Brooklyn Workshop Longboard Specific Shoes

So over the last few weeks I got a good chance to really step into a set of Brooklyn Workshop's Elby shoe. 

To work them in I spent two weeks in California skating every day. Normally I'm pretty conservative when it comes to shoe use but I gave these a beating and tried not to baby them. I forgot to take photos when they were clean and new but you can check them out at the Brooklyn Workshop webpage in a variety of colours.

When you pick up the shoe you can see they worked through every detail before releasing them. They really thought of everything.

Starting from the insole you'll notice a bit of padding added under the really low profile insert. Definitely helps when running off your board to avoid a hard slam.

Its nice to see the entire shoe is low profile. The sole starts quite thin but still durable. This makes the board feel incredible. Similar to a converse or vans style slip on you can fold the shoe in half or twist it a full 360 with ease.













The sole despite its thin profile is still very durable foot breaking and constant shifting on top of vicious grip left them only a little bit worn. My only beef is the red colour on the sole isn't the same layer as the gum colour. When worn down it begins to peel, I didn't notice it underfoot so its probably not a big deal.

A little bit of peeling.

See not a big deal but I'm picky

Another nit picky detail is the shoes come with metal lace ends. Great for those fraying ends but I tend to tuck my laces into my shoes and they are a bit bulky.

 

 They also added extra material all around the toe and up to the first lace loops. Helps with falling and when you get your ollie on. As you can see I don't do that many ollies but if I did I'm pretty sure my laces would still be tight!






All in all a great shoe. Really durable, extremely light, great board feel and not a bad price at $68.

Check out this sweet shot from Trent Stake of me riding the shoes

Photo: Trent Stake Riders: Justin Readings and Daniel Favela

Puerto Rico 2013

As many have heard Puerto Rico was a bit of a gong show this year. The race was overpopulated with spectators and cars and no safe runs were to be had. Most runs you could expect to dodge spectators, children,  pets, course workers, and even cars.

My first real run, on where I tucked, was my race heat. I took off down the course not sure what to expect. After passing a car and a scooter I was bumped into the right left section of the course and was going a bit faster than expected. As can be expected I crashed.

Check out an average race heat in this video from Skate House Media. BC local Mac Wacey dominates the run until he wrecks a spectator carving down the road.



Thankfully earlier in the week I decided this would be more about relaxing than skating, so I managed to spend every day at the beach and a few in the rainforest. This saved my trip from being a complete disaster. I also decided to spend two weeks in California on the way back so plenty of skating will be done!

IGSA and IDF 2013

There's been a ton of interesting new in the last month regarding next years race organizations.

The International Downhill Federation (IDF) is now alive and pushing for the riders. Aiming for the "democratic and accountability structures of a real international sporting association."

They have a rider representative, Kevin Reimer, and event organizers from all over the world working together to provide a bigger and better 2013. Unkle Lees event in BC will be included in the circuit as well as Peyragudes, and Bo Peep Crash and Burn.

At the moment all they are putting forth is democracy, transparency and accountability, but I'm sure more updates will follow.


IDF Facebook

IGSA has also made similar promises for the new season.

There are plans for a change to Non-profit for 2013. There will be transparency in the way money is used, each rider will have more of a voice and be able to vote on rules and regulations.

IGSA is also promising new software from Chris McBride. Streamlining registration, qualifying, race brackets, and point distribution. Which hopefully means events will run smoother and results will be posted immediately. They are also promising more transponder timing for 2013.

The last bit of news in IGSA's new release is they will be splitting riders into three categories. Which could be good or bad. At the moment its troubling getting through a 64 man bracket, trying to race three brackets may be impossible. If successful it will get beginners more racing experience but at the same time will cut "pros" riding. People who have dedicated years of time and money into the sport may be cut after one round or even not qualify if the bracket is over populated. There will be a fine balance and in the first year I can see it going either way.

IGSA 2013 Updates

Both organisations claimed to have Newton's the Australian race under there organization. Should be interesting to see the result.

