"the dark side of the cone"

Discussion Forum
Henry Julier
Ick Sticks
Ick Sticks
Posts: 205
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2002 2:00 am
Location: CT
Contact:

Post by Henry Julier » Tue Jan 07, 2003 5:15 am

I'm not going to post on ncdsa for a long time.

All these people argueing, what if I meet one of them at a race?

this is really stressing the crap out of me. this is probably the most awkward situation i've ever been in. Luckily I have a really supportive girlfriend who has also been reading the posts daily.

Henry

Wesley Tucker
1961-2013 (RIP)
1961-2013 (RIP)
Posts: 3279
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am

Post by Wesley Tucker » Tue Jan 07, 2003 6:22 am

Henry,

I've only met you once (at 'da Farm?) and you seem like a very good guy. In reading your post here, though, I think I can pretty well discern your state of mind. No, I'm not a Psychiatrist, but I watch Dr. Melfi on the SOPRANOS every time it's re-run!

At the age of 18, it would appear you are faced with the age-old question, "do the means justify the ends?" I can't answer that for you and neither can anyone else. I'm not some kind of perfectionist who always answers the ends never justify the means. That's nonsense. Of course they do ON OCCASION.

You, though, are in a situation where certain means will result in a certain end. So what I would be brash enough to do is ask you two questions:

1. When you get this board, will you feel good about yourself in the way you received it?

2. In seeing the way the money is being raised, do you feel good being the recipient of such money?

I think if you HONESTLY answer those questions for yourself, you'll know the right thing to do and you'll feel confident to once again speak out on any forum about any subject. Hiding over here, though, from what's going on over there won't really make your life any easier. I do want you to know, though, that I'm not telling you do one thing or another. Hey, don't forget, when I was your age, I got TWO free Summer Skis from Bobby Turner. Although I didn't ask for them and certainly didn't solicit free equipment, the fact remains that I got equipment without paying for it. So the last thing I can do is point my finger at you and tell you what to do about receiving your own free stuff.

By the way, and just for the record, I'm not donating to Arab's "Henry J's Big Ick Fund." If I have $10 or more to spare, it's going in my own Ick/Roe/Turner/Pocket Pistol Fund. I'm riding decks OLDER than you are. The last thing I'm going to do is subsidize your new board while I continue meddling around the middle of the pack on my antiques.

Sorry, bud. This is racing. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Wesley Tucker on 2003-01-07 00:24 ]</font>

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Wed Jan 08, 2003 5:28 am

Henry like I said before, Its your board and you ride it with pride and hold yer head up high while doing it.

Dont let anybody discourage you from riding your board, Remember you never solicted money for a board, I asked for donations because I was stoked on your Zeal for slalom, the people that contributed did so because they felt the same as I, Richy Carrasco, Jack Smith, Those are 2 people that have very high character and esteem in the slalom community, don't let them or yourself down, F##k all the whining poser wannabes, If anybody ever insults you about your board, you tell them that you are gonna punch them in the mouth, and if they take a swing back Arab is gonna kick their Asses!

Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Posts: 1189
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by Claude Regnier » Wed Jan 08, 2003 6:28 am

Henry, I hate to admit it but I TOTTALY agree with ARAB.

Enjoy the board ride and I'll look forward to you kicking my ass when I'm closer to retirement for now, C-YA.

George Gould
AZ G.R.S.
AZ G.R.S.
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Northern Arizona (Winslow/Flagstaff)

Post by George Gould » Wed Jan 08, 2003 4:37 pm

Henry, i only know you through the excellent things told me by the Howells. i too was given a roof over my head by them when i went out to WLAC. i contributed because i know Rick will make another board. i can't afford another whole one right now, but i want to be a a part of him making another. it is art! as for those whiners screw em. there are a boatload of what i call "board collectors". they got every board ever made, i never see em take a run down a hill. stay stoked, stay in school.

Chuck Gill
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 1:00 am
Location: Huntsville, Alabama, USA

Post by Chuck Gill » Thu Jan 09, 2003 4:22 am

Henry, first let me say I am heartened to see your *very* recent truck post over on NCDSA...glad to see you weren't run off after all.

I WANT to give $10 toward your board...and I WANT you to enjoy it. You didn't come onto the forums begging for equipment, and I think a lot of the negativity surrounding the whole deal is that Arab is behind it...people are just reacting to him, not you. From where I sit, it is starting to look to me like Arab is just being an old punk rocker. Yeah, he has managed to piss me off as he has many others, but truth be told as an old punk rocker myself I admire folks that can turn the asshole switch on and off at will. I'm pretty good at it myself, I just don't do it online...much.

A couple of things to think about:

1) An awful lot of trash-talking is done online...and most of the folks who go at each other the hardest are fine with each other in person. Granted, there are a few real-live, in-person grudges, but that's not what's going on here.

2) Take a look again at the stuff posted for the last few days, if you can bear to look at it LOL...as objectively as possible...and try and figure out just how much of it is folks reacting to the guy behind the whole thing, and whether any of it is really aimed at you.

