Looking for old guys who can relate, +35

[JimK]

Yeah - Wassup wit dat? If you see an older person riding a bike, jogging, or roller blading everyone thinks it's wonderful that they're staying shape. But if you see one of us 40-sumpthins on a skateboard, we're being rediculous. I always just tell 'em skateboards are safer than roller blades. If I get in trouble on my skateboard I can jump off and run for it. Those roller blades are tied to your feet. If you get in trouble - you're going down!

But you know what shut's 'em up? Let 'em watch you skate. I must admit, I feel a lot of pressure when people are watching me skate to be perfect. I feel like if I ever mess up while someone is watching I'll get the "You're too old for that" lecture. That's why I like to skate between 4:00 and 6:00AM.

I do make the occasional appearance during normal waking hours. I was zooming down a hill on a local bike path with a 135* turn near the bottom. There were also two early teen girls enjoying the same thrill on their roller blades. Around the 5th time the board slid out from under me and I landed flat on my back. Falling is part of skating. If you can pop right back up and shake it off you're proving your point just as well. I got back up and did it a few more times with 'em.

it's an embarssing photo in that it was back before the days of enlightenment ... no helmet or elbow pads. Just wrist braces. I wear a helmet and pads now.

Could not have said it better. 44 now and still riding when time allows. Lately that has not been much at all. I feel mighty lonely riding in this
town by myself since I`m the only older boarder around. Went to the local
skatepark one day just to test it out and there were 4 young guys skating
and they were stoked this old timer knew what to do. They got a kick out
of listening to me talk about the days before precision bearings and what
it took to keep them clean.

I`m hoping this next summer to get my son more involved more since he
is now starting to show some interest.

[jawes]

[steelduck]

[steelduck]

I like my beer thick and chewy like my women. Oops, did I say that out loud?

E

But do you like your women like your trucks? Wide and loose...

No, Independent, Built to Grind.

[robbyracer]

No, Independent, Built to Grind.

Ding! ding! ding! We have a winner

[greenjeans]

yeh bro, I just turned 37 but I still think I am 21, skated alot from 79 to 84 then nothing, until 6 months ago and now I am freeking addicted to bombing hills and sliding. so far Ive been pretty lucky just a badly jammed thumb small amounts road rash and a hyperextended foot, right now trying to stay off my boards so the foot will heel properly but its really hard. everyone was givin me lots of **** when I started skating again and I would just smile and think mabe you should get off your freaking couch. all I can say is wear a helmut, pads and gloves and learn to slide, crucial part of continuing to longboard.

[inbred]

greenjeans, 37 is a magick age to be. I belong to a group of...insane people called Hell's Tunas. Been going since the sixties. It has been established that 37 is a special number and important life changes can easily occur at that age. They did for me. So maybe skating will be that change for you.

[mangels]

good lord ... 37 was so long ago I can't even remember it. They say memory's the first thing to go eh? Dang ... where's my car keys?

[valskater]

37 is a special number and important life changes can easily occur at that age. They did for me.

Care to share?

[EBasil]

Well, I'm just a kid compared to most of you, but I bleach my beard to create an illusion...ho ho!

This morning in the elevator lobby, I was chatting with folks from another floor, each of us wearing a new tan from the weekend's activities. We were asking each other what we did, hearing about weddings, golf, surfing, etc... I explained that, although I'd kept my company open and the office staffed, I took MLK day off to spend the day slalom skateboarding with my family. There were some funny looks and then this guy in his late 20's said, "Really, that's so cool. I generally think of skateboarders as younger. You can still do that?"

I smacked him with my cane and nearly choked him out with the hose from my oxygen bottle. Damn kids and their rock music!

[nervous ned]

Now here's a question for the older skaters... Do your co-workers know you skate? What is their opinion?

