Nat the skate rat

When I was young, I loved to work on bikes and ride them everywhere. But in addition to bikes, at some point I became a "skate rat."

I don't think I was your typical skate rat because I primarily used my board for transportation. I did very little in the trick world, but I loved sliding around down a hill, similar to riding a snowboard; that was about the extent of my tricks.  I had a few good friends who I skated with, and they would often enlist me as a judge for impromptu skate competitions at the nearest half pipe.

I don't think I ever broke a skateboard deck, but I eventually saved enough money for a sweet new one, a Powell Peralta Mike McGill.  This was an extra wide board for my extra long feet, so they didn't drag on the ground around turns. The same issue would lead me to a snowboard called "Fat Bob" later in life.

I was very excited to finally have a nice setup to assemble. I put the grip tape (self-adhesive sandpaper for grip) on and trimmed it with a razor blade.  Then I got to install the trucks, which are basically pivoting axles that bolt on to the deck in four places. They came with good screws and "nyloc" nuts, which are nuts with a nylon ring in them to prevent them from loosening.

The final step was installing the wheels. I chose wheels that would give me some traction but still allow me to slide around the pavement when I wanted to.

When I went away to Williston (boarding school) in 1986, I would use the board to get around campus. Unfortunately, one day while I was at the dining hall, someone stole the board from the coat rack area. I never bought a new board, but at that point I was spending most of my time and energy on the bike.

I have a nice scar on my right hip from the time when my dad drove me to the top of a hill so I could skate it. Somewhere around 20 mph, the board started shaking beyond control. I jumped off and landed on my feet but quickly wound up on my belly, sliding down the hill head first. Image not sure what my dad was thinking but perhaps he was just trying to give me material for future writing projects.