Heelychat, the forum for heelys, the shoes with wheels - View topic

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

Got in a little more vert practise today. . . have graduated from the small ramps to the larger ones, and I don't fall as much as I used to - I sometimes used to fall when I hit the bottom of the ramp but I can do that now Smile

Also trying to help another kid I know to do vert. I mean I can't teach her very well because I'm only learning myself, but I can give her encouragement etc.

Today she wanted to attempt the biggest ramp. She went a little too fast and her wheel caught at the bottom edge of the ramp, and she fell quite hard - I always make sure she wears knee and elbow pads, but there was a little grazing/blood on her side, and she's only 8, but she didn't cry even though some skateboarding lads were making fun of her for falling - you'd think they'd know better. She got up and dusted herself off, and said she wanted to try some more. I was very proud of her. Smile

Also got in a little more grind practise, and then it started to rain, but I found that made the grinding a little easier Very Happy

(wheels out of course, don't want to ruin my bearings)

Team Heelys - SoCal Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: -123845

wet plates make your grinds faster. i figured that out when i was doing some early-morning grinding.

Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 223 Location: Warshington, USA

For sure! When I did my grinding, the grass was pretty moist, keeping my plates and the rail pretty moist as well... it was quite slippery. Might have helped me fall, but it sure was fun to glide the entire length of that 10 foot rail. Smile

Team Heelys - Northeast Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 781

I still have a bruise from grinding down my rail downhill. It hurt! Very Happy

Thats one thing i won't try in the morning. Other than that though you do go faster.

( i was trying to unity when i fell)

Team Heelys - Northeast Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 1803

8 might be a bit young to skate vert without a knowledgeable coach.

Keep it simple at first. No need to impress anyone. Just get the feel for it first.

MDHZ

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

Aye, good advice Merlyn - the lads that were there were daring me to drop-in - but I could feel I wasn't ready for that yet. One step at a time.

Also, the quarter-pipe there was quite small, which meant quite a sharp rate of turn, rather than a bigger, more gradual turn - was thinking that looked harder than a more gradual one, but I didn't do it as I knew they were just trying to make me hurt myself.

Do you experienced vert-skaters find smaller "sharper" quarter-pipes easier to drop in on, or bigger more gently curved ones? Obviously I'd be wise to start on the easier type (whichever that is) and then work my way up.

I was also wondering who is the oldest known heeler who can do Drop-Ins and who is the youngest, just out of curiosity? Smile

Team Heelys - Northeast Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 1803

The youngest person to drop-in is Micro-Mac (Big Macs youngest brother) - he's age 5.

I'm the oldest known vert skater. But I'm not .. your typical case.

MDHZ

Joined: 22 Feb 2007 Posts: 1548 Location: Ohio

Team Heelys - Northeast Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 1803