peep down, vandem to go

Bopeep was most excellent and wonderful. So many runs happened on the first day that I didn't mind (and felt myself quite lucky) that I decided to duck the torrential rain on the second day, since it meant there was no skating anyway.

The first run, I was fairly out of it. I like to take a bit of time to get into a skate, but that hill gives you little chance. Still, after 3 runs and some rather questionable slides I felt that I could go from the top to the main corner airbraking alone. I'd managed this last year but my slides into the corner had been awful. This year I felt much better and after some time was able to nail a decent slide each run.

For me, nailing the right hander after the main corner had felt quite a way off. I took some runs to "scout" it out as it were, feeling how fast I would be going and how confident I felt, and then went for it. It's very much how I like to skate, building to things in the most progressive way I can. I'm not one to just charge into things, I don't take much from "just going for it", taking too big a step and having a crash.

So by the end of the day it was a few pushes, tuck into the first corner, get out of that, sort my feet for the main corner and this meant using a different tuck for some of the straight. Start airbraking rather early, cruise through the kink and nail a slide where and how it felt right. Coming out of the last corner into a tuck felt quite good since the timing strips were there for a while, and it felt cool tucking over the line and feeling the little bump. The shutdown zone was like playing minesweeper. Nobody ate it too badly however.

I find so much happiness and confidence in skating down hills. It really makes me a better person to be and be around. The first run I properly tanked I couldn't stop laughing even as I was shutting down. It set me up so well for the day. When you're happy you feel like talking more, everything gets nicer and it's the zone I love to skate in, being so, so happy and relaxed. I need to work on getting that in wider circumstances than having a really epic skate.

My new wheels were just as I had hoped. If I don't relax enough and slide with really poor technique then they don't feel great, but for everything relaxed or with at least a trace of textbook they are really, really cool. In particular I like the transition from grip to slide. The feedback during a railed corner is superb. Balancing how hard you are cornering with the grip available becomes much easier when a wheel "speaks" to you in such a manner.

On that note, all wheels, even slide-a's, have degrees of grip that make up the characteristics of the wheel. But it feels like hurtlers have so many degrees. It goes without saying that as you spend more time skating down hills you are able to perceive more degrees of grip where before you were unable to do so, however these seem to give even one such as I much more feeling than other wheels I've skated.

The feeling of railing a corner on them is one of "if we crash, I told you all I could", in that you're unlikely to feel aggrieved at catching an edge, and If you run out of road they gave you all the opportunity possible to put in a quick drift, and not doing so would be down to you and your ability. This setup (sequel, sabre GC 45 190's, hurtlers) is fantastic in that it gives you every chance so it is very much down to you. There's nothing worse, and I've been there before, when the setup is off, and you simply cannot enjoy your skate. Such an example would be coming back for the last day of peep last year, and simply being unable to skate and get into any kind of a run.

Looking forward, I would like to get a touch more centre into the setup, as I have wanted to do for a little while. I'd like to be able to pop up and footbrake cleaner and at higher speeds, footbraking being an area of weakness for me. This obviously comes with experience as does the greater perception of degrees of grip available I explain above,  but like in the purchasing of some "friendlier" "race" wheels, getting hold of some "friendlier" baseplates could help give a step.

So next up should be the vandem freeride if we can find somebody to look after the cat. I don't have to camp in a horribly small uncomfortable tent that I don't fit in as well! The skate has been incorporated into a family break of sorts, so I'll be rocking up each day to skate. This suits me fine, I'm not a party person and I'm fine with that.

I'll just have to be damn careful rocking up early to the campsite.

Hangover ridden skateboarders are best approached with caution, trepidation and a considered escape route.

You all rock, I can't wait to get some runs in.

See you soon

Will