3) Like Wesley said...if it comes to pass and you get this board, will you be able to ride it in good conscience? Only you can answer that for yourself...but bear in mind sometimes a disparate bunch of folks come together and decide to actually practice "random acts of kindness" for folks who haven't necessarily done anything to "deserve" them, at least in the "charitable donation" sort of sense. The lucky recipients instead can show they "deserve" these random acts by accepting them with grace, and in turn passing random acts on to others when they are able. Are you comfortable with that? It's your call, no one else's.

Should I send my $10 to Rick? I'm serious when I said it's no skin of my back...but it is a little bit of fat off my belly. I am financing it by foregoing afternoon Frito-Lay snacks for two weeks. See...you're already paying back by helping me eat less crap...we both win...the greedy vending machine company at my work LOSES hahaha!!!

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Thu Jan 09, 2003 8:12 am

Chuck,
I couldnt agree more with this statement
"sometimes a disparate bunch of folks come together and decide to actually practice "random acts of kindness" for folks who haven't necessarily done anything to "deserve" them, at least in the "charitable donation" sort of sense. The lucky recipients instead can show they "deserve" these random acts by accepting them with grace, and in turn passing random acts on to others when they are able. Are you comfortable with that? It's your call, no one else's."

That is all I asked of Henry was to give back to the community that gave to him in the future, How can a kid try to get his friends involved if he doesnt have a board to share with them. We have shared a board with our new friend Henry and in return I hope he will do likewise with his friends.

Henry dont let anybody fan the flame of slalom stoke you have.

Enjoy the ride
Arab

John Gilmour
Team Roe Racing
Team Roe Racing
Posts: 1207
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am
Location: USA

Post by John Gilmour » Mon Jan 13, 2003 6:22 am

Arab- for someone that scoffs at the "Least Coast" you are a helluva guy for taking an East Coaster under your wing and recognizing a regular slalomers zest for slalom and supporting it.

I think you are a tough punk rocker on the outside- but a real softie on the inside. (happens all the time). Many thanks. I hope when the West Coasters come East we can help defer some of their expenses by putting them up at our homes.

Henry J. I'm sure you got the same charge out of going to WLAC as I did in Nov. 2000.
I think you should think of the board as a "welcome gift from the west coast" for you taking the effort to go and ride with them. (heck I think I got a Turner the first time I went out there). Anyone who hasn't gone out to California should go out and ride.... and not for the hills but for the people.

If you feel indebted to people- too late. In order to pay them back you'll have to get a slalom scene of your own going- and get more new people into the sport. OR..... you'll have to practice like crazy (and form a "practice strategy" that leads to winning) and kick some serious butt... hopefully beat the people who donated $$$ to you so they can see the $$ was well spent.

I beleive in giving things to people who are enthusiasts in the sport and will do good for the sport. For the moment...your writing skills could be of immediate use for the sport if you were to help write a few articles about the sport and submit them to various sports publications for part of an "independent study project" or some english extra credit project for your school.

You are a fine young man with a good head on your shoulders- enjoyed meeting you and your Dad at 'da farm 2. Practice practice practice.

Henry Julier
Ick Sticks
Ick Sticks
Posts: 205
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2002 2:00 am
Location: CT
Contact:

Post by Henry Julier » Mon Jan 13, 2003 8:44 pm

Hiya everybody!

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

I am going to have a longboard slalom race here at school in the spring. All i need to do is find some kind of hill, get permission from the school, and set a semi-technical course that is fun and challenging for those who aren't as good at slalom yet. I figure wth the help of the USSSF I can get the ball rolling.

As for practice, practice, practice, this summer will be all about that. I have absolutely nothing planned and I'll have my licence, so on the weekends I will be driving to wherever there's a slalom session. I'm also thinking maybe 2 FCR races... like LaCosta and Breckenridge... I'm trying to time it so I can slalom and then my dad and I can go mountain biking. Of course there will be random trips to LA so I can slalom with cool SSS people, visit the Howells and go to In N Out...mmmm...

So yeah, this summer it's like ride my bike to work during the week, and slalom on the weekends. I will scout out some spots near my home... we have some parks and I know of one spot that could potentially be a killer hill.

Henry

Vlad Popov
Moscow-Washington
Moscow-Washington
Posts: 1543
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Moscow, Russia
Contact:

Post by Vlad Popov » Tue Jan 14, 2003 10:49 pm

Life moves too fast around here to follow everything.

To address selective GBJ’s remarks:

“Furthermore, I had no way of knowing that most of Vlad's change from Turners to his own homemade planks was some kind of over-emotional, hysteric, self-righteous, point-making reaction to one poorly set course at a race he didn't even attend. Man! Pout a little harder next time, girlie.”

Dear Readers. Dearest Andy.

Emotions play a major role in our buying decisions. The Turner memorial race was a turning point, in addition to the classic Turners not being any useful for any DC races. I’d keep them as wall hangers, but they are nothing but expensive pieces of fiberglass to me after the race I didn’t attend. If there is no use for the old-time equipment even at the “old-time” equipment races, (like Ducati annual meetings in the US), the brand is DEAD. You can step on Bobby’s signature a little harder now, it’s not worth as much anymore.

