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Downhill skateboarding at Night for beginners.

  • Kurt Derow

    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.

  • B

    lots of good tips. 

    Most important for me are reflective clothes and lights. I use a powerful helmet front light, and a bicycle rear light mounted on my rear helmet. No drivers can miss me, stay alive

    CHISTOLE !

  • Philipp Murx

    #3: Car headlights probably work great in SF. However in windy and overgrown mountain roads i have witnessed quite some sketch with this method. Your eyes just take quite some time to adjust to brightness levels so you will be completely blind when you lose the car.
    Headlamps are great and give you a much better view of the pavement conditions because they are mounted higher up.

    The only other thing i can add is that if you are in such a lucky place that you can skate with just the light of the moon... watch tf out for marmots!

  • Matt Needs Wheels

    Idk if this is quite a beginner article, more intermediate to be skating in the dark. We plan on doing a re-org soon and I will likley move this to a better spot that doesn't exist yet if thats cool.

    I just work here man (wrongboarding)

    0 likes
  • NR

    I have so much to add to this, but my perspective will be from a moutain road context rather than an urban/suburban one. 

    I skate mountain passes at night pretty regualarly, all grip and 45mph+. It is possible to skate more technical roads with drifts at night like this, but you need to take extra precaution and skate cautiously (ie slower) so you can nail your braking zones. Usually it doesn't make much sense to really full send any run at night, even all grip, but the great thing is skating at night just feels a lot faster and more exciting. Your field of view is far more limited than in the daytime but what you do see is rushing by the edges of your vision in a way that's more pronounced in the darkness. Full moon nights are also excellent opportunities for this and can make things a bit safer. 

    First and foremost: I highly highly recommend using a 1000 lumen ShredLight (or similiar) for this. If you're not familiar, it's a helmet mountable headlight that uses gopro style adhesive mounts. The SL1000 is the model I use. It's just a very bright LED with good optics and a large battery (18650 cell I think) in a compact form factor. The mount is quick release and has an adjustable angle just like the three prong gopro mounts. The throw is perfect for DH and gives you a great pool of light for skating at that speed. They're usually marketed towards eskates and such, but there may be other products out there offering the same thing. You just want bright, helmet mountable, and good optics for a long throw. No need to mess with heavier headlamps and their straps, this option let's you get the light up high and correctly angled so you can maintain your normal tuck and point the light where you need it.

    Caveats for bright headlamps:

    • 1000 lumens is bright enough to dazzle anyone you shine it at, even just for an instant. Always be aware of where you're aiming the beam. Oncoming drivers need to see too, so if possible it's a good idea to either aim it off to the side or use your hand to flag off the edge of the beam as they pass you. Same goes for walkers, cyclists, etc. 
    • If you're skating in groups or duos, it's best to spread out not only to give yourself extra reaction time but also to avoid blinding yourself if they're wearing reflective clothing and you aim your headlamp at them. 

     

    It's also wise to not only scout the run before hand (you should do this always, even in the daytime!), but to skate it yourself in the daylight before you skate it after the sun goes down when possible. I like to skate in the evenings around sunset, then I'll rest a bit waiting for the sky to get dark, then I'll break out the headlight for a few night runs. This way I'm already comfortable and familiar with the road and I'm not trying to think back to some other day I skated it last while blasting downhill.

    Another tip: it's often noticeably easier to see if you wait for complete darkness rather than trying to headlight skate at dusk just after the sun goes down. When the sky is still bright, there's a lot less contrast between the dark ground and your headlights and your eyes will struggle to properly adjust. Darker skies are better.

    To state the obvious: all of this is best done with a follow car/shuttle. You shouldn't rely on their highbeams because you can easily lose them in the corners where you need the light the most. That's where the headlamp comes in. But a trusted shuttle driver with highbeams on adds a lot of extra light which can be nice, and they also act as a buffer between you and any other downhill traffic behind. Definitely consider some tail lights on the back of your helmet or board and reflective clothing if you're skating without a follow car. The more visibility the better.

    The most important hazard to be aware of is wildlife. Many animals become active just after the sun sets. Deer are the main concern where I usually skate, but in other areas it could be smaller, faster animals. Just be aware and skate defensively.  

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