Training update

I'm typing this update at 9.00am on Friday 29th June. Outside my window it's pouring with rain, while inside, I'm caught in the grip of some man-flu to the power of 10 type virus, and feeling very sorry for myself, in the way we men do when we have...a cold! So I'm taking advantage of a gap between  paracetomol and vitamin intake to just get the blog up to date with my training rides.

Truth is, since Day 21's Blackpool to Southport 39.2 miles, I  haven't managed to get another decent long training ride in. Somehow my long 6 day week at work seems to be coming round faster and faster and between work and the usual other factors, weather and...life, it's been difficult to get any training in at all. Still, I HAVE managed to get in three training sessions, and I'm still working on the premis that anything is better than nothing so, here's what I've got done in June...

DAY 22 - Saturday 9th June - 12.5 miles
Took advantage of Rachael taking the kids to see their grandad, and pushed the 12.5 miles from Southport to Netherton up the Formby by-pass to meet them there and get a lift back. It was off The Long Push route again, but a good way to get a few miles in. Largely uneventful journey really. Almost got caught in a rain shower half way there, as I passed Ladygreen Nursery, but fortunately it was very brief, and I made it without getting soaked. Still using the 'In Heat' 80A wheels and I've decided they are definitley the ideal wheels for any of my longer journeys. They smooth out the rougher surfaces really well and roll really well with the Loaded bearings in. I think what I'll do is use the 'In Heat's for any of my longer training rides out of town but swap back to the harder 83A Orangatang 'Durians' for training rides around my Marine Lake training circuit, as that has really pretty smooth surfaces all the way round.


DAY 23 - Tuesday 12 June - 14.08 miles
An 'after work' training session. The weathermen were treatening that this would be the only dry day for the rest of the week, so I was keen to get some miles in in case they were right. It was another Marine Lake area circuit, but I varied it by extending my lap to go up  and around the Birkdale end of Victoria park and then back around the other end at Fairways. You can see the map here...
http://runkeeper.com/user/TheLongPush/activity/94656444
I was hoping to get up to 15 miles, but I'd also promised I would be back by a certain time. So I got to over 14 and quit for the day at that.


DAY 24 - Monday 18th June - 10.58 miles

Today was a beautiful day. Blue skies, warm and with next to no wind at all. Perfect longboarding weather..or perfect weather full stop really. I decided to try another route I've had in mind for a while, to see if it worked. I wasn't sure if the surface was going to be OK but I've often looked at the cycle path alongside the coast road from Birkdale to Ainsdale and thought about pushing my board along it. I decided to give it a go. I pushed up to the coastal road from Birkdale to Ainsdale and got onto the coast road where it meets with the Formby By-pass. Stopped for a bit of energy food (Snickers!) and then set off along the cycle path. No problems at all. Smooth as. Had to breathe in each time a cyclist wanted to pass me, because the path is quite narrow, but otherwise it was a breeze. The thing that struck me today was how easy I was a fiinding these rides now. This ended up being a 10.58 miles, but it just seemed no effort at all. As long as I haven't got a deadline to meet or a time I have to be back by, the distance itself doesn't bother me at all now. And on a day like this, with my shades on and mp3 player playing, pushing my longboard just seems a great way to spend my time. Put simply, I LOVE IT!

I could have carried on and done more today, but we also had an appoinment with the childrens dietician to see if there were any changes dietery changes that might help with ASD. So I decided to quit near to Southport pier at 10.58 miles and go to the apointment with Rachael. 

So, training wise, the blog is now up to date, which is good. Got some GREAT news about the charity fund to be posted up soon. Just got to dose myself up and get rid of this cold now as soon as I can. Once rid of it I think I'll have to start training again with shorter distances and build up again. Right now, with my runny nose, headache and aching muscles, I feel that if I tried to do too much that it could set me back a little, and I don't need that with only...SIX full weeks to go before the full 10 mile journey on 11th and 12th August (weather permitting).

Time to shake a tail feather!

Thanks as ever, to THE LONG PUSH 2012 sponsors, www.bigwoodys.co.uk  uk.dcshoes-store.com  www.sporting-sails.com  www.orangatangwheels.com  www.jandrsports.co.uk  and to all who have donated and supported me in any way so far.

Chris

Day 21 TRAINING: MONDAY 28th MAY : BLACKPOOL TO SOUTHPORT

OK firstly, apologies for taking almost a month to get this, the furthest distance I've skated in training, written up. For one reason or another it's just taken a long time to find the time to get it finished., and even now, you may be reading it before the videos have been inserted, due to a lack of wi-fi to upload them. Keep checking back. As soon as I can get them uploaded I will. OK then, here we go...


