rogue race coverage from edmonton...

[skategeezer]

Longboarders surf concrete jungle


from Edmonton Journal



Longboarders surf concrete jungle

By Richard Warnica, Edmonton JournalAugust 21, 2009Comments (4)




ICON


Mike Sanders is co-owner of skateboard shop local 124 and is one of the participants in the two longboard races this weekend in the river valley.

Photograph by: Shaughn Butts, Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Journal




Graham Buksa took a$450 skateboard, stuck it under a high-tech cutting tool and carved away at its carbon-fibre-laced foam core.
Buksa wasn't hoping for much. If everything worked, the new board might trim his race time and maybe save him a stiff leg.
If it didn't, well, the butchered plank might make a decent piece of scrap.
Buksa is part of the wheel-shaving, deck-dropping world of long-distance longboarding, where the battle for faster times means a constant quest for lighter boards and lower rides.
In the lead-up to this Sunday's Ribbon Of Green Ultimate Endurance race, a 20-kilometre jaunt through the river valley with a top prize of $1,000, Buksa and other riders have been tinkering, hoping to gain an equipment edge.
Mike Sanders, a former race winner, has seen riders trim the sides off cheap rubber wheels hoping to drop weight and improve feel. Others have experimented with different shoes, going with a thick-soled sneaker on their pushing foot and an ultra-thin climbing shoe on the other.
"There's some pretty secretive, mad skateboard science going on," Sanders said in an interview at Local 124, the skate shop he co-owns.
Sanders rides a custom Landyauchtz-brand board with the deck dropped below the wheel mounts on either end.
He said the key is a low-standing surface that minimizes the repetitive strain on the legs over a long ride.
"You're basically doing 20 kilometres of squats," said Graham Buksa, so anything that eases that pressure is a bonus.
Buksa has a bit of an edge on other riders when it comes to board manipulation.
A University of Alberta engineering grad, Buksa owns his own longboard company in B. C. While others are stuck trimming decks by hand, Buksa uses a computer-controlled router to shape his own to within a quarter of a millimetre of specifications.
Buksa has another advantage, too: good advice.
"I'm doing what Paul does, essentially," he said in an interview from the Rayne Longboards workshop in North Vancouver.
Paul would be Paul Kent, arguably the best distance longboarder in the country and last year's Edmonton winner.
Described by Sanders as "an incredibly fit, strong-headed monster," Kent can skateboard outrageous distances--he recently broke a world record by skating 403 kilometres in 24 hours--and he's a fiend for equipment modification.
In an interview from his workplace in Calgary, Kent said he always tries to gain time on uphill climbs, so he wants an ergonomic, lightweight board.
For the race this weekend, he has had the nose and tail trimmed off a custom Rayne board. He has also had an inch carved off either side of the deck to facilitate his two-legged pushing style.
Kent's board sits about two inches above the ground, but he isn't worried about scraping bottom on any of the River Valley trails.
The only worry of getting too low is that you can lose traction through the corners and slide out.
He doesn't stop at the board, either. Unlike most riders, Kent wears ASICs sneakers-- a Japanese brand favoured by competitive volleyball players--and not skate shoes for longboard riders.
"I also use a GPA and heart rate monitor to keep my stats in check," he said. "And compression garments on my calves to reduce fatigue."
Kent won last year's race, called the R. O. G. U. E., in just under 55 minutes. And while some of the other best riders in Canada plan to be at this year's edition, Kent thinks his own body might be the biggest obstacle to a repeat.
Kent was peeing blood and barely walking after the marathon Seattle ride in July and hasn't fully recovered. He's also planning to hitchhike/skateboard to Edmonton from Calgary for the event.
"Hopefully, I won't have to skate the whole way," he said.
"Because it's 300 kilometres and it's pretty close to the race."
The 2009 R. O. G. U. E. kicks off at 9 a. m. in Hermitage Park. Organizers expect 100 to 130 riders, with about 20 or 30 serious competitors, many of whom also plan to compete in a downhill speed race on Saturday.
Both races offer $1,000 cash and a custom-made Rayne board for the winners.

[The Mullet]

Im surprised the editor didnt catch the mispell of Landyachtz, and the other CPstyle errors. But the article wasnt too bad, i guess its pretty decent coverage for the sport.