I was thinking of going to race but not now as Im yet to hit 80km/hr let alone be regularly skating above it in leathers.

Going to watch is also out of the question also due to making sure High Grade stuff is sorted.

Ill coach you if your keen to race! I totally think that your skills are wicked and its just a matter of kicking you down some huge hills to givve you a taste of the speed!

to be honest i think you should go no matter what if you have the cash and can ride. The stoke of an event, the skill of the top riders and the general all around wicked time you will have will be worth it.

I had a wicked time at all my races even tho i was knocked out in the first rounds BUT in each heat i did have some little thing that was wicked. I remember keeping up with Micho at paskapoo from the push al the way until the 4th corner i held second right behind the speed master. At Mary i had a head that had more than 15-20 passes between me and the guy who came 3rd, Even a photo finish were im dived mid air!!!

Racing for me was little about the race and more about the feel of being around people who dont look at you funny when you talk about how a wheel deformes when side loaded or how carbon boards feel when unloading rather than the usuall blank stares i get from most non-skaters!

that and a finish will give you some igsa points and as far as i know you would havve a chance of being top ranked IGSA nz skater!!!

i am living in wanaka and all of the roads are gritty atm so i cant get out and skate very often. i am signing up for newtons on the 15th so are you guys going to? i will try do tons of training after winter as i have like a month and a half from the end of winter until the race and jestah your riding looks awesome i have to comment on that its super solid. i might try come up to auckland after winter so would you be keen on some riding?

My accident has left my ankle far too weak to consider racing this season and possibly for another but only time will tell.

I'm stoked to help you train in any way i can and if you make it to auckland for a weekend i'm sure me and Dan will take you for something a little different

The first tip i would give you would be START training NOW!!! Get a saw and cut some groves in some old wheels and make them rain worthy (silver fish has more details but post up a how to here!).

Start watching tv in your tuck and get use to sitting in your tuck with out moving or "releasing" out of it for as long as you can (aim for 2-3 times the time it will take you to finish the race). Scoot told me he would have EVERY lunch brake, eating and smoking! Your tuck is also all about frontal area so get in front of a mirror and make your self small, also have some one check the flatness of your back. The cleaner your tuck the better you will be able to find other riders drafts as well as reducing your own.

I cant stress enough how you should spend as much time skating in tight foot traffic at slow speed, it gives you a feel for how to dart, weave and learn how to have an unconscious competent board control and body placement in relation to other moving objects. This will help when you get boxed in by the 3-5 other riders in your heat and see a faster line, instead of having to think about how to move to get there you just will and this leaves your mind free to think about setting up for the next corner.

Crashing, crash as much as you can!!! start slow speeds with full pads, gloves and a lid. Feel the flow of the crash, let it happen and focus on going down to your sliding surfaces and keeping some "control". Move onto leathers and gettin a feel for touching down first to your slide surfaces then to the trusty starfish with feet going towards the impact when possible. Watch most races and often the difference between being knocked out and advancing comes down to who crashed, kept the most control and got back on the track faster...

um what else... oh ya buy an Uglie Carnie feather light board as they make you go faster*

Jestah

*results may differ from person to person :P

cheers for the advice, i will be practicing my tuck after dinner i just hope my flat mates dont laugh at me for too long. snowboarding will be my dh practice for the winter haha eddie spearings told me he skates a hill like he would snowboard so im going to give that a try. i also bought eddies race leathers off him that he took to bathurst so i have leathers but im in need of a helmet. what would you recommend for a good full face? i will probably be coming up to auckland after i have finished my course in wanaka so i will deffinatly want to try bruce road it looks amazing

cheers again for the advice.... keep it coming.

aw yeah and also, i cant make wet weather wheels i dont have any to spare and the roads are more gritty than wet

and im going to ride a pulse!

Leathers, check with igsa but i saw a hell of duct tape when i raced.

Bell drops are wicked balance between aero, safety and ease of modding. For a visor cut a bit of heavy paper to shape so it is the same size as the plastic rim and then transfer this to a clear soda bottle and cut out. Tape it down with electrical tape. Good for training as its easy to replace.

to get better tucking just tuck when ever you think to, watch tv tucking, eat dinner tucking, tuck while thinking about tucking and tuck when you go out riding! Really! the more you tuck the more stretch you body gains in this funny shape, you stretch out and after a while its just like sitting down and then you can hold it for long distances and times making you go MUCH faster than some one who has to "release" out of the tuck to stretch out a tight legs

