| Archive for pavedwave longboarding distance longboarding, flatland pumping, cross-country adventuring, boardwalk cruising, and all things skateboarding and good times |
| pavedwave |
Ultrask8 - HALLOWEINER - Friday October 30th 2009October 30th, 2009 - Ultraskate EIGHT!Why this weekend? It's looking like the skatefurther crew finally found a good location in the UK and nailed down a date. Good a reason as any! Is anyone in the Northwest game? I'm up for it as long as its dry, which I know is always sketchy here, but has happened for us before. You'll want to be doing some skating in the cold beforehand. What we always need are people who would be up for staying out there with us at night. We'll keep it all at Greenlake and starting on a Friday morning --> Saturday morning, to keep the logistics simple. Tossing it out there -- 5 weeks from now! |
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| blake |
Sweet i will be there 
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| blake |
edit** my LDP board just snapped i may not be there unless i can get another one in time =[[[[ | ||||
| LDPanda |
just snapped?!? the trylam or what? I have that roggs mistress sitting around un-mounted in my closet if you still wanna pick it up. | ||||
| blake |
thanks for the offer i got it all figured out actully thanks though. and the friday idea is a good one but what about little kids like me who have school. | ||||
| AndrewBirchman |
I'm totally down for this! | ||||
| pavedwave |
any interest in starting Friday late afternoon or evening, and riding through the next day? the UK gang did it this way once. that way some would start in the morning, you'd start in the middle of our ride, then we'd catch a few Zzz's the following morning after our finish, and come back and catch you at the end of your skate.
cool! |
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| blake |
i am down for that. | ||||
| SoloRider |
I'm so in. Can't promise I'll be very fast, or even go very far(still nursing some tendonitis) but hell, GL is 1/4 mile from my house. I'd be a fool not to show. | ||||
| pavedwave |
one thing for sure fast is not important! slow and steady be the game...
soon as we picked a date there's already a simultaneous event! CSA is doing a dual slalom and park slalom at the Mukilteo YMCA on October 31st. dang diddy dang. kind of a tough call not just because wanting to go slalom but also because the CSA crew is typically a pretty good presence at the Ultraskates. I'm still game for this though--maybe it really should be an "any weather" event? because if it rained, then slalom would HAVE TO cancel, whereas we could still complete as a relatively safe "pusher", just wet...it's really the mental game. Going 24 hours is tough enough psychologically, pushing oneself through pouring rain takes another leap. We've got the Blakester and Andrew and myself committed to 24 hours, and the Dorney crew is on in the UK, so let's keep the momentum for now, but let me know if your plans or mindset changes guys! Maybe Rain and Sheldon will jump in, but I'm guessing Dave might be YMCA-bound? |
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| LDPanda |
Im still looking at my options, thats why i havent committed to anything yet. Im thinking ill probably do the ultra as *gasp* a pusher. Ive been putting in more time pushing lately and can actually push mongo reasonably well on my pushing setup, which greatly increases my range. I also go thru a lot less water over the same mileage, which makes me believe its probably more efficent for me. With giant 85mm wheels, i also feel safer on my pusher, less chance of getting tossed by a chunk of gravel i failed to see after 10 hours of laps around greenlake ^_^ Like i said, nothing is in stone yet but if its a dry day and my options come down to slalom or ultra, ill probably pick ultra. | ||||
| SoloRider |
Seriously, I'm going to bust out something like 5 or 6 laps rotating boards between push and pump, and then hit Greenlake B&G or Blue Water for some beer. Maybe another lap after, sleep at home, couple more laps the next day, another beer.
That's my plan. |
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| pavedwave |
Beer is good. Pushing is good too Dave. If it does rain, that definitely cancels the slalom, will you want to push through it if there was light rain?