A couple of examples of the impact of emotions on choosing slalom equipment.
Some people ride boards made specifically for parallel stance using a regular stance. Such misuse of the equipment should stagnate their performance (no room for pumping foot), yet they choose to ride it anyway. Is it because they treat their boards as Freudian objects, or maybe their boards are just an investment?- I don’t know.
Yet other people ride green wheels because they like Chris Chaput, not because they think Green is faster. Some of them have beards. Swing at them or call them girly for being overly emotional and “hysterical”, and they might not let it go as easily as the less “manly” and forgiving slalomers like myself. :smile:

My wood beats your useless ancient shit for sure, by the way. You should try it before you wear diapers in a nursing home. :lol:


A little on the subject of subjectivity of TS perception.

Up to today there has been only one organization that managed to keep slalom alive for a long time in the changed “new school” skateboarding world, the ISSA. There were probably more countries in the world then there are slaloming states in the US that agreed on ISSA rules. I'll go by what ISSA thinks TS is and ask people who where there.

Everyone has an opinion on what TS is. In my back yard, for example, TS is 5.5 ft. When I sit and poop in my toilet and play slalom on the floor with dead flies and dust balls, TS is 4.5 to 5.5 cm. In somebody’s head it is 3 feet. It really doesn’t matter.

On the subject of my incompetence remark (the last 15 years of slalom history).

I draw my conclusions from your remarks about TS distances. Besides Brits and Russians no one in EU skated 4-5 feet. Brits and Russians are not EU, but the way. No 4ft slalom existed on the world level.
My feeling is that you don’t know shit about Euro races, racers and race results. All you know is your backyard (US) slalom history. And in the last 15 years it’s just a tiny drop in a bucket. You’ve never bothered to go race in Europe when the entire world was racing there. I didn’t go because I didn’t know. June 2002 was my first race ever.
Quadruple-hand experience of the REAL world competitions? At least I talk to the people who where there at least ones a week.

A little on the subject of wasted time on a skateboard.

“Even today, there is no question in my mind that I already have more time practicing tight (4.5-5.5'), flat slalom courses than you have had on a skateboard altogether. I just want you to know that my choices don't come from lack of experience.”

I don’t know, dude, I kinda spent much time on a slalom skateboard from April 08th 1986 until December 04, 1991. I mean I was pumping around sometimes every other day from April till October. I just never knew racing existed until CMC told me so in 1999. Besides, it’s the end result that counts, not time spent on a board. Experience without results in racing is useless.


“Personally, I can't tell you how glad I am to finally know this, as I will stop advancing the notion of Vlad being put on the Turner team, which I have been doing periodically since I promised I would last Spring.”

Andy, we have couple of issues here, dear. First, you got your times of year wrong.
You seem to fight for every centimeter when talking about TS. Yet, you get entire seasons mixed. Spring 2002-I was in Moscow, Russia. It is in June 2002 that I started racing. And the very fist race I didn't run and went home because I couldn’t skate cones. So your “negotiations” with Turner began probably in the summer of 2002. If ever.

Second, who ever said I wanted to be on a team? If I ever felt the “oral” need to belong, I’d be knocking on the Row’s doors a while ago. Turner would be my last choice after I cried for weeks and was put on Prozac for months when they got rid of my favorite US slalomer in the most impolite and cruel manner.

If you need a reference to enter the PG County Community College, let me know, and I’ll gladly return you a favor and write you a reference and make a couple of calls. You know, as a former friend.

If you still want to get somebody on team Turner, it is Gilmour you should “promote”. On the other hand, the team doesn’t deserve to have him, so nevermind. Promote the ICK boy instead :lol:

Commercial break, the post is getting too long. This break is brought to you in part by Varsteiner beer, the best beer in the world. Here’s a play I wrote when drinking Varsteiner, the only beer of my choice.

Gilmour showed “Traditional Slalom” Morro Bay race in Vermont formerly wrongfully known to me and some other people as TS. Everyone used GS set ups (objection, that is what some people think GS set up is, it is a “traditional slalom” set up for most beer-belly aging skaters across the country, your honor! Sustained!) and everyone ran it in monotone robotic movements (too subjective, your honor! Sustained again, please reward your statement!) ...What appeared to be on a TV screen as monotone robotic movements that did not involve any side-to-side weight transfers which are a characteristic of a more technical courses)... which has become a standard and a tradition (objection again your honor, extrapolation from a small representative sample size! Sustained, please reward your last statement.. Thank you your honor)...Which has become a slalom tradition and a slalom standard in the US.

End of commercial, back to serious business now.


Andy Andy, dear Andy.

