End of the Line

Well the semester is officially over, and im STOKED! Time to chill out, go to the beach, and….. get a job. Anyway, I enjoyed keeping up this blog during the semester, I learned a lot about writing and managing my work. I will definitely keep skating over the summer and if I get any good photos or videos I will post them but as far as the blogging is concerned, this is the end of the line. Thank you for reading and keep skating.

South Jersey Grind Video

Zumiez, Depotford Mall and new trucks

Today, I awoke to a phone call from my friend Dylan asking me if I wanted to go to the deptford mall. I rolled out of bed, got a chik-fil-a iced tea, and a pretzel then headed over to zuumiez. Dylan went searching from trucks while i perused the snowboarding gear. He eventually decided on Krux trucks and we came back to put them on. I took some pictures so you could see the transformation from a deck to a ridable skateboard.

On this beautiful day… Im thinking about snowboarding…

Today while in Zumiez at the Deptford Mall, I was looking at all the leftover snowboarding gear and despite this beautiful spring day I began thinking about snowboarding. You see, this season I bought my brand new Burton Elite snowboard and Burtun custom bindings and only got to use it for one day. I only got to snowboard 4 times this season and only once with my own board. The board I had been using was my friend’s old Ride with a broken binding. Anyway, I did not get my fill of snowboarding this year so here are some places I recommend you add to your list for next season.

I would say that one of the best places in New Jersey is Mountain Creek in Vernon. I would say overall it is decent but nowhere as good Vermont, Colorado, or Utah. Creek, as we refer to it, is pretty far from the Rowan area since Vernon is pretty much as far north as you can go and still be in Jersey. Its about 45 minutes from my house and about 2 hours and 40 minutes from Rowan. Creek consists of 4 peaks, Bear, Granite, Vernon, and South. All of the peaks are good but I usually go to South Peak for the terrain park. The terrain park is pretty fun and has some small jumps, rails, rainbow rails, boxes, and some VERY large and intimidating jumps (that I usually avoid). Overall I like South Peak the best, and if you are ever at Mountain Creek, definately try their chicken fingers.

From what I heard Colorodo is great and Utah is even better. However, I have never been to either one. The best place I have snowboarded is definately Stratton in Vermont. Me and three friends took the long drive up there for a weekend and I had one of the best times in my life. When we went I could barely get down the mountain without bruising every part of my body, but a whole weekend was exactly what I needed to learn. By the end, I could carve down the mountain perfectly.(It wasnt until the following season that I tried rails). The trails are long and very enjoyable as opposed to the 2 minute trails at Creek. I remember taking the long gondola ride and watching the bottom of the mountain disappear. The snow is great and powdery which is perfect for snowboarding or skiing. I would definately go back to stratton and I highly recommend it.

Washington Township (Yes, again)

Today was definately one of the nicest day we’ve had all year. We decided to take advantage of this beautiful day and went to Washington Township skate park. I know I’ve already written about this place but if you don’t remember here is what I had to say last time.

Alright, so far I’ve covered some small things to skate, but where should you go if you want to skate a REAL park. Well, I highly recommend Washington Township Skate Park. This park has some real good aspects and some inconvenient ones. Lets start out positive. This park has some steep banks, some non-steep banks, a mini ramp, a quarter-pipe, a low box/ manual pad, and a grindable picknic table. It also has a round rail that goes around a corner. The ground is smooth and overall the park is great. However, it seems as if they built this park but don’t want anyone to skate it. The cops are constantly rolling by and kicking people out. Some friends of mine were kicked out because it was “too wet.” The entire park was dry except for a puddle that was about 4 feet wide. To skate this park you are required to have full pads or you will be kicked out. That includes a helmate, elbow pads, knee pads, and wrist guards. This park is a lot of fun but prepare to be hassled.

This time there were a lot more people from little kids trying to stay balanced to guys popping high ollies over a bank. It was an awesome day and the park ranger only hassled us to wear a helmet once. I wouldnt normally write about the same place twice but this time I had a camera with me and I have a couple really good shots of this place. However, I need some time to get the shots posted so remember to check back. I’m going to go enjoy this beautiful weather-

AE Philly Teen Scene

So its been rainy, windy, and just miserable out lately. You can’t skate, you’re bored and have nothing to do. Well as far as skating goes I cant help you unless anyone knows of an indoor skate park. If we cant skate, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO???

