COMPLETED: First Ever Across China Longboard Mission

[HailSatan1]

Congratulations. I cant even comprehend that distance.
and....Cage baby (1:40) FTW

[DPerjar]

Awesome. Very inspiring.

[Rob Thomson]

Unbelievable!
I'd love to do that, but it begs the obvious questions...
How do you pay for yourself? Even if it boils down to simply food and equipment maintenance - How? And don't you have any bills at home? Damn mortgages...
And I'm sure every so often a "real' bed and probably some showers pretty often would help to encourage support for you on the road, lol...
You must have had sponsors? How did they support you?

Geolemon,

I paid for this trip with a combination of retirement savings (about US$3000), blog reader contributions (about US$2000), and a little that I earned during the trip (about US$2000).

In Europe I was living on about US$5 a day. This was acheived through never ever once staying at official accommodation. I wild camped, slept under bridges and trees, at CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time people's places, in a graveyard once even. My only expense was food. I cooked on a small home-made beer can stove, living primarily on oats, pasta, fruit etc, bought at local discount grocery stores.

In the US, I was not carrying a stove, so my expenses went up to about US$7 a day. Hospitality in the US is legendary. Of the 113 days I was in the US, I spent almost half of those nights in complete random strangers' houses. A conversation with someone on the street towards the end of the day would always culminate in the inevitable question "So where are you staying tonight?" I would answer honestly that I have no idea, probably in my tent. An invitation would often follow to stay at their place. The other half of the time was wild camping in my tent.

In China I spent the most per day. Around US$15 a day. This was due to the fact that wild camping is not easy in eastern China (too many people (lack of privacy) and every inch of useable land is cultivated), I had to stay at more expensive hotels when I was sick and/or too tired to search for the really cheap inns (usually around US$2 a night), and I spent a small fortune on visas and travel back and forth to embassies, police stations etc to sort out travel documents.

I don't have a house. I am single. I don't have any kids.

By the time I get back home in New Zealand in mid-November, my bank balance will be $0. I did not go into debt on any credit cards. I do however still have a student loan (about US$7,000) to pay off.

Plenty of companies that shared my sense of adventure provided me with gear along the way. Longboard Larry supplied me with a great deck for China, Holey trucks hooked me up with trucks, Bones Bearings hooked me up three sets of bearings, an extreme sports supplier in Shanghai invited me to their show-room, gave me a pen and paper, told me to walk around, and make a list of things I needed...etc etc.

[Rob Thomson]

WOW!!!! props to you man! any good tips on traveling long-distance by longboard?

Tips?

- Travel light. Pack everything you think you might need, and then throw out three quarters of it.
- Pick a route with as much smooth road as possible. Chipseal is great for character building, but in the end it's just too inefficient to skate on a rough surface. Plus, who wants to spend all day skating through mind-blowing scenery but having to keep staring at the road in front of you?
- It's not about speed. It's about establishing a comfortable rythym.
- Choose the road less travelled. Consider skating overseas; the roads are often consistently smoother in developing countries.

For more, check out:

http://www.skatefurther.com - One of the most comprehensive online places for distance skating. A lot of people there are stoked on travelling by skateboard.

Others include:

www.pavedwave.org - Not so much travelling by skateboard as much as long distance skating events.

BoardFree: Limits are in the mind - Although there is a bit of a lack of actual skaters' experiences.

And of course my own website has heaps of info from gear selection to planning - http:///www.14degrees.org/en

[geolemon]

How did you get started doing this? What's a good first step?
I'm sure you must have made some smaller trips that led you to believe this trip was possible, right?
I'd feel accomplished if I went across Buffalo on a skateboard!

[Ferrarimk13]

before china, he did america as well. Im very happy that you finished well. I watched your entire journey on youtube.

[Rob Thomson]

How did you get started doing this? What's a good first step?
I'm sure you must have made some smaller trips that led you to believe this trip was possible, right?
I'd feel accomplished if I went across Buffalo on a skateboard!

I started by skating 40km from Leysin to Montreux in Switzerland. The next day I did another 40km. The next day I did 50km....

Basically I had no idea whether travelling by skateboard solo and unsupported was going to be feasable. As it became clear that it was actually perfectly OK (tougher than cycle touring, but still doable), I started setting bigger goals (skate across the US solo and unsupported, skate across China).

I was on an around the world trip anyway. In July 2006 I started the journey, with the original intention being just to cycle from Japan to England. Plans are there to be changed, so I started exploring other options for human powered travel.

So now I've been away from home for 2.5 years. I look forward to getting home in a month's time!

I did do a lot of research about road surface conditions for China. This mainly consisted of emailing cycle tourists who had done the route I was planning on doing.

So a good first step is to dream of a route. Then you can plan the route (road surface research). Then you can do the route.

All my future trips will be 99% dependant on the road surface. Crossing Texas was three weeks of my life that I will never get back. My focus for human powered travel is efficiency, and skating on chipseal is not efficient. Of course cycling is more efficient than skating. But I still enjoy skating despite the drop in efficiency, due to the fun factor of being on a board.

Furthermore, I am out there primarily to experience the environment and people that I am travelling through, not to push myself to some uber high level of physical effort. Therefore, I need the energy to enjoy and interract with my surroudings. In Texas, I was so tired and sore all the time, that I can hardly remember the surroundings.

I have a list for future smooth skating routes. Equador, Peru, Tibet, Thailand, Canada...and I'm sure there are states in the US that I haven't researched yet that would have some consistently smooth road surfaces.

[Highwind]

I started by skating 40km from Leysin to Montreux in Switzerland. The next day I did another 40km. The next day I did 50km....