Todays training ride was the longest journey I've done on a longboard to date. The ride I've built up to since the start of this project, when an idea came into my head last summer, while I was using up a spare hour pushing a longboard along the coastal road here in my hometown of Southport. I remember sitting on the sea wall, with the sounds of traffic passing by and young girls screaming from the funfair rides of New Pleasureland, while I looked across the bay to Blackpool Tower in the distance, and wondered if I could push my board there one day. I figured it must be around 40 miles around the coastline. That was the first germ of this idea, which I promptly forgot all about it until around September, when I was doing the same, just whiling away an hour on my old Sector 9 pintail. That was the time I took this photo, the photo that would become the first image I used to promote what has become The Long Push 2012.

That was September 2011. Now in May 2012 the UK was having a mini heatwave, and all through the previous few days at work I was watching the weather forecast, hoping and praying it would hold for my day off on Monday 28th May, my last day as a 47 year old, before my 48th birthday on the Tuesday. The signs were looking good, and I developed a plan for the day. So far most of my training rides had been either around the seafront here in Southport (as you all know by now!) or had started with me setting off from here and pushing back along the same first few sectors of The Long Push route. I wanted to change that and do something different, explore more of the route and get up towards the Fylde Coast sectors. I packed my trusty old Vans rucksack on the Sunday night, and checked timetables. Just a few things to get in the morning. I posted a couple of updates on Facebook and hit the sack to try and get a decent night's sleep.

Wake up dude! Time to skate!

Monday came and I was woken up by my furry alarm clock...my cat Tyler, (what did you think I meant??), who seems to wake up when the birds do! Straight to the window. Bright blue sky, no wind and warm already. Result! Supplies packed from the local shop I was out the door and pushing from home to town with only 10 minutes to spare to catch the 9.30 bus to Preston. Most of the 40 minute bus journey was spent trying to work out how to use the most frustrating MP3 player in the world...ever! Thankfully this has now been replaced with an 8GB Sansa Clip by my awesome girlfriend, as one of my birthday presents. Thanks baby. Much better! 10.30 train to Blackpool and straight to Long Push 2012 sponsors BIG WOODYS SKATEBOARD SHOP and a quick catch up with Dre. By 11.45 I was sat on Blackpool Promenade and getting ready to film the quick video below, before setting off pushing the full distance back from Blackpool Tower, to Southport; My original vision...but in reverse! The night before, I got some good advice on Facebook from Rayne Longboards teamrider and Skate Further writer, Laura Hatwell...

"Hydrate well, eat right and listen to your body! If you feel thirsty it's too late, so drink the moment your mind thinks about water and eat the second your stomach makes your head think about food".

Laura's words were echoing in my mind, partly because I started to feel just a bit hungry but also because it was incredibly hot! I didn't check the temperature exactly at this time, but later on, when it should have been cooling down the temp still said 72 degrees on my phone's weather widget! So food, hydration, sunblock, keeping a hat/helmet on and breaks were all going to be essential, if I was going to complete my longest skate so far in this heat.

 

I set off at midday, with one of my camera's rolling to try and give y'all a feel for what Blackpool Promenade is like for longboarding. It was busy, a combination of local workers, tourists and school field trips all had to be negotiated, but all with no problems. The promenade has two sections, a lower section which is less smooth, but has these great 'permanent waves' on, and the upper section which is just smooth as silk, apart from the where the large concrete flags meet.

VIDEO 2

I was soon at the end of the pier and then it was down onto the pavement of the main road to St. Annes. The camera was packed away and from here onwards I had a bottle in my hand all the way home. I alternated between isotonic sports drinks and water, which seemed to work well. Sand that had blown off the dunes blocked the path along here in places and I had to get off and walk for a few yards between pushes, but I was soon able to keep my wheels on the ground, and the pavement was a smooth sweet ride the three or four miles it is from Blackpool to St. Annes. I was soon sat outside the Fresh Cafe, for my first break, a cafe I usually visit on my Triumph for the Monday night biker meets! Today I'd swapped two wheels for four tho, and the waitress seemed to think her boss would let me put up a poster next time I pass with one! Because of all the things I forgot to bring today......any posters to hand out on the journey! Doh!!

Next stop, another push along the wide smooth pavements to Lytham a couple of miles down the road, and a chance to get a photo on the green, with the Lytham windmill in the background. From this bench I could see Southport across the bay.

Like I said before, the route back home is the same route I ride on my motorbike, so although it's familar to me, I was finding my way around the imperfections on the various pavements and cycle paths, working out which side of the road was best to stay on and of course, travelling  a lot slower than usual. But it was such an amazing day, I was happy to be out on my board. I carried on through Warton, past British Aerospace where a Typhoon (Eurofighter) RRROOOOAAARED overhead as it took off on a test flight. There I was, thinking I was cool on my 'Switchblade' when I had my thunder stolen by Top Gun! Ghaa!

Passing Warton, I turned off the main road to go through Freckleton village. This takes me off the main drag that by-passes the village and will just give me a chance to let more people see me on the two days of the journey itself, and maybe drum up a few donations as I pass through with The Long Push bucket, in a 'chugger' stylee! Chugger being slang here in in England for Charity Mugger, those people with wooly hats, satchels and clipboards that you try and avoid in town centres. Struth! I have become one!!