Although things (between us) were moving rather fast offline, I think I’m getting your hints that you don’t love me anymore. I thought we had a future, Andy. And now I’m thinking of sticking to my girlfriend for some time. Image

In conclusion, I was certain that you were the only way to insuring my multi-million dollar contracts in this multi-billion dollar slalom industry, but I have an impression that you have made other plans, and if you continue to act the way you act in public I will start looking for other potential agents (!)
Don’t read the following, Andy.
Does anybody want to represent me and guide me through in this confusing slalom environment? Together we’ll be rich, riCH, RICH and won’t have to worry about ever finding a real job ever again! Somebody pick me up! Please! I want to prove my independence from Andy to myself and others!

Ok, realistically, I’ll skate for food. But not for Chipotle Burritos, because Andy likes them! :grin:


Vlad.

Wesley Tucker
1961-2013 (RIP)
1961-2013 (RIP)
Posts: 3279
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am

Post by Wesley Tucker » Tue Jan 14, 2003 11:16 pm

[quote]
Turner would be my last choice after I cried for weeks and was put on Prozac for months when they got rid of my favorite US slalomer in the most impolite and cruel manner. [quote]

Vlad, I don't understand this. I never worked for Turner. How could they fire me? :razz:

[quote]
Some people ride boards made specifically for parallel stance using a regular stance. Such misuse of the equipment should stagnate their performance (no room for pumping foot), yet they choose to ride it anyway. Is it because they treat their boards as Freudian objects, or maybe their boards are just an investment?- I don’t know. [quote]

So is it ok if I keep riding MY cut aways?

Jack Smith
Morro Bay Skate legend
Morro Bay Skate legend
Posts: 736
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Morro Bay, California
Contact:

Post by Jack Smith » Wed Jan 15, 2003 12:01 am

Vlad,

Your comments about Turner and Bobby specifically are way out of line.

I'm glad that there were (and maybe still are)people who choose to run 4' slalom...it's kinda like living in New Jersey...someone has to.

Seriously though, all types of slalom are good, some are just practiced more than others. Those racers that enjoy a particular type of slalom should be encouraged to promote that type of racing by staging races and demos.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jack Smith on 2003-01-14 18:01 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jack Smith on 2003-01-14 18:04 ]</font>

Guest

Post by Guest » Wed Jan 15, 2003 12:15 am

Vlad,
You are talking out of your ass now. Turners are worthless in DC? Umm, hello who won the DC summer series? What was that rider riding? Don't bring Bob into this. You have NO idea what youa re talking about. Slam the boards, fine, but not Bob. I don't know what "the bob turner memorial has to do with anything?

Gilmour is a big boy. I consider Gilmour a good friend and a slalom mentor. however the Gilmour/Turner thing is old news. Beyond that I think John not being with Turner anymore made him in some ways a better and more focused rider. His love is in teaching new riders and working on pet projects. Gilmour is my favorite racer to watch and my favorite style and HE is over it. You should be too.

Ride what works for you. I applaud you for learning enough about your equipment and building your own decks. But drop that superiority thing. Your decks are good for one thing for YOUR style that you have adopted around the under performance of a plank of wood. I watched you ride a Turner and you are a better rider on your wood decks.....but they are not the end all in anyway. Nor is Turner for that matter but a Turner is 100% more versitle than a plank in many courses.

I respect you as a racer Vlad. I enjoy racing you. I even enjoy your humor at times. But when you start running your mouth and playing Mr. Superior with your wood planks and TS it gets old. In fact it was old about 50 posts ago.

I'm with you racing TS. I have a deck just for your style of courses. However you opinion is not the only one and you come down on all others as being useless.

drop it Vlad.

Terry Kirby
Team RoeRacing
Team RoeRacing
Posts: 529
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Hampton, NH USA

Post by Terry Kirby » Wed Jan 15, 2003 12:21 am

Thank goodness things are getting back to the dark side of the cone. It was getting all too nice nice here for a while. TK

Andy Bittner
GBJ
GBJ
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Post by Andy Bittner » Wed Jan 15, 2003 12:46 am

Well, I'm lost. I'm not sure what half of whatever Vlad just said even meant. I don't know about timing, maybe it was last winter or Fall. I just know there was a time when you were riding TS courses at the Park and Ride (on the other side of the lot) and were carrying on to me that you felt Turners were what it was all about and that you couldn't wait to be able to get one and so on. I never claimed that I would "represent" you, but you were obviously progressing rapidly and I promised that I'd mention you to any Turner people I knew, recommend that they have a look at you as a team rider and maybe you could get some equipment sooner. At the time, you seemed very positive about the whole concept. Now, I certainly don't claim to really know you that well, which leaves me to go on impressions and how things seem. You seemed like you were in favor of the suggestion, so I've honored my promise. Since that time, I mentioned you as "someone to look at," on a few occasions. I didn't make any special phone calls or anything but I mentioned you a few times. So, since I now understand that this is something you neither encouraged or even desired, and it was all just in my head, I guess that explains the complete lack of gratitude on your part.

