Argh... Snow.

Well.... It looks like winter finally caught up with me. There is snow all over the roads... It's looking like I'll have to postpone my practicing until a warmer spell hits. I will try to keep this up to date as much as possible.

Arrividerci.

I'm back...

whew... Haven't posted in a while. Well, not much to report on the home front for this week. Got some more practice in, went even faster, and had a good time doing it. I finally got the helmet i ordered, but there's a problem- It's a size too large. Wearing it makes me send out bobbleheadish vibes... So, hoping to get a better one soon. Otherwise, not much to report... stay tuned.

Another time, folks.

Yeah!!!

Alright! Got some good higher-speed practice in today, whilst looking for a friend's dog (which incidentally I never found)... I have a nicely inclined hill near my house that works just fine for pushing up to speed. The helmet I ordered came today- it's rather disappointing. Maybe a bit on the large side... More later.

viva la longboard!

A Bit at a Time

Ok, this update is going to look a lot like the last one. Sunday practice again... I'm a LOT more comfortable with going fast, pushing is improving, and I'm loving carving. Other than that, not much to report.

Peace out.

Movin' along...

Got some good practice in on Sunday, riding up and down the street. I'm now comfortable with pushing (but still need to work on my form- putting a little too much weight on my pushing foot), going above 5 MPH, and footbraking. Also managed a U-ey in the road but it took a heck of a lot of balance... Right.

Ciao.

Maiden Voyage!

Well, took my board to school with me today since we have a gym which is large and open. I found out that going faster is a lot harder than going slower... Fortunately, I've got pretty good balance and so forth, so falling off wasn't an issue. I rode it in there for a few minutes, but the real test came when I rode home on it. I discovered that my trucks were slightly too loose for my intended speed and style, so when I reached the house, I tightened up a bit. Still, it was fun. things to work on: pushing in correct form, turning, stopping, and going faster. So... basically everything.

Later.

Ok... Applied.

Alright! The graphic is on and the grip tape too. pics can be found in the same album as my last link, here. The tape took some time to trim down to the right size, as I had to cut a loooong half-inch strip from one side. The corners were fairly easy; I made a pattern by designing one corner and cutting it, then laying the cut-off piece onto the other corners. It worked pretty well, so now I have the whole board together and ready to ride. Only problem is, it's winter. Oy...

First things first: The Board.

OK! We're in business. The board arrived this morning, wrapped in a very conspicuous package. However, due to the amount of tape that Mr Yowell (The owner of Kracked Skulls) decided to apply to the packaging, it took a good three minutes to get the board completely unwrapped.
It's a beaut. 40 inches long, just bare wood at the moment; there are a few dents on the side of the board from shipping but otherwise it's in great shape and I really don't give a rip about some tiny dents. The hardware it came with was as follows: Deck: 40-inch Kracked Skulls M-1, with through-the-top truck mounts. Trucks: Randall II 180's. Wheels: Abec 11 78a durometer 70's Flashbacks in Bright Green color. Bearings: Economy 608 Abec 5 green. Pictures can be seen here.
I've tried standing on it and rolling back and forth across my living room- I've determined that I at least am more comfortable pushing mongo (with the front foot instead of the back) and possibly even riding goofy (right foot forward). Next up: Graphic application and maybe griptape.

Getting Started...

Well... it took about three months and 133 dollars, but I finally have purchased myself a longboard. The particular brand and model purchased was a Kracked Skulls M-1: check it out at http://krackedskulls.com/. As for hardware, it's not particularly sophisticated; it comes standard with Randall II 180 trucks, and the cheapest wheels available were Abec 11 70mm 70's Flashbacks. It hasn't arrived yet, however... it's looking like it will probably get here sometime next week. If only i had patience...