pavedwave distance skateboarding

edp_swakakin · Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 196

I think in the course a of a person’s life certain accomplishments stick out in a way that define who they are. This was indeed one of those moments for me. When I started back skating three months ago I never really thought about doing anything this extreme. However I did know that I have always had a desire to test my physical limits even when I was younger. Running used to be that rush for me. But a severe leg break brought all of that to a screaming halt. To dream of an active life style only to be held back by a physical limitation is, in my opinion, a death without dying. After having surgery about a year ago to remove my hardware from my leg, I found myself being reborn again.

Still having a love for running I quickly learned that after ten years of not doing anything my body had developed severe muscle imbalances. As a result of that running anything longer than three miles at a time meant four days of resting my tendons. I found love in skating park but still desired the exercise and freedom of running. Little did I know skogging which is a combination of skate boarding and running had already been invented.

My first real mile on a longboard is one that I will never forget. I remember thinking wow this is pretty amazing. After I was done I couldn’t believe how far I had gone and really enjoyed myself. I calculated 12 miles and thought “was this normal” because it surely did not feel like 12 miles. At that point day after day I started skogging out more and more miles. But this wasn’t anything like running I found myself having a blast day in and day out. My muscles, tendons, and joints were in a constant state of soreness but never so much that I couldn’t skate or was injured. In a very short while I started wondering how far could I go? This all lead me to Nat on the OMA forum and the Ultraskate. I don’t normally swing for the fences on things but just seeing James on Youtube had me completely star struck. If I was going to test my physical limits than this was the ultimate test.

If I had to pick one thing that stands out the most about the ultraskate it was meeting James Peters and his family. The man and his family are simply incredible. James is a class act in everyway. He is the foundation and the spirit of long distance skating in any form. His love and passion for the sport shows in everyway. His wife and daughter can only be described as angels who by their sheer presence make life just that much sweeter. It was truly a delight and an honor to meet them all.

Up until the race I had only pushed about 30 – 40 miles in one session. I did however was able to do at least 20 miles a day everyday. Without a doubt after every single session I always felt I could do a lot more. Because of this, coming into the race I felt ready but still extremely nervous. When James posted me on his forum I knew this was the real deal and there was no backing out.

The Race

We thought we had a really good chance that it was going to be dry, but boy were we wrong. The day before was perfect and I remembered thinking man this is going to be sweet. The weather called for few showers but I’m here to tell you rain in any form is still rain. When we got to the start I was thinking this doesn’t look good. I have never ridden in rain. All I had was my Dervish with NO rain guards. Houston is pretty dry but I manage to hit a puddle or two so I knew even a little water was going to kick up and drench me fast. Within 30 sec. of riding around in the parking lot I was wet and already developing a nice pudding in the middle of my board. At this point James looked like a race horse that was ready to bolt at any moment. I knew it was on so I tried to block the wetness out of my mind. Luckily a number of people showed up and that was a huge boost to morale at least for me. Once we started my shoes became a watery grave giving a nice squish with every step. Again I just blocked it out of my mind and tried to think of this as a big slip and slide. Meeting Sheldon at this point was huge for me because I had read about him, Nat, and Adam on the Loaded website. Sheldon was like a celebrity to me and every time I kept thinking this sucks I looked up and saw Sheldon skating in front of me. Then I thought “who cares that it’s raining that’s Sheldon in front of me – I’m skating with Sheldon!!’. We talked for a bit but I could tell he was wanting to get down to business or maybe it was just the rain. Calin certainly was a big help too. His presence really helped the situation.

About 10 to 15 miles in, and the wetness thing really started to set in. I looked up at the sky and thought this is not going to clear up. When you get like this you just start taking it one mile at a time. I think it’s safe to say we were all just dealing with it. I was a little chatty at first but by this time I was not saying anything. Another big boost is when we saw Brett and Calin filming us coming through a tunnel. It was at this point I noticed that the pavement even being wet was like butter. Like nothing I have ever seen before, it was at this moment that I decided I was going to have fun no matter what. The scenery was beautiful so I decided to start carving as best I could. The miles started to fly by….

As time went on we got close to the 25 mile marker and I was pretty relieved because I had been pushing it a little to keep up with everyone. I was uncertain of how to get there and at times I was lagging behind. Everyone was real cool and stopped ahead occasionally to wait for me. We all then saw James coming back in our direction and it was the first time I had really seen him all out. The man can push and his videos don’t do him justice, he is all power. Mad respect bro – Mad respect.

Once we got there I went ahead and decided to take some time going back and really enjoy the view. My thoughts were that if I took enough time than maybe things might dry up. I was dead wrong things just seemed to get worst. As I started my way back I felt good aside from the rain. This is when I called James, it was setting in that I would not be skating this awesome trail again anytime soon – if ever again. And just the thought of that bummed me out. I really wanted to skate it again not because of the miles but because of the perfect beauty of an endless concrete wave. We just don’t have anything like that in Houston.

On the way back I managed to somewhat keep up with Andrew and Rain. We hit some really big puddles towards the end and Andrew had a run in with some road kill that was quite disturbing for him. We had fun though and it felt more like we were mudding instead of skating.

By the time I got back up to Green Lake, the feel was a bit more laid back. At this point more people starting showing up and the vibe starting kicking up once again. At one point half of the trail started showing signs of getting dry. But then the light rain decided to grace our presence once again. I did manage to push out some laps chatting with quite a few people and this was very cool for me. Up until the race I had never really skated with anyone before. James was truly the first just the day before. Tron was really killer -doing slides in the wet conditions.

Link

As night time approached the realizations that there was a long ways to go started to set in. I still felt good but a bit sore. Luckily James’s wife brought some canned coffee drinks and they were perfect. I sucked down the drink and took some ibuprofen and well - let the Ultraskate begin.