Now, I've acknowledged that I really don't know you, and yet you presume to know me (and a whole lot of other things) much better than you actually do, and in my case most of your assumptions are waaay off. Apparently you know everything that is in my memory about the past 15 years of slalom skateboarding, and you've made personality judgements about me based on my not going to Europe to race, when it was THE thing to do amongst the desperately small, global slalom community. However, if you knew or even wanted to know everything there is to know about my slalom experiences, I could provide you with a list of sponsors and attempted sponsors in '88, '89 and '90 that were never able to get me to the races in Europe. I can show you the sponsor "audition" video from '89, where I list the Euro races I'd like to attend and the legendary European skaters that I wanted to challenge myself against, or pads of notes and times from TS practice sessions and equipment testing. However, despite all of that, you keep on believing whatever serves your fantasies best. They are so far from accurate that they are laughable and not even close enough to be offensive.

The only other thing I understood was just so absurdly incorrect, I can't even understand why you would've said it. If you really believe that the monetary value of classic Turners has gone down because John Gilmour was bumped from the team and because the Bobby Turner Memorial race wasn't a true TS, you're completely out of touch with reality. The whole collectible market may be down along with the economy, but the unfortunate truth of Bobby's passing is that value of his handmade boards will go up. Make no mistake about it though, I'd rather have Bobby back and a less valuable skateboard. The other thing I don't understand is how issues that occurred after Bobby Turner passed away, however questionable or unpopular they may have been, would make you want to shower the memory of a wonderfully creative and giving man with such crap.

So, that addresses pretty much all I understood about your post. The rest of it just to silly for me. Application to PGCC? Whether Great Britain and Russia are "European", (I did not say "EU" or current "European Union", Im referring to a continent, you freak!) nobody but Russians and the British ran 4-5' slalom???

Here is a list of finishers in the 1989 AES Glascow Cup, which was run at 1.35 meters (less than 4.5')...

Jim Korten – USA
Simon Levene – England
Jani Soderhall – Sweden
Dave Crabb – USA
Leon Clark – England
Dieter Fleischer – France
Jim Parry Jones – England
Tomas Potucek – (CS?)
Ed Brockman – England
Shirley McClelland - USA

So, when you say nobody in the "EU" raced 4-5' slalom, are you saying that France and Sweden aren't in the EU, or that Dieter Fleischer and Jani Soderhall are nobodies? You're right, I didn't go to Europe. I couldn't afford it. Furthermore, there was no internet, so I didn't get to quiz all of the Euros on the state of Slalom in Europe. I went on what there was to read, and although favored by the Brits (I really wasn't aware of what was going on in Russia at the time, I only heard they liked TIGHT slalom later), it was clear to me from race results that people were running flat and tight between 4 and 5 feet, which is why I was practicing it so much. That is to say that while you were pumping around on a board between '86 and '91, I was pretty much putting in 12-16 dedicated hours per week riding slalom and focusing on TS (that's TIGHT slalom, not the loose, 6' stuff you beginners call tight!)

So, that addresses pretty much all I understood about your post. The rest of it's just too silly for me. Application to PGCC? Arguing for every cm for TS? John Gilmour's Morro Bay course in Vermont? I don't know... Maybe it's the Warsteiner, maybe it's language difficulties or maybe you're just very confused, but the film "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" had more basis in reality than most of what you just said.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Andy Bittner on 2003-01-14 19:15 ]</font>

Andy Bittner
GBJ
GBJ
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Post by Andy Bittner » Wed Jan 15, 2003 1:12 am

By the way, Vlad, aren't you employed somewhere in the mental health field? Maybe you could look up why a newcomer to a community might over-react to or over dramatize their reactions to community situations. If I had to guess, I'd say it's in order to heighten their own sense of belonging or to convince the rest of the community of just how committed or involved they are.

Glenn S
Posts: 522
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2002 2:00 am

Post by Glenn S » Wed Jan 15, 2003 1:47 am

Adam T.,
Could you please make Vlad his own folder called "Super Uptight Slalom" where he could post to himself after he's had too many beers. :lol:
Thanks,
Glenn

Simon Levene
Smokestack
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 1:00 am
Location: Pig City

Post by Simon Levene » Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:18 am

Wow GBJ!

Was that less than 4.5' slalom we raced in Glasgow. I thought it was tight, but don't remember too well as I was pissed on Warsteiner and scotch (FACT - unfortunate drinking competition before the race!).

Wesley Tucker
1961-2013 (RIP)
1961-2013 (RIP)
Posts: 3279
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am

Post by Wesley Tucker » Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:33 am

Simon, it's 8:33 here on the East Coast. Aren't you in Europe? Ain't it around 1:30 in the morning over there? Why ain't you in bed?

Andy Bittner
GBJ
GBJ
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Post by Andy Bittner » Wed Jan 15, 2003 3:15 am

Yes, Simon, 16 cones, 1.35m apart w/ a 4m in-run. You had an admirable 3.38 secs, and would've won, if it weren't for the wiggle-freak, Korten.

Korten... best wiggler ever. MIA.

