Shoes: Experiment Number 1

What shoes to wear?  Thats something I've been wondering about as I train. To be perfectly honest I've never really had nice skateshoes. I figure, why do I want to buy something that I'm just going to quickly trash. I usually just buy a pair that fits nice from a thrift store. My last pair were given to me by my brother. Just a no-name brand pair.  They have been working pretty well.

When you're boarding you want a pair of shoes that has good grip. A good sole is important too because of footbraking. As you can tell from my pair, they are terribly worn down from braking. You can plainly see that I need a new pair of shoes. I also need to learn how to footbrake with my left foot too. That will double the life of my shoes.

The sad effects of footbraking.

My last pair of shoes.
Just a no name brand. They worked
well though.

Skate shoes are great for normal skating. For distance-skating thought, they are no bueno. They're too heavy. Have you ever heard the old hiking adage that a pound off your shoes is equal to five off your back? Skate shoes don't breathe at all. They are thick, they're padded, they're comfortable, but your feet roast in the summer heat. They also have practically no support. I need shoes that are breathable, light, Good support, with a tough sole.

I'm going to be experimenting with different types of shoes leading up to the trip. My recent pair is everything I've decided I need. I bought a shoe/sandal hiking shoes on sale, perfect for me to trash on my board. Here is a picture below.

As you can see these are very breathable, it is covered in holes. It is very light which helps a lot, especially for my knees. With a heavy skate shoe on the end of my leg it put a lot of strain on my joints when I would swing my foot to push. It is also interesting to ride with a hiking shoe sole as shown below.

The sole is tough. It provides a lot of forward push because hiking shoes get tons of traction. There is a thin layer of rubber though and then some softer material that the road will eat right up. I hope the rubber lasts for a while, or I'll be doing Shoes: Experiment #2 soon. I really do enjoy these quite a lot. I used them for my 6:00 am ride this morning and they are really nice.

Well, time to get out and trash them.

Woes and I Wonder

I have a sad story to tell. My scooter, Freya, is in the shop right now. Her headlight is busted and I need that to be fixed so she will pass the safety inspection. She's been gone for a few days now and I've had to find alternative methods of getting to school and work. My plan number two was to solicit the help of Lydia, my Sector Nine cruiser.

It takes me about 20 minutes to board the two miles to work. My biggest obstacle is this huge huge hill I have to push up. It gets a little tiresome. I would be able to handle it like more of a man except for a few reasons. This weekend I played a really long and exhausting game of soccer with my friends. I also had the chance to go wakeboarding all day Saturday with some very generous kind friends on Utah Lake. When the weekend was over, my legs were spent. To make it worse, I have no idea what I did but I pulled my left quadriceps which really puts a damper on my longboarding. I've had to ride mostly mongo all week, I am getting really good though. Now my right leg is starting to get overly sore. I'm hoping my left leg will heal but I get lazy and push regular and hurt it all over again.

Now I promise I am not using my blog to whine to you. That is not the purpose of this post. I've just been giving some background information so you will understand why I have been asking myself the questions that I  pose to you now. When I'm on my long trip this summer, what if both my legs get too tired to push? What if I get too sore? Are there other ways of making the board move forward? What if I got a rope and a car to pull me like a boat (I'm kidding. DO NOT try that. I did when I was younger and it had disastrous results)?  What if I got a huge sail? Or a stick to push with? That would be cool.

I will be looking into that.

Me on the lake. You just have to love board sports. Love them.