Fiberglass Grater!

Taking bus 38.

The View.

For some reason I can never make the hill look any better.

 

 

So I decided to relieve some work stress today and headed to Ikea, taking bus 38, to practice some slides. It was the first session I had today by myself at this spot and it was pretty cool. Practiced some stand-up slides. Was very disconcerting doing them without knee-pads. Ended up bailing onto my knees once or twice. Not the best thing in the world. Managed to get them stuck in the end. My board is getting a bit grated though on the nose. When the board flips over it grates the top of the deck. The fiberglass is now poking out. Besides that, the board slides amazingly. Really awesome.

Rocca Part 2

This is the hill we found heading out south from Rome.

The hill is called Via Dei Laghi.

Rocka da Poppa!

The skate spot we were heading to, near Rocca di Papa.

Missioning to a skate spot south of Rome.

Doing a bit of tourist photographing. Cool cliffside village.

Largo Albano.

Still travelling.

We finally found the road, and... it was shocking!

Stopped at the top of the hill. Radio masts giving us dillusions that we could actually skate the hill.

The boards.

Freaking Resident Evil vibes.

Zona Militare.

Finally ended up skating a proper session near Ikea. Better roads, better

So the skate session started a little late on Saturday afternoon, only leaving the city at 6.30 p.m. We ended up getting lost and in the process found an awesome hill to skate. Unfortunately it will have to be a Sunday morning when there are fewer cars, but potentially really awesome. I'll post a vid of the route sometime. 

So when we finally stopped it was almost dark and the road was shocking. Antonio brought me some Randal 180s with 50º base-plate and I switched to 75mm classic thane Zigs. The surface was really bad. If the road was perfect it would be really amazing. A couple of sick corners. Mini Kozakov possibly? Who knows. 

So we finally left. Unsatisfied. We decided to head back to something we knew. Ikea. The skating was just what we needed.

 

Dirt Corner.

Longboarding store in Italy! Awesome stuff.

Big Day Out.

Meeting Antonio. Photos courtesy of Tam.

Negotiating how to fit on the Vespa with two skateboards.

Sliding by some newly constructed roads near Ikea.

Not sure what the suburb was called, but cruised around looking for a drink.

The boards and the Vespa.

Riding through Villa Borghese. Looking for some more locals.

Met up with two little chaps. Neither had helmets. This will change.

We had to carry our bike helmets, so we wore them. Bombed through the bus lanes, closed to cars.

Sliding in Villa Glori. Shocking cellphone blur.

One of the little corners.

A nice steep run for practicing slides.

Looking down the same road.

So today was the first day I managed to go skating with some local Roman skaters. I met up with Antonio whom I had met through Sliverfish. He arrived on a Vespa, so we had to negotiate how to fit on the little thing with with two backpacks and two longboards. It worked out alright.

The first place I was taken to was a newly tarred road near the shopping centre Ikea to the north of Rome. My setup currently isn't the best for sliding. Super hard bushings that came with my Kahalanis need to be swopped for softer ones. After there we went through town to Villa Borghese where we met two younger guys. We skated through the park, with a number of gentle hills, to a road that runs along the Villa down to Piazza Del Popolo. Would be cool to go back there because its closed to traffic, and the buses aren't that much of a problem. Stopped for lunch at Burger King. Had my first meal there. Reminded me of the burgers at Steers. We then went to Villa Glori, where there is a steep hill for pedestrians. When we got there it was occupied with runners doing sprints up and down the hill. We decided to go somewhere else and found some fun little runs through the paths of the Villa. My Boardyard got quite a hammering as the wet ground took me by surprise resulting in the board flying out and smashing into a bench. Here we met up with some more locals, and even a girl skater. Unfortunately she fell and hurt he knee and had to leave.

After a while we headed back to the hill, called Viale dei Settanta. The steep gradient allows one to gather speed quickly allowing for a number of slides in one run. It was a really awesome day, getting to meet the locals, and seeing some of the spots. Apparently there are some awesome hills outside of town which I'm super amped to check out.

Block Pushin'.

So because it's been raining the past two days when I wanted to go for a skate, I finally decided that even though its not the most exciting place to skate around, I should take advantage of the warm air and dry roads. It was the first time I had explored the whole area of my neighborhood and there are at least two places where some sliding can happen. Aside from the arbitrary pushing, I have finally got in contact with a fellow longboarder in Rome. We have yet to go skating but he told me of a couple of spots, but they are situated outside of Rome: Circeo, Monte Orlando, and Mount Versuvio park. The last of which looks pretty sick.

Suburban Road Surfaces.

 

Some images of the road and pavement surfaces near to where I stay.

Wet weather. No skate.

So I was really amped on doing a push session today. The weather in Rome had been improving over the past couple of days so I was super keen for a mission along the cycle path next to Fiume Trastevere. However, the weather had other plans. Its frustrating because it takes so long for the wetness to evaporate too. 

The distance is about 7.5 km and the quality of the cycle path looks decent enough so it should be a good skate.

Velefique 2011

So there is this freeride happening at the end of April, beginning of May in Velefique, Spain. Just north of Almeria. I was so amped on attending it but the cost of getting there, when I haven't started my job yet, is going to be pretty rough. The quickest way of getting there is to fly to Almeria. That costs 330Euros. If I take a ferry it costs just over 100 Euros, but its 20 hours long and it goes to Barcelona which is 800 kms away. The ride itself is only 20 Euros, but the act of getting there is pretty intense. The road looks amazing though. One day.

Strike Day. Equals. Skate Day.

Sitting with some goodies.

So today there was a transport strike. Who knows, and who cares, because what it meant was skate, skate, skate! I skated about 4 kms to my girlfriend's (and soon to be my) work today and back. Its quite tough because I'm not so confident skating on the road yet, so it was a combination of road and pavement riding. The pavements are shocking so it was an exercise is 4x4ing really. Changed to my Otang 4pres' hoping they would cope better than the Freerides on the all terrain, but it was marginal. The route I took wasn't the best, but next time hopefully it will be better. Was still super awesome though. The Romans didn't know what hit them!

The new Lid.

The new lid. Bought today from Decathlon at Porta di Roma for 12.90 Euros. Fits snug.

Rome. The Intro.

Ok, so I have arrived in Rome and have currently been living here for almost three weeks. This blog is to document my skating in not only Roma, but also throughout Europe (hopefully). Up until this point in time I have been preoccupied with trying to find a place to stay, as well as finding a job. I now have both, so in my free time (if I get any) I plan to skate as much as possible. Even if it is only to work and back.

I managed to skate for the first time, since arriving in Rome, last week Sunday (6 March). It was quite nerve-racking as the cars drive on the right hand side of the road, not the 'wrong' side as I have been told. Accompanied by my girlfriend, who helped with spotting cars, I managed to get a couple of slides in. The roads aren't the greatest, but they will suffice. I happen to live at the top of a hill, not the biggest one, but still enough to get some speed. I need to get some new slide wheels as I am having trouble with my ever diminishing Abec11 Freerides. But they are alright, as they help with sliding at lower speeds.

The Freerides. Slightly flatspotted, but still holding strong.