Tom "Scabus Maximus" Edenton did the good deed of the year and scoped out a good South Carolina slalom spot:
It's a dead end, dual lane street into a new business park about 20 miles north of Columbia and 60 south of Charlotte. It has a long, sweeping downhill section that bottoms out and immediately translates into a straight uphill runout:
Of course, the long run out is also ideal for a tight slalom running this was. Includng the cul-de-sac at the top of the hill. It's long enough for a good 40- or 50-coneTS course.
Tom and I skated it for about four hours in some good, sultry oppressive heat. Both side of the median are great for setting courses and the bust factor is about as close to zero as it can get. He and I are talking about doing some outlaw stuff later this year when it cools off.
One thing I forgot to mention is the surface: perfect. A 8.75 out of 10. It only doesn't get a 9.5 because, well, there's a couple of spots where the combination of heavy trucks and probably some poor road bed construction has led to this new road to have a crack in one spot off the side in one lane.
The surface is just a great combination of asphalt with just enough stone to make it HARD but smooth. It's not brand new jet-black asphalt but that's really a good thing because it doesn't get oily and soft when it gets hot.
A really good crank-yanking fast hybrid course on this hill and 86 duros would still be more than adequate for traction while ensuring a fast ride. I think newer slalomers still unsure of their skills could ride something like a 77 or 78 and still feel some real speed on this hill/surface combination.
One caution, though, that Tom discovered: you can see in the pics there are DRAINS at the low point on both hills. The drain openings ARE BIG ENOUGH TO SWALLOW CONES! We'll have to remember to bring something to block the openings. They are like pinball targets and invariably a cone will it's way into the corner pocket!
New South Carolina Spot
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