"A man's got to know his limitations!"

The next section of my journey was always going to be difficult. The bypass between Freckleton to Preston is a fast traffic road, and once I'd done the fast downhill alongside the road out of Freckleton village, it wasn't long before the path got narrower, and narrower, and narrower...and....narrower, until it just....stopped! So although my aim is to keep urethane on 'crete as much as I can, I was reminded of a line from one of Clint Eastwood's finest 70's movies, 'Magnum Force' when, as 'Dirty' Harry Callaghan he growls, "A man's got to know his limitations". He wasnt wrong!



So there was no choice but to yomp along about a mile of this sector, but I always knew that, and it was unavoidable. But as soon as it was better the 'Blade was on the ground again. Well, I say as soon as it was better. I'm pretty sure it was here that, just before I came out onto smooth pavement again, I heard a nasty sound and stopped to check I hadn't broken a truck. I hadn't, but what I'd missed were some deep gouges into the base and one edge of the 'blade. Damn! But...this board was made for riding and that's what it's being used for,. Never worked a board as hard as this before and to be fair to Landyachtz, the 'Switchblade' has been awesome. A smooth long downhill sector followed, running alongside the bypass down into the Riversway area of Preston. I was starting to feel the affects of the heat, with a bit of a headache, so I decided to take some time out at my next stop, McDonalds on Riversway. That was when I found the damage to my board.

By now it was about 4.45pm, and I'd abandoned any ideas I had about getting home for 5.00pm so that I could ride BACK to St. Annes on the Triumph for the Monday night bike meet! It was still incredibly hot, so I took a good 45 minute break at McDonalds. Rested, fueled and hydrated I set off on the next sector, which took me up the hill into Penwortham and then downhill to the roundabout at Hutton. Fom here, I did this sector previously on day 4 of my training (which doesn't seem that long ago!), so I knew what to expect. It's the cycle path that runs alongside the A59 and apart from one pretty gentle uphill section, it's a flat, smooth path with a lot of scope for pumping to take the pressure off my pushing foot for a while. I was soon at my next sector marker, the roundabout at Longton. I was lasting OK, better than the battery on my phone at least! I'd been alternating between isotonic sports drinks and water all afternoon, which seemed to work well and I'd re-applied sun block while stopped at Riversway.

I was desperate to keep my phone going because I was using it to post messages and videos on Facebook, so that Rachael and others could track my progress. I stopped just past the Longton roundabout to attach a solar charger to the phone. I'd never used it before, but thought it was worth giving a try. I found a way I could leave the charger in my backpack to get the benefit of the hot sun. It was touch and go, but it worked and the phone kept enough charge the rest of my journey home. I carried on to my next sector marker at Tarleton traffic lights. Just another 10 miles and I would be home.

I've done this 10 mile stretch on several training days now, but never in heat like this. Even now, by 6.00pm it was still 72 degrees C, but there was never any thought in my mind of stopping. I got to my 6 mile marker, the roundabout at Banks, and stopped to buy more water and post another update on Facebook. Then it was back on the road, the final sector, though Southport and all the way to my front door. Quick wash and change of T-shirt and a final video to sum up the journey...

Some of the hardened distance skaters among you will be wanting to know my time and distance. Well, after mapping my journey out on Google maps it came out at 39.2 miles, my longest skate ever by a long way, and only 10 miles short of my Day 2 journey on the full 100 mile Long Push itself. My time? Listen, I don't care about my time. I'm not doing this as a race. I'm 48 years old now. Just the fact that I can actually DO this is enough for me. I took my time today, stopped where and when I wanted to/needed to and stopped to take photos and do bits of filming along the way. Time wasn't a factor for me. So whilst I admire those of you who can push and compete in skate marathons and races, I'm happy just achieving my own personal goals.


View Day 21 Training. Blackpool to Southport in a larger map

I LOVED this journey and felt fine the day after, despite the heat and pushing my furthest distance to date. My plan now, between now and the full 100 mile journey, is to do a full dry run of both Day 1 and Day 2 and between those two long distance training rides, to just get in as many shorter training days as I can.

And I'm already starting to think about potential routes and distances for The Long Push 2013.

Skate Further  :o)

Thanks as ever, to THE LONG PUSH 2012 sponsors, www.bigwoodys.co.uk  uk.dcshoes-store.com  www.sporting-sails.com  www.orangatangwheels.com  www.jandrsports.co.uk

Chris

Brief Update

I'm running behind on the blog again! Still trying to get my write up of Day 21's 39.2 miles finished and then I can update with Days 22, 23 and 24! Phew! Blogs will be posted asap, but may be without accompanying videos, due to lack of wi-fi. Vids will be inserted as soon as I can manage it. So watch this space!

