My world turned like this for a brief second T-T
Well not really lol. I am currently learning how to ride a skateboard so that I can sleep in a bit more and still get to class on time. Here’s the situation,I am currently a university student and the thing about a university, well at mine anyways, is the parking structure at school getting full by 8 am in the morning. It takes me about 45 minutes to reach school by car and thats in normal traffic otherwise it could be 30 minutes to maybe even an hour. So besides the cursed school charging me $3 every time I park at the structure, there is seniority to get parking passes and I have not yet attained that status, and starting at 8 am they will deny me entry until the time reaches around 11:30 am, this allows those with permits to park in the structure. So I have to drive around three to four blocks past the school to find parking, if I’m lucky, then walk to school with my books, laptop, etc and reach my class which takes about 15 minutes and leaving me a sweaty person. It wouldn’t be half bad if I go early enough at 6:45 am to park in the structure, but I like to sleep until 7:15 am then leave my place at 7:30 am but thats not possible anymore for I will be late to class due to the need of finding parking and walking to class. So yesterday I bought a skateboard so I can at least half the time it takes to get to class from where I parked my car and go back to my usual schedule. But I never skateboarded in my life so I went online to find some tips and went out to practice this morning. The moment I got on the skateboard I flipped over and into the air (see picture above for representation) and injured my knee a bit when I fell back to Earth but I should be fine tomorrow. I rested a bit and practiced after and I can now get on a skateboard without falling and ride a bit but not much yet. I’ll continue to practice on weekends to get better to help my current situation. If you read this post, thanks, I just needed to rant a bit…makes me feel better sometimes.
I learned how to ride a skateboard years ago (it was a summer thing) and the worst accident that happened to me was that I fell on my butt hard because the skateboard suddenly had a mind of its own, leaving me as I was getting ready to ride..
I was literally on air when that happened ^^
I hope you did not hurt yourself too hard and that you will get better soon. I seriously think you should have worn protective gear and most notably armpads and kneepads. You never know, even if what I say is probably too late. Safety first! (I am a bit fearful of unnecessary injuries myself, so yeah, definitely)
I feel that rollerblades would have made a decent alternative too (They don’t leave your feet… normally!), but the thing is that you have to switch shoes when entering school grounds.
A bicycle is too annoying to carry and to park, too.
For me, nothing beats walking. I tend to go for small footsteps, but at a rather fast pace and my endurance type is based on duration, not intensity, so it is definitely good for me.
Learn from someone, it’s the best advice I can give you.
And… If you ever want to become the new Tony Hawk, please let me know so I can advertise it to everyone.
…
Just kidding for the last part.
@coeli: I think what happened to you happened to me…mind of its own lol.
@D_Blade: It wasn’t that bad, discovered a small cut today on my hip today though lol. Funny thing is the cut didn’t hurt until I actually noticed it, the same with all my cuts. My knee joint is now a bit stiff but doesn’t hurt like it did yesterday. I should get safety gear, at least a helmet lol. I tried walking and now I’m going to try skateboarding to school, depending whats better will determine what I decide for going to school, though that won’t be for a while.
Your way to school looks like an epic adventure ^^;
Hope this board will help you in your quest!
I tried many years ago to ride a skateboard, but this didn’t interrested that much… Not because of all the miss and falls, but that’s just I didn’t feel it (it’s like skiing vs snowboarding)
So then I returned to my good old bike hehe.
@lu-k: Thank you, I shall conquer this quest of mine lol. I don’t really want to take a bike for I would have to haul it in and out of my trunk everyday and have to pay a fee for a sticker so I can “park it” in school. Plus, my school has had quite a number of bikes stolen, at least with a skateboard I can keep it with me at all times, though that will become a bit of a hassle at times.
Odd how I missed seeing this post. Well I used to practice skateboarding during high school since half my friends were skateboarders. I never got the hang of it, but I could manage to do an ollie and a 180 shovel sometimes. But then I just got myself a scooter instead, lol.
I used a skateboard to get to class in my college years, it saved me a lot of time walking from the dorms and the cool thing was my classes were all in the downhill corner of campus.
I had been skating a few years before that in high school, so I had the basics of turning and sliding and ollies down pat and could handle terrain like drainage ditches, ramps, handrails and jumping down gaps. So riding from here to there as long was no problem as long as the ground was rideable.
Something you might want to keep in mind for your “commuter setup” Get larger softer wheels as they’ll roll over rough concrete smoother and not be as prone to getting caught in cracks in the sidewalk.
Be sure you know how to control your speed by changing direction and working on powerslides where you unweight briefly to turn 90 degrees and your wheels start to slide sideways to slow you down rapidly.
Also, be sure to steer clear of other pedestrians and be prepared to have to get off and walk around them if the sidewalks are clogged. It’s really scary for pedestrians to just roll inches past them from behind.
Since you’re going to be carrying a laptop, all I can say is you better be really confident in your abilities and put in a lot of time practicing. One good spill and bye bye laptop.
ugh…sorry for not editing
So riding from here to there was no problem as long as the ground was rideable.
Oh yeah, my advice is at this point is, practice, practice, practice. It wasn’t hard for me because I really enjoyed it and all my brother and all our friends rode too, so we always were out trying things and and having fun.
If you’re a total beginner, there are frustrating parts to get through, but if you want it bad enough and keep trying, you’ll get it.
For now though, waking up earlier is going to be your best bet for getting to class on time.
@Adun: A scooter would be interesting to ride, but I never see anyone on campus riding one. It’s either a bike or a skateboard, so I must conform lol.
@Robocon^^: Thanks for the advice. I try to practice when I have time, my knee actually still hurts a bit since last week so I haven’t done any practice but I believe it should be much better by this weekend when I can practice again. Practice is important, though studying is too lol…currently been studying instead. I know what you mean by freaking out pedestrians, I get freaked a bit when someone just zooms by me on a bike as I walk on the sidewalk; I don’t want to put someone through that so I will get off and have no issue with it. Maybe I should practice with something that weighs about the same as my laptop so I can get used to it…
Oh yeah, I was thinking and realized another option might be to get a folding bike, like those from Dahon (I’ve seen them at Eki Cyclery on Dillingham Blvd)
http://www.dahon.com/us/folding-bicycles-us-utility.htm
It would be easy to store in your trunk, and from what I’ve heard they fold open and fold down pretty quickly.
Well it seems as though you made a good choice regarding your new method of transportation. If you chose rollerblades, I would hate you… just kidding. Anyway, I was stoked to hear that you chose a skateboard of all things. Granted it’s portable, but generally has a negative image associated with it, especially in the eyes of campus police. Just a word to the wise from an “old timer” in the skateboarding community. Don’t ride that thing in the rain or snow, and if you need more sleep, just drive your car to the parking lot and sleep in there for a few minutes. Make sure you don’t oversleep though.