Good to hear some stoked vibes here fellas -- the weather has dipped a few degrees already and its been WET a bit more!! I've personally been spending more time on surfboards and bikes than skateboard as a result, so I don't feel near as prepared in the athletic sense for October 30 than I did for our last Ultra. The thing that compelled me to do Ultraskates in the beginning was largely the Livestrong/charity aspect. A few skates later it became more of a challenge to hit my personal best. That of course spawned the full-on athletes to set the bar even higher. What compels me to do this one (and others in the future) is if someone ELSE has some fire under their ass to go the full 24 hours. Then I feel like doing it even though our paces might vary quite a lot and we probably won't skate in tandem most of the time. It's huge knowing someone else is out there the whole night and day. I always encourage people who are thinking of trying this, to join us at night far more than day. We need more presence at night for safety in numbers, and there's a lot less crowd on the trail!! On both Ted's and Paul's biggest Ultras I actually sat out the night, playing a part of support crew. So whether I skate the full 24 will all boil down to how my achilles and legs are holding up -- this one will be a huge mystery physically because I'm just not as prepared. Why are we doing this again? 
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| blake |
why are we doing this? thats an easy one we all have some screws loose duh! haha i would be down for some pushing if it is a little wet.
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| barefootboarder |
WHOOOOOP! I'm in!
Me and my family will be hitting a local trail which is mostly gnar and skating all the day light hours that we can! My boy is keen to do his first ever 50 miles of pumping and wants to raise some money for the National Autistic Society along the way 
I shall be sending all good vibes to the skate gods and hoping they can make the rain stay away. |
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| pavedwave |
Stoked to have you Jo -- Autism is a great cause, and strikes right close to home.
Have decided to make the Seattle Ultraskate a $10-$20 FOOD donation from the skaters that participate, to go toward NorthHelpLine Food Bank of North Seattle. I know the organization well and they spend their money very wisely. We typically don't charge any fee because there's really no organization or cost involved in our "non-events" so far (other than giving up a night of sleep!!) I'm kicking in $50 to start off the donations. 12707 30th Ave. NE, 98125 www.northhelpline.org foodbank@northhelpline.org 206-367-3477 I would like to ask someone to volunteer their vehicle to be at our location the whole time -- this is a huge ask I know!! But we do need a 24-hour stake out car to hold our own water, food, and other stuff -- BLANKETS will be in order this time -- late October can be brutal!! Rain or shine?? That is the question. I'm getting my pusher ready... |
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| blake |
my car isnt huge but i would be happy to let you use it. | ||||
| LDPanda |
I really excited to see we're bringing charity back into the ultraskate. Ive requested the 30th off, im locked in rain or shine. Probably pushing the majority of the time unless i get the MHS hybrid dialed in time. Defenitely bringing extra socks this time around  I will be driving to greenlake and will have my car there all day, I feel a little uncomfortable leaving it unlocked and unsupervised though. Perhaps if i knew we had some support staff watching it? Im sure we can work something out before the 30th.
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| pavedwave |
That's awesome -- between you Panda and Blake, we've got a couple cars now, and for sure the tricky part is whether some bros will be feeling skatey throughout the night to keep watch on the camp -- especially if its wet -- we can already count on cold!
If the camp is ever just a single car, and only a couple of us out there skating, then we have the issue of keeping it locked up. So far we've always had some people able to hang out all night, it gets tougher on these fall/winter skates though. The fewest we had was Ultraskate II and the CSA slalom crew saved me there, but they'll be sleeping and prepping for the Mukilteo thing the next day this year. I'll definitely check with Gareth and secure his tent -- it was a lifesaver last time. Yep, this is about the time I start getting the heebie jeebies ... but as in all ultras of the past, I've always been amazed at the skaters and friends that make a surprise appearance!! |
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| blake |
I can bring a tarp to if you need it. and there is a large chance i may take a nap in my car. so i will be there | ||||
| edp_swakakin |
I'm always in - Cops won't let us skate at night anymore. But I can crank out some miles during the day on sat. With pleasure
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| SoloRider |
I've got an Easy-Up I'd be willing to lend to the cause, and my Element of course can be there for all the hours that I am(and possibly beyond). | ||||
| wil.best |
I'm in! I'll be skating a pretty crazy circuit around a good portion of east portland.
