longer do I have the urge to bomb down Pearl Street, bragging about how I beat traffic. I wait for traffic to pass, so as not to impede there travel, and when I have no uphill traffic, I take my run. At the next stop sign, I wait for those who want to drive downhill, and continue my massive freeride session.

So Mallets Bay has been drastically improved thanks to the creation of a five foot tall start ramp. With theoretical speeds of 15 mph coming off the ramp, it turns Mallets Bay into a world class GS/SGS destination. With Rick's help, we have been setting 40 cone courses, with large tucking sections, and high speed pumping features. Stay tuned for Outlaw news.

Speaking of events, UVM is having a Longboard Demo Day, and Raffle to benefit Haiti. The festivities start April 29th, noon, at the Harris/Millis Basketball courts. There will be ramps, rails, boards, and much more! Check it out. I will also be on VPR's Vermont Edition, with Sarah Ashworth, at some point. I am scheduling a time to meet soon to do an story about skateboarding in Burlington. I emailed in during a show about road usage, road sharing, and alternative transportation. My story sparked an interest with Sarah, so she got back to me. I am really looking forward to this story, because I hope to portray a positive image of skating, and educate those who need to be educated.

I have also heard that the Notch road is clear and closed... I got to go.

Playing Catch Up

Yesterday, April 25th, was a really fast day. Tom and I made it up to MR around 10 am. We took turns driving and skating. MR is at least a mile long, top speeds around the high 40's (MPH), features includes a 90 degree right hand turn up top, some mellow turns in between, and a high speed left hand sweeper at the bottom. We were reaching 40+ mph before the first turn (90 degree right), and had exit speeds in the high 20's. We believe the optimal exit speed wold be at least 30, in order to get to 50 mph before the sweeper. Tom got a little twitchy around the sweeper, and blew out once on the right hander. I had some hard scrubbing to do around the right hander in order to hold my line, some wider trucks might resolve this issue *que Kahalanis*. I was feeling really comfortable around the sweeper, even when cars were coming up, I was able to hold my line on the outside.

After the MR runs, Tom and I made our way back into Burlington, picked up Kyle and Justin, and headed out to Mallets Bay. If you know where Marble Island Marina is, then you can find what we call "Mallets Run". A road with no houses, Mallets Run is full of open, unsold lots, making traffic low, and parking plentiful. Mallets Run maybe short, but it sure is sweet. Plenty of mellow turns, room for drafting, passing, and a right hand sweeper that gets better everytime. Throw in some tunes, beer, food, and more skaters, and we got ourselves an outlaw. Keep on the look out.

Until then...

good luck playing catch up!

and then...

7:10 a.m. - Alarm

9:00 a.m. - Meet Tom, Kyle, and Carter at MR. MR is wet, we mobilize to the back-up hill.

9:30 a.m. - Irish Hill is green, so we gear up.

9:35 a.m. - Clutch. Clutch. Clutch (thanks for driving Carter, next time we'll try on getting you an automatic).

10:20 a.m. - Four runs in, the town starts emptying the fire hydrants onto the road for some reason, so we start taking the 90 degree right hander before the bridge. Estimated speed: 43 mph. Five runs. Nine runs total.

Noon - Haul chain. (literally)

6:00 p.m. - Pre-Thrash BBQ. Delicious.

8:oo p.m. -THRASH- Cluster fuck to organize.

8:30 p.m. -THRASH- At the hill. At least 12 people, various skills and abilities. Started out on the "Snake Run", then the "S-Turns", "Raoul", and finally bottom of the Davis Center. At the Davis Center we set up some hippy hoping obsticles that were pretty advanced, and not something the whole group could participate in, although most tried. Kyle was having a good time of course, and Carter was getting some really good footage of him. It was fun, and a little dangerous, while it lasted. Everyone was about ready to leave...and then...

9:40 p.m. -DRAMATIC THRASH'N FINISH- Tom purposly got in Kyles line, who was about to make the last manuever in his perfectly planned run, which was being filmed. I stood there as the match was stuck against a rough surface, pavement. Anger. Thrown chair. My phone rings, and the timing couldn't have been better. I hope that shit never happens again.

10:00 p.m. - Cha-Ching

11:00 p.m. - Blog writing, melt, sleep, or is it sleep, then melt?

See you on the hill, and leave the drama at home.