Dropping In

Last week we finally built the skate ramp that I had promised the kid I would build.  I found some plans online that were pretty straight forward and we got most of it finished in one weekend.

We had a halfpipe in our back yard when I was in high school in Charlotte.  I spent a lot of time out there,  riding back and forth, learning a few tricks.  Nothing super fancy, but it was fun.  I spent a lot of time out there wishing that I had more friends that could skate with me.  I had a couple here and there, but most of the time it was me.  I can't remember what happened to the ramp. 

Fast forward a couple of decades and I have a kid of my own.  I don't want him to be skating in the back yard by himself so we bought skateboards, went to the Food Lion Skatepark here in Asheville.  The kid caught on a little bit, but wasn't buying it.  I figured that if he had a place to practice and gain confidence,  he would be able to ride and enjoy it.

And yes, I am thinking that it would be a blast to skate with my kid.  People ask if I built the ramp for me, or for my kid.  Well,  if I didn't have a kid, I would not have built the ramp.

I also hope that this yard can be a safe place for neighborhood kids to come hang out,  learn to skate,  form solid friendships.  The Oakley Skate Posse......



So,  after finishing the ramp, the kid got on it and promptly wiped out, hard.  After a few pumps, I decided to drop in and promptly wiped out hard.

I spent the week thinking about it, watching you tube instructionals, practicing and finally going for it.   After 2 tries,  where I almost wiped out but didn't,  I nailed it. Awesome!