skull skates on urban rush

Ok. Watch this.  Then write an essay for the book, Common Criminals.
 Email it to me:  luchamag@yahoo.com

1/2 Marathon Hell Week: Thurs.

Okay.  Today was going to be my "big ride" day.  I was going to skate 20 miles at a medium fast pace which would be my longest ride of the four (five including race week) weeks.  This was the last day to push myself before easing down to rest for a few days.

9 miles in at Shelby Farms

Well, I made it 10 miles.  I rode the Greenline then went up and around Shelby Farms for a while when all hell broke loose with the weather.  It stormed like a beast.  The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees.  I was skating through pockets of warm then cold air as the wind picked up so fast that it almost knocked me down.  Luckily, I made it back to the Visitors center where all of us temporarily stranded by wind and rain conditions waited out the storm and for rides back home.  And thankfully, Lindsey answered my texts and came by to scoop me up.  She got me back to my car so I could change clothes and get dry.

Ride ruining rain

Well, the one thing I did get to do on the ride was try out my Eastside Rain Wheels.  I can't recommend them enough after this first ride.  Riding these 70 mm center set wheels I could pump and push with confidence.  They didn't slip out at all.  Only my first time riding them, but I recommend them highly.  Eastside Longboards

1/2 Marathon Training Week 2: Post 1

WEEK TWO (part one)!!!!

I couldn't wait to get to the Memphis Greenline to skate on Monday!  After two days off a board I was stoked to get four urethane wheels under my feet.  I skated approx 12 miles an hour for an hour.  Not as fast as I'd like, but I think it is already a respectable time for an old man like me.

Tuesday I decided to change things up a bit this week.  I incorporated both the pushing and pumping workouts into the same session.  It was so nice outside it only made sense to enjoy the weather.  I compare the workout to fartlek workouts for distance runners.  Fartlek training mixes periods of speed work with slower training to help a person mix pacing.  If you want to hold a pace, but be able to pass someone only to go back to pace, fartlek training will help.

I pushed for speed for a block, slowed to a moderate pace for the next block, pumped for a block, and went back to moderate pace only to start over.  My body feels much better starting this second week.  I then hit Tobey for a little roundwall for about a half hour before grabbing a bite for lunch and heading to work.  It has been a good week so far.

Oh, and Wednesday I'm taking off from distance training.  I plan on skating on Saturday and Sunday mornings this weekend (the weather is supposed to be perfect) so I know my body will need a day off this week.

Before I end this post, I'd like to give you this link:

http://www.razoo.com/story/Hannah-Wants-To-Help-Habitat?1329684971#.T0Fh_eBXqX8.twitter

It is Hannah wants to help habitat.  If you feel the desire for a little do-goodery, throw Hannah a few bucks, and she'll give them to Habitat for Hope.  They are the charity organization helping to put on the 1/2 Marathon I'm training for.

What the Puck?!

Not many people saw my first attempt at making slide gloves.  I spent a grand total of $2.18 on my first try.  I bought a set of gloves and a cutting board at a dollar store, and gave it a shot.  Well, I opened the cutting board to find out it was plastic.  Then, I realized that I don't own any tools.  So...I broke the cutting board (it was just plastic after all) and used shoe goo to apply it to the gloves.

They were terrible.  I was embarrassed to wear 'em.

So, I heard about Phat Deanz slide pucks.  You can buy them with velcro included.  My lack of tools problem was solved for less than 20 bucks delivered to my doorstep.

 

Here is what I did to make my new slide gloves:

1. Cut velcro to the proper size and fasten one piece to the puck


2.  Shoe goo the other pieces to the glove (shoe goo is supposed to help because the 'sticky' from the velcro is meant for things that don't bend...and of course your gloves will bend).


3.  Stick them all together and put them under something heavy to press them together while the shoo goo dries.


Done.  Less than 20 bucks spent...now, to heal up this sprained ankle so I can try them out.  I'll let you know how they work.

Metal Ramps/Metal Music: Friday October 21, 2011

Wednesday's bowl session was cold.  Too cold for October in Memphis, TN.  Either that or I'm just not ready to say goodbye to the summer heat, and I was worried the weekend would end up freezing or (worse) rainy.  Thursday was better.  A little warmer.  And Friday was just about right.

This was going to be a true skate day.  I hit the Greenline for a little slo-mo cruise Friday morning (do my pintail's bearings need a cleaning?).  Went home and had an unplanned nap, and woke up to hit Al Town for about an hour.  I HAD to skate Al Town Friday.  I wanted to be psyched for the benefit show at The Buccaneer that night.



 After Al Town I headed over to a Baptist Church on Union where the Sidewalk Skate Ministry had set up some metal ramps.  While going to a Baptist Church before a metal show didn't seem appropriate at least the ramps were metal...right?

I wasn't sure about skating metal ramps, honestly.  My experience with metal ramps has always been that they're too slick for how I skate, but a launch ramp is a launch ramp and it had been far too long since I've skated one.




Chris N. was  killing it,

and I recognized a couple others from Al Town.  Greg S. brought out the hippy jump (it was too dark for pics).  I'm not sure what it is about Memphis locals that make them so good at hippy jumps.  Somehow Chris (who isn't a tall guy) and I cleared the bar at its highest level while Dalton and others were close on our heels.

Anyway, the sun was down and it was time to get ready for the metal (music, this time).