i'm a little annoyed at the moment because my mom left herself logged into gmail on my computer and i didn't notice, so when i uploaded the route, it was credited to her and its too late to fix that. link:http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ms...13858177522.0004765130ccfd2d94fe0 |
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| pavedwave |
Radness!! Eric in Houston, Wil in Portland, Jo in the UK, and some SF crew have found an alternate route to their original plan, it appears. I just can't believe your mom is doing this Wil, that's awesome
Blake, I think we're good on the tent situation -- Gareth said he's coming with his kids and his pop-up! And thanks for the car-backup plan Sean, that would be great if we have some redundancy just in case anyone needs to go somewhere, we've had those late-night burger or coffee runs before. Anyone looking at the 10-day forecast yet? Don't do it!! It's all a crapshoot this time of year. |
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| barefootboarder |
How about that for a t-shirt slogan? I'd wear it all year round because the weather over here... well you know! But so so hoping for good weather! We've been out for a practice session and this is a photo of part of the route we're going to be using... if it's wet, we're going to have to push... EEEK!
Not many hours of daylight but I quite fancy the idea of skating on in the dark, probably solo - it's all a bit uncertain but that's a bit exicting and whatever happens, we've going to give it everything. My boy Jack doesn't quite know what's about to happen to him but he's super stoked to be a part of this event and raising some money for a great cause. 
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| pavedwave |
Well Jack sounds super-stoked, and your trail looks sweet Jo. I hope you don't get too soaked by the elements!
In our case, I'm just counting on getting nailed by the rain and doing another NAVY SEAL skate. It's defintely a case of "never say never" because I remember claiming that I'd wait and wait for good weather. Now, I'm shifting strategy and have been spending more time getting the push setup dialed and the legs tuned. Plus, just over this weekend the temps dropped below 40 F and snows are hitting the Cascades. 
Anyone staying the night at Greenlake... bring winter coats, jackets, and blankets, I kid you not!! And btw, this Thursday maybe around 5 p.m.? Dave and I will be walking a lap to sweep the Greenlake path. I skated it Sunday and was seriously surprised how much leaf coverage there was for Greenlake. Not as gnarly as the Burke but heavy enough to slow you down in places. |
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| fuzzydeer |
not this time. too busy, although I think there are plans to have Rachael and I return for the next solstice ultra. Try to set a new personal best if my Achilles isn't too scared | ||||
| pavedwave |
Awesome Paul! If this happens we'll definitely put more organization around it next summer.
The weather's starting to look a little more dry, but I'm still planning on a pusher for most of it, especially nighttime rain, 80% chance?! Sean, Blake, and Dave -- we should connect soon about some basecamp car logistics!! |
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| blake |
yeah we should connect soon. you have my email or you can text/call me at 206-793-7276 | ||||
| wafflesole |
i'm moving to NZ in Jan, so there will be something going donw there for sure. | ||||
| SoloRider |
There's a really good chance that my Element can just sit at the park for the duration. Where will you be staging? | ||||
| barefootboarder |
Woah! So if you've got snow I'm definitely not going to complain about rain! But that's what we're going to have here... with winds gusting up to 25 mph too. Ha ha ha ha ha... why are we doing this again? 
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| pavedwave |
Sean that would be very cool if so-- we always set up at the southwest "G" stadium corner right behind the stadium, under the trees. The trees provide some rain cover but I'm also planning to get Gareth's tent set up there Friday morning, I might go pick that up tonight. I'm wondering if you might have a spare set of keys if so? I really need a car I can jump in and out of reliably and Blake, Dave and I were chatting about support over those coldest early morning hours... it got pretty sparse the last time we did one of these this late in the year --hard to blame people for wanting to sleep at 3 a.m.!!
Oh Jo it won't be snowing here, that's just up in the hills. But it will be CHILLY |
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| SoloRider |
I'll definitely leave a set of keys with you, that's not a problem, although I just found out I've gotta hit a going away party for a good friend at around 3:30 so my car won't be around for about a two hour block at that time but it'll be there overnight for sure because I just plan on boarding home for bed and back in the morning. | ||||
| Jack the lad |
Hi guys, its Jack. This is my first post on pavedwave and I'm getting ready for my first ultraskate with barefootboarder. I started skating at the age of 11 and i never thought i'd be doing this, 50 miles  .
The furthest I've skated to date is probabaly 15 miles, theres a big difference 15, 50. I had my 13th birthday a few weeks ago and so far in the fundraising I've raised £160. If I get through this I'll want to do 100. Good luck guys. Jack |
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| wafflesole |
that is so good to hear Jack! you'll get 50 this time for sure! Try to steal the new look DD deck from your mum! |
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| pavedwave |
Jack, you rock, buddy!!