Basically I had no idea whether travelling by skateboard solo and unsupported was going to be feasable. As it became clear that it was actually perfectly OK (tougher than cycle touring, but still doable), I started setting bigger goals (skate across the US solo and unsupported, skate across China).

I was on an around the world trip anyway. In July 2006 I started the journey, with the original intention being just to cycle from Japan to England. Plans are there to be changed, so I started exploring other options for human powered travel.

So now I've been away from home for 2.5 years. I look forward to getting home in a month's time!

I did do a lot of research about road surface conditions for China. This mainly consisted of emailing cycle tourists who had done the route I was planning on doing.

So a good first step is to dream of a route. Then you can plan the route (road surface research). Then you can do the route.

All my future trips will be 99% dependant on the road surface. Crossing Texas was three weeks of my life that I will never get back. My focus for human powered travel is efficiency, and skating on chipseal is not efficient. Of course cycling is more efficient than skating. But I still enjoy skating despite the drop in efficiency, due to the fun factor of being on a board.

Furthermore, I am out there primarily to experience the environment and people that I am travelling through, not to push myself to some uber high level of physical effort. Therefore, I need the energy to enjoy and interract with my surroudings. In Texas, I was so tired and sore all the time, that I can hardly remember the surroundings.

I have a list for future smooth skating routes. Equador, Peru, Tibet, Thailand, Canada...and I'm sure there are states in the US that I haven't researched yet that would have some consistently smooth road surfaces.

how did u skate the states without getting ran over on the highway

[sly_]

nicely done sir!! i might have to try this (smaller version of course) sometime soon.

[Stop_and_Roll]

Great Job, Sir

[Rob Thomson]

how did u skate the states without getting ran over on the highway

Yeah, it was a miracle. I almost got hit by a house. It was on the back of a truck.

The US (the southern states, at least) in my opinion is one of the most dangerous places to skate on the road. Many drivers are totally oblivious to any other form of transport on the roads other than things that run on fossil fuels, and the roads are not designed with alternative transport in mind.

China of course is the complete and absolute opposite. The roads always have a wide smooth shoulder, they are well sweeped free of road grit, the drivers are courteous, the pavement is consistently smooth. This might change a little once more and more Chinese can afford to buy cars. China in even 5 years time will be chaos.

[a_d_smooth]

Congratulations... I hope you get some media coverage. Did you get into any trouble, robberies, fights, etc.? And how many sets of wheels did you go through. I've had a set of Gumballs for about 4 years now, and they still roll great.

[robotsareasexual]

I know this is another congrat
but
dude you are insane
I look up too you
I think you've insprired me to
skate a couple states I know that's
nothing but anyone wanna plan something like this with me
pm me

[Rob Thomson]

Congratulations... I hope you get some media coverage. Did you get into any trouble, robberies, fights, etc.? And how many sets of wheels did you go through. I've had a set of Gumballs for about 4 years now, and they still roll great.

No robberies, no fights, nothing. Despite what the media will continuously tell you, the world is an incredibly safe place. I felt the safest when I was camped out in the desert and among soaring mountains. Complete random strangers invited me into their homes and showed me amazing hospitality; not only in the US (half of the nights I was in the US I was staying at a home belonging to someone I met on the road earlier in the day), but also those 'evil' countries such as Uzbekistan, Turkey, Tajikistan etc etc.

Wheels last forever. I only changed mine a couple of times because I wanted to try something different.

I know this is another congrat
but
dude you are insane
I look up too you
I think you've insprired me to
skate a couple states I know that's
nothing but anyone wanna plan something like this with me
pm me

If I have inspired you to do a couple of states, then don't wait until you get someone to come with you. If you really want to do something like this, then decide to do it alone if neccessary. Travelling alone is a scary concept at first, but after a while you will realise that being away from other like-minded people not only is fun, but also challenges you to expand your mind.

[spicysmoke]

Congratulations man, ive been reading your blog for ages now, its so inspiring, i hope i get to go on some crazy adventures eventually. i'll see you at the ultraskate!

[Rob Thomson]

Congratulations man, ive been reading your blog for ages now, its so inspiring, i hope i get to go on some crazy adventures eventually. i'll see you at the ultraskate!

Sweet bro. The Ultraskate should be some fun times. It'll be interesting to see how long I last. 24 hours is a long time!

For those who don't know, the Ultraskate is an event where you skate as far as you can within a 24 hour period...as pioneered by James Peters - www.pavedwave.org

Event website: Ultraskate V: Global 24 Hour Endurance Skate Event

[*SWEET*]

I WILL do it someday...
My dream would be to cross canada to alaska and walk or ski between alaska and Russia to keep on going skateboarding or snowskating depending on how it is, through russia to France...
I will cross Japan from north to South before that, maybe in 2 years, but I will do it...

[Rob Thomson]

I WILL do it someday...
My dream would be to cross canada to alaska and walk or ski between alaska and Russia to keep on going skateboarding or snowskating depending on how it is, through russia to France...
I will cross Japan from north to South before that, maybe in 2 years, but I will do it...

Far out that would be a mad trip. I think you'd benefit from reading up on Ben Saunder's polar adventures: Ben Saunders | Adventurer, Athlete, Motivational Speaker

Far out...this looks awesome:

BBC Learning English | Explorer stopped in Russia

Wow...these guys are walking around the world...a 14 year long expedition: Goliath Expedition

Those are the two in the above BBC article that got arrested crossing the Bering Straight between Alaska and Russia by foot.

Keep the dream alive, *SWEET*!

[sk8norcal]

this is pretty inspiring,
if I can only learn to push mongo...

Rob, you should make the story into a 2 hour documentary and sell the dvd... (but you probably thought of that)

this should be featured on the travel channel...

[Rob Thomson]