Skating Again
- Thread starter Ulu
- Start date
From 2005 on, I built and I rode a lot of boards a lot of miles. I went from 240 lbs to 168 lbs & I got fast.
Dad & me on the wedding of my eldest daughter. Me= 220 lbs. & Dad ~155 and shriveling from cancer.
about 170
By 2010 I was training to ride the geezer's class in a 26.2 mile skate marathon called the Adrenalina. I wasn't yet there. I was up to 21 miles in 2 hrs 08 min. I'd never gone over 21.2 miles.
The record for male geezers 50+ was about 1hr 45min. & 3rd = 2:10 . I was still 5 miles short but confident I'd improve. Then . . .third place!
THEN I really strained an achilles tendon (!) doing stretches in my kitchen and went on the bench. ;( The left leg got short and sore. After a week off and a discouraging Dr visit about scar tissue and diminished capacity, I built up a special shoe to immobilize the tendon about 99% and kept skating. One mile, then two etc. I worked back to about 10 miles and decided to be satisfied. My knee had taken some damage when I tripped over a dog & I was wrecked for the marathon . . . probably forever without Borg knees. I do wear normal skate shoes again.
I had recovered enough by the kiddie race shown above to do a fast 6 miler without pain, but I will never do 20 milers again.
I have one favorite board which I ride consistently, and it took a long time to develop. By building dozens of different boards, costing some $12k plus mucho time, I figured out the best configurations and mods to suit me. (The tech would be total snoozeville for fishkeepers.)
Now I have a stack of $$ boards, hanging out in my garage collecting dust, and because the girls all have grown into makeup and high heels, and all have my custom made boards, they don't come to ride mine. I'll eventually sell them off or donate them for tax credit. They'd be worth somewhat more if I'd won the Adrenalina.
Dad & me on the wedding of my eldest daughter. Me= 220 lbs. & Dad ~155 and shriveling from cancer.
about 170
By 2010 I was training to ride the geezer's class in a 26.2 mile skate marathon called the Adrenalina. I wasn't yet there. I was up to 21 miles in 2 hrs 08 min. I'd never gone over 21.2 miles.
The record for male geezers 50+ was about 1hr 45min. & 3rd = 2:10 . I was still 5 miles short but confident I'd improve. Then . . .third place!
THEN I really strained an achilles tendon (!) doing stretches in my kitchen and went on the bench. ;( The left leg got short and sore. After a week off and a discouraging Dr visit about scar tissue and diminished capacity, I built up a special shoe to immobilize the tendon about 99% and kept skating. One mile, then two etc. I worked back to about 10 miles and decided to be satisfied. My knee had taken some damage when I tripped over a dog & I was wrecked for the marathon . . . probably forever without Borg knees. I do wear normal skate shoes again.
I had recovered enough by the kiddie race shown above to do a fast 6 miler without pain, but I will never do 20 milers again.
I have one favorite board which I ride consistently, and it took a long time to develop. By building dozens of different boards, costing some $12k plus mucho time, I figured out the best configurations and mods to suit me. (The tech would be total snoozeville for fishkeepers.)
Now I have a stack of $$ boards, hanging out in my garage collecting dust, and because the girls all have grown into makeup and high heels, and all have my custom made boards, they don't come to ride mine. I'll eventually sell them off or donate them for tax credit. They'd be worth somewhat more if I'd won the Adrenalina.
Here's my steel leg brace, on the black dropdeck. Was I done skating for good? See Ya!!!
When the doc said I had to wear this shovel on my foot for 8 to 12 weeks, skating seemed remote. For about one day. LOL
I couldn't drive my truck in that thing!
I built up this custom boot to keep me on the road, and it worked. I made about 3 different versions to get something with the right support that did not rub on my tendon. In that 12 weeks I'd lose another 10 lbs skating.
I was down to about 185 lbs when I hurt the Achilles, so it was far easier to deal with, as I'd already lost 50+ lbs. I would lose over 20 more in the next six mos. Most of it skating with the boot.
My dad was a man of many talents. I inherited computers from him
I inherited power tools. I got his Scout. I also got this:
What you cannot see in these photos are the screws and steel wire that hold this together internally.
With the pants leg down you couldn't see much.
When the doc said I had to wear this shovel on my foot for 8 to 12 weeks, skating seemed remote. For about one day. LOL
I couldn't drive my truck in that thing!
I built up this custom boot to keep me on the road, and it worked. I made about 3 different versions to get something with the right support that did not rub on my tendon. In that 12 weeks I'd lose another 10 lbs skating.
I was down to about 185 lbs when I hurt the Achilles, so it was far easier to deal with, as I'd already lost 50+ lbs. I would lose over 20 more in the next six mos. Most of it skating with the boot.
My dad was a man of many talents. I inherited computers from him
I inherited power tools. I got his Scout. I also got this:
What you cannot see in these photos are the screws and steel wire that hold this together internally.
With the pants leg down you couldn't see much.
making it work sir, Docs only know what they know of and do not want to suggest anything beyond that. I can not say I blame them for that. After being nailed by a car when I was 10 or so, said do to the break, and achilles tendon ripped out I was going to more than likes have a limp rest my life. I naa, 9 months later I was running and never had a issue. Skill saw through my other ankle about 20 years ago, Do to tendon dmg my foot was going to flop when I walked and could be a tripping hazard at work, (roofer for 26 years and doing pitched shingling at this time) na, 7 months later back on the roof just fine. Turns out the shoulder took me out of roofing, did a bad roll playing baseball with my oldest, one i had done a million times. bad shoulder point. +3 clavicle separation, bone sutures and dead guy tendons failed. roofing over but prob a good thing as I still have my knees and back with no issues.
This is what it looked like when I bought it in 1984. The skinny 15" whitewalls were probably from a VW.
This car came with 15" or 16", or even 4"x18" wheels, in the postal delivery version. This was the Cholo version.
I bought it to hop up, and I did, and I drove the snot out of it. Eventually it burned a wristpin, and stuck it "out back".
Fast forward 35 years & this is what I'm dealing with now.
Anyhow, that is the topic for another day and another thread.
This car came with 15" or 16", or even 4"x18" wheels, in the postal delivery version. This was the Cholo version.
I bought it to hop up, and I did, and I drove the snot out of it. Eventually it burned a wristpin, and stuck it "out back".
Fast forward 35 years & this is what I'm dealing with now.
Anyhow, that is the topic for another day and another thread.
Well you have my total sympathy. I've done just a couple little bits, and roofing is a very difficult business. My house is 6:12 and a PITA to work on. Imagine the guys that built this stuff from slate! I went to this schoolhouse in Duluth for a few mos in 1967. Of course the streets were paved and there were houses and trees. This photo is from the 1880's.
I have limited experience with slate but did have a (excuse the term) slate dick for repairs when I came upon them, worked great for shake repairs also, this link might explane why we called it what we did.
Slatters Ripper Rip Tool 580mm Slate Removal Ripper Cutting Roofing Construction - - Amazon.com
Slatters Ripper Rip Tool 580mm Slate Removal Ripper Cutting Roofing Construction - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
I skated for years. As a youth in the mid to late '80s I competed in local and CASL contests. As I got older I stopped competing but still kept at it, getting better and better. I was still skating parks and pools until 2007. Now, my body doesn't heal like it used to, and other athletic endeavors dominate my time.