Congrats on what you've already raised for your cause. I hope to hear a lot more about your ride, your impressions and thoughts before and after taking on this challenge!! |
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| Jack the lad |
sure thing
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| pavedwave |
Well Dave and I did a lap around the lake tonight brandishing brooms and scared a few locals, but turns out the park sweepers already beat us to it and the path is looking nice and clean, especially clean with all the RAIN -- HOO HAAAHHH!!!
Best to all of you tomorrow, Jo, Jack, Eric, Wil, and Larry (Gecko) might be doing a 50?! Hopefully we'll see a few more peeps here now that the NWLB race cancelled-- |
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| barefootboarder |
We're about to head out the door to get to our trail in time for sun rise. The weather is looking a bit mixed for us today but we're ready for anything now.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
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| Gecko |
I'm back home on the couch.
My 50 turned out to be about 30-35. I think it's about 27 from my house to my son's house and the bike path goes from really close to my house to really close to his. My original goal was just to skate there, but not knowing how to get home again, I figured I'd shoot for a round trip. Naturally it was raining today. Started out not too bad, but the last 8-10 miles heading up there, it poured. Most of the trail was pretty clear, but some spots were so covered in leaves, I actually had to push downhill! I rode my new (used) Cambiar and I love that deck. I was trying to pump early on, but wound up pushing almost all the way. It was nice to dial the wedging out of the front Bennett on the fly so I could push mongo/goofy just to use some different muscles. Unfortunately time was running out as I had to get home to the dogs and my girlfriend/back-up-plan had plans this evening so I had her come meet me about 8 miles South of my apex. The southern part of the trail is where the worst spots were, so I didn't mind not hitting those again. All in all, I had a great day. Am I disappointed that I didn't get the 50? Nope. I'm a 40 year old guy whose "training" has been skating 1-1/2 miles to the coffee shop to sit around for half an hour and skate back. My original goal was to skate from Batavia to Lake in the Hills and I did that. I'm even happier that after getting there and chilling for an hour that I got back on the board and knocked out another 8 miles or so. The Fox River Trail in Illinois is a great trail and anyone who's in the area should check it out. It runs along the Fox River and through forest preserves, parks, neighborhoods and the like. The southern portion, near me, has a lot of art and sculptures along the way. I'll upload a couple of pics when I get a chance. And I do have until tomorrow at 8 to get some more miles in... |
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| Jack the lad |
Hi guys.
It went great, the Dangerous Decks board was good for pushing. The trail was wet and sluggy but it dried up through the morning. The first ten miles went well but it got a bit harder towards the fifty. All the while it was energy gel, energy bombs, energy nut bars, energy fruit bars, energy drink, ENERGY EVERYTHING! When we thought the trail was dry enough, we excharged our boards at the van for our Mermaids. My dad was all tuckered out by the time we'd done fifty, and he'd only done thirty,  , but he took some pics, I haven't seen them yet though.
Today I'm tired but no aches and pains and up for more! How did you guys get on? Jack P.S: Happy Halloween, MWAHAHAHA!! |
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| barefootboarder |
Hey Gecko sounds like you had a really rough time with the weather! Sorry to hear about all that rain and well done to have skated so many miles in it.
We were so lucky. Rain was forecast and it was looking pretty overcast when we arrived so we decided to start pushing, that way we could see how leafy/sluggy it was. So we pushed, and pushed, but the rain didn't come, despite the sheep all lying down (those sheep know a thing or two about the weather) and then eventually... the sun even came out. Amazing! The track dried so nicely that we put away the pushers and changed to our LDP boards. That was the best moment of the whole ride! It was so brilliant to pump after all that pushing. We had one MP3 player to share but me and Jack both agree that skating with tunes is brilliant. The miles just fly by, especially if you've got nice scenery to look at. We stopped every 5 miles for snacks, timechecks and to get a full bottle of water out of our rucksacks. The 5 mile times were all between 38 and 49 mins. We were out for 9 hours, skating for 7hrs 17mins, so we averaged about 7mph throughout. The trail here is pretty rough and bumpy and it was harder work than I expected. I didn't think the rough surface would make such a big difference but dodging the dead leaves, slugs, dog poo and mad dogs was fun.
