We've all seen a hill that looks epic but is always way to trafficked during the day. During my time downhill skateboarding in San Francisco, this was all to common. So we had to skate at night. But isn't that sketchy? Well yes and no..
For one traffic is much lighter, and you can see cars coming around corners, But if the road isn't lit with street lights or doesn't have reflective markings signifying the lanes or edges of the road it can certainly be dangerous to skate. As always, you want to be as aware of your surroundings as possible and the lack of light makes this difficult, however there are some things which can make it easier.
1. Scope the road by driving it first, keep an eye out for indents in the pavement like potholes or manhole covers. Sand, dirt gravel construction etc. you need to know what's coming in order to safely navigate the road.
2. Follow a local down who knows the lines. Usually you can find someone who has skated the road and knows it well enough, a good rule of thumb is if you haven't skated the road, follow down someone who has. If your the first one attempting it the. Godspeed.
3. Use a follow car vehicle with headlights or a headlamp. Illuminate your lines, you can get some pretty powerful headlamps on Amazon for cheap. I recommend 1000+ lumens.
4. Wear reflective gear like safety vests, bright colors with reflective patches or whatever helps keep you visible.
5. Skate like ninjas not pirates. This basically means if your gonna skate at night keep it low key and quiet, especially if you don't want to blow the spot. Maybe keep the spark pucks and hoots and hollers off the run.
6. Last it not least give each other way more space than usual if your skating with homies. Things get unpredictable in the dark and you need more time to react so give each other plenty of space.
roding in the dark of night is inherently risky and I advise against it, especially in the mountains but for all you thrill seekers I know your gonna do you anyways so best do it to live another day eh?
Make it a good one see you at the bottom.
