SLALOM SESSION Hobby Park, Winston Salem NC SAT June 11

[Wesley Tucker]

Dan,

I talked to BP this afternoon. He and JD hope to get out of Leesburg around 6:30. Brian should be home this evening. He said his only play was at some point to hook up with WesE and get his timer back.

Oh, I'll tell you what I told Brian: don't forget this is JUNE in the South. If the weather is cool, we can skate with daylight til at least 8:00 at night. So if you get in to Winston Salem a little late, don't sweat it. We'll have plenty of time to ride all afternoon.


Hope you can make it. It's about time all you people wore out some tire tread heading south! And grab KMG while you're at it. It's about time he got done hibernating

[Marion Karr]

Dan Mitchell,
If you are in and make it you can crash at the house as well. As of tonight I now have enough beds in my basement to accomodate at least 5 and probably 7. There is a shower and a bathroom down there as well! I am not sure what John Dillon and Brian are planning on doing about a place to stay. So far I have Ron Olson, Tom Thompson, and Marty Schaub staying at my house on Friday night. I think they are planning on driving back Saturday. If Parsons and Dillon stay over Saturday in Statesville they are welcome at the house and you are welcome as well. My basement is very humble but dry and AC'ed. You are welcome to stay regardless of the other dudes.

Let me know if you're coming! Rock on bro! Saturday is going to be awesome!

[Dan Mitchell]

DOH!!!!!

I should have checked w/Tammy before I opened my big mouth.
Family stuff will keep me here this weekend.
Maybe next time. That hill looks great.

[Marion Karr]

WEATHER UPDATE: Forcast has changed and is indicating scattered showers in the morning. I can't see that hampering us from riding later unless is pours down all day.

Just checked...its already looking better!

See some of you tonight and the rest of you tomorrow!

[Marion Karr]

I have at least a case of beer at my house that has be to drunk.

[Ron Olsen]

Marion,

I'll was planning on calling Marty before we left this afternoon, we can check the weather conditions and possibly postpone driving up until morning if it looks like it will be wet in the morning. Crummy weather here too.

I'll definately update you on any changes to the plan.

Ron

[Marty Schaub]

Gee Ron....

Let's see.... We could stay in Georgia, with semi crummy weather....Or...

We could hike to Marion's tonight...Drink Beer....Talk Skating....Fuel our buzz one beer at a time.......Sleep....Be fresh for the day......

Do ya get the way I'm thinking???

Weather in Larryville is broken cover, no rain. Let's get on a road trip.....

Call me when your leaving your house, that's my signal to quit the yardwork and get ready. Six Seven Eight...Four Four Two Oh Four Five OH.....

[Ron Olsen]

Marty -

I just needed about 30 seconds more after sending that previous post to change my mind. We'll head up tonight for the exact reasons you listed!

Besides, if it's not raining, I can roll out of bed, and get a early start on the 2000 runs.

Ron

[Marty Schaub]

KUHL.....

Marion, see you tonight......

[Marion Karr]

Dudes, Tucker has been on the hill all afternoon rain free and tomorrow is shaping up to be pretty dang good. Showers early and then it will dry up nicely. Then it's the risk of scattered T Storms. Dude we are going to have a blast!

See you tonight!

Marion

[Marty Schaub]

Wow....As I sit here at the keyboard this morning, I just keep grinning about yesterday. Marion put on one hell of a fun event. It took two showers to wash off all the stoke after Marion's 55 gallon drum exploded. For all of those that missed it....Your loss.

That Hobby Park hill is one FAST MO FO!!!!! Butter smooth top to bottom.

I would like to post my thanks to Marion and his family for putting up Ron, Tommy & I overnight, cooking us up breakfast and setting the tone for the day.

Anyone & everyone....Marion's contest in November will be one not to miss.....besides what else are you gonna be doing in November anyway, other than nursing a triptophan overdose?

Marion...You need to start a seperate thread for your contest. Saturday hybrid/tight race in town at the big Statesville Pumpkin Festival and a Sunday screamer at Hobby Park. Man I wish it was next week!

Thanks to all that showed, skated, set up, wrote down times, rooted the other guy down the hill, etc, etc......

Can't wait to see the video & pics. Marion, that would be a good place to start the contest thread. Let em see how freakin fast it was. BTW, Someone did the math and calculated that we were at 25+ mph running sub 15 second times down that hill. SMOKIN!!!!

[Wesley Tucker]

The Downhill Billies sessioned yesterday at Hobby Park with guests coming in from Maryland, Virginia and Georgia. Brian Parsons set a Giant Slalom that took the whole hill and an open jam session ran from 11:00 am til well after 4:00 in the afternoon. After many trips up the hill in perfect weather, the following were the top six fast times:

GS Time
Brian Parsons 14.56
Marty Schaub 14.57
Tom Thompson 14.87
Marion Karr 15.57
John Dillon 15.88
Ron Olsen 16.4

I know. Some of you are saying, "what? a GS that's only 15 seconds? What's giant about that?" Well, let's just say 20+ cones were spaced over a 543-foot distance on the best hill we have found on the East Coast. 'nuff said.

