Re: Slalom Outlaw In South Carolina Midlands - 10/12/08
Video is on the way... I should have something tomorrow night. What a great day of skating. We had a blast. The ramp was excellent, very strong and sturdy, and no wobbles. Everyone got good timed runs, no timer flubs. We'll have to do it again. Its a great smooth hill, and faster than it looked. We need GA Tom!!!
Re: Slalom Outlaw In South Carolina Midlands - 10/12/08
Well the outlaw went down with nary a hitch. I was a little concerned with a big blob of foul weather along the coast that just seemed to want to hang around for a couple of days but Sunday morning was warm and clear. Wes had already set the tight course by the time I got to the hill so all they needed was a good chalking to. We then set about getting the ramp assembled and placing the hybrid course and hooking up the timing system and all was done by 9:30. Statesville's own Mark Nix was the first to arrive followed very shortly by Ron Olsen from the heart of Georgia. A big "thank you" goes out to you two, by the way, for making the trip and I hope you had a good time. The atmosphere was very relaxed but the skating was not. We all took an unknown number of runs (well, I guess WT knows; he's got the timer) and in no short order RonO was charging before he was even off the ramp. It was pretty evident that he would soon break the 19 second mark (most times in the 22 - 20 sec. range) with multiple clean runs and, he did. WT and Nix were close behind but, if memory serves me, Nix pulled the 2nd fastest time. As for me, well let's just say no one was challenging my 4th place position (4th place sounds better than "last"). There was a bit of a headwind on the hybrid side and I still think the course was a bit on the tight side for the last 5 or so cones; they came up VERY fast. (note to self: if Wes asks if the course should be longer, keep mouth shut)
After wearing out the hybrid it was time to load up the ramp, tent and all the other stuff and move to the other side of the hill for the tight course. I don't know about the other skaters but that course was brutal. Coming in at about 44 cones with a 6' spacing, ramp start, plus a couple of off-sets plus a tail wind. There was much cone slaughter and I personally would get totally confused after 12 or so cones and then get spit off the course in complete disarray. I think Ron was the closest to making the entire course at around 12 seconds and 1 or 2 cones (insane). By 3:00 I believe everyone was skated out so, camp was broken down and everything loaded up.
The entire day we had the hill to ourselves without any interlopers so, that is a plus for any outlaw spot and there will no doubt be another one while it is still warm (it doesn't get cold around here until January anyway). I also want to especially thank Wes for partnering this outlaw as it wouldn't have happened without his help. Thanks, man.
Last edited by scabus maximus; 10-14-2008 at 07:23 PM.
Re: Slalom Outlaw In South Carolina Midlands - 10/12/08
The Exit 32 Outlaw went off with perfect weather, a great hill and a good vibe. Tom and I want to thank Mark Nix out of Statesville and Ron Olsen from Atlanta for making the trip and trying out the "South Carolina spot." Scabus did a great job putting together a start ramp engineered specifically to fit in his Ford Explorer.
I set a hybrid course that was a bit on the tight side. To be honest it was unintentional. At 8:30 in the morning when I set the course there was a pretty stiff headwind. By 10:30, though, when RonO showed up, the wind died and it turned into a screaming wiggler. Although I kept the times, it was a jam with just the fast time being recorded. The 48-cone course had a .1 penalty with a max 7 DQ.
Ron: 19.567
Mark: 20.768
WT: 21.762
Tom: 23.466
After running the Hybrid for a couple of hours, we broke camp and moved everything lock, stock and start ramp to the other end of the street for the "tight straight hill" The logistics stopped the skating for about 15 minutes.
The tight slalom was, well, TIGHT. It's a course I set and I couldn't get through it. Out of the four of us, only RonO got a time of 12.567. The course was 44 cones with 6-foot spacing (6.5 centers) and a couple of 8-foot sections with bigger offsets.
It was a good session with the wind playing havoc with getting a line on making the hybrid and a steady tail wind making the tight course frantic. We hung out, picnicked and had a great time. The Edenton family showed up and brought the Gatorade. The odds are heavily in favor of us going back this winter . . . repeatedly.
RonO shot some great video. I'm wearing white, Mark is the black DHB tshirt, RonO is in the stripes and Tom is wearing gray. This clip gives a great perspective on both hills.
Slalom Outlaw In South Carolina Midlands - 10/12/08
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