2009 Maryhill "Festival of Speed "Official" Thread

SgtSparkles · 09-17-2009, 11:56 AM

i've noticed, but apparently i'm not cool enough to be photographed by john

GravityRider15 · 09-18-2009, 04:29 PM

SpdFrk · 09-18-2009, 05:27 PM

So guys my questions still stands no one saw or knew the answer.... I just wanted to know how easy is it to ride on the pavement like this photo below at maryhill or any street when it's wet?

I am asking because when i ride in garages and theres water I bust my ass (depending on the amount of water) but I see people going fast as hell in the rain on reg roads. Obviously it's different one is concrete or asphalt and the garage is more of a slick compound so is this practice or is it just easier to grip the asphalt when it's raining.

*SWEET* · 09-19-2009, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpdFrk

So guys my questions still stands no one saw or knew the answer.... I just wanted to know how easy is it to ride on the pavement like this photo below at maryhill or any street when it's wet?

I am asking because when i ride in garages and theres water I bust my ass (depending on the amount of water) but I see people going fast as hell in the rain on reg roads. Obviously it's different one is concrete or asphalt and the garage is more of a slick compound so is this practice or is it just easier to grip the asphalt when it's raining.

Riding on the rain takes practice that's all... Wherever you'll skate, if it skates, it's gonna be sliding like hell...
So just practice.

JBH · 09-21-2009, 04:50 PM

*SWEET* is right. If it's wet, you're gonna have MUCH less grip, no matter whether it's concrete or asphalt, smooth or rough. There may be subtle differences between asphalt and 'crete, but bottom line is, they're both gonna be slippery as hell. (A parking garage may actually be worse than a wet road, too, because garages tend to get more greasy with less chance (if ever) for rain or power-washing to clean the grease & oil away.)

Is a wet surface harder to skate? Hell, yes. Is it impossible? Of course not. It's just different. The hard part (and the fun part, if you like) is to figure out for yourself what the differences are. What do you have to do differently to ride in, or after, the rain? How is footbraking different? Or sliding? What do you do when you approach that invisible line between grip and slip? What works a little, a lot or not at all? And that's where *SWEET*'s second point, about practice, comes in.

Some hills are almost easy to ride when they're wet. Going straight usually isn't too hard. It's when it gets turny (and Maryhill is nothing if not turny) that things get interesting. I learned a lot in one rain run down Maryhill. (Mainly, I learned just how much I don't know about how to ride in the rain.) But on the exact spots where I ate sh*t, plenty of other riders were making it through, and sometimes at speeds that were hard to believe. I stood just above Cowzer's Corner to watch the finals this year, and I saw three races that made my jaw drop: Andy Lally passing Mathias Lang on the EXTREME left side just before the start of the right-hand turn (I still don't know how he kept from grinding his trucks on the edge of the asphalt); Patrick Switzer doing much the same thing, but with a little more room, to pass Dalua; and especially Brianne Davies. She was out in front by quite a bit, but she still rode that turn FAST and stuck to her line with no visible slip at all. That girl can flat out RIDE.

So anyway, that's my long-ass answer to go with *SWEET*'s short one. I realize that the only real hills in Miami are the ones in the garages. But if you get the chance to rain-ride somewhere else, go for it. It will definitely add to your experience level, if not also your skill level.