Finally, last year I decided to take up a new hobby—skateboarding. I recorded several videos of me unboxing, setting up, and riding my new board. Then, several falls, bails, and scrapes later, I hurt my shoulder after a hard landing directly on it.
Well, by now I had all but given up ever skateboarding again...until I went to the local skate park. Back in August, our city's first-ever skate park was built. I had been meaning to go visit and check out the scene, but never had the time. Then, about a week or two ago, my wife and I went there.
And just like that, I was hooked on skateboarding again.
Since then, I visited the skate park with my board, talked to a skateboarder who has been skating for 40+ years, worked up the nerve for 20 minutes on a bench to try out the skate park on my board, walked to the other side of the skate park and stood there for another 15 minutes working up the nerve, then finally pushed my board around a couple times before moving to the parking lot due to an increase in more people deciding it was the perfect time to come to skateboard.
After pushing myself on the board back and forth several times—and still too scared to put my back foot on the board—I left. I haven't been back to the park yet, but I have relocated my board from the garage (where it's sat for nearly a year collecting cobwebs) to the living room where I can get on it and practice balancing whenever I want.
I plan on going taking my board with me in my truck more often and looking for smoother spots to skate than my subdivision's tar-and-chip road, which is rough on the wheels and hard to roll long enough to actually ride my board. I hope this time all my efforts amount to something.
I know I'm likely to bang myself up some more, but I would love to just be able to ride the board fluidly much less do any tricks, just like those people at the skate park do. Like anything else, all it takes is consistent practice.
If you'd like to see my skateboarding vids and some pics of my falls, bails, and scrapes, scroll down.