After everyone was completely blitzed repeatedly walking that hill, the cones came up and the boyz wanted to do some bombing. So instead of taking a half hour to reset the tapes into a faster speed trap, they just ran the same 543-foot distance. Remember: these are NOT "top" speeds, but the average speed over the length of the hill. I'm sure a smaller trap on the sweet spot would have revealed much higher top speeds.

The top six results are:

Downhill Time
Marion 9.98
Rookie 10.03
John Dillon 10.1
Jay Bird 10.2
Brian Parsons 10.29
D-Holt 10.37

Average Sustained Speed in MPH
Marion 37.09
Rookie 36.91
John Dillon 36.65
Jay Bird 36.29
Brian Parsons 35.98
D-Holt 35.70

[Tom Thompson]

Thanks again for everything Marion! Your hospitality knows no bounds. Everyone, attend a future DHB gathering if you can. You'll walk away with a fresh dose of stoke, guaranteed! Hobby Hill is PERFECT, easily on par with Trade St. All the DHB's - max hospitality, max fun! They know what's what....

Marty laid down his fastest GS times AFTER 5 hours of charging hard in the 90 degree heat. Gotta hand it to ya homedawg, Impressive....Newbie Ron Olsen was charging hard and looking strong as well. He is one to watch. Georgia!!!....BP's still got "it".....Wesley, great to see you again bro. Thanks for showing up early and prepping the hill. I dug your ts course.....John Dillon, always a pleasure!
I can't believe the back of my neck is the only part of me that's sunburned....bonus!

[Wesley Tucker]

A few from the day at Hobby Park:



The "main hill" with the GS course from top to bottom





BP came down from Virginia, brought his timer and blitzed everybody.



NCL stepped up after four months of slaloming and brought in a time just a hair behind guys who have been racing for years.



Ron Olsen out of Atlanta is back after a 20 year hiatus and seems to remember most of the moves.

[Marion Karr]

What an incredible day of skating we had at Hobby Park on Saturday! Simply incredible! I want to thank everyone who participated and came out!

Special thanks go out to the local DHB crew member, DHolt, Jaybird, and Rookie for coming and killing the hill and spreading that DHB stoke! You guys rock and are part of the heart of the DHB's growth! I am proud to be part of this organization because of you guys. Without your efforts this crew would not exist.

Thanks goes out to W Tucker for all of the course prep work, set up, and support! Thanks for coming early and taking care of so much! Thanks for helping me learn slalom.

Special thanks goes to Beth for coming in from 3 1/2 hours away to take part in the stoke and keeping time! Beth kept time all day and just kept us all going! Girl, I am glad you are part of the DHB's.

Our Out of Towners:
Marty Schaub-Dude, thanks for coming and for all of the encouragement, advise, and great stories bro! Watching you work so hard to make run after run to dial in and past Thompson made me get jacked up to keep going back up the hill time after time! (Man, my calves are sore from walking up that hill so many times!

Tom Thompson: Guys, this dude flys and is so smooth its amazing to watch. Tom, thanks for making the trip and absolutely killing it. Watching you sit on top of that hill like a raptor ready to descend on it's prey was cool! You are not only the King of Georgia but you are the current reigning Marion's Basement Slalom Champ! 1:00 am Friday Night/Saturday morning and we are running cones through doorways in the basement just because we are so stoked to ride!

Bryan Parsons: Fastest dude on the hill that day for sure! Dude, you just simply killed the course run after run after run after run! Thanks for all the hard work you did setting up the timer system! Thanks for bringing it (the timing system) and bringing it (the speed down that course)! I look foward to riding with you again soon!

Ron Olson: Dude, you have got a great vibe! Thanks for being a part of the weekend. You're like a kid in a candy store just smiling the whole time! That is infectious bro! You are always welcome at the house. Marty will just have to bring his breathing machine with him or leave his chain saw at home which ever works best!

John Dillon: Now I am completely sure why you call it Team Fun because bro, that is what you are all about! You pushed me hard all day to get better and better and for that I am grateful! This dude road the same board on the GS as he did on the downhill...He was killing it! After eating thai food we hooked up with the local crew, SST, Mac T, and Brent, for a little midnight bank riding at our Black Banks spot. I am not sure how either of us had the energy to get out there and ride at midnight after riding all dang day on the hill but we did it. Thanks for sharing your stoke with the crew.

Thanks also goes to Martha, our newest DHB'er from Charlotte for coming out and shooting pics, video, and joining in the vibe.

Yesterday was just a great day. I am so stoked to be part of skateboarding again after being gone from it so long. The DHB's are a great group of people who love what they are doing and want to share it. For those of you who have yet to come hang with us you are all welcome. We just want to build the scene here for all forms of skateboarding!

We are working on our approvals for our weekend of racing but go ahead and pencil us in Our 55 gallon drum of stoke fuel exploded yesterday all over everyone there but we have more where that came from!

Marion Karr
www.downhillbillies.org

"Fueling The Stoke One Hillbilly At A Time!"