The very hand-crafted labor of love

Wendy, my roommate and avid longboarding fan, has asked me to go longboarding with her many times. Historically, I have denied her without fail for two reasons:

1. Longboarding is for punks, and I ain't no punk; and
2. My only real longboarding experience was a tragedy. I was heading down the Provo Canyon trail at night a couple of years ago in pitch black darkness, by light of my headlamp. On that fateful night, I couldn't figure out how to stop. As it turns out, being able to stop is actually pretty important to the whole longboarding process. I finally gave up and coasted down the canyon by sitting [not standing] on the borrowed board. Unfortunately, that sitting position did not prevent me from accelerating to unnecessary speeds, which of course caused the board to shake, which then led to me tumbling head first into the mountain along the trail. Ow.

Needless to say, I have had solid reasons to avoid longboarding altogether. However, being a good roommate, I finally gave in one night recently and used Wendy's borrowed longboard to coast down Provo Canyon. Wendy (always the great teacher) taught me how to slow down and stop quite effectively, which has opened up a new world of possibilities to me.

Having coasted around the neighborhood and down Provo Canyon a couple more times since that night, I quickly realized that I need to buy my own longboard. Being the technical enthusiast that I am, I proceeded to choose a longboard solely based on how pretty I thought the board was. Thanks to Nick and his connections, I got quite a steal of a deal on this pretty board. Note that this board is quite special--each board is custom made by a Barfoot employee, in a process that is apparently "the very hand-crafted labor of love."

To my dismay, I received the board on Friday and haven't been able to ride it yet because of the mound of snow, rain, and ice that has been dumping all weekend in Provo. I also dare not board down my driveway, considering the fact that it is a solid sheet of ice resulting from our lack of shoveling.

On the upside, look forward to future posts reporting my injuries that are sure to follow. Oh, and while I can change my preferences for activities, I cannot change my principles as quickly. I still think longboarding is for punks, which makes me a punk, I guess. At least that's how I explain the dirty looks the neighbors give my roommates and I when we've gone cruising around the neighborhood on our cool boards.