The ZONE

The first one really wasn’t more than what I would consider to be a runners high. It lasted a while and even though the conditions were still wet I manage to get in a rhythm and really kick it up. By the time I was done we all were taking a break. Sheldon and I had a chat and that was real cool talking with him. Not knowing what would happen I ended up resting just a bit too long. My body began to freeze up. I didn’t think I was done for, but I felt I would slow down the rest of the night. This is when Ken took the video of James and I, which super stoked me all over again. When James thought enough to mention me I felt there was no way I was going to let him down. I was at mile 118, and once we all started again I could feel another zone building up. I even mentioned it to James “ Dude I’m about to go in a ZONE again”. This is where it all begins……

ZONE 2

Looking back I feel that my mind played a huge part in this amazing experience. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. Where the mind goes the body will follow. At this point the trail also started to dry up but not completely. At first I was having mini conversations with myself. Even though I was sore and wanted to stop, my mind was completely ampt. I remember telling myself:

This is what you wanted….
You will never skate something this perfect again…..
Buck-up and handle your business….
There is no pain…..

And then something changed – I started feeling amazing all my pain faded to a dull roar. My music on my mp3 player started consuming me. The music never sounded so clearer. Pushing become effortless and at times, I felt like I was flying. As I came around the North side of the trail I remember gazing at the dark sky thinking “This is a dream and I’m living it”. I started going so fast I remember lapping James a few times, and this ampt me even more. Sprinting lap after lap I felt unstoppable. The trail began to feel extremely fast with absolutely no wind. James told me about the night time conditions but I didn’t fully understand it until that moment. The only down side was that it got extremely dark and I eventually had to get an LED flash light. But honestly I was so in tuned with everything around me I probably could have continued without it. But there were some late night folks on the trail that were causing me concern. I’m not sure if too many people saw me like this but the one person who saw me at my apex and then watch me crash was Gareth Roe. Knowing he was there really kept me going lap after lap. When I finally slowed down I was right around 138 miles (I Think). This is where my body completely shut down HARD.

The CRASH

The moment I step off my board I was in a total daze. Gareth asked me what I needed and I replied:

I don’t know - I’m not sure. (I looked around as if I was lost and then repeated)

I don’t know…….

I sat down for a bit and started to compose myself in front of Gareth. We chatted for a bit and it was a real pleasure. I had built up a bit of a sweat and that combined with the night chill spelled disaster. I shut down completely, my calves felt like balloons that were ready to pop – sensitive to any pressure. I began to shiver so bad I thought I was having a seizure. I was in so much pain I thought there was no way of moving…..And then James comes around, I mentioned to him where I was at and then it set in that I had a real chance at hitting 150. I had to try no mater how I felt there was still plenty of time to make it. Gareth knew I really wanted it so he nudged me in just the right way. I finally got to my feet and limped very slowly to my Dervish. I couldn’t bend over to move it so I kicked it slowly on to the trail. At that moment he said “You can do it!!” When I first stepped on to the board I fell off instantly. I was not able to keep my balance because of my calves. Again I tried - One push and I barely started to roll forward. (and I mean slow) About a quarter of the way around I started screaming and cursing at myself, grasping at anything to keep me going. One push after another my body went into a state of shock. It was like my mind said you have no choice but to do this – so just deal with it!

ZONE 3

By the time I got around to Gareth again I was in an all out sprint again. When I got to him I was in a state of panic. I’m not real sure what Gareth was thinking. I seriously flipped it again and he witness the whole thing. I didn’t think that I was going to make it, so when I started that lap I didn’t have my gloves or mp3 player. I scrambled to find them and bolted off once again.

AHHH in the Zone again – It wasn’t as good as the 2nd one but it eventually got me to the end. As I raced around I remember seeing the sun beginning to illuminate the Seattle sky. It was a welcomed site and one that I will never forget. Finally the early morning walkers/runners started coming out on the trail and I knew I was getting close. When the light was finally bright enough for people to see me, I looked like the “skating dead”. To make things even worst I began singing and talking to myself out loud. I really got some strange looks, but I didn’t care I knew I had made my goal of 150 and even though I had lost my mind I was truly in heaven. After I had made my goal I did another body check. I thought maybe I had blown my knee so I decided to meet James and do my last lap with him. Up until this time I had barely seen him the entire race, but just knowing I was grinding it out with him was truly inspiring. My last lap turn into 3 and right at the very end I skated ahead of James to catch him on video. He ended up doing 1 more after my last lap and I took that time to snap some great photos with everyone.

In the end for James there was no big parade or huge crowd, just a small group of friends and family. In fact almost all of the people on the trail had no idea of what was about to take place. As he came around the last turn I remember thinking “I am witnessing one of the greatest accomplishments I have ever seen”. What an honor and a privilege it was to be apart of it.

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Congratulations James – It was truly a pleasure!

Eric

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1994 Location: seattle wa usa

Eric, you brought a whole new level of energy to this event and especially those who made the late night hours saw that "2nd and 3rd wind" you got. Those early morning Speed Laps were phenomenal. 166 miles on your first time out took some real commitment!!

Personally, this ride would have been near impossible to complete, without your infusion and drive in the mix.

What an awesome account. Thanks for sharing this!

Batalero · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 47 Location: France

Total respect Eric , I wish to be able to accomplish what you did .
I have to work on my mental a lot , your story will help me to set higher goals . Thanks
Sylvain

kenofseattle · Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 2

just want to say how great it was to meet you eric. i'm truly inspired by your amazing efforts, contributions to the cause, and amazing and touching writing. we need more like you.

and as always such a great experience to ride with you james. i'm with you both anytime you roll brothas.