FORT SMITH -- Surf's up!
In the Ozark Mountains?
It is -- for those who ride one of the skateboards-on-steroids known as "longboards."
The popularity of this form of skateboarding in Northwest Arkansas was evident on a recent Saturday when more than 70 riders from a five-state area converged on Lake Fort Smith State Park to challenge their longboarding skills on a steep descent.
Kyle Ramsey of Oklahoma City said he and friends regularly visit the park to spend the day "bombing" downhill, "carving" a line through the curves of the 2-mile run from U.S. 71 to the park entrance. With a gravity-fed plunge of more than 700 feet in elevation change, riders approach or surpass 50 mph.
Thanks to the design of the longboards, even at such speeds, these talented riders say, they are in total control during their runs, capable of executing a power slide to bring them to a complete stop in only a short distance.
Ramsey, a member of NoCoast Skate, a club for skaters from all states that lack coastlines, says, "Arkansas is our place of choice to come."
Shepherd Springs Road is one of their favorite runs because unobstructed visibility around curves, for skaters and motorists, makes for a safer environment than longboarders deal with on some other runs.
Watching them careening down the paved highway, "safe" was not a word that readily came to mind.
However, Nick Gibson, owner of Boardertown Skate Shop in Fort Smith, said there is a wide assortment of safety equipment available for longboarders to protect them in their sport. Gear such as a full-face helmet, gloves with built-in plastic pucks (hard palm pads designed to slide on pavement), elbow and knee pads, specialized padded pants and body armor, and full leather suits are designed specifically for the impacts associated with the sport.
Gibson also described maneuvers riders can use to decrease their chances of injury if, or more likely when, they fall.
The first thing they should do at the first inkling of trouble is to squat down as low as possible, to minimize the distance of the fall. When they do take a spill, they should assume a Superman pose, with arms extended in front and legs straight out behind, allowing the special plastic-lined gloves and padded armor body suits to do their job and protect their skin as they skid across the pavement.
I did not find the image this description brought to mind especially reassuring, either.
But I and many other spectators watched with admiration as the riders raced down the steep hill, in their full-tucked aerodynamic position, chests hovering over their thighs, gliding around the curves. They made it look so easy that even I experienced the urge to give it a try.
However, after viewing the expression of horror on the face of the rider I asked to lend me a board to make a run down the mountain, I decided this might not be an appropriate hill for my inaugural longboard run.
Interest in longboarding is on the increase in Northwest Arkansas. Evidence of this growth is the opening of shops like The Path Outfitters and F-Town Longboards in Fayetteville. Another indication of interest was the near 100 entries attracted to this year's Fayettechill End of Summer Daze longboard event in August. Competitions like this as well as western Oklahoma's Machado Classic motivate skaters to hone their skills and upgrade their equipment.
Downhill racing is not the only attraction drawing people to the sport of longboarding. Noncompetitive skaters also use longboards as a quick mode of transportation around town and across school campuses.
The length of the board is not the only feature that separates longboards from skateboards. Although there are no hard and fast rules, while a skateboard might be 28 to 32 inches long, longboards range from 33 to 60 inches long. They have wider decks, wider, softer wheels and axles designed for smooth turning and straight cruising.
The more stable configurations have opened the sport up to people who do not feel comfortable on skateboards.
When I did give it a try, not on the black diamond run down Shepherd Springs Road but on a bunny slope of a grade farther down the road, I did find it easier to remain upright than on the skateboards I've used.
As I had remembered them, skateboards were skinny, quirky, always trying to escape out from under foot. The longboard provided ample room to adjust my foot position, and it readily supported my body as I sliced around a turn and swooped, or more like gently rolled, down the slight drop in elevation on my beginner stretch of road.
I compare longboarding to the smooth, unrehearsed freestyle sensation I experienced surfing an ocean wave or the wide open adventure of gliding down a snowy slope on a snowboard. Not many of the longboarders I spoke to were snowboarders, but I could see longboarding as a good preparation for a snowboarding excursion.
A little shopping suggests that, as with many sports, a novice can spend as much money as he wants to join in the fun of longboarding. Buying the latest and greatest boards, trucks (T-shape assemblies that hold the wheels) and safety gear could run into the thousands of dollars. But at entry-level prices, you can give it a try for as little as a $200 or so.
I would add the expense of a proper helmet, to protect my gray matter.
ActiveStyle on 10/20/2014