Straight from the Regulations. I couldnt find anything about the state of leathers maybe ask eddie if your in contact with him about how hard out they were in Europe.
E.
DOWNHILL SKATEBOARD AND INLINE BOARD PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
1.
HELMETS: Hard shell is required. Helmets must be full-face design with a shatterproof shield or goggles. The helmet must be worn to the manufactures recommendations. The helmet strap must be worn tight and secure as designed. NO EXCEPTIONS! No snap on chin guards. No modifications allowed except to face shield. Certified helmets designed for motorcycle or motor sports use are recommended.
2.
LEATHERS: All racers must wear a one (1) or two (2) piece suit made of leather and/or Kevlar. If a two-piece is used, it must zip together at the waist.
3.
SPEEDSUITS: Not allowed.
4.
GLOVES: Racers must wear full fingered, leather and/or Kevlar gloves. Any gloves constructed of rubber, nylon, cotton, etc. must be worn over approved gloves.
5.
FOOTWEAR: Shoes must be in good condition and be laced buckled or secured as designed. The ankles must be protected against abrasion injuries. High top shoes are recommended.
6.
ELBOW AND KNEE PADS: Protective padding for the knees and elbows is recommended but not mandatory.

i think duck tape is the way and i will get the drop from the link dg gave me and when i get it i will try the soda thing but my mate has that and has problems with the visor fogging up on him while riding and that just seems dangerous, got any solutions?

and im in a tuck right now haha

yeah those ideas are good i will try the anti fog when i get the helmet

Richard are you going to join us????

sooo tempting... I like you am not sure if I can handle the ~100kph course but am certainly considering it. I need a better practice hill!!!

there are people who would kill to go (myself included) so if you have the opportunity you better do it haha

do you guys know any hill in the south island to ride? i have to ride down around here

I'm in let me know if you get in Api

yuss im in!!!! im mega stoaked

yeah it does so we have to rep nz. i want to get in touch with you at some point as well. how are you paying for the trip?

there still looks like there is space for people to sign up. kiwi's in particular to sign up...!

That's a while I'm wondering if I go to the race, and I think I will definitly be part of it if I can have a week off work. I just ordered a leather from TradeMe and I will get a fullface helmet in the next few days... We just have to motivate Eddie, and we will be good to have a Team Wanaka :)
Now It's time to train hard!!! Cani, we have to go toether, I have to practice my foot braking and cornerig... (and any other techics actualy ;) 0

just realised taz is pierre. i went skating with him just before haha.

there will be a team wanaka, im in pierre will be in when he gets time off work and i talked to eddie and he said he is keen so there will be four kiwis against the army of aussies

the count down is on now

That's It, I managed with my boss to get a week off for the race, and I've just registred on line this morning :)
I'm so happy to go there, ever if I don't have much hope about my result. It's just so sweet to go in such a longboarding event and be abble to race againt the world top riders! There is so many things you ca learn by ridng those kind of events...

nice stuff Pierre!
You representing NZ or France?

I think i register as a Kiwi. In fact when you register they only ask for your adress and not citizenship, so i will probably get registred as a kiwi. It's doesn't matter for me anyway I love NZ and I'm also proud of my french roots... I'm not too sure that I will be a good representent of NZ, bt I will do my best... I mainly go there for fun, result doesn't matter much for me.
Are you also registring Richard?
For those who go there: Have you already booked your flight? Are you sleeping to the free camping ground? How are you exepting to go from Sydney to Bathurst? What are you thinking if we manage to get both the same flight and then rent together a van or motorhome?

Im doing the free camping thing.
I haven't booked flights yet would be good to all get the same flight and travel together.
I'm keen on going in on a van or motor-home as it looks a little bit difficult to get there by train because of the times. There's either a morning or lunchtime train.
If you get the early one you have to either stay in Sydney Wednesday night or fly really early in the morning and the lunchtime one you miss tech inspection and riders meeting.

I think renting a motor-home or a van is probably the best thing we can do. If we share the cost for rent and petrol, it can be very cheap. It's make the access from Sydney way easier, our stay more confortable, and it's a more secure place to store all our gears. Also we can try to manage a deal with a rental company, as if give them some informations about each riders and the motavation of our trip, we can offer them to be sponsor of the NZ team for the race. I'm not too sure if it will work, but it's cost nothing to try...
Dan are you flying from Auckland? As I live in Wanaka, I may fly from Queestown. We've got some good deals with pacific blue from there...

I'll be flying out of the place with the cheapest flights going.
If its Queenstown then I'll come ride with you guys for abit.

