“These are some shots I took in spring of 2009 and re-edited. Don’t ask me for the exact location of the roads,” says Longboard Mike on the blog http://longboardnow.com
“Skateboarding in the Asheville, North Carolina area takes on a new dimension with endless miles of winding mountain roads, Longboard Mike writes. “All of the riders in this video are expert riders with boards and equipment that IS NOT for sale in local stores. DO NOT grab your cheap … and head to the top of your nearest hill in flip-flops and boardshorts. You might survive a few times but sooner or later you WILL pay the price in flesh and blood,” he adds.
The video and more comments are posted here: http://longboardnow.com/longboard-asheville-mellow-downhill-run/
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About Jeff Fobes
As a long-time proponent of media for social change, my early activities included coordinating the creation of a small community FM radio station to serve a poor section of St. Louis, Mo.
In the 1980s I served as the editor of the "futurist" newsletter of the U.S. Association for the Club of Rome, a professional/academic group with a global focus and a mandate to act locally.
During that time, I was impressed by a journalism experiment in Mississippi, in which a newspaper reporter spent a year in a small town covering how global activities impacted local events (e.g., literacy programs in Asia drove up the price of pulpwood; soybean demand in China impacted local soybean prices).
Taking a cue from the Mississippi journalism experiment, I offered to help the local Green Party in western North Carolina start its own newspaper, which published under the name Green Line.
Eventually the local party turned Green Line over to me, giving Asheville-area readers an independent, locally focused news source that was driven by global concerns. Over the years the monthly grew, until it morphed into the weekly Mountain Xpress in 1994. I've been its publisher since the beginning.
Mountain Xpress' mission is to promote grassroots democracy (of any political persuasion) by serving the area's most active, thoughtful readers.
Consider Xpress as an experiment to see if such a media operation can promote a healthy, democratic and wise community. In addition to print, today's rapidly evolving Web technosphere offers a grand opportunity to see how an interactive global information network impacts a local community when the network includes a locally focused media outlet whose aim is promote thoughtful citizen activism. Follow me @fobes
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8 thoughts on “Longboard Asheville: Mellow downhill runs”
Jeff
I’d say mellow music, SKETCHY FAST downhill runs. Road rash HURTS, ya’ll! As does colliding with trees or (shudder) cars. Even yappy little dogs hurt when you’re riding two-inch wheels at 25 m.p.h.
Chad Nesbitt
Love it! We should have a downhill time trial!
Kind of like the old Chimney Rock Hill Climb but go down the hill instead. These guys are way cool!
T100C-1970
I’m an old motorcyclist. The guy in the black in the back appears to be (a) able to control his trajectory and (b) wearing sensible protective gear. The other guys remind me (in terms of gear) of many of the bicycle riders I see running 40+ MPH downhill on the parkway in their short shorts and styrofoam helmets. High speed slides on rough dry asphalt can flat grind your flesh down to your bone. A friend of mine found this out the “hard way”. Her loss of flesh was a good testament to ATGATT. Fortunately she was wearing a full converage helmet because she ended up sliding FACE DOWN. The helmet was destroyed but her face was uninjured. The griding down of flesh to bone took place on knees and toes.
Be careful out there.
Devon in Dan Siego
Re: T100C-1970
You must be a Triumph rider! Only they worry as much about losing a little flesh. Smart folk, they are. I agree with T100C,
TBS-T3 vroom vroom
tatuaje
Just laid down my GS the other night going 50. Thank goodness for gloves, helmets, and armored jackets!
T100C-1970
Devon, true indeed. I bought the T100C new in ’70 and still have it.. Nowdays it works about as well as my body does — so I log most miles on the DR650 and some on the newer TU250 and a few on the T100C just to verify that it (like me) is still alive.
boredfelipe
I produced this video. Thanks for the interest and comments. I would like to say that we only ride on open roads when appropriate safety measures have been taken. We scout the road, communicate with established signals, wear helmets rated for high-speed impacts, etc. Our equipment is designed for rough roads and high speeds. We’re running 70mm-90mm wheels and wide trucks with special bushings or spherical bearings. Some of these set-ups cost upwards of $500. Most importantly we practice our skills on closed pavement. We use two different methods of braking- the foot-brake and pendulum slide. We can come to a complete stop in a very short distance in a controlled manner.
Longboard brand
Downhill longboard is the type of longboard that is usually chosen by professionals, those who would love to cruise through hills and even flatlands. This type of longboard is usually very fast and it can be too fast for some people who are just beginners.
I’d say mellow music, SKETCHY FAST downhill runs. Road rash HURTS, ya’ll! As does colliding with trees or (shudder) cars. Even yappy little dogs hurt when you’re riding two-inch wheels at 25 m.p.h.
Love it! We should have a downhill time trial!
Kind of like the old Chimney Rock Hill Climb but go down the hill instead. These guys are way cool!
I’m an old motorcyclist. The guy in the black in the back appears to be (a) able to control his trajectory and (b) wearing sensible protective gear. The other guys remind me (in terms of gear) of many of the bicycle riders I see running 40+ MPH downhill on the parkway in their short shorts and styrofoam helmets. High speed slides on rough dry asphalt can flat grind your flesh down to your bone. A friend of mine found this out the “hard way”. Her loss of flesh was a good testament to ATGATT. Fortunately she was wearing a full converage helmet because she ended up sliding FACE DOWN. The helmet was destroyed but her face was uninjured. The griding down of flesh to bone took place on knees and toes.
Be careful out there.
Re: T100C-1970
You must be a Triumph rider! Only they worry as much about losing a little flesh. Smart folk, they are. I agree with T100C,
TBS-T3 vroom vroom
Just laid down my GS the other night going 50. Thank goodness for gloves, helmets, and armored jackets!
Devon, true indeed. I bought the T100C new in ’70 and still have it.. Nowdays it works about as well as my body does — so I log most miles on the DR650 and some on the newer TU250 and a few on the T100C just to verify that it (like me) is still alive.
I produced this video. Thanks for the interest and comments. I would like to say that we only ride on open roads when appropriate safety measures have been taken. We scout the road, communicate with established signals, wear helmets rated for high-speed impacts, etc. Our equipment is designed for rough roads and high speeds. We’re running 70mm-90mm wheels and wide trucks with special bushings or spherical bearings. Some of these set-ups cost upwards of $500. Most importantly we practice our skills on closed pavement. We use two different methods of braking- the foot-brake and pendulum slide. We can come to a complete stop in a very short distance in a controlled manner.
Downhill longboard is the type of longboard that is usually chosen by professionals, those who would love to cruise through hills and even flatlands. This type of longboard is usually very fast and it can be too fast for some people who are just beginners.