Vlad Popov
Moscow-Washington
Moscow-Washington
Posts: 1543
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Moscow, Russia
Contact:

Post by Vlad Popov » Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:19 am

I'm sorry, guys, I did go overboard on this one, I take everything I said back. I should have gone there, oh my God, how did we get here? I must have been mixing Varsteiner and Prozak. :sad:

Vlad Popov
Moscow-Washington
Moscow-Washington
Posts: 1543
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Moscow, Russia
Contact:

Post by Vlad Popov » Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:24 am

I don't know what to say or how to appologize... I gues here's what's left to say:

How the **** does one go overboard on this thread? What are you, out of medicine?...or food? Maybe both? Political correctness my A-triple-Redundant-S!

You talk trash to me on a public forum, expect some garbage all over you, and inside of you, crybabies. Learn to take it up your *** like real men! Get your gear up, esp. your elbow pads, and bring a lot of Vaseline with you, you'll need it! I'll be warming up my red "Needlenose" meanwhile. Practice bending-over, the latest compulsory slalom move in the DC area.

My problem was with GBJ's tong. What the **** are you doing here, sticking your Burton/Turner nose, UR 12.5 and others? 13, You put my boards down before, and you got my "humorous" reply. I don't question superiority or inferiority of your favorite brand, I only share my feelings about it. Now, go practice, slow rider, or you'll continue to slip down to the slow part of the pack where hemorrhoids is the most common problem!

And stop taking my words out of context (this goes to Jack as well on the subject of Turner)! Didn't you have any formal educations at all?

I have nothing to do with mental health field and I never post drunk.

That race Korten won, it'd be like the 1980 USA-USSR hockey game that gets aired about 10 times a year in the states. The rest 20 or so games never see airtime in US. Simon's name was in "Slalom!" ones I, recall, as a Santa Cruiz sponsored rider who doesn't show up for his company's events!

Mr. Levine, what were your highest ISSA rankings? What were those of Mr. Korten, who (correct me if I'm wrong) was nowhere to be seen in EU after that arena (?) race he won. Do you really feel the need to get on this boat?

Good night, sweet princes of slalom and self-proclaimed slalom gods with lots of experience, but no knowledge and skills.

Sleep well wusses who were offended.

Yours....I mean UP...for offending me first!

Guest

Post by Guest » Wed Jan 15, 2003 5:20 am

I really should step away from the computer, take a breath and realize this is pointless....but I just can't.

Vlad...what is your problem? Burton/turner boy? I haven't ridden Burton in years and ride your favorite snowboards (frankly I am not really even snowboarding at this point). The turner thing is something I'm proud of, I respect Bob and am proud to be apart of Turner.

I am not a boostful rider. But when attacked I can only say lets look at our results at the end of next season and see. I realize that racing is give and neitherone of us will always beat the other...but lets race....at the end of the seaosn we will see where we stand and who is the "middle of the pack"....

I could careless about what is going between you and GBJ. Frankly I have only been skimming the posts. My thing was you coming off on Turner and now me directly.

I've ridden your boards Vlad. They don't work for me and they don't work for much else than super tight slalom and YOUR form. Ride whatever you like, make whatever you like I don't care. I have seen the superiority thing in your postings/rants growing the past few months.

You and your ego are far to big for your own good.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Chris Stepanek on 2003-01-14 23:25 ]</font>

John Gilmour
Team Roe Racing
Team Roe Racing
Posts: 1207
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am
Location: USA

Post by John Gilmour » Wed Jan 15, 2003 6:53 am

I have been to Europe and raced I saw what went on there. I know the participants the courses and the skill levels. I've tried to skate one of Martin Sweeney's courses. I know some of the history and lived through some of it.

To set teh record straight. 4 foot courses were not rampant throughout Europe. A handful of guys in Europe ran then and a handful of guys in Russia ran them. Everyone else was running typical 6-6.5 foot TS. I'd guess fewer than 3% of the top 200 slalomers ran anything less than 1.7 meter.

IMHO Vlad's version of slalom history is pretty accurate. As far as the Scottland race is concerned. I was told by many that it was a poorly organized event and not representitive of the level of events in the rest of Europe. That the course was short...... from the rest of the comments I would not be surprised if the timing system was mere stopwatches. I also think someone told me that they were racing on loose floor tiles that shifted. BTW I never offered Vlad any Euro history- this is what he gleened from others that were there and his accuracy is much better than that of an average newspaper or story teller.

So GBJ I doubt the Scotland distances were 4.5 foot. With shifting floor tiles I doubt such a distance would be makable. Simon- in your estimation what was it? And also how long was the course and who set it. Was it merely straights?


I set a TS course this year at 'da Farm 2. Catalina was a TS and for FCR it was the only true TS I attended (I missed Tahoe, Oregon, NM, to name a few). Though not very technical the Catalina TS course was fast- many people enjoyed the course.

It was strange to see the Bobby Turner Memorial course not set as a fast technial TS. Peggy Turner and I were commenting on it. A 36" pocket pistol would have been the right board for that event. I would have expected something along the lines of the Freewheeling clip with BP. Now that would have Bob Turner smile beam as only Bob's can.