Yeah, I work in the corporate office at Pfizer (the drug company that makes Viagra) here in NYC, and I ride a skateboard to work almost every day. This past summer, the president saw me coming out of the elevator with my 46" Subsonic; he walked over, started laughing and said, "What, did you ride that thing to work?" I looked at him and said, "Yeah." He looked startled for a second, then said, "I used to skate back in the '70s." I told him he should try it again; that it's great for lowering high blood pressure and improving cholesterol and heart rate. It cracked me up -- like a scene from Fight Club when the boss confronts the guy about his appearance at work and he basically stares him down. Now every time the president sees me he asks me something about skateboarding.

-----------

I never knew how many other old guys were on Silverfish; i'm really glad this thread got started -- makes me feel great about skateboarding in general. the cool thing about being older is that you tend to have a job, and that means you can squander cash on hi-tech longboarding stuff that you may not necessarily need but for some reason can't pass up.

it's about time someone set up a yearly convention for the ol'-timers where we bring out our quivers and sit around some giant hotel talking about the good old pre-kickflip days, then hit the hills for some solid runs. now THAT would be a nice use of convention space. that Cayman Islands skate park would be a good destination.

[GPymp]

I smacked him with my cane and nearly choked him out with the hose from my oxygen bottle. Damn kids and their rock music!

..when I am approached by smart a** kick flipper..that is exactly what I will do to them..!

Geritol Extra Strength: Its whats for dinner! (now in the denture ease twist off tops)

[mangels]

Yeah Nervous Ned ... got the cash ... but I also got the wife ... She thinks I've squandered enough cash already. *sigh* I guess I'll just curl up with my bottle of Dammitall and feel sorry for myself.

[ol'dude]

probably got mentioned 4 pages ago, but...

Learn to kneeslide before you have to!

[micky]

I dont wear pads....but now that my elbow, and hands still hurt from a fall I had a month ago, that has changed.

I have skated off and on since the late 70's. I have made a couple of stiff longboards to attach old trucks and wheels, and I am the proud owner of a 44" fibreflex (caused the wreck when it ran over an unsuspecting stick while riding in the dark).

My 3 yr old daughter insists that we ride my handmade board together. She just doesnt understand that it is a skateboard and not a surfboard.

My neighbors dont approve of my habits...I shouldnt teach my daughter how to skateboard, and I shouldnt show the teenagers in my neighborhood, that downhill runs on a skateboard are ok

[robbyracer]

probably got mentioned 4 pages ago, but...

Learn to kneeslide before you have to!

ah the kneeslide one of my favorite tricks. I left two nice skid marks in the kidney pool yesterday doing one Life is good!

[valskater]

My neighbors dont approve of my habits...I shouldnt teach my daughter how to skateboard, and I shouldnt show the teenagers in my neighborhood, that downhill runs on a skateboard are ok

to the neighbors.....

[silversurfer]

probably got mentioned 4 pages ago, but...

Learn to kneeslide before you have to!

ah the kneeslide one of my favorite tricks. I left two nice skid marks in the kidney pool yesterday doing one Life is good!

hmmm...

I didn't think I knew any "tricks".

But I know that one!

[surfinsmiley]

probably got mentioned 4 pages ago, but...

Learn to kneeslide before you have to!

ah the kneeslide one of my favorite tricks. I left two nice skid marks in the kidney pool yesterday doing one Life is good!

hmmm...

I didn't think I knew any "tricks".

But I know that one!

OhOOOoooh ............ooOOOOhooh.........OhOhOhOOO.

Me too, Me too. I can do that one. Sort ta`

[B]

I'm over 40 and have always had an active skateboard since I was six. It's a great fraudulent human detector; someone who can't handle a skateboard due to their prejudice probably has other major personality flaws.

"Mockery is often the result of a poverty of wit"
Le Bruyere, Characters (1688)

Co workers are a minor issue as I'm freelance (no, not porn), however only one associate has ever said anything negative about my skating to my face. After this negative nelly left the room others made fun of him; two years later a position was available and his name was suggested. He did not get the job based on his pejorative comments re: skating. His vocal opinions on skateboarding cost him a job.

If you go to the ER please tell them you fell while watching the 700 Club.