International Go Skateboarding Day was on Thursday 21st June. It rained and rained and... rained...for 36 hours non-stop! But Big Woody's and Ramp City in Blackpool put on an awseome FREE session for all, which was really well attended. sadly, I didn't make that either because I went to see Pearl Jam in Manchester in the evening. But huge props to Long Push sponsor Big Woody's Skateboard shop in Blackpool for putting that on and giving back to the skaters, BMXicans and scooterists. I'll be at Ramp City on the 30th June for Martyn Oliver's 'Drop in' event for Macmilan cancer support.

https://www.facebook.com/SponsoredVertDropInForMacmillanCancerSupport

Yesterday I went to the assembly at one of my local primary schools, Birkdale Primary to talk to the children about The Long Push 2012. I was invited by the head teacher Mr. Sheeran and teaching assistant Mrs. Hayward, who had seen The Long Push article on the SouthportGB website. After assembly I met with the school council and it was decided that they will have a cake sale to try and generate some money for The Long Push charity fund. Awesome stuff. More about this with pictures soon.

Training updates coming as soon as I can get them done!

Chris

FUNDRAISING FOR THE LONG PUSH 2012

So, in recent weeks here in the UK we've gone from swealtering heat to the threat of 80mph winds and three months rain over three days! Not to be deterred by this, and with 'True Brit' dogged determination, I've gone ahead and 'pencilled in' a provisional date for the two days of the full 100 mile journey of THE LONG PUSH 2012. The dates are:

Sat 11th and Sun 12th August

I am still going to watch the weather conditions at the time. It makes sense to stay flexible over the dates and move it back to September if the weathermen's predictions come true but, for now at least, I'm working towards the 11th August for the day 1 outward journey. That leaves me with just 10 weeks from the time of writing to be up to speed and distance with my training but more importantly, just 10 short weeks to get the charity fund built up.

The 'Vital Statistics' from the end of May showed each statistic increasing, but the fundraising chest, at £351, 7% of the £5000 target, had the smallest month on month increase. So, while the £5000 is only an aim, of all the statistics being worked on, it's clear that fundraising has to be my key focus over the next 10 weeks, with my personal preparation coming a close second. So with that in mind, this could be the most important post I've written so far for The Long Push blog, after the first post that got me started. So here we go....


FUNDRAISING
It doesn't take a genius to point out that we are in tough financial times. Which is why I can do it! Every time we turn on the TV we are subjected to different campaigns as charities compete for our hard earned cash. Likewise, we've all dodged 'chuggers' (charity muggers) on our high streets, when all we want to do is negotiate from one end of the road to the other! So I realise it's not easy to find money to donate. With this in mind, I wanted to let you all know what is being done here at The Long Push to generate donations to the charity fund, and also give some ideas of ways that you can make it easier to donate without affecting your own pocket too much.

The Good News - I'm going to write a full post about this when I have the full details but, the mother of one of my friends rallied the troops at the retirement block she lives in and held a garden fete at the block for the Queens Diamond Jubilee here in the UK in June.. Part of the proceeds were going to go towards The Long Push/Families Connected. Pat and her husband Brian did SO much work in advance of this, without my knowledge, and I'm going to write a more extensive post and thank you in the near future, but the result was...fantastic.

£130 towards The Long Push charity fund! But....it gets better. The management company of the block agreed to DOUBLE whatever was generated, so the fete generated a total of £260 towards the charity fund! Like I said, a more extensive THANK YOU to everyone who helped or donated coming soon, but really, that is just awesome!

The Not-So-Good News - So far, the corporate sponsor letters have failed to generate any donations, which is a shame. I'm not going to name names, there's no point in that. I'll just be continuing to send letters out to national companies, and post them through local business doors, in the hope that more donations will come. You can be sure that at least 5 of these a week will be going out over the next 10 weeks, so that's at least 50 corporate sponsors made aware of The Long Push 2012. Hopefully the June and July vital statistics posts will show the benefits of this work.


So what else is happening?

• The new yellow Long Push flyers and posters continue to go out in towns and villages along the route. I went to 'Southport Fun Fest' on Sunday 10th June, specifically to hand out flyers and do as much promotion as I could. Even did an interview over the mic on our local radio stations bus! All gotta help.

• I've had an article promoting The Long Push 2012 published on the intranet system in my work place now. (I've had to wait until some colleagues bike ride charity event was finished with). This was followed by a blanket e mail to all staff and, as a result, the first few work colleagues have put their names down with pledges of sponsorship now. This should build over coming weeks.

 

• Local press releases at the Southport and Fylde coast ends of the route should be going out by early next week, with press releases going to other towns along the route over the coming weeks.

• I've been invited into one Primary school to talk to the children about The Long Push, with the hope that the children will generate some donations via a 'mufty day' or some other event. All other local schools are being visited with posters and background information this week. There are just 4 weeks before the end of term.

Still feels like so much to do...because there is! Just finding enough hours in the day to do it all is a struggle. Sometimes I feel as if I'm going to miss out something really obvious, but hopefully not. Keep e mailing me or Facebooking me ideas please folks. Everything will get done, though, I assure you.

