SkateFurther

Euro distance trips – Portugal

cvallender — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:33:15 +0000

After Giovanni’s successful trip mentionned on our Facebook page at the start of the week, it is time for another journey to take place in sunny Portugal.

On the 22nd April Thib and Romain will skate the 377km between Lisbon and Porto in about 10 days for the fun of skating. These guys have been training hard, attending recent events including the Icy Annecy Push Race and last weekend’s 6 hour push race in Lyon (part of the Rhône Festi’gliss) where they took 1st and 2nd place for longboarders despite difficult weather conditions.

Keep up to date as they progress along their route via the trip’s dedicated Facebook page or website. Enjoy it guys!

Czech Longboard Girls Crew – Stromovka push race 2012

wafflesole — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:38:18 +0000

Some girls, some skateboards, just a nice day…

LongTreks 2 Episode 7: Gorge Du Dades

wafflesole — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:00:44 +0000

Last episode, the crew journeyed into the Saharan dunes for a romantic evening with camels and two days lathered in sunscreen. A three day break altogether from skating makes them eager to get back on the road, starting from Ourzazate, traveling east through Valee Du Dades, coincidentally for the Festival of the Roses in El Kelaa M’gouna. Passing off the festival and opting to skate the Gorge du Dades, one of the most radical designs in roadwork, the Long Treks team skates into the massive Gorge. Unfortunately, Adam is the last of the three to be struck with a powerful and tormenting stomach flu. Need not to go into detail, Aaron and Paul enjoy a day of skating switchback after switchback in the famous Moroccan Gorge.

Icy Annecy push race report

cvallender — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:09:46 +0000

Last Sunday many people flocked to the small alpine town of Annecy, France. For the most part it was for the 16th annual edition of the Venetian Carnival but for some it was the prospect of smooth asphalt, breathtaking views and the chance to race along an awesome stretch of bike path next to the lake.

For some this race was the first of the season and it was great to see such strong representation from La Familia of the nearby longboarding stronghold Grenoble. Thanks to them, Icy Annecy was the 2nd distance event to be held in the Alpes region this year after the successful Familia Winter Challenge : stage 2 in January.

The Icy Annecy push race was just shy of 20km (12 miles) with the best time being a storming 44 minutes:

1st: Alex Bangnoi (Paris)
2nd: Christopher Vallender (Lausanne) +45 secs
3rd: Thib (Grenoble) + 10 secs
4th: Jules (Grenoble) +30secs
5th: Gamby (Grenoble)
6th: Yann (Grenoble)

A big thanks goes out to Thib for organising the event and to the support/entertainment crew Paulo, Pauca et Gigi…

… great vibes and a great day. For more information about the event, click here. There were some great pictures taken of the event by Yann, some of which were used in this article and the remainder of which can be found here. Big up to him for doing a great job capturing the atmosphere of the event.

Distance training!

cvallender — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:18:35 +0000

With Winter finally loosening it’s icy grip on the northern hemisphere, skaters of all kinds are starting to come out like a spring bloom to make the most first dry roads seen for a good while. March sees the first crop of distance events and with them many skaters will feel the need to start a little training. Skatefurther is here to help!

For starters, check out the Health and Fitness section of the forum. It contains some tasty nuggets of information whether you’re training for you first race or are a seasoned distance ninja looking for something different. We also recently stumbled on a great blog called Luchaskate where the blog’s owner Dave is describing his training sessions from a personal point of view in preparation for a half marathon. It’s a good stoke-inducing read about (re)discovering the joys of distance skating.

Obviously, training for anything usually has an aim (winning, being faster, etc) but remember that skating should always about getting your fix of stoke!

Familia Winter Challenge : 2 stage (Long distance pushing)

cvallender — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:48:34 +0000

Last weekend a push race was organised in the French town of Grenoble by La Familia.

In the end the race was 13 km with each rider leaving 30 seconds after the first to ensure that everyone had an equal chance of a good start on the narrow track. Here are the results:

1 Thib: 37min 05s
2 Jules: 38min 07s
3 Adi: 39min 01s
4 Gambite: 39min 11s
5 Pauca: 41min 44s
6 Chacha: 43min 11s
7 Girafe: 51min 03s
8 Fab: 52min 40s
9 Fred: 56min 39s
10 Crazititi: 1h 01min 18s
11 Laure: 1h 10min 00s
12 Sandrine: 1h 12min 37s

This race was the 2nd stage of 3 in the ‘Familia Winter Challenge’ which aims to mix disciplines and help pass the winter blues. Well done guys!

Look out for another event called ‘Icy Annecy’ organised by the winner of this event Thib Le Guen, which is planned to take place early March along lake Annecy. For more information visit the event’s Facebook page.

Remember: You can get in touch with us if you would like us to promote your event.

King of the Kick 2012

wafflesole — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:33:00 +0000

Here we go again!

King of the Kick returns for a second year. This time the comeptition is serious. For more information hit up the facebook page or visit the skatefurther forum. Nat is attending so expect a write up and pics after the event.

Contributions needed.

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:24:50 +0000

Like skating distance? Got an event that you think deserves to be on the front page? Skatefurther is looking for people like you! We are looking for people who can submit articles the deserve to be on the front page; be it a review, event, route or titbit of information you think needs to be shared. All you need to do is email the article to nat@skatefurther.com with links to any pics etc. and if it’s any good we will add you as a regular contributor and post the articles up. Keep up the good work and it could be come permanent!

Skate Trek Yunnan, China 2011

cvallender — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:09:28 +0000

Back in September Max Willis undertook at 6 day 220km skate trek from Dali to Shaxi. He created this video which perfectly describes his experience during as well has some of things he learnt when preparing for his journey. There are some gear reviews, on the road survival tips, and local flavours…everything to inspire and help you prepare your own!

skate trek yunnan china 2011 from max willis on Vimeo.

One of the best videos we’ve seen in a long while!

Paris Push Race 2: Results

cvallender — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:32:55 +0000

Last weekend saw the second edition of the Paris Push Race…the amazingly warm weather that has been predominant in Europe has helped postpone the end of the season. The 20+ participants, a few kickbikers included made the most of the dry conditions to battle it out for the top places over a 25km (15 mile) course. This event is proof that there is a growing distance scene in the whole of France and not just Paris. Special mention goes out to those who made the trip up to take part!

Organised by distance veteran Alex Bangnoi, the race took place in the Bois de Boulogne, just outside Paris which offers conditions which could be compared to Central Park in NYC. A varying terrain and a calm atmosphere away from the traffic – perfect for this type of event.

The finish was a kickbike/longboard showdown:

The longboard podium looked something like this with the top places finishing in under 1h10:

1st: Matthieu Josse
2nd: Thib le Guen
3rd: Alex Bangnoi

A big thanks to the organisers and to all who took part – the event looked rad! For more pictures click here.

Photo credits: Jérôme Motte