The weird thing was that just when we got back to base to complete the 50, and the dusk was falling, the rain arrived! It held off all day for Jack to reach his target, and then it started. It's such a shame because although Jack was tired I really think that after a cup of tea and an energy snack he would have wanted to skate some more. I had also hoped to skate on in the dark but the rain carried on, on and off all evening and it was too wet for pumping and I really didn't want to push anymore! I just kept thinking 'what if I push and slip and mess up my recovering knee?'. I can't tell you how proud of Jack I am for digging in and skating all day. He set himself a target and really went for it and managed to raise just under £200 at the same time. We're both already looking forward to the next time. Thanks James we had such a good time and it was cool to think of you guys skating over there and that for a while we were all skating together. Here's a picture of Jack in the early morning. James I'm not sure you can tell but... he's stolen my t-shirt.
PS I'll get some more photos up. |
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| pavedwave |
Gecko that's a great write-up, it sounds like we had the wet leafy terrain in common. Congrats for knocking out a solid ride in it!
And it sounds like the rain gods were a little kinder to Jo and Jack-- way to go! Not to mention you actually got some pumps in as well. Probably a smart move to wrap it up for the wet night, and that's an amazing pace for a full day as it is! I just woke up from a half-day's sleep, and have been busy with trick or treaters at the door all night. So here are just a few highlights on Seattle's Ultraskate: First off, huge thanks to Panda Dave. We both started out strong and made it through the full 24, and I couldn't have stuck it out without his support especially. Forecasts of constant rain and 50 degree overnight weather don't exactly sell the event to our friends and family. But in reality, this skate had a lot more support than a couple in the past! So a quick thanks to this gang of hard-core support crew:
sakae and sophie john stryker brad jackman sheldon lessard calin sean "Forty2" blake ariel DH-allan gunther kenofseattle jomar gareth kathy and john the seattle police (our good-natured 3 a.m. chats are becoming a tradition!) 
This ultraskate schooled me with the revelation that: Rain is nothing -- WIND is everything. Mother nature was relentless. At seven hours into it, I was still on track to break Paul's record, maintaining a consistent 11mph+ average, pushing into gusts that seemed to be in the 20-30mph? range. It felt like I was giving it a 13-14mph effort and getting 11mph return, but I was trusting that the night would calm down the wind to a standstill. The wet pavement didn't matter at all. It was tough, but steady progress. The turning point was when the rain kicked in, but the wind stayed the same. There were a couple places where it was exactly like pushing up a steep hill -- one push and only a foot of progress. The wind just never let up. I saw the average speed start slipping and the weather actually worsen. At around 8 hours it was time to write off the record attempt. But what kept us charged this time to make it all through the night, was bringing the aspect of charity back into the event. The chasing of records has been fun for the last few times, but it was very satisfying to see with very little promotion, we were still able to drum up a significant amount of canned food and cash donations for the North HelpLine food bin!! ( http://www.northhelpline.org/index.html ) 
Another excellent event -- again thanks all. One sell for this weekend, we all do get an extra hour of sleep for the night we lost
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| LDPanda |
I had a blast. A lot of firsts this time around, definitely learned a lot. James is a machine, his endurance is truly inspiring. It was great to see old friends and make some new ones. A special thanks to Sakae and Striker for the much appreciated burgers. The weather and trail conditions were certainly a challenge through the night but coming through it (mostly) unharmed has given me new confidence. | ||||
| pavedwave |
A blast indeed Dave, and I never stop learning something new from these. It was fun to wake up this morning and the body feels like it's just another day, other than a toenail that will probably be departing in a few weeks.