Ways to make a donation 
Like I said earlier, these are tough times for all of us moneywise,  but here are some suggestions of ways you can donate:

• Firstly, anyone can donate any amount they wish at anytime, just by visiting www.justgiving.com/TheLongPush 

 

• Donate by text for no charge! Donate either £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10. To make a text donation of £1 do the following:   Text LFAA50 £1 and send it to 70070   You will receive a confirmation text that your donation to Families Connected has been made. To make a higher donation just swap the £1 for whatever else you would like to donate.  Imagine if everyone who had clicked on the blog page donated £1 this way.  That would be over £4000 itself!!  So every £1 donation counts.

 

• Start a 'Penny Jar'at home, your work place, school, scouts or social club. Save all your 1p's, 2p's and 5p pieces from now until the end of July and lets see who can donate the highest figure. You'll find the amount soon mounts up, rather than having to find the same amount in one go. I've got a 'Penny Bottle' going myself. Once full you can take it to a supermarket with 'Coinstar' machine (such as Asda) to help you add it all up and change it into notes. Then just donate the figure at  www.justgiving.com/TheLong Push

 

• Donate £1 per mile of any training rides between now and the full 100  mile ride. Training rides vary from 4 miles to half distance, 50 miles. So there's a distance for everyone to afford.

 

• Watch out for D-Days ('D' For Donation) such as text donating £1 on the 1st day of the month etc.

 
More fundraising ideas will be promoted on here and on the facebook page over the coming weeks, but please feel free to suggest any others.

Finally for this post, my great thanks to all who have already donated any amount or item which has been raffled, sold etc and generated a donation towards The Long Push 2012/Families Connected. I would also like to thank the Sponsors who have contributed hardwear/Product to be used on The Long Push 2012 journey itself:

www.bigwoodys.co.uk  

uk.dcshoes-store.com 

www.sporting-sails.com 

www.jandrsports.co.uk  

www.orangatangwheels.com 

www.paristruckco.com

Mark Robinson and Obas UK

Thank you all so much. Please keep sharing links etc and lets see how much we can build the cahity fund up to over the next 10 weeks.

Chris

And the designer of the new LONG PUSH flyers is...

Woody at Long Push sponsors, BIG WOODY'S SKATEBOARD SHOP www.bigwoodys.co.uk

Right from the off Woody and Dre have been fully supportive of this Long Push project. Before I even started approaching other sponsors Woody approached me offering support. The DC shoes hook up came as a result and nothing has been too much trouble. And when I've got things wrong Woody hasn't hesitated to tell me! In his own inimitable style! :o) Now, as well as other IT related bits of assistance Woody took the time to respond to my request for some design help for the flyers and came with something ideal. So this design went to the printers today and I should have 1000 of these by the weekend, just in time for the two day 'Fun Fest' here in Southport. I may even get meself on the radio there too!

It's up on Facebook and Twitter too, so please share and retweet till your heart's content...

Once again, please support Woody and Dre at www.bigwoodys.co.uk and the other companies and individuals who sponsor THE LONG PUSH 2012, uk.dcshoes-store.com www.sporting-sails.com  www.orangatangwheels.com  www.jandrsports.co.uk

O/T LONGBOARDING FOR CANCER

When I decided to start The Long Push, back in November last year, I chose to support an autism charity because of the huge impact that autism has directly had on our lives, and because I want to help a young charity that has supported us to grow, so as to help more families. At the time, distance skating was new to me. I was aware of it, but had no idea how many other skaters/longboarders I was going to come across who had also decided to push long distances for charity this year. I've been in touch with a few of the guys who are doing these rides and just realised that the first of the three journeys I'm going to mention here begins on June 11th! Let me tell you more, but first a bit about the reason for the these journeys.

Whilst autism is a lifelong condition, cancer kills. Plain and simple. It doesn't deferentiate. It just takes lives and leaves empty spaces where loved ones once lived and laughed. Many of us have lost friends or family members to cancer and sadly. so will many more. A friend of mine lost her battle a few years ago now. She was younger than me when she died and is sadly missed by all her friends and family. Recently, Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys lost his life to cancer, and whilst it's easy to mourn the loss of celebrities that we may have loved as fans of their music, it's when you see a photograph like this that the true cost of cancer hits home...

Adam Yauch (MCA) of the Beastie Boys -  R.I.P.

So this year, longboarders in groups far and wide are doing what they can to raise cancer awareness and raise money for different cancer support charities. Here I've listed three that I know of...

*IF I'VE MISSED YOU OUT OF THIS POST, PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP WITH DETAILS OF YOUR JOURNEY AND I'LL INSERT THEM STRAIGHT AWAY!*

LONGBOARDING 4 CANCER (Sweden)

We are two guys, Oscar Hagman Jaråker and George Hajjar, both of which have been affected by cancer's impact throughout our lives, and will now travel through Sweden on our longboards to make people aware about cancers impact in everyone's life. We will be doing this by traveling from town to town through Sweden, and in every city, we will be doing something, from hugs in the city to major events. We will begin in Treriksröset on June 11th and end in Malmö, after a visit to Smygehuk, a journey of some 285 miles.

