David Peacock wrote:
I know the feeling. I've been wishing summers were shorter since I got
addicted to boarding back in '98. Have you tried a longboard (skateboard)?

I haven't actually. My local board shop semi-converts into a
summer-board shop around about now. They also sell wakeboards,
longboads, regular skateboards etc. I was chatting for a while to the
guys in there and they all said that the best way to be ready for next
season was to keep a board of some kind under my feet. A couple of them
suggested longboarding too. I might just give that a shot, but I do
think I might get more use out of a regular skateboard, just because
it's something I can see myself using to actually get around.

A longboard is much more useful for actually commuting and travel. In
particular the trucks turn much more smoothly than freestyle deck
trucks and the wheels are much larger and softer, meaning they roll
smoother, faster, and longer and don't get stuck on over bumps or
cracks in the pavement. A freestyle deck is shorter for manueverability
in the park/air, have tight trucks that are stable to land on (but not
stable at speed), and really hard wheels which roll faster on very
smooth pavement (which you don't usually get outside the park). Now
realize longboards run the full gamut of sizes from like a tiny 26"
Sector 9 Bambino (http://stores.yahoo.com/purpleskunk/sector9.html)
where a regular skateboard is 30-31", to a super burly Landyatchz
(http://stores.yahoo.com/purpleskunk/landyachtz.html) which is 41"...
they actually have 60" longboards too...