I think the competition is good, and really pushing forward for the sport but after 2013, I only see one surviving. Which one do you think it will be?

Cross Canada and Back

The last month has been amazing.

On my return from Europe I took off on a cross Canada tour. Beginning with a race in Calgary, going to the board meeting, skating some of the burliest east coast roads, and getting back to Toronto.

You can check out everything tour related here:
http://www.switchbacklongboards.com/tour/

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour even though there were tense moments traveling in a bus for two weeks.

Nearing the end of the journey I decieded instead of heading back with my belongings to Vancouver I would take off for an extra week. Visit one of my sponsors Abec 11 to skate some gnarly hills, then go to the Menlo Slide Jam and meet up with Rayne to bring me back to Vancouver and complete my move.

On top of a new found favorite

The Menlo Slide Jam was held on the best free riding hill I've been to. Steep grade, sweeping turns, and perfect pavement.

After Menlo we skated Levi Green's home hill near Sacramento. It was awesome after a week of  residential skating to let go and scream down a hill without any worries.

Shortly after leaving Levi we had some engine trouble in the form of a hole... in the engine. So we got towed to Medford for a few days of relaxing. Last night we visited a hot spring, with a steam room, pool, and hot tub. A few hours of much needed relaxation.

Tomorrow back to the RV to pull out an engine and let the mechanics go to work on installing a brand new 350 into our beast to get us back on the road.

Really excited to get back to Vancouver and officially move in.

Europe 2012

Its been a few weeks and lots of things have happened.

I've been all over Europe in the last 3 weeks and have been having a blast. Skating for me has been minimal but still awesome due to an injury.

The last 3 races I've taken it easy just skating and not pushing at events. Things are looking up for this weekend so we'll see how everything works out.

Photo: Braden Tibbles

Last week we hit a few passes and joined in on a local celebration for a small towns anniversary. They had fireworks a big celebration and a man in drag; the perfect combination for a party.

It was really cool to be a part of the small town tradition and wake up in the morning to skate a sweet mountain.

Heading off to Switzerland now for another race and some free riding.

Shout outs to Switchback Longboards, Rayne Longboards, Dr. Vie Superfoods, Vicious Grip, and Hollow Point Labs for making this trip happen

Mexico and Off Again

Have been absent from the blog for a while!! So busy in Vancouver despite trying to take some time to relax.

Had an amazing trip down to Mexico met some great people and got to see some friends as well.

Definitely a race to check out for next year, check out some details here: www.mlf.mx

The course was an intense 3 minute course, filled with fast straights into sweepers followed by hairpins. The course was also covered in dust making it hard to slow down and unpredictable. Not only did Mexico present gnarliest fast dusty and technical course I've been to but they also brought the party. 

Every night there was a huge party with beer tents, places to chill,  and live music. Riders could walk to the party and stumble home.

The locals were nothing but stoked, (at the beginning) and brought us into there homes, allowed us to sleep in a big bed each and cooked breakfast in the morning.

Everyday Gorditas, who can forget.

Stoked Local!!

Pender Experience and Britannia Classic

Over the last two weeks I've been super busy with a few events.

The Danger Bay Slide jam DH race then Jake's rash all in the Pender Harbour area.

Danger Bay was a sweet party and a nice place to see everyone for the first time this season. A sweet one to watch because of all the crashed and upsets.
 
I managed to make it a few rounds until I hit the bails and hurt my knee.

Patrick Switzer ended up in first with Danky, Kevin, and Alex following.

Jake's rash followed with a fast flowing course with no breaking.

We skated it for a day before the race and got a few runs the morning of. A bit of race to qualify and we were on our way.

I managed to make it all the way to the finals where I failed to make a crucial pass and ended up in 4th. Super happy to have been there. Such a great experience. This is the second big race I have been in the finals for, 2012 is looking up.

Britannia Classic was the weekend following. One of my favorites for its immaculate pavement. Stoked on free riding all weekend. Unfortunately I was taken out first round of racing before the bridge. Not too worried because in two days I will be at another race!

