Posted inSkateboarding

Senior citizen skateboarding: I get a Kahuna Big Stick. Love it!

Have you thought about longboarding (riding on a longer, more stable skateboard suitable for geezers like me), but are turned off by the difficulty of balancing on one foot while you push the damn thing to get it going, and then to stop it? Turn off that turned off. This senior citizen longboarder has found the solution to your worry. And also mine, because after starting longboarding I realized that pushing and stopping were what I enjoyed the least.  Until the Kahuna Big Stick entered my life. It basically makes longboarding on land a lot like stand up paddling on…
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Posted inSkateboarding Tai Chi

Tai Chi, me, and senior citizen longboarding

So far I've spent about two hours on my recently acquired longboard skateboard. Given how few 63 year old guys (and even fewer gals, likely) spend any time on a skateboard, I figure this makes me a skateboard sage -- mostly by virtue of lack of competition for the title. My skills are limited. But my venerable sagely wisdom is not, in my own mind at least. So if you're still awake after viewing this video of my most recent longboarding practice session, read on below it for some insights I've gotten into how my Tai Chi will relate to…
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Posted inHome life Skateboarding

My senior citizen skateboarding: days 1 & 2

Yeah, I did it. Got a skateboard. Longboard, actually. They're different breeds of the same four-wheeled animal. Quite different critters. Skateboards are all tricky; longboards are for cruising, carving, dancing. I thought about the pros and cons of jumping into longboarding at the age of 63 (see here and here).  Then my inner voice, which hopefully isn't a senile or self-destructive one, spoke to me. "Dude, do it!" Since it used the word dude, I trusted the voice. Figured it was in tune with the skateboarding vibe.  After talking with the dudes at Salem's Exit Real World skateboard/snowboard shop, I…
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Posted inHome life Skateboarding

Senior citizen skateboarding: my new passion?

Can't get it out of my mind. Longboarding, which is skateboarding on, duh..., a longer board. After blogging about how I'm seriously considering giving longboarding a try at the age of 63, asking "am I crazy?", I've come to no firm conclusion. Of course, knowing the answer wouldn't tell me much. I've never had a desire to be averagely normal. And leaving aside obvious clinical insanity, craziness is pretty much in the eye of the beholder. We all do, think, and believe stuff which makes other people say, that's crazy! While to us... they're crazy. So viva la craziness. The…
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Posted inHome life Skateboarding

At 63, I’m seriously considering skateboarding. Am I crazy?

I've never been on a skateboard in my sixty-three years. But after a great conversation yesterday with a guy eight years older than I am, I'm seriously thinking of getting a longboard skateboard -- for cruising around, not doing fancy tricks. Is this crazy? Not to me. And not to the 71 year old man I met while we were waiting for our cars to be serviced at Mini of Portland. Killing time, we found ourselves standing together, looking at the new Mini two seat model in the showroom. Noticing what I was wearing, he said "That's a Crazy Shirt."…
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