Friday 30 April 2010

Hard Uphills, Fast Downhills and a Great Big Bridge!.

Hi, I have just got back from spending the morning doing some training. My regular commute to work (although good for training) is just not long enough to get some real distance behind me. So this morning I headed out on a mini challenge to skate out to and across the Humber Bridge and back.
I started from home after a good nights sleep and a quick check of the maps. I followed my usual route to work along some busy city streets and some quieter residential streets. All was well up to this point and I had no aches or pains. I continued past work and for the first time stepped into the unknown, as I had not been out this way into Hessle before. I must mention the board was behaving beautifully and the bearings were rolling well. So through Hessle square I went avoiding lunatic traffic and suicidal old ladies crossing the street wherever and whenever they pleased. A little detour up through Hessle high street allowed a more direct route, so I slowed down and gently and gingerly pushed my way uphill (for the first time on route). By this time it was around 9:15am so not many pedestrians to worry about.
From this point until I duck under the bridge was all uphill, and I had a choice of narrow pavements or horribly rough roads....I decided upon the road to get some practise in. I pushed laboriously uphill for what seemed like all morning, the wheels were barely moving and my calf and thigh were on fire. The 75mm wheels struggled on the rough surface but the lowered deck made it all manageable. On getting to the top there was a sigh of relief as the road smooths out and heads downhill under the bridge, before veering into the visitor centre and up onto the bridge itself.
(The downhill although short was a blessing as I had yet to really test the boards stability at speeds above what I can push. Both here and a steeper, faster and longer hill on the return journey the stability of the lowered deck and capabilities of the Randall 180 trucks came into their own and gave me confidence to allow myself to pick-up speeds I had not got to before without the fear of speed wobbles. My confidence grew even higher when my foot-braking was just as good at these higher speeds, being able to stop from speed is very important and with some more practise I'll be confident on any hill I may encounter in July).
The Humber Bridge itself was incredible, I have wanted to skate it for a while now, and i was not disappointed. The footpath was silky smooth and was a blessing on the wheels and bearings. The gradual uphill was met with an eagerly anticipated and joyous downhill to the other side.
Then it was just a case of getting back......
The trip was 17miles and was completed in 2hours.

Tuesday 27 April 2010

A Day of e-mails

Hi Folks

Today has been spent at the computer writing some long overdue e-mails to companies i'm hoping might be interested in sponsoring my journey and asking advice from others.

Mel at sustrans, bless her cotton socks, has been great today with quick replies and great advice. She has passed on our conversations to the Press office at sustrans and also to Graeme who has planned a big bike trip for next year, and am now eagerly awaiting responses from them.

I have also sent e-mails of sponsorship opportunities to a few companies such as sainsbury's, cotswolds, Northface and blacks. Still plenty more companies out their, but a good start in whole.

Now was the time to contact Dave Cornthwaite over at boardfree to ask also for some more advice. Dave is a hero and somewhat legend figure in the long-distance skateing community as not only was he the first to longboard JohnO'Groats to landsend he also skated across australia. If anyone's got good advice for a would-be traveller like myself it's Dave.

Monday 26 April 2010

Another sunny weekend

well let's hope the weekends stay sunny for the rest of the summer because so far they have meant i can get out and do some training over 5miles. this weekend i only did 10miles by board and 5miles by bike but hopefully with the days staying lighter into the evening i can get out and do 30-50miles a weekend.

this saturday i came to the conclusion that the wheels are definitely going to need to be larger so am now in the market for some 97mm abec11 flywheels like these:
These bad boys should help smooth out the rough stuff and keep me rolling longer, the special hollowcore design keeps the weight down for comfort. But at nearly £90 a set these aren't going to be cheap......

anyway thats all for this update except to also mention a short video of me skating past one of few green spots in Hull. ENJOY.....



Tuesday 20 April 2010

sunny weekend

Sunshine this weekend mixed with a broken bike pump and a slow puncture meant that I finally managed to get out for a half decent and a somewhat more noticeable long distance skate. it's roughly 5 miles to work on semi rough to semi smooth pavements and roads, here's how it went.

The semi rough potholed roads that are in such abundance in and around hull were swept up and spat out by the LBL pusher board. The smooth roads and pavements were a luxury and mixed with a gentle tail wind for the outward journey allowed for some energy saving, chilled out skating to be done. The low profile of the deck meant that leg ache was reduced compared to excursions on my taller pintail on original trucks, and allowed me to get through an 8 hour shift without the added joy and discomfort of tired legs (interestingly i felt better than if i had rode my bike). It took a total of 35-40mins of skating to cover the 5 miles, and i was not rushing as i left with plenty of time.

The ride home was a little tougher as a mild headwind meant extra leg work was needed on top of already tired legs from work, but the board was so comfortable to ride thanks to the great addition of rockered edges (bent at each edge like an "(" laid flat) that locked my size 10 feet in perfectly. Tree root cracked pavements and loose gritty concrete were in abundance and with only minor changes in the rhythm of my pushing were handled with ease by the board and wheel setup. The flex of the board along with the softness of the urethane wheels smoothed out bumps and lumps leaving my legs with little to do other than push, steer and balance without having to act as the main shock absorbers. In short the comfort of this board is incredible, and am looking forward to a longer ride to test it further.

The only negative comment to make was the wheels. the lime bigzigs are comfortable and grippy and the soft compound rolled over every obstacle perfectly, but the size of the wheels matched with the drop through trucks and lowered deck meant a few scrapes to the varnished edges when turning tighter turns, and i had to adjust my carving style that i would normally use on my pintail and original trucks to accommodate. Not really a huge issue but confidence and belief in making the turn without the worry of scraping edges would make the board that much more comfortable for future rides. Maybe some larger abec11 flywheels would help solve this issue but at £70+ for a set of four i might just get out on the bigzigs some more until i'm comfortable with them.

If the weather stays nice and sunny for this coming weekend i will be skating to work again and will try and get some video and/or photos plus a route map up here for you all to see.

regards

Thursday 1 April 2010

A Bigger Plan

A genius idea came from an unlikely source this evening...none other than my father. He mentined that i should maybe contact some larger companies about the possibility of backing me for the trip.

so this evening i sat down and dug about for contacts, i wrote a very nice e-mail to the environment manager at Honda explaining my challenge and asking if they would like to sponsor me for the trip.

i have literally only just hit the send button and it is what...11:20pm so don't expect a reply till tomorrow at the earliest. I do hope i get a reply and it's a positive one at that.

i sent along a link to this blog so if you're reading this Mr Kingston.... HELLO and i hope you send a reply my way soon.

regards
sam

Micro challenge

Hi guys

right thanks to a very generous donation from none other than my parents i am so tantalisingly close to breaking the £100 mark.

I am going to set a mini challenge of getting there by the end of the week.

this means i need your help.....so if you haven't already donated please do so over at justgiving and give as much as you can.

the charity www.sustrans.org.uk is really worthwhile as it helps people choose to combine active transport into their weekly routines of work, shopping and socializing through allowing safer means of doing so. this includes simple things like bicycle lanes and keeping old tracks open as well as setting up walking-bus schemes (which i think is great and dead cute to see).

regards
sam