I just had a look on the web to get an idea of what we could get and at what price to go to Bathurst...
From Queenstown to Sydney, there is flights once a week (tuesday) on both way with Pacific blue and it's cost about nz$460 for the return way.
With Air NZ there is different options every days, most of the time with a stop to Christchurch. There cheapest option is nz$541 return(taxes included)
To rent a Van (2 to 3 seats) fom Sydney, the cheapest option I found was with Traveller's Auto Barn (could't get any quotation from Wicked Van out of office hours). From 25/11 to 30/11, it would cost A$301= NZ$372. If we share the cost by 3, it would be NZ$124 per head+petrol cost. It's probably cheaper and better than train or bus...
What are you thinking about it guys?

Hi Team NZ. Its ON.
I signed up today so that makes 4 of us now.
Api - don't worry about rips in yer leathers. Duct tape is the cure all. You should see mine now OMG!!! Visor - A pair of goggles and a 1/2 decent DH mountain bike helmet is more than adequet.
Whoever was worrying about hitting 100km, actually it feels no different than 75/80km. Last year top stand up speed was 97km. I hit 94. The race can be won at the first corner - The Esses, by making sure you carve a good line and hold speed with no foot braking going in, then take a REAL tight line hugging the apex going thru The Dipper. Then its a matter of controlling speed and keeping weight on the wheels not your slide puck on Forests elbow and then tuck for con rod. Predrifting into Forests is possibly not needed as a good clean footbrake will work on that course just as well. The only braking point needed is coming into Forests.
Wheels. You don't need too many for Bathurst as there is minimal sliding. 1 set for practice, another set for qualifing and maybe get away with them to for racing. 3 sets is ample. 83a front, 80a rear or there abouts. I am only going to get one more set as I will make do with what I have. I think Monster Hawgs will be real good for Bathurst but I'm loving the 77mm Speed Vents
Jestah was on about the Tuck. He is so right. I spent 2 days in the gym for 6 weeks prior to going to Europe and just held my tuck facing a mirror with a 15kg weight between leg and chest. This definetly helped tons with leg strength. Get on the weights too for big strong shoulders to hold up well for crashes. Right now both my shoulders are a bit fucked and I have to rest them before I can do and weights. I've been looking at pictures I've found of myself on the net from the Euro races and I've discovered that what I thought was a tight tuck was actually not and I've had my chest a bit high. I was wondering why I couldn't keep in peoples draft properly !!! This just shows that you need to feel what is correct and memorise that position. I was pushing my head up to see better and that was lifting my chest. Mischo has the best killer tuck of all. Its very aero. Try and find pictures of his tuck and copy.
Travel. The best way to Sydney is drive to Chch in my van then EMirates (lovely) to Oz. Cheap and really, the best way to go. Just get an estate wagon for three hour trip to Bathurst. We probably won't use it again until we drive back to the airport. I don't think theres a point in getting a camper van. I vote for getting a room or two (i've already asked to reserve) at the bar building but staying at the camp ground will be great fun but we need to take so much more stuff (tent - sleeping bag etc). But I'd be down for that.
There's lots of stuff we can practice on for instance pushing. We need to have a massive, strong and in balance push.Its really important. The best push gets you the holeshot and that means out of trouble of any carnage behind.
Lets do it!!!!
Eddie 027 472 9908

I'm in Auckland 14th to 25th Sept. How about a trip to this Bruce rd place on the w/e 19th. Is it covered in snow?

Leaving: EK419 Chch 5pm Tues 24th Nov arriving Syd 18.20. Get Car. In Bathurst 10.30. Straight to bar.
Return: EK 418 Mon30 Nov 10.15am out of Syd. Arrive Chch 3.15pm. Drive back Wanaka by 9pm.
Cost $440 flights.
Lets talk tomorrow and book ASAP.

Eddie

Come on Richard...

I think we have luge time booked that weekend so don't know about heading down the bruce as we need to take advantage of the luge when we get it so we don't lose it for summer

Definitely keen for a skate though while your here. There might be some closer spots within a couple of hours of Auckland if I am able to scout them before you get here.

Everything looks good in terms of flights for me. I'll fly back into Auckland afterwards but will prob fly out of Christchurch with you guys. I'll confirm tomorrow as I'll need to speak to my bro in Franz about visiting him while I'm down there.

Eddie in terms of flying with gear how have you found airlines with skate bags?
I have a golf back I was going to use as it will fit not only my skate gear but almost everything else do you reckon I'll get away with that or do you recommend one of the decent hardware bags?

Finally Richard you should come

Sorry boys, not this time.

speedy im keen to postpone as its my birtday on the 24th and i want to hit that in a big big way cause its been too long!

Fly CHCH on the Tuesday and catch the same flight as you guys and fly back into Auckland on the Monday.
Its going to be to much of a mission to go down earlier and visit my brother in Franz then onto Wanaka.
Let me know if the flight Eddie posted is the one you guys are getting and i'll book my flights.