Other things I remember through the haze: - Yes, Dick's hamburgers are the best. Thanks Sakae and Stryker! - The bald eagles in the morning, I probably freaked the pedestrians out pointing and shouting BALD EAGLES!! Have never seen them at Greenlake. - Pushing into the headwind with Dave ahead of me, seeing the huge whitecaps on the lake, wish I had a camera for that - The duct-tape rollsrolls yoga-mat vibration-dampening hack solution picking up leaves and branches until the stickiness finally wore off - Not being able to fill my water bottles because the wind was blowing so hard - The homeless bench-guy camped all day and night, who only flipped out once and only at himself. That guy was made of steel. - The bathrooms being locked up in the wee hours! Fortunately wasn't an issue but better track down the park policies (seasonal?) - Ken's pimped-out blinker and headlighted longboard cadillac - Seeing skater-girl and expectant mom Beth Fishman on a couple laps! - The Critical Mass bikers doing their monthly bike race after midnight, and the guy spitting Smarties juice at everyone - Gunther's surprise overnight appearance, apparently I dozed a few minutes and missed his exit - good to meet you dude! - Hiccups from eating too fast - The requisite spastic dogs jerking their owners arms out of socket - Stryker thoroughly enjoying blasting through the deepest puddles on the rollsrolls boards (and not getting wet) - The morning croissant Sheldon bike-delivered from Ariel - The trip to Starbucks with Sheldon - Brad busting out his "chopper" bike again! - Telling Brad how 97mm wheels plow over "everything", then a minute later Stryker eating #### on a branch - Taking a "last lap" with the gang, then Calin showing up and taking another "last lap" for tradition! - Peeling off about 9 layers of clothing afterward - Coming home to find the storm blew my backyard gate off its hinges We did a lot of that mongo-goofy as well Gecko. When it comes to pushing, switching it up is really the only way to go! I'm so stoked we could share this ride across the country and across the globe. We even talked a bit about the prices of tickets to the UK and about Dorney... pipe dreams, but hey you gotta start somewhere. |
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| Gecko |
Haha, when I got home, all I could think about was pancakes! I've read one too many of these threads.
I plan to work on my conditioning as this was a blast and I want to go further. It was so cool to just be out there alone. Because of the rain, I didn't bring any music, so all day long I listened to the song of the Avilas on the wet pavement. I only saw 6 or 8 people all day who all thought I was nuts being out skating in the rain. It was also a lot of fun to know that even though I was alone, I was skating along with with you all in spirit. |
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| skatersjourney |
Fantastic guys! Well done to Jack and his able crew (hi guys, I was away at a wedding this weekend...wishing I could have skated!) keeping it real in the SW! Where on earth is that trail? Super good work, Jack keep on skating because you're the future!
Brilliant looking event all round...bring on the next one, my legs are getting twitchy... |
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| barefootboarder |
Wow! That's brilliant!
We felt just the same way. It was cool to be skating ‘with’ you all and when we got a text through from James, Jack was like 'YES! This is it' and got really excited Crikey tho’ your weather sounds rough, we really had it easy.
Our LDP split times were faster than our pushing times and it was a darn sight easier too. Laura, we skated along the Tarka trail, it's quite similar to the Bath to Bristol surface wise but the scenery is much nicer. Gotta say that the food in those pictures looks really good... Here’s a few more pictures of Jack's skate. 
a stop for snacks 
slugs' eye view 
sunshine! 
sorting out the pumping tunes 
arriving back at the van 
50! 
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| LDPanda |
Jack, 50 miles is quite an accomplishment for anyone of any age but to pull that off at your age shows dedication and commitment beyond your years. I sincerely applaud your efforts, not only overcoming the physical and emotional challenges of putting out 50 miles in a day, but also raising money for a great cause. Keep up the great work, you are truly the future of this sport. Bravo! | ||||
| edp_swakakin |
JACK!!!!!!
Whoop! Whoop!! Big congratz to you little man. Darn proud of you. Your mom must be all smiles. I know i am. Eric
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| wafflesole |
Stoked!!! | ||||
| skatersjourney |
GO JACK!!! | ||||
| barefootboarder |
Thank you to everyone for your great comments and support for Jack and apologies that it's taken me so long to get back on here to acknowledge them.
He's still totally stoked about his 50 miles and thanks to the great pavedwave front pager, he's been able to show all friends and families and those people at school who didn't believe him So thanks again to James for that - Jack raised almost £300 in the end which is brilliant.
Poor boy is recovering from a nasty case of flu at the moment but I know that he's got a little pump video from the day that he'd like to share with you. AND... he can't wait until the spring because he wants to try and hit 100 miles, he's caught the LDP bug big time I think
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