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The Greatest Hills in North America

     Now I don't just mean hills in the middle of roads. I'm talking mountain roads. A lot of downhill racers ride down THESE hills. Anyways, the title of this post says the greatest hills in North America. That could mean the US or Canada.
     Downhill racers' videos are usually shot in the West. More or less the North West. These are places such as Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington state, and especially British Columbia in the Canadian Rockies. I didn't know this for the longest time, but most the downhill racers you see on YouTube are in fact Canadian, such as Patrick Switzer and Mischo Erban. Both of which are world record holders for the fastest longboard slide at 60mph/100kph (Switzer) and the fastest speed on a longboard/skateboard without assistance from a vehicle at a jaw-dropping 88mph/120kph. Forgive me if I'm wrong about the kilometers. In the US we go by miles instead.
     Let's get back on topic. Vancouver, British Columbia is a hotspot for longboards and skateboards both due to its mountainous surroundings and the scenery. The city of Vancouver is gigantic so there are a lot of big hills whether it be on those big mountain roads or in some neighborhood. Another hotspot for races is called the Maryhill Freeride. A lot of racing teams and/or board companies go there annually to skate down this beautiful hill in this secluded area of Washington state. I cant say that I have seen videos in Denver, Colorado surprisingly enough and I don't know why! I used to go there for a couple of months a year for four years and its beautiful there and there is nothing but hills out there. Same thing with Portland, Oregon. Hills everywhere. I used to live in Oregon and California so I have seen my fair share of hills and I must say I wish I still lived out there. Its so flat here.

     Yeah so if I have any westerners reading this, all I have to say is: Don't take skating for granted. Your land is to awesome not to skate there.

My Personal Favorite

     Well, this week's article is about the board I am getting this summer. It is specially made for downhill along with a sick deck design. It is known as the Fullbag Speedcarver Drop. It is truly a super-natural gift from God. This Canadian-made longboard has a perfect body in my opinion. And most of my skate apparel is red and black anyways so I think this board is just right for me.
     By now, you have probably already guessed that the board is made of maple wood. It is 43" in length and 10" in width. Since I am going to by the deck only and put it together myself, I am going to put Bear Grizzly trucks on my board. Bear trucks have proven to be sturdy, durable trucks and many people use them for downhill longboarding. And as far as wheels go, I will probably use Abec 11 Monsters with Bones Ceramic bearings. As far as the bushings go, I am still undecided as to whether I should get them or not. I will have to see the board first.
     My reference to Fullbag boards is Patrick "P-Swiss" Switzer. Many people know him from the IGSA or downhill Grand-Prix. He also has the world record for fastest longboard slide. There is no doubt he is my biggest inspiration for longboarding.

Yeah Penny Boards are as good as everyone says.

         Well, over the Mardi Gras holidays, I had the privilege to ride a Penny Board and it was truly life-changing. I also got to ride on smooth asphalt. So smooth that you cant even hear your wheels spinning. So yeah that was a great place to ride for the first time. At first, I was surprised about how smooth the board rode at high speeds. That was very impressive for a board that size. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Penny Board has larger wheels than your average regular skateboard therefore it can handle rougher terrain. Now when my friend and I were riding, I had my longboard while he had his Penny. The crazy thing was that we were able to keep up with each other. The next thing i loved about the board was the body. It was perfectly flexible and just easy to ride. So yeah, next time $120 comes my way, the Penny board is my top priority. I highly recommend this board to anyone who wants to start skating or to anyone that has a longboard. You will be satisfied!

Downhill Longboarding

     As I have said before, longboarding gives us the opportunity to do a bunch of new activities to do while skating. My favorite thing to do while riding my boards is bombing hills. To bomb a hill means to simply go down a hill. Some people like going down on bikes. I think that thats stupid because you have brakes. That just takes all the fun out of bombing. For example, if you're bombing hills with somebody and you are on bikes, you can hit the brakes at any time when going down the hill, and thats pretty wimpy. The best part about going down a hill on a longboard is that you don't have brakes and you can't stop until your at the bottom of the hill. So, you have to put up with the constant changing speed. That's what I love most: The thrill of not knowing what is going to happen next. Nothing gives anybody more of a rush than going 40 mph down a smooth asphalt hill for 3 minutes straight standing on nothing but a piece of wood with wheels.

     Now, for all the skaters on Pleasure/Ono Island who enjoy bombing hills but don't know where to go locally to find them, to tell you the truth, there is not that many around the beaches unless you like through condo parking garage hills. Thats not fun though. I personally make a 45 minute pilgrimage to Daphne/ Lake Forrest area and hit those long, steep hills with the smooth asphalt one-lane roads. But in the GS/OB area, the State Park actually has a couple of long hills with a reasonable slope, at least enough to get up to 25-30 mph, possibly 35 with good racing bearings. But a great beginner hill is located at Hilltop Drive behind Domino's and TCBY in Gulf Shores.

Just a fact for all of you that aren't familiar with downhill longboarding:
The land speed record on a longboard is 80.83mph and is held by Canadian longboard Grand-Prixer  Mischo Erban.

Penny Boards

Although I'm more of a longboard kind of person, I do appreciate skateboards. Now, the thing with skateboards is that the wheels are very hard and small most of the time. So unless your riding on smooth asphalt, your not going to go that fast. Now, there is this company based out of Australia that builds these indestructible plastic flexible skateboards. They are called"Penny" boards. They're supposed to be based on that old 1950-1960 look of skateboards back in the time when the skateboard was just being thought of. These boards come in two different sizes. The smaller size is about the size of your foot with just enough room to put your foot on the back of the board when your riding it. The bigger size board called a "Nickel" board, is about half a foot bigger or so with more than enough room for two feet. Well anyways, the Penny company makes all the hardware that comes with the board such as the trucks and wheels. The wheels-instead of hard plastic- are rubber so they ride on rougher road a lot better than a regular skateboard. People even put longboard wheels on these boards along with better bearings. Talk about a board that'll fly! When I start work in the spring I am definitely getting one.

The Increasing Popularity of the Longboard

In Gulf Shores, the only people you see on bikes are either snowbirds or old people. Ever since skateboarding became popular, people started to skate around on their skateboards to get around town. But we all know that you gotta have a good skateboard to get across town with. For one, unless you have got some GOOD wheels and GOOD bearings. Either way, skateboards just weren't designed for cruising. But for some people, standing on a piece of wood and pushing with your feet was fun. So longboards appeared everywhere on the Gulf Coast. Due to their heavier weight and long sleek design, longboards are perfect for getting around a small town like ours. One push will have you going for at least 30 seconds. And cruising isn't the only thing longboards are good for either. In fact, they are good for even more sports not possible by most skateboards such as downhill longboarding and street luge. And tricks are still possible of course like sliding. And to top it off, you don't have to lock it up and leave it unattended when you go somewhere. You can carry it where ever you go.