I tried to skateboard on a pump track finally
Once and for all I took my safety gear and skateboard to a “bike park” in my neighbourhood. I’ve been there many times with my r/c car and BMX bike but never rode the pump track myself. The other kids make it look so easy 😂
So I gave it a try yesterday. In the end, I got more exercise just from walking there and back. Let’s see why this happened.
When I got there, I was already a bit sore – no surprise. I was breaking in a new pair of skate shoes. My arms have been sore lately, most likely due to excessive computer use and lack of physiotherapy exercises.
Cardio goal done: 40 minutes walk.
The skateboarding instantly brought fear
I was grateful to have gotten some exercise during the commute. Once I got my gear on, and tried to push off, it was a definite ‘no’. Sadly. I was not surprised though – if I were fearless, I wouldn’t be writing much about it.
I tried rocking back and forth perched on the board on my knees, to get a sensation of the ups and downs. That didn’t help, although I do recommend it. Wear some soft knee pads so you can plant your knees on the deck, and just walk yourself with your hands to get a sense of how the board will roll.
One issue I hadn’t expected was lack of mobility in my ankles (from an old accident). Skateboarding requires a lot of balance and micro-corrections, which I struggle with. It’s like mentally telling my legs and hips to adjust as I go, partly because my knees and ankles don’t adjust much by themselves.
On the one hand, I’m glad to be able to walk and jog in the first place. So I don’t complain. Skateboarding is a nice addition, and I’m finding that recovery time hasn’t helped. But I did regain balance enough a few years ago to get back on my skateboard (and roller skates) in 2024-2025.
Scootering might be easier, and roller skating too. Scootering seems to be a part of me, so I feel it has the best chance of learning a trick or two, and handling small slopes. Roller skating looks and feels impressive even if you’re not going fast or doing tricks, so that is another good sport to experiment with. Note to self!
My way to conquer my skateboarding fear
For now, I’ll avoid the pump track with all my sports. I want to master flat land first.
Scootering
That’s easy to do for me – I’m already confident. All I need is a helmet and flat land. I’ve enjoyed the Galloping Goose in town, plus Royal Bay and various parks and school yards in Saanich.
Roller skating
Also somewhat easy. I take all my safety gear from head to toe, including mouth guard. It takes me a while to get geared up and it’s awkward so I always try to find a bench, preferably in the shade.
Find your high-value sport locations
One of the skate parks in my town is Juan de Fuca Recreation centre. It has a skate park area with really friendly (and older) skaters, BMX riders, and yes, roller skaters! Nearby it also offers tennis and golf, and farther down the road is a lacrosse box, basketball courts, and playground.
To get to this fun stuff, go behind the rec centre (the pool and ice rink stuff) and go down the hill, towards the soccer fields and sports arena. It’s a pretty quiet area unless an event is on.
This place has large empty parking lots, great for getting lots of time on my roller skates or scooter, or even my skateboard, just practicing skills like forward and backward motion, turns, and stops. For super smooth cement, try the covered picnic area – when no one’s around. Yes there’s tables in the way, but it’s my go-to spot when it’s raining.
Scootering and BMX are great there too. The back fields area of the complex has a BMX track – a real one – that is apparently open to the public. Again, I settle myself down to focus on flat land skills first.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding works best for me at Royal Bay. People are very friendly. You can skate at Meadow Park Green where the path takes you along a giant circle surrounded by grass. Or go down the central path (Meadow Park) where there’s plenty of room to pass people, or be passed 😆
Lessons from my experiment
Try this at least:
- Get out there to learn about yourself, while doing whatever sport or exercise holds your attention
- Fear is okay; recognize how you react to sport & exercise stress – does it impede you or drive you to a new experiment?
- Pick activities that will challenge our physical fitness and mental confidence
My experiment take-aways
- I am not confident on skateboards with hard park-style wheels; I much prefer soft wheels (beward ‘sliding’ type of wheels that may undermine confidence at the start)
- I skateboard infrequently so I’m happy as a clam to master the flat-land paths at Royal Bay (see my YouTube channel to get an idea of the terrain)
- I’m no longer embarrassed to experiment with my skateboard (e.g. sitting/kneeling on it) and fuss with my safety gear at the parks
- My goal is crystal clear – I want exercise in new ways
- Yesterday proved that other people at the pump track didn’t care that I was a newbie; only I was disappointed (briefly) by my fear
- My walk home was peppy – I conquered a fear!
- The fear: looking childish riding a pump track and backing out – how silly now, in hindsight
What to do next time, after a scary sports moment
I gladly backed out from that pump track after only a few minutes of being uncomfortable. Next time, I’ll try softer wheels, but I’ll make sure I can ride that skateboard on flat land comfortably first. It seems a necessary step. I will likely benefit from, say 50 hours of ordinary skateboarding before thinking about pump tracks again.
I want to pinpoint the moment where I’m capable of success and not wait much longer. That’s the point of efficient progress to greater skill.
Meanwhile, there’s no point in being nervous with a sport. Incremental steps are okay, and mastery of an easier skill is time well spent, when your goal is exercise.