Skate Snacks With Hammy

I went to the library last week and borrowed the movie “Drive” and the book “The Answer is Never.” Drive was absolutely amazing. The copy I got skipped in a few places, so I missed small chunks, but it was inspiring none the less. “The Answer is Never” is phenomenal. I’m about a hundred pages in, and I’m loving it. Thank you for the suggestion!

Yesterday we went back to Pecos park. It was absolutely amazing, because I got there first, and the park was EMPTY. No one there. Its was nice, I started skating around, working on kickturning on the inclines, and riding fakie. Then Marye arrived and another kid. Still awesome because we mainly had the park to ourselves. I started working on riding up one wall, down, then up the one opposite of it without turning my board… So I guess the way to describe it is that I was riding up, then down fakie, then back up the other side… fakie? Is that the right way to say it? Anyway, it was fun. I started to get the hang of it, and managed to keep the board under my feet and my body off the concrete. Woohoo!

While I was doing this, two young boys (maybe 14yrs old) came flying into the bowl I had been in. It caught me off guard and I stopped what I was doing. They stared at me, and it was clear that they wanted to be where I was. So I started to get out of their way and one of the boys dropped in and started to carve around the wall. I wasn’t sure where he was going, so I stayed put, figuring he would see me and avoid me. Well, he ran right into me. Actually his board kinda ran into me and he flew around/over me. I’m pretty certain it was on purpose. He stared me down with a mean glare that oozed “Get out of my way, stupid girl.”

It was a lame attempt at intimidating me, and it worked. I mean, the reason I’ve been so terrified of the skate park is because I’m afraid some tough, skilled skateboard dude would be mean. And I’m still so new… I feel like I’m the little girl that no one picks for the recess game of kickball. I just want to play, but I’m not good enough, nor am I a male.  I’m sure I’m reading too much into it, but I feel certain that he acted like this, because I’m a girl, on a skateboard. It doesn’t discourage me. Actually it’s quite the opposite. It makes me want to get better so much more because I want to be able to show him and every other male who thinks girls should stay out of the skatepark that they are wrong.

On page 70-71, the book “The Answer is Never” talks about female skaters. “Ellen’s sister Cindy Berryman, in ‘Let’s Hear it For the Ladies’ in August of 1976 Skateboarder, made a case for women to take advantage of their differences from male skaters. Ladies were ’smooth flowing, not sharp; graceful, not forceful.’ In just writing that article, she was acknowledging that there was some difference about women skaters but that their grace and balance and rhythm were important.”

I am still afraid of the rejection from the guys at the skatepark, but I now see exactly why Marye started this website. Having a group of other girl skaters who support you and validate you is integral to being a female skater. Especially a new female skater.

Thursday morning I experienced my very first skatepark. I started off skating circles around the park, checking out the steepness and trying to figure out where I could be brave enough to get in. I also took inventory of the people. Yikes. The people are what scare me at skateparks. It’s not really the actual skating in a park that’s freaky… but it’s the idea that I may be skating, and then lose control and shoot my board at some unsuspecting 7yr old boy. (Or in my case, the unsuspecting 7yr old boy’s super cute dad [or older brother]). I was lucky enough to find it relatively empty. There was 4 or 5 boys on  those razor scooters. The ones with the handle bars. There was a boy maybe 14 years old, a guy in his mid twenties, and another guy late twenties/early thirties with his 7 or 8yr old little brother or son(?). They were all really good. Well, except the boys on the razors. But that’s another story. Even the youngest boy was pretty good! He was just learning too, and ended up actually giving me some pointers on how to kickturn on an incline.

Marye found a good place for me to be able to get in, it was not too steep, and not too scary. I started out by coming in there and trying to carve around the bowl that was in front of it. Didn’t happen. Well, not all the way. I kept bailing on the last part.

Then I tried riding up the incline, and back down. It LOOKS so easy. It’s not. Well, not for me, because I finally took my first two good falls doing this. One on either butt cheek. Go figure.

After recovering from the assualt on my butt cheeks, I tried again and at least didn’t fall off, though it wasn’t really pretty… I lean foward for some reason.

Then, I started practising my kickturns on an incline. I got to the point that I can do it, but I have to do 2 or 3 individual turns on the top of the incline to actually get all the way around. I need to work on holding it longer. This was really fun, because by this point I had kinda gotten over my fear of people. Well, maybe not. Let’s just say I’m hyper-aware. But, I was more comfortable. And the cute guy and the little boy that was with him gave me some pointers and helped me out a little bit. It was nice, because it made me feel less like an outcast there. I was kinda feeling like I was that annoying fly in the skatepark. The newbie that is in everyone’s way. But when they started talking to me, I felt more comfortable. They didn’t tell me anything that Marye hadn’t told me, but they were an outside party that was being nice to me.

Oh, I learned a VERY important lesson. I think possibly one of the most important so far: WEAR SUNSCREEN.

Ouch. I’m fried. I think the cement in the skatepark reflects the sun.

So, all together I think I had a successful first try in a skatepark. I can’t wait to go out again!

Peace.

xoxo

Hammy

Hey everyone! My name is Sarah Oliver, (aka Hammy) and I’ve officially “caught the bug” as Marye said in her most recent blog. I’ve been snowboarding for about 8 years now, and Marye finally initiated me into the lovely world of skateboarding.

I suppose you may want to know a little bit about me, huh? Well, I’m 22 years old, and a senior at Arizona State University. I’m really short, barely 5ft tall,  and very outgoing. I’m the person who tends to say the really innappropriate comments at the worst times, and usually pretty loudly. It makes for an entertaining time. :)  I love snowboarding, and skydiving and now skateboarding. I am a huge book worm and would LOVE any recomendations of books about skateboarding!

My first real experience on a board with wheels (rather than wax) was about a month ago in the back room at my old job. What better place to learn? A week ago Sunday, Marye and I finally had an opportunity to go out and skate together (outside of the break room at work.) I’m not gonna lie, I was excited but equally terrified. We started out in the parking lot of my apartment complex with her longboards. I was really, really wobbly, and kept stepping off the board. I had to get off it, pick it up and turn it around to be able to change my direction. After a few minutes of playing around in the parking lot, we went to a nearby school. I took a few laps around the parking lot on the longboard, and started to be able to make really wide turns without getting off the board and physically changing the direction it was headed.

After that, we started playing with her short boards. I created a new friendship with one of her boards. I don’t know the mesaurements or anything, I’ll ask Marye to infiltrate this blog and input the details I’m fuzzy about. Anyway, I developed a friendship with one of her boards, and started working on kickturns with my new friend. I’m having a hard time concentrating on making my body turn first, and on keeping my weight centered. One time, I can go like 90 degrees, and the next try, the board dangerously flys out, aimed at whoever may be in my way. I’m very inconsistant. We played a little bit at the school, then we went to the infamous ditch, where I started trying to ride up a little incline, and kickturn at the top. Scary. Really fun. Still haven’t gotten that, but I’m working on it.

This last Sunday we went boarding again, and this time we longboarded more. It was SO fun. Longboarding is more like snowboarding, so it’s a bit more in my comfort zone. I will say this; hills are SO much steeper when you’re on a longboard than when you are just looking at them.

I have a hard time with carving heel-side. This is odd to me, because when I snowboard I’m a lot more comfortable carving heel-side, and I’m really bad at carving toe-side. For whatever reason, I’m opposite when I longboard. I wonder why.

I’m really excited to be blogging here, and I am looking forward to getting all the hints/tips/suggestions that anyone may want to share with me. Pictures to come soon, I have to figure out how to post them.

Peace.

xoxo- Hammy