I Am a Motorcoach, Discovering the USA by Tread Windshield and Mirror…

. . . and I made a cool new friend. Just one-passenger capacity, but together they have super huge capabilities. I met him while transporting collegiate swimmers to and from their training pool, which is right next to a concrete park buzzing with one-passenger transporters. Here’s what our introduction went like . . .

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

“Hey there Monster Ride! Y’been hang’n here a bit lately. Never’ve seen a wheeled beast like you at the park before. Thought I’d come say hey.”

“My name is Two Eight One,” I informed him. “Although, I won’t deny I like the sound of ‘Monster Ride.’ Glad you dropped by. I’ve been watching you and your friends with more than a little amazement.”

“Yeah, cool bro, thanks. What kinda tricks do you do?”

“We’ll, I’m not much of a trickster,” I responded. I quickly pondered some self-diagnostics and the only thing I could come up with was my ability to kneel. So I lowered my front end about twelve inches and rose back up.

He looked for a moment like he was still waiting for something to happen. “U-u-uh, OK . . . Probably not enough room in this parking lot for you to show off, I’m guess’n. I could just see you ripp’n a massive Fakie Bigspin. That would be sick!”

“O, I would have a lot of sick passengers for sure. What’s your name by the way?”

He didn’t say anything, but just lifted his front end to show me his underside.

I stared for a second. “Is that a nickname?”

“No,” he responded, “my complete and only name.”

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you ZERO. And I sure am curious about how you pull off all those impressive maneuvers.”

“Ah, it’s all in the zics.”

“Zics?”

“You know, basic physics: velocity, friction, gravity, angle, rotation . . . and timing, of course. The critical constant is horizontal velocity of me and my passenger, as you call ’em. A little force exertion relative to my center of mass and off we go. Slight variations on that theme to create grab, lift, drag, spin and so on. Simple stuff for a computerized geek like you.”

“Hm-m-m, so your name perfectly suits you.”

“Yeah, bro, you got it. Zero resistance, that’s my game. And I’m gonna get back to it. See ya next time Two Eight One.”

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

FAKIE NEWS: I know you’re wanting to know what a Fakie Bigspin is. So, I will attempt to describe it. The skateboarder rides in the direction of the back foot–that’s Fakie position. Exerting downward pressure on the tail of the board while also shuving with the back foot, the board completely rotates while the boarder turns with it in the air. That is: the board does a backside 360 while the boarder’s body simultaneously does a backside 180. Clear as mud right. Just look it up on YouTube and you’ll have your pick of slow-mo demonstrations. 

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Your local scateboard park is a must visit if you want to enjoy mind-boggling free entertainment. The Ollie, the kickflip, the heelflip, the 360 and many others . . . all in combinations with obstacles! Crazy stuff. These athletes practice seemingly tirelessly to perfect amazing skills. (Check out the video below–literally from my point of view, and you’ll see what I mean.)

Quote Of The Day samples

“I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport.” — Tony Hawk

“Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.”
— Will Smith