The Cambria race was a true TS- though I felt it was overly tight (for most of the competitors- including myself), and speed limiting, it was TS nonetheless. Unfortunately the skill levels of the riders weren't there yet and many races were decided by DQ. Too tight too early. makig the cones 6 inches to 1 foot wider would have greatly reduced the DQ rate.

So since Catalina there may have been some TS races set by SSS and at WLAC. So TS might not be dead-... just not showing up in FCR for awhile. And of course we had a TS at 'da farm 1,2 and I would expect another TS at 'da Farm 3. I would also expect true TS to be regularly represented in the East coast (even in DC)and again in Europe. Also I would expect true TS in Mississipi, Georgia, and perhaps W.Va.

Will TS ever get equal billing with GS? I hope so- as TS is the more challenging of the two IMHO. I feel in the past it has been shortchanged. Look for instance at the combined results at the race where Mcree and Hollien raced in with Roscopp. Not the way I would have tabulated the results for a combined score. And unfortunately this was not spelled out for the competitors ahead of time.

As for the whole Turner thing. It was unfortunate- but so it goes and really it did not change much. There was some talk about me getting partial ownership of the company- but that never came to fruitition.

I know Bob isn't upset with me as I have ridden other decks in the past in Europe to suit the courses presented to me -yet my primary drive has always been to resurrect Turner Summer Ski and convice people of what the boards are capable of. Riding the Hybrid Xl in competition and turning in a slow time or a wheel rub induced fall wouldn't have helped Hybrid XL sales either. Frankly- it's not a high performance deck- and nor was it meant to be. The Hybrids were a price point deck designed to work for the slower, more offset, hard to pump FCR courses. It's one thing to see a well practiced, consistently high placing pro win on a Hybrid. But its another to see Brent Kosick take 3rd at La Costa on a classic fullnose. That to me speaks volumes about how great the Classics were and still are if yo take teh time to get to know them and their capabilities.

Peggy Turner and I are still the best of friends -we talk about twice a month for hours and both of us want to see the sport move forward and Vince has done a fine fine fine job of making the Turner fullnose and Cutaway decks. I got one new Red fullnose from Howard...which was my primary drive for wanting to get Bob going again and Bob passed doing what he liked best.

Vlad does rip TS and has picked it up faster than any skater I know of. Can someone post some footage of his run at 'da farm 2?

TK is going to to the Jet Propulsion Labs race on his rocket- we'll see how that goes.

Michael Dong
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 1:00 am
Location: Bothell, WA

Post by Michael Dong » Wed Jan 15, 2003 9:16 am

My three favorite posters are Chris Chaput, TK, and Vlad. I always carefully read their posts. Each of them choose their words and phrases with quite a bit of thought behind them. With Chris and Vlad there is usually something hidden in the messages. I find myself laughing my ass off reading their posts. In this case I think that Vlad is half-serious (maybe a bit of his dark-side) and half just f***ing with everyone. Remember, this is the thread designated for smack talk.

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Wed Jan 15, 2003 9:30 am

Vlad,
One of the reasons there was not a "TRUE TS" or whatever your definition is of TS at "La Costa" for the "Bobby Turner Memeorial" was the hill is much to steep and long to have people run sub 6' cones, I hear you are really good at sub 6', Can you do sub 6' on a Grade of 5% or more for 25+ seconds.

I would have liked to see you run your TS at Avila, Most FCR course are set to what the hill can handle, If FCR did races on a playground or a parking lot I'm sure they would do more TS, but they dont, they run Slalom Races on Hills, Like it or not this is not Russia, EU or your little playground, this is America and this is the way its being done, If you got a problem with nobody running TS at sub 6', Do a race and you can win and be the new World TS champ, until then, Dont go knoockin whats happening until you have showed up and paid your dues.

Arab

PS Hey Donger, I'm not your fav poster?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ARAB on 2003-01-15 03:32 ]</font>

Simon Levene
Smokestack
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 1:00 am
Location: Pig City

Post by Simon Levene » Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:16 pm

Wesley - I'm always up and willing to read some of this crap!

Vlad - If you're going to mention my name, please spell it correctly - LEVENE ... no 'I' (FACT!). I was replying only to GBJ's mention of an old race, and had no intention of 'getting on this boat'. In fact, I had very little interest in what you've got to say about slalom until you brought up my name (FACT!). And, by the way, WHO THE F%CK ARE YOU to question my FORM?

ISSA ??? - didn't know who they were then, didn't care, and don't know who they are now (FACT). I got a few newsletters from Jani (which was nice!) but never felt the inclination to get involved with any oranisation that uses league tables (FACT). I wasn't a member of ISSA (FACT). I was a 'skateboarder'. I skated vert (not well), street (not well) and slalom (OK). I just skated all the time. Travelling to Latvia for a slalom event, racing against guys wearing soccer kit and Jofa helmets just wasn't on my post-punk, hardcore, class A drug saturated skateboarding agenda at the time (FACT). Having fun on a skateboard was (FACT)!

