Longboard skaters: Cole LeTourneau, Forest Downey, Tyler Mecchi, Riley Schotts , Theo Branum, (not shown) Josh Shelton, and Jack Hebb MAy / J U N E 2 0 1 3 57 Have you ever felt the rush of speed after that final push-off as you sink into the downhill pull of gravity? Then once you slow down toward the bottom —BOOM!— your friend slams into you, forcing a sudden stop. You act first and think later. You look down and your leg is ripped open because it was used as a brake to stop you and your daredevil friend from rolling into speeding traffic. No time to think about it. You get up and head down to the bottom of the hill with a pretty messed-up leg. Another friend rolls up and rips off his t-shirt and tosses it to you. You tie it around your leg and the ride goes on. This is the way of the longboarder. We’re seven strong, and from five high schools. Hanging out Monday through Friday isn’t really a possibility, so come the weekend we hit the streets— and man do we look forward to the weekend. Going down is usually short and quiet. However, on the way back up, we finally get some time to forget about school and have fun, time to hang out and laugh. The way down is for the hills; the way back up is for our friends. Our passion for longboarding really started for us in eighth grade after a couple of us decided to get longboards. Then the rest of our group decided to get their own boards. Before we really got into longboarding we just bought what looked cool for our boards. Now we have come to appreciate the different kinds of trucks (the axle assembly), bearings, bushings and wheels. We all customize our boards to fit our own riding needs. After months of riding we have each acquired our own style of riding. Some of us choose to race down the hill full speed, while others carve the slopes to make a slow but steady descent to the bottom. Once we meet up, it’s phones off and people on! We escape into the outside world. Then it just becomes you, your friends, and wherever your sense of adventure takes you. We let our senses take over. We get to see more of the Napa Valley, find shortcuts across neighborhoods in the Coombsville area toward Skyline Park, and even discover something we had never seen before. For instance, we discovered a great hill when we were just exploring the city. When we drive in a car on a country road it is just another road. Yet when we longboard down a country road there is discovery. It could mean a blackberry bush or an old path to follow. Longboarding can reveal so much more than we would normally see. Longboarding is an escape—it is about speed, slides, friends, places, and so much more. Editor’s note: The City of Napa Police Department requires helmets to be worn at all times while longboarding, and riding downtown is not permitted. Josh Shelton prepares to start his run
NVLife_MayJune_2013
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