Check out AE Philly Teen Scene written by my friend and classmate Allison Quering

Here is what she has to say:

You’re 18 to 21 years old. Probably as broke as I am. Live in or close to Philly? Here are some under-21 events, artists, and places to check out. I’ll be writing about bands in the area, upcoming exhibits, artists, etc., reviewing some, interviewing whoever I can get hold of, and trying to keep you otherwise entertained.

Read Her Blog Here

skatespots.net

Skatespots.net is an awesome site for skate locations. The site works exactly like “googlemaps” which makes it easy to operate. All you have to do is go to www.skatespots.net and zoom in on your region. Now you can browse the best places to skate in your area.


The best part of this site is that it includes everywhere in the world and absolutely anyone can add their own spots. Just find your region, click on the spot, then type in the name of the spot and click “add spot to map.” If you find an already existing spot, click the marker and click on “More information.” This will bring you to a new screen where you can ad your reaction, vote on the quality of the spot, or even upload photos. Zoom in on the Rowan campus and you will see some of the spots that I have added and spots added by others. If you know of any great places in the Rowan area just add them to the map and I may check it out and write about it.

Skateboarder smashes the windshield of a cop car

I recently just stumbledupon this photo. It is the damage dealt to a police car by a skateboard wheeling 12 year old. I thought it was an appropriate sequel to my last post. (This picture is from a seperate incident and is in no way related to the previous post) Read the article here http://skateboardingmagazine.com/blog/2009/02/16/skateboarder-smashes-the-windshield-of-a-cop-car/

Check out some other cool stuff on http://skateboardingmagazine.com/blog/

Cops

police using "necessary" force to subdue a skateboarder

http://skateboardpark.com/images/cops.jpg

Tips for learning a new trick

Here is a list of helpful hints and tips courtesy of skateboardinginsurance

Tip #1: Warm Up

By ‘warm up’, I don’t mean Running – I mean take the first 10 – 15 minutes of your skate to sharpen your body and mind on what you’re doing.Warming up helps you work up to your more challenging tricks gradually.

Don’t expect to pick up your board and instantly learn new skateboard tricks. To learn new skateboard tricks you need to be warmed up.

Some people like to roll around for a while practicing balance tricks, others like to pop a few good ollies to make sure their ollies are solid for the rest of their skate session. Do whatever works for you, but to learn new skateboard tricks, take that first 10 minutes and let yourself get warmed up.

Tip #2: Be patient

Patience, padawan. To learn new skateboard tricks takes time and you will move on gradually.To learn new skateboard tricks, be patient and happy with any advance you make.

You may have to try a trick tens (or many more) times before you are able to land it consistently. This is normal – learn to live with it. To learn new skateboard tricks, you’ll need to put in the effort and your efforts will be well worth it.

Tip #3: Skate with people more skilled than you.

Whether you know them or not, being around more skilled skaters can help you learn new skateboard tricks as well as motivate you to improve.

To learn new skateboard tricks, don’t be afraid to ask for advice from other skaters.Skaters are more often than not happy to help and will often feel good about their skating when someone compliments them and asks for advice.

Their advice will help you learn new skateboard tricks, as they’ve probably already learnt the tricks you’re trying.Skating with more skilled skaters will also help motivate you to try bigger, more skilled or different tricks.

Tip# 4: Vary your skate spots.

It’s natural to have a favourite spot, but if you skate it all the time you run the risk of feeling stale after a while.Give ramp, pool, street, flat ground, skate parks and any other skate spots a try. This will help you learn new skateboard tricks, because you’ll soon find that skills and experience from one piece of skate spots will help your overall skating improve.The old saying ‘Variety is the spice of life’ applies to skateboarding too .

Tip # 5: Get tips from the pro’s

There are some great products on the ‘net for helping you learn new skateboard tricks.

One of them is ‘Secrets of Skateboarding’ – it shows you how a skateboarder learnt in 8 weeks what takes most skateboarders many months (or even years) to master!

This guide comes with loads of free bonuses, and has received great reviews:

“I took your advice and did the exercises and techniques them and saw incredible improvements in my skateboarding.I mastered the varial flip in 3 days! It is the perfect step-by-step skateboard guide. I am so excited about using it to learn more tricks.”- Fred C.

Sorry about the links, they will be fixed soon. In the meantime you are gonna have to do it the old fashioned way http://skateboardinginsurance.com/