We will not travel around and preach about how you can take care of yourselves, but we want to inform you how you can help yourself and others, and in various ways prevent cancer. But the important thing is how you can help each other once someone has been affected in some way by cancer.

We do not do this for our own benefit or to seek people's sympathy. We do it to take part of peoples' life's and change future life's. Our purpose is not to preach about us. We are there to listen to others and share experiences, good and bad. Few people understand that it can happen to anyone, not only friends and family but also yourself.

The whole journey will be documented on our website in both text and video through YouTube, Blog, Twitter and more.

Web page: http://longboarding4cancer.se/
E mail:  longboarding4cancer@gmail.com
Twitter:  @L4ContheGO

THE LONGBOARD CRUSADE

The Longboard Crusade is a charity fundraiser event for Cancer Research that involves a group of friends longboarding from Jarrow, Tyne & Wear to The Marble Arch, London. The journey will take place on the 16th of July 2012, and is estimated to take 12 days.

Here is the route we will be taking:

1. Jarrow to Ferryhill 24 mile
2. Ferryhill to Northhallerton 28 mile
3. Northhallerton to Harrogate 28.5 mile
4. Harrogate to Wakefield 24.5 mile
5. Wakefield to Sheffield 23 mile
6. Sheffield to Mansfield 24 mile
7. Mansfield to Loughborough 30 mile
8. Loughborough to Market Harborough 26 mile
9. Market Harborough to Bedford 35 mile
10. Bedford to St Albans 30 mile
11. St Albans to Marble Arch 20 mile

Our inspiration came from local history, the Jarrow Crusade. We are hoping to follow the original route of the Jarrow Crusade as closely as possible; The crusaders taking part: Scott Bullock, Chris Bullock, Kyle Raine and Kristian Horn. With the Production and PR skills from Jake Gauntley and Austin Lewthwaite.

Any support is welcome, if it’s charitable or even just spreading this page. Even the smallest donation will be hugely appreciated. If you would like to make a donation please visit: 

www.justgiving.com/thelongboardcrusade

Follow us on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/TheLongboardCrusade?ref=ts

Just keep the four wheels down and let's skate tomorrow, man.

Thank you!

LONDON TO CARDIFF LONGBOARD 2012

In the summer of 2012, six Longboarders will undertake a country traversing mission, from London to Cardiff, to raise money for charity.Completely self-supported, we'll travel approximately 180 miles in four days. Pushing our boards whilst bearing the load of our equipment/tents, skating 45 miles a day and only stopping to nurse our blisters.The cause is an obvious one, everybody knows somebody who has been affected by cancer, chances are Macmillan were there to help.

Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support and push for better cancer care. One in three of us will get cancer. Two million of us are living with it. We are all affected by cancer. We can all help. We are Macmillan. 

We're looking for our friends/family/fellow boarders to be as generous as possible, £10.000 is a big figure but if everybody digs deep, it's more than achievable.Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Steve, Leo, Oli, Will, James and Matthew.

Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/London-to-Cardiff-Longboard-2012/235256243206659?ref=ts

Donate at  http://www.justgiving.com/London-Cardiff-Longboard

This last event is not longboarding, but it is another skater, Martyn Oliver, doing something for Macmillan...


SPONSORED VERT DROP IN on the 30th June 2012 from 9pm until 12 midnight at RAMP CITY WSA. BLACKPOOL.

I am planning an event to raise funds for macmillian cancer care. My mother has struggled with parkinsons desease for approxamatly 2years now and also has a spinal cortex desease however 6/8weeks ago my mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The reason i chose to raise funds for cancer is because my mother and father are in the eden valley hospice lottery and Last week he won £10 after nearly 20 years of being in the lottery so if he can get back £10 after 20years surely we can raise more than that in the space of a month or so? I have chosen to drop in on a vert ramp that is based in blackpool ar rampcity. I have skated for roughly 20 years on and off and have never skated any structure bigger than roughly 10ft or so the ramp im choosing to drop in on is 13ft high and is at RampCity at Blackpool. This might sound a bit silly to some of you or easy to others. But having stood ontop of this ramp many times and walked away from it from the sheer height of it and also knowing my fear of heights i think this would be a great way to raise funds for macmillian cancer in unique way. There will be a small cost on the door which has been arranged with RampCity that a substantial amount will be donated straight to my charity. The event will now include a BBQ and raffle at a small cost, which you will all see is going to raise far more money than previously expected.

Ok now to tell you what the funds would help raise.
The money we raise will not only go towards helping Macmillan cancer fight cancer and raise awareness but also other organisations such as "hospice at home". This group is ran by Registerd Nurses who come into you home to allow for the carer to have a nights rest. They basicaly sit in your house and allow you to peacefull rest of sorts.