The Al Town benefit was awesome!  Turnout was great.  E. Pidgeon, Sneed and Jungle brought the O.G. vibe.  The raffle was a huge success (thanks Andy!).  The music was great.  The beer was cold.  What more could you ask for...oh yeah, nearly $1,000.00 toward Al Town.  Huge success!

Around 2 a.m. I made my way home and set up a new longboard deck up to ride (my slide board is ready...now to get some gloves).  A great day to skate and a great night for the future of Memphis skateboarding.

Rufus Skates Sticker Designs

These are the current sticker designs for the very first rufusskates.com products. I've got tonight to ponder them before they go to the printer.

Stereotypes, Helmets and Slayer

I ride a long skateboard. I guess that makes me a longboarder. However, what has become the typical longboard type skating isn't what I normally do. I don't downhill for speed or spend much time sliding as a 'thing'. I slide when I need to stop and spend most of my time riding a 40+ inch board on transitions, banks and parking blocks. I do have a pintail cruiser type board that I take on the Greenline and on the occasional push ride. I love cruising, carving and pumping on it. There is nothing like hitting the Memphis Greenline and carving/pumping like a madman with some good music on the mp3. Fifteen minutes and all stress and cares of the day are gone!

I'm not saying there is anything wrong longboard sessions. They're pretty fun. I just don't do it very often.

I posted on the DSL (Down South Longboarding) facebook group page that I was heading to Shelby Farms for a slide session this morning. I admit this is primarily because my body is SHOT from skating the rufusskates ramp and Al Town almost everyday last week and a slide session is less taxing on the body than throwing yourself up concrete walls for hours on end. You let gravity take you down the hill then hit your slide.

So, I posted up that I was going and got a response or two from people I didn't expect to get responses from...namely teenagers. I thought at 9 in the morning it would just be an out of school old geezer like me that would be able to skate. Then one posted on the DSL page to me, "if you have a helmet...WEAR it."

I tend to not wear protective gear. I guess growing up as a punk rock skateboarder who wasn't going to take shit from anyone, I take offense to being told to do anything. So, I took offense to it. I spent a good half of my life in Arkansas. We don't even have a helmet law for motorcycles. They are your brains. If you want to scramble 'em that is your prerogative.

I do own a helmet and I do wear it when I feel it is necessary. For instance, any transition over 6 feet tall, I might just don the hard hat to skate. And I know that now that my four year old is getting on a board I'm going to have to set a good example for him because he wears a helmet and full pads to just look at the skateboard.

All that said...it seems helmets have become fashionable for longboarders. Which is cool, I guess. But, if you don't tighten the strap to your head the helmet is nothing more than a fashion accessory. If I wear it then I believe my noggin has a good chance of getting smashed. I tighten it up and ride.

So, I show up to Shelby Farms in a bad mood about stereotypical 'teenagers' with Slayer's Reign in Blood blasting on my stereo. I got out and sat on a bench while I waited for the kiddos to show up. I'm a grouchy curmudgeon of an old dude sometimes.
That said, there is something about skateboards that can make differences disappear. I got over the helmet issue, the kiddos put their hard hats on, and we went for a ride around Shelby Farms.
And the truth is, I learned a lot about sliding this morning. My pintail is set up to be a loose carving machine and isn't perfect for sliding, but I was able to knock back a couple new (to me) slides. Thanks guys. The stoke was spread today, and I may just invest some time into the slide after all. And some real slide gloves. My dollar store gloves didn't even make it through the day.

It was a good chance to get to know the luvmud hill a little bit too. I don't plan on entering the contest or anything, but I will definitely be down for the session beforehand.

Hey you! Why the long board?

Years ago Rodney Mullen did a demo in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was amazing what happened when he stepped on the skateboard. The control over both his body and the board were astounding. His board spun, flipped, rose and fell with the slightest flick of his feet and he landed everything cleanly. I was in the presence of greatness that day, and I knew it.

Now, it seemed the tricks he did were all anyone was doing. I spent countless hours of my life (that I can never have back) being frustrated by kickflips and heelflips. At one point I even invested in a set of soccer shin guards because my legs were becoming so bruised and dented from the board flipping up into my shins. I was miserable, and although I finally started to learn some of these elusive tricks, it made me want to give up skating.

I just couldn’t. Giving up skating for good would have been like cutting out a part of my soul. I had to find an alternative, but until I found the alternative, skating slipped down to the shadows of my priority list.

When I discovered longboarding I felt the urge to ride rise from the ashes of a popsicle stick deck. The act of riding a skateboard was new again. The slightest slope of a hill was enough to carve for speed and soul.

My first longboard was a beast. Over four feet long and over eleven inches wide, it served the purpose of introducing a new genre of skateboarding to me. Shortly after first stepping on the beast, I opted for a shorter, narrower set up.

It was strange. Those flip tricks I had so many problems doing on a shorter board were suddenly easy for me. Doing a kickflip on a longboard seemed so easy. Blunt slides, I don’t know why, were suddenly simple on this longer board. It didn’t take long before I was even sliding down handrails on a forty-four inch long deck. I switched out the usual big, soft longboard wheels for some 80’s inspired hard yet reasonably sized wheels.

All of this isn’t to say that I suddenly became a technical wizard on a skateboard. Instead, I was able to move between the flippery and the carve with relative ease. After skating for so many years, I had found my niche.

Greenline Push Ride June 21, 2011

Skateboarding has been an integral part of my life for over 30 years. I've never considered it a sport, but more of an act of expression of self. Here is a video of our Greenline Push Ride from June 21, 2011