Santa Cruz sponsored slalom events ??? - help me out there, Vlad. I don't seem to remember any at that time. I'm sure that the SC team manager would have told me had he known. But, I'll bow to your superior knowledge on that one, as you must have had a direct line into NHS at the time. Let me know when you find details of said events.

I'm also glad to see that you 'spent much time on a slalom skateboard from April 08th 1986 until December 04, 1991' and are practicing now. Great! Let me know when you've shot as many cones as I have in my life. Keep running 'em!

JG - I honestly don't remember much about the Glasgow race. I really was in a bit of a state (FACT). I think that Korten set the course (Jani would know) and it was tight. I remember that I could hardly get my board through the course. I remember Korten's board which I couldn't fit both of my feet on. I remember that the run ended with a crash mat placed against the wall which gave me an even bigger headache than trying to race. BTW - it was time trial, not a race. A truely terrible event, and one good reason why slalom didn't have any mainstream appeal.

I did not, and do know consider myself to be a tight slalomer. That was left to Sweeney, Clingfilm, Vlad, Euros (?), et al.

I think there may be only one 'self-proclaimed slalom god' here, and that's you Vlad. You seem to have a rather large chip on your shoulder. Are you not getting the recognition you deserve? Let me know.

p.s. I would like to personally thank Arab for allowing the use of his patented 'FACT' feature.

Jack Smith
Morro Bay Skate legend
Morro Bay Skate legend
Posts: 736
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Morro Bay, California
Contact:

Post by Jack Smith » Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:03 pm

Vlad,

What did I take out of context? Please answer this question "before" you begin drinking.
Europe has a rich slalom history as does the US, for which all racers should be proud. I will be the first to admit that all I know of the scene in Europe came from sparse reporting in US mags and some Gilmour/Levine stories.

Andy Bittner
GBJ
GBJ
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Post by Andy Bittner » Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:19 pm

JG, The ‘shifting floor tiles’ were actually loosening plywood, I’m pretty sure Korten set the course, and Dieter Fleischer provided the timing system. Glasgow ’89 was not a very successful race, nor was I claiming that it was. It was indoor and short, with crash padding at the end. It was the height of slalom as irrelevant sideshow, but my point was to speak against Vlad’s tendency to speak in absolutes… “nobody”, “everybody”, “never”, etc. At the same time (’89), without the internet, without the money to be making routine calls about slalom skateboarding to Europe, without the company of any other slalomers, AND being very athletically serious about what I was doing, I was seeing information that said it could get as tight or tighter than 4.5 ft. Maybe it was because I wasn’t worried about labels and uniform communication with other slalomers, but I always figured that as-tight-as-it-can-get, was what I’d refer to as “tight”. I mean, how tight is tight? “Tight” is usually an endpoint. If you’re tightening a nut on a bolt, and you make it truly tight, you don’t then make it more-tight. (the answer is none, none more black!) So, it wasn’t logical for my mind to assume that something looser than as-tight-as-it-can-get would be called “Tight”. Approaching slalom skateboarding as a serious, dedicated athlete, I figured I’d better be ready for anything that might come along, no matter how rare or infrequent, like 4.5 ft. courses. (and John… a contemporary record of the race claims the cone spacings were 1.35 meters. You do the math, but my metric converter says that’s less that 4.5’, and notice… I NEVER claimed such courses were “rampant”!)

So, Vlad, I guess my point about you is that a rookie is a rookie. You can study all you want, and know every shred of history (which you apparently haven’t accomplished yet), and get it all right, and that just makes you a well-studied rookie. You can be a really good slalom rider (which you clearly are), in fact you can be the best rookie there ever was, and y’know what? You’re still a rookie. You can over-dramatize your reactions to slalom community events and opinions, you can act like a hub of the sport and a fountain of slalom knowledge, you can beat GBJ (bfd!) and you can do whatever else it is you want to do, but none of that changes your rookie-ness. Relative to slalom skateboarding, I had no idea who or where you were 15 years ago, and, the truth be told, I have no reason to expect otherwise for a date 15 years from now. I hope that it’s otherwise, but time is time. Time is THE priceless, irreplaceable asset given for which there is really no substitute. Right here on this one page, you’re chatting amongst a group that probably has over 100 cumulative years of slalom riding experience (I know I contribute 30 to the equation), and nothing you can do in the short term can ever represent the passion and commitment that those years represent. Get over yourself. You are a loud, fast, but inarguably small fish.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Andy Bittner on 2003-01-15 10:21 ]</font>

Adam Trahan
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Posts: 795
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2002 2:00 am

Post by Adam Trahan » Wed Jan 15, 2003 5:45 pm

Vlad

This is the "Dark side of the cone" don't forget where this is going.

On the other hand...

I hope none of you guys take this stuff to your daily lives. Online you can tear each other up, rip each other to shred's but when you turn away from your "precious" (spoken in my best Gollum hiss) be nice to the people around you.

BTW, don't forget to actually set a slalom course and skate it every once and a while!

Now, back to the DARK SIDE of the CONE!

William Tway
Timing Guru
Timing Guru
Posts: 420
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Vista, NY
Contact:

Post by William Tway