Sadly, since I wrote the words above my mother went to a nicer place on the 14th of May 2012, after many years battling a number of illness laterly including cancer.

So please dig deep and donate now at http://www.justgiving.com/Martyn-Oliver where you can also read more.


*NEW ADDITION TO POST 30TH June*


BOARDING END TO END - LONGBOARDING FROM LANDS END TO JOHN O' GROATS

At the beginning of July Alfie Wiener and Jamie MacDonald are going to Longboard from Lands End to John O’ Groats for Charity. Alfie explains more...

"We are doing this for two charities called Whizz Kidz and Teenage Cancer Trust. We are going to try and complete this trip in about 25 to 30 days by skating about 35 to 45 miles in a day.

RollsRolls are the company that make the board that we are using, they make very high quality wooden and carbon fibre boards. Unlike most longboards that are made using machines these boards are hand made in Germany. This means that they are much higher quality and therefore last longer. My original intentions were to do the trip on a carbon fibre Sportster but they persuaded me to use a woody as the flex from the beech deck would provide a far more comfortable platform to skate on.

The Deck- RollsRolls Woody
Trucks- Randal RII 180
Wheels- Abec 11 97mm Flywheels
Bearings- Bones Swiss Ceramics
Bushings- Venom Downhill 81a – 87a

We will be raising money for two charities and splitting the money raised equally between the two. You can sponsor us via the donate page which will take you to the virgin money page that we have set up.
Whizz kidz is the first charity that we have selected. We attended one of their ambassadors receptions and we were blown away by the way that the children spoke about the charity and how much it meant to them. It is a really good cause and if you want to find out more please check out their website.

Whizz-Kidz

Teenage Cancer Trust is the second charity that we are raising money for. They are a great charity that helps teenagers and young adults who are suffering from cancer. They provide support for the families of those who have cancer, they build specialist wards for teenagers with cancer, they fund research into how cancer can be combated and loads more. For more information please take a look at their website.
Teenage Cancer Trust

Please sponsor us and donate money to our two charities. All donations will be much appreciated and will help us reach our target of £10,000. For more information on the charities that we are supporting then please take a look at the charities page."

For more detailed information on the boys amazing journey, go here  http://www.boardingendtoend.co.uk/

To donate to the boys charities go click here...

Alfie and Jamie's Fundraising Page

JULZSK8S-NORTHWEST - HUNTINGTON BEACH TO OREGON

This is a TRULY EPIC skate journey! This summer, 20 year old Julz Lynn is going to skate approximately 2000 miles through the USA! But don't listen to me, hear it straight from Julz herself...

"I will be riding my skateboard along with anyone who would like to join, on a northwest skate journey from Huntington Beach California, with a planned destination of Lincoln City, Oregon. We plan to arrive in Lincoln City in time for the August 10-12 weekend of the World Cup Skateboarding Trifecta Bowl Riders Competition. Not only will this trip be about skateboarding but about progr ession all around.

It will take thirty days to complete the skateboarding mission. There will be 16 spots mapped out along the path throughout California. There will be 8 listed spots before reaching the destination in Oregon making a total of 24 park stops altogether.

I would like to skate for cancer awareness, healthy transportation, the skate eve-rywhere movement, and as many causes as possible. Click these links for details of two causes my journey will be in support of, and for details of how you can donate:

 'Grind For Life' http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=204044

'Keep A Breast' http://www.keep-a-breast.org/blog/julz-skates-northwest-fundraising-for-keep-a-breast/

With this skate, personally I would like to show that I am still pursuing skateboarding and don't plan on ever stopping. I am looking forward to the new light at the end of this trip. I can't wait to see the new knowledge and experience gained to look back on. 

Thank you, Julz

562-229-8281
juliekindstrand@yahoo.com

This is just an edited version of Julz full Facebook post about her journey. Go click and 'like' her Facebook page to read much more about Julz and the reasons behind her journey and follow it here JulzSk8s-Northwest on Facebook

For more Info on 'Grind For Life' click here  http://www.grindforlife.org/indexnew.asp?category=7

For more info on 'Keep A Breast' click here http://www.keep-a-breast.org/home/

Myself, Chris at The Long Push would like to wish all the guys and girls above, the very best of luck with their journeys/events this year. Please click their links and give them all the support you can.

THIS is the power of skateboarding.

Chris

Days 19 & 20 Training, and Adventures in Chiropody!

So after reaching the elusive 30 mile barrier the previous Sunday, it wasn't until the Saturday 19th of May that I managed to get my next bit of training in for The Long Push 2012.

DAY 19 : SATURDAY 19th MAY 10.4 miles 
Todays training was just a gentle 10.4 miles around the seafront from around 5.00pm. Nothing much to report about this one, although I did stop for a few minutes to loosen both trucks to see if I could straighten out the grip tape that is moving under vibration. It worked...kinda...sorta! But since then it's worked loose again. I may just have to take the tape off around the drop thru slots. Only 10.4 miles, but probably all that I needed just to keep me on track after last Sunday's tough journey.

