I rode the T-board for the first time this afternoon (since receiving it on Tuesday afternoon) and all I have to say is “Wow!”
Well, I really have more to say, but let me relish that thought for a few moments… Ok, I'm done relish-ing. 😛
I visited my fearless bro who lives up the “coastal mountains” and convinced him to take some photos of me whilst I embark upon bombing the hills of RPV on this T-board contraption. After outfitting myself with some ghetto pads (a left-elbow pad, a red & white knee pad, a Fisher-Price knee pad) and a used BMX/ProTec helmet, I cautiously stepped on the board and immediately stepped (i.e., fell) off. OK. How the hech do you get started with this thingy.
I know I brought the T-board “manual” with me but I was too lazy to go back inside the house and pick it up off the kitchen counter… So I decided to sit on the board and attempted to balance that way. It was fun, until I fell over sideways (thank goodness for the ghetto pads!) and realised I had only gone 3 feet downhill.
Luckily, my brother knocked some common sense into me and explained that maybe I need to hold the board with both hands while I get my footing (a la surfing) — what do you know! It worked. I was able to stand on the board while I turned… to the left. Three tries later, I'm still turning a hard left and essentially carving a 90 degree angle each time. About 7 to 10 minutes have passed, since I first put on the ghetto pads and helmet (but have since removed all but the helmet and elbow pad), and I've become more comfortable getting on the board without crouching and turning left. I'm gaining more ground, but still keep ending up on the curb. Maybe the hill was too steep for a beginner like me? Let me find a “nursery slope”… I walked a few paces to find a more gradual (and less steep) incline. This is where the fun began: I was actually able to step on the board and “carve” the asphalt. V. v. cool!
The only drawback was walking back up the hill to my applauding brother (ok, he wasn't applauding, but he was proud that I finally got it). We decided that we needed a means to get back up the hill and when he couldn't get the electric scooter to start, we took his GF's MDX instead. There were no lift-lines there! 😀
I'll try to post some photos of my mini-adventure — I don't have good footage of me on the board, yet, as my camera ran outta batteries, but I should have those soon — esp. when I've gotten more practise on the 'board. In the meantime, check this out:
p.s., I completely forget that I borrowed my bro's gloves! They were mechanics' gloves! LOL!