Kevin leading Semi Finals Photo: Les Robertson

Kevin Reimer took the finals with Patrick close behind.

Stoked for Mount Washington DH this weekend will update later with photos!

Follow up: Longboard Vigil

A vigil was held today for Ralph who was killed in a collision on King Street. 200 people showed up, many with boards and helmets.

It's crazy to see the community come together after this accident. Organizing and holding a vigil for a longboarder who wasn't actively involved in the community and who most didn't know. It really shows the sense of family that grows among skateboarders.

Video of the vigil and on site interviews can be found here:

Skateboarders hold vigil for rider killed in collision

Another Longboarder Death

On the 14th of May another rider,  Ralph Bissonnette, was struck down on King Street in Toronto. An onlooker says Ralph and the cabbie exchanged a few words, following this altercation the cabbie continued to intentionally hit Ralph with his car.

Ralph was tended to by emergency services and later died in hospital.

The crash was reconstructed as the street was closed off. The police have charged the cab driver with second degree murder. A witness claims to have seen Ralph's lower body being run over after the cab mounted the curb.

There is a Vigil for Ralph today. See details here https://www.facebook.com/events/385358431515230/

Ralph's skateboard laying broken on the curb.

You can see words from Ibrahim’s (cab driver's) lawyer here, as well as a couple extra details.  http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1178554--cabbie-charged-with-murder-in-skateboarder-s-death?bn=1

Always sad to see unnecessary deaths and incidents, especially when recently there have been so many. Late 2011 another commuter was struck and killed by a garbage truck early in the morning.
Early 2012 North Vancouver has had quite a few issues with traffic and skateboards, you can follow up with them here:
North Vancouver Ponders What to do with Longboarding
Follow Up: North Vancouver Ponders Further

This really makes you think if a couple snarky words yelled in retaliation are worth it. I know I'll think twice before saying anything to someone rolling around in a 2000 pound metal box.

Be careful, skate safe!

New Camera with Mischa

The sun has been shining for a week now and I've finally got another camera in my hands.

Here's a photo from today:

Gives you a quick idea into whats to come!!

Crazy camera does 12 shots a second and 60 frames at 1080p so I'm pretty stoked to use it more as the season goes on.

Newtons Nation Live

Watch Newtons Nation Live

Riser Race

Last week we had a little fun at the Poop Shoot.

Rayne sent down over 100 risers and Switchaback hooked up the hardware for this event.

A quick race with a two man head to head slalom course, with two inches of riser under your feet.

Things started slow with lots of falls. Too much grip and the extra height making it really difficult to slide successfully. 

Rider: Ben Keymer

Before long people were crushing the course all standup. 

Rider: Joey Marion

The race was 6 rounds of 2 man heats to rack up points for finals. Each round winner was able to pick from a bag of goodies to help them win the next round. Paper bats, a string of reflectors and the sketch deck were favorites.

Jon Norman reigned victorious after Ben Keymer was slayed by Brad Statham who he knocked out the previous round. 

Here Jon is celebrating:

Thanks to Switchback and Rayne for throwing down as per usual!!

Race Season Starting Soon

Starting off the season in a week with one of the best events out there, The Mary Hill Free Ride, kicking off my biggest list of races.

Hopefully I'll be able to add a few more BC races to this list as well as South America, as well as a few free ride events and skatenappings. 

Here is what I'm looking at so far:

April
21-22 -Maryhill Freeride, Goldendale, Washington

May
23 - Jakes Rash, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
25-27 - Britannia Classic, Britannia, British Columbia

June
2 - Mount Washington, British Columbia
9-10 Vernon DH, Vernon, British Columbia
16-17 - Skylands Downhill, Kelowna, British Columbia
27 – July 1 Maryhill Festival of Speed, Goldendale, Washington

July
12 - Whistler Longboard Festival - Skate + Shoot, Whistler, British Columbia
13-15 - Whistler Longboard Festival DH, Whistler, British Columbia
25-28 Kozakov, Kozakov, Czech Republic

August
3-5 Padova Grand Prix, Teolo, Italy
9-12 Peyragudes Deluxe Cup, France
17-18 Descent, Lausanne, Switzerland
31 - Sept 2 Winsport Cup, Calgary Canada

September
15-16 Prince Edward County Gravity Fest, Picton, Ontario

Dec
7-9 Hot Heels Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

In a week I'll be flying out to Vancouver to finally get out to some big hills and do some solid skating.

As always thanks to Rayne and Switchback Longboards for their support!!

Follow Up: North Vancouver Ponders Further

A few weeks ago I wrote about the issues rising in Vancouver.

North Vancouver ponders what to do with longboarding

An article from Macleans goes over it again. Pretty informative and interesting so I've basically quoted the whole thing...

It addresses a huge issue that people are no longer being as safe as they used to. Especially the newer guys who aren't being taught how to respect the rules of the road. Arriving by the busload people shred down hills without considering consequences.

"it was mostly older teens and twentysomethings, guys and girls who looked like they took care of themselves and each other, she says. But as the sport grew more popular, the boarders became younger and more cavalier. Riders on Hope’s road used to have spotters at each of its three hairpin turns to watch for oncoming cars. Few do so anymore"

At some points in can be appropriate to speak up but the majority of the time bottle it up and bust out your smile and a nice wave. A honk isn't always obnoxious just letting you know their there or a reminder that the road is meant to be shared. So keep your fingers away and move over!

"“I was coming home from work three weeks ago and found one group boarding three abreast in the middle of the road,” he says. “When I gave a light horn tap, two of the three flipped [me] the bird, as seems to be their reaction to most anything they dislike.”"

Hopefully things run smoothly over the next few weeks and the steep fines can stay threats for a while and not a reality. 

"If adopted as planned, the district’s new rules will allow police to levy steep fines and confiscate boards. Craver doesn’t think that goes far enough; he wants to see a complete ban. Robertson, on the other hand, believes the rules go much too far. “We’re living in Canada, this is supposed to be a place where we have personal freedoms, where we’re outdoorsy and athletic and co-operative and we say sorry when we don’t need to,” he says. “We’re not doing that right now. Right now we’re acting like America.”"

Welcome to Rayne with Nathan Ng

Recently I was interviewed by Nathan Ng for a quick view into my past skating and to find out how my life was shaping up. He did an amazing job documenting the whole thing and managed to give me a blast from the past with pictures of me even I haven't seen.

This was accompanied by a "Rayne Team Rider" video and even though I have been riding with Rayne for some time now, I feel as if it's more official now. This also seems like a good time to thank them for helping me get to South Africa and agreeing to continue to support me for my 2012 season!

Check it out below and let me know what you think!

Also check out the full transcript here at Nathan's blog. Great blog to follow in general, touches on lots of Toronto Longboarding!

North Vancouver ponders what to do with longboarding

February 6th a 15 year old on a longboard hit a car and has put the longboarding scene out west in danger.

There looking to place fines for reckless skateboarding in North Vancouver which is one of the best places to skate. Seems like a reasonable way to go about things for both sides but leads me to think this may just be a way to ticket every skateboarder in the area.

Kind of sucks not much else to say about it...

Here's is one of the better articles I have seen addressing longboarding and what should be done about it. A quick blurb from both Les Robertson of Rayne Longboards and from Chuck Duffy, the man whose car was damaged when a longboarder hit it.

More reasonably minded individuals got together on Monday to discuss the future of longboarding in North Vancouver and realised its not going away.

"Coun. Roger Bassam compared the explosive growth of longboarding to mountain biking.

“Mountain biking, years ago, was a fringe sport. It’s now mainstream,” Bassam said. “I’m not interested in banning longboards, I think it’s going to be part of our community for a long time to come.”

Bassam added that a policy of banning activities where some participants are not in compliance with the rules would lead the district to outlaw dogs and bicycles."

Read more about the council meeting here. So far there have been no bans on longboarding in North Vancouver according to another article from The Province.

Another article spawning from the same incident here goes a little bit more into what should be done.

Les Robertson speaks again on recent events:

"Les Robertson, a manager at North Vancouver's Rayne Longboards and member of a longboarding advocacy group, says the approach is counterproductive.

Banning the sport from streets won't work, he said, pointing to West Vancouver, which remains a popular destination for boarders despite a blanket ban on skateboards of all kinds.

Rather, the issue requires a more creative response, he said."

Thankfully we've seen and dealt with this before and it really hasn't affected skateboarding too much. It is unfortunate that this couldn't have been dealt with without an ambulance. From the sounds of it the rider wasn't very injured.

"The youth was treated in hospital but came out of the crash with little more than scrapes and bruises, according to police. The collision did about $2,000 worth of damage to Duffy's truck"

Here's a sweet picture of a grumpy dude collecting signatures to ban skateboarding.

Grumpy Chuck Duffy Collects Signatures to Ban Longboarding

New Rayne Vandal

Haven't posted in a while.

Here's a good time to give you a quick update on whats going on with Rayne Longboards.

Recently they've released a new top mount called the Vandal.

3D Concave to keep your feet locked in and ready to tackle any hill. Here is a quick video of the deck in use:

Other than that news Rayne has made the Renegade is now a production model in a sweet new green. 

Vicious Grip is also now available in rolls for end to end coverage on your favourite decks.

Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting stuff coming this year.

Been Away

Hey guys have been away for a little while!

Here is a quick video I helped Matt Arderne edit from Houwteq HDX in South Africa




Overall the trip was amazing fun, and I'm not digging the snow and cold.

Thankfully I'll be in California for some sun and skateboarding and there will be some cool stuff to show!

Recently I've done an interview with Longboard Living and still have all my South Africa footage to make into a video!

Going Golfing

Been up to a lot lately. Lots of videos on the way and a new one already up.

Check this one out from an Ontario golf course.



When golfing ends skating begins. It was a pretty cold day to begin the winter but not as bad as it could have been. A pretty sunny day with no water in sight.

South Africa - Day to Day

Been having a great time in South Africa you see nothing but smiling faces and welcoming people. For a few days I stayed in student housing while most of the people were off on summer vacation. Needless to say when i arrived on Friday i was absolutely shocked that I had a bed to sleep on instead of the floor. Even more shocking is 6 days into my trip I have not spent a night on the floor. At the moment I am at Matt's girlfriend's mom's house. Again there is an empty bed and plenty of warm cooked meals to go around, I could get used to this.
This week i had a quick skate at a local free ride hill and a full day session at a quick sweepy South African gem. The hill was 7km long with lots of sweeping turns most of which there was no need to slow down.
Today i finally made it into Cape Town

South Africa - Houwteq HDX

Houwteq HDX was a fantastic event with a relaxed feel.

I managed to get 2nd 

Read the full write up here

Photo: Mia Esterhuyzen

South Africa - The Journey

At the airport for 12 PM Toronto time ready for a long journey to South Africa. Customs was a breeze and the staff were incredibly smiley compared to there usual straight faces you would see, which was a nice change.
First stop is New York with a quick 2 hour flight and a brief 2 hour layover, probably the biggest worry of my journey was collecting my bags while switching airlines in New York but thankfully my bags were booked to go straight through. A quick painless stop in New York and I was on my next flight, after a few minutes up we were informed that we managed to leave early and are headed for Amsterdam an hour ahead of schedule due to high winds in our direction!

 
At the Stipole Airport I landed in a gate on the complete opposite side of the airport, so afer treking through a kilometer of airport shopping centre I was at my gate. Unfortunately i was a few hours early so I set out to find a plug to charge my computer and kill some time. I had an awesome panini sandwhich and then headed for the next flight.
After another nice flight, 12 hours this time, I was in Cape Town hoping that my bag had arrived with me, it did. After customs and collecting my assets I met up with Matt Arderne and we headed to Stellenbosch a near by university town. We went to a few local bars before packing it in as the next morning we were headed for Houwteq DHX.

Packed and Ready to Go

I'm pretty well packed and excited to get off to South Africa tomorrow afternoon. Will be a tough (full) day of flying, stopping over in New York and Amsterdam with no time to leave the airport. Just getting movies loaded onto the laptop to watch on the way over and in the airports while waiting for flights.

As per usual I have packed far more then I need but won't need to bring all of it back. Have my leathers and helmet packed in carry on so no matter what I'm going down the hill Saturday morning. I'll be arriving at 10 30 PM local time with hopefully enough energy to say hi to everyone and promptly crash to be ready for racing in the AM










Sporting a nice Switchback Longboards hat for the ride over. "100% Skateboarding 10% of the Time". Kesha or Die.

Also going to be keeping my barely visible mustache for an additional 20 days to see if its worth keeping for next Movember, as this year was a failure.

South Africa, Rayne, and a Secret island

Finally have my trip booked after much procrastinating. I locked down a flight and saved a couple hundred dollars, but I have three different flights to catch each way. Around 24 hours of traveling, but it will be worth it.

Got some sweet stuff from Rayne, really stoked on the Renegade. Sweet board to kick around on, haven't had much time on it but hopefully in the coming weeks I can get more comfortable going quick on it. Also have a new Babykiller under my feet for the end of the season and they sent a bunch of the Softest T-Shirts Ever made from bamboo. Had some in the summer but I'm pretty sure they got stolen because they are so nice to wear.

For some more visual updates just herd back from Alex Dehmel at Olson&Hekmati in Germany and hes just come back from a sweet trip to a small island across the pond. Here are some photos:

Rider: Alex Dehmel Photo: Vandem MFG

Rider: Sebastian Hertler Photo: Vandem MFG

Rider: Rebekka Gemperle Photo: Vandem MFG

They battled through a day of rain, for a weeks worth of sun in this skate paradise that boasts a 360 degree turn and more hills than you can count. One could not ask for more, one day I'll be there.

Verdicchio 2011

Last IGSA race for the Euro Tour and it was looking to be one of the best courses. Most diverse race of the year, tucking, full speed gripping corners, predrift necessary hairpins, everything was covered.

At registration everyone was given a bottle of wine and a sausage and dinner tickets for the weekend, finally we've organizers that understand!! Which were very tasty and coming with more drinks.

Unfortunately a week in Italy dealing with the frustration of siesta I have still not learned that all shops are closed at lunch time... When I want to go buy food. Fortunately there was a nice cafe at the top serving gelato, and a restaurant down the street with pizza.

After the first run the course seemed slow and some of the corners hard to dial, but each run after got quicker and quicker. Shuttles were running smooth and I was tired by the end of the day.

Here's a shot of practice, open visor keeping cool in the crazy heat of southern Italy.

Photo: Dave Kessler

At the start of qualifying and throughout racing I was feeling more confident than usual. The 4 days spent in the north of Italy had helped me dial in some things I had been working on. I qualified 9th, which was my best for the year.

The first round was easy enough but it quickly stacked up after that. With six man heats the start and first corner were hectic, if you could avoid being boxed out and get a good few kicks in you were in good shape. By the third round it was getting tough, already up against Jackson, Mischo, Braden and two others.

Making it past the quarter finals and into bonus round, the competition is really tight. Just missing third put me into the consolation finals with Luke, Mischo, Ramon, Robin, and Christoph.

Photo: Dave Kessler

Starting in last place after getting squeezed out I managed to pick off 3 of the 5 other riders. Putting me in 3rd for consolations and 9th overall, the last race of my season and I was pretty stoked with the results.

Verdicchio was one of my favourite courses of the season with a good variety of corners, also one of the best supplied events with food, good partys, and drinks included with each meal!

Italian Free Ride

After Padova we had a couple day stretch to find something to do so the morning after the race we all packed up, sadly parted ways with Alex as he was injured and headed to some mountain passes.

We spent 4 days with no troubles at just one pass, skating it over and over. Fast sections sweepers hairpins it had everything. After riding the hill for the majority of the day we rolled up to the top and found some other gravity enthusiasts on Huffy Sliders. Its like a big wheel but for adults with a rubber front tire and two plastic rear tires.

 

After talking for a while we found out that this was there Tuesday session and that they are here every week. Somehow they managed to come here every week without any police troubles, and as soon as we started riding together we realised why. Everyone in the cars had a smile on and was waving and cheering. Why can't we get that?

After a few runs with the trikes it was time to move on to bigger things, mostly faster runs. Because of there plastic wheels they had to slow down to a crawl to make any corners.We skated the hill from top to bottom a countless number of times in the few days.

This Video by Max Ballesteros has a few clips from this pass. Check out 2:38 as Luke comes into one of the hardest corners on the hill.

For the first night we managed to sneak the whole group of us into a hotel due to the torrential downpour, but after that we found a great place to sleep on the side of the mountain. One night we found some firewood and made a fire to cook a delicious pasta bacon and sauce meal as our stoves ran out of fuel. Apparently open fires ruins the bottoms of pots and pans, but that was not a concern at the time. Here's a shot looking over our campsite at night:

The time came on the last day of shredding to head down to the south of Italy. We drove for a while hoping for a convenient location to swim. We were supposed to come in view of the water for a long stretch but it just never came, so we darted off the highway before it headed back inland to find a beach. Thankfully we found a small town based around a fantastic beach just before the sun went down. We found some good food and some free WiFi, then headed to Verdicchio.

Welschnonnengasse to Teolo - Padova Gran Prix 2011

Heading out from Alex's after gathering a few supplies for our trip to Teolo through Switzerland. Thankfully we've got enough space to store a few days of food and a crate of beer in the car so we don't blow our entire budget on a slice of bread in Switzerland.

After hoping to get some skating done we arrived a bit late. Ramon Konigshausen has put his house up for a bunch of skaters to come and enjoy a couple days by a crystal clear lake and some glorious mountains.

Ramon had a day planned to skate a local spot with everyone and somehow I got skatenapped even though I was driving. We ended up in Lichtenstein and then the other side of Switzerland for one of the fuller days of skating we did on the trip.

Here's a shot of Braden and I at the top of one of our favourite passes.

 

Heading out from Ramon's we join the Abec 11 bus on our journey down. Unfortunately we hit a bit of traffic on the way, fortunately we had a bit of fun with it. We decided to see who could get the most  stickers on each others cars. Finally we ended the battle with a massive vinyl from a sick skate shop Switchback Longboards.

In Italy after a skate and a swim, we took at the look at the track and realize it has some new pavement that's a little on the slippery side.

Finally onto race day and my only thought is I want to do better than last year. After riding the track all week in the dry, we're forced to race on inconstant pavement. Thankfully down the straight before the first left turn there was a dry strip in the middle of the road big enough for me to throw a foot down. Advancing through a few rounds and I've made it to semi finals. This is where it gets a little hectic. Here are some photos of the incident:

Photos: Ramón Königshausen (Racing Incidents)

After coming around the first turn Maxim Garant Rousseau falls, Torbjørn Sunde carves hard to avoid him slowing down, as I catch up I do my best to avoid the mess but throw a pre-drift right into Torbjorn. As we all scramble to get going again Kevin Bouaich scrapes by. All three of us are now fighting for the last spot, one miss push behind Maxim after the last corner keeps me just a couple meters behind the last advancing spot.

 

Semi finals Maxim leading, Justin second, Torbjorn trailing. Photo: Liz Kinnish

Consolations came and I still had the chance to beat my 7th from 2010, and that's what I did. Starting in fourth after the first corner I managed to advance to 2nd putting me in 6th place overall. 

Padova was a fantastically organized event with a ton of spectators and lots of volunteers and stoke! One of my favourite events of the year.