ADVENTURES IN CHIROPODY!
WARNING! THIS POST INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS OF MY FEET!
Those of a nervous disposition are advised to skip this paragraph and move forward to 'Day 20'! Photo's follow these arrows:
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The things I do for charity!!! 

In all my 47 years I've never been to a chiropodist. I should have! I've been dogged with at least one persistent bugger of a corn/veruca or something for years. Tried to Bazuka it (other foot therapy remedies are also available) and thought I'd succeeded but, alas, no. But now I'm an athlete (ahem!) it seems like the time to get these things sorted once and for all. And both feet were troubling me on the 30 mile journey recently. So, I bit the bullet and took the recommendation to try a local chiropodist who came highly recommended, named ANDREW HANNAH. And he was very good.

Before...with corns on outsides of both feet

After...avec bandages!

He identified the problems with my feet very quickly and made some recommendations about how I should be starting to treat them on a daily basis. Then he got down to sorting out the two corns, one on each foot. I winced and clenched my teeth while he went to work, digging out the offending corns. Andrew commented that he'd rather work on women's feet than men's because women have a much greater pain threshold and are less likley to kick him in the face in a reflex action to the work! He's probably right! Still, it didn't last long and he finished by bandaging them up and telling me to keep the bandages on as long as possible to allow the wounds to heal. Straight away I could feel the difference. Money and time well spent I think. So I wonder why I waited so long to have it done???

DAY 20:  THURSDAY 24th MAY : 14.4 miles
The seafront was the background for this training push again tonight, but this time the temperature was up, so the shorts were on and the sky was blue when I started, with the sun setting behind me as I finished up. I still had the bandages on my feet from the chiropodist visiting, but they were no trouble in my DC's. I varied my route a little on these few miles, just to shake things up a bit. I love Southport seafront for longboarding, but I'm keen to get out of town and skate The Long Push route more in training. All helps in researching the route for anything I may have missed when I planned out the route by car over the winter.

Bright orange In Heat's stealing the sunset's thunder!

Tonight was the first time I'd done any real kind of distance since changing the 83A Orangatang 'Durian's' for the softer 80A Orangatang 'In Heat's. I put on the standard core versions, saving the aluminium core ones for The Long Push itself. I still haven't found time to put the Paris 180 trucks on yet, but I will. 

I was expecting the softer wheels to be smoother, naturally, but with the wider contact profile I was also expecting them to be a tad slower too. Not so. I'd had a quick blast around the promenade the night before, but not enough to call it training. But it had had been enough to get the new Loaded 'Jehu' bearings rolling, and because the seafront area is pretty smooth all the way round, I noticed barely any loss in speed. Good result. Very pleased with the 'In Heat's'. Finished up just as a few people gathered around the sea wall to watch the sunset, while I spoke a few words into the camera again. The only problem I had tonight was a really annoying 'creaking' sound that started. I wasn't sure what it was at the time, but I talk about it in the video.

*VIDEO TO BE ADDED ONCE I FIND A DECENT WI-FI CONNECTION TO UPLOAD IT!*

Thanks again to Kyle Chin at LOADED BOARDS and Richard Birchwood at J&R SPORTS for supplying The Long Push with the ORANGATANG 'In Heat' wheels.

Day 21 training coming soon...

Chris

'ELEVATE AWARENESS - LONGBOARDING FOR AUTISM'

Just taking some time out to tell you about some other longborders pushing long distance for autism awareness this year.

Last year, Daniel Houze and Blake Stassi took a longboard trip from Stanford University to UCLA in Los Angeles, California, to elevate awareness of Autism. I stumbled across this artcle about their journey, on the Skate Further site, just after I'd decided on making my own Long Push for autism awareness, back in November last year. http://www.skatefurther.com/elevate-awareness/

The boys' trip was inspired by their Autistic cousins. They, like myself, felt that so many people were in the dark about the disorder. New figures indicate that 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism, and 1 in 70 boys. The boys' goal was to do the trip to gain publicity, then use the media coverage they got to elevate Autism awareness!

Blake and Daniel last year, 2011.

This Year: https://www.facebook.com/elevateawareness?ref=ts
Santa Barbara to San Diego and back: 500 miles! JUNE 15-25





This year Blake and Daniel have a new member riding with them, Jacob Whitaker. He will be riding alongside them on a fixed geared bike.  The boys hope to this year not only raise more Autism awareness but also to raise money for the organization they ride for, The Easter Seals Foundation www.easterseals.com

Three boys who found a way to make a difference.

There are less than two weeks before they set off on their 500 mile journey this year. So please, check them out, tell your friends, give their Facebook page a like, follow them on Tumblr here http://elevateawareness.tumblr.com/ and please donate whatever you can to my brothers across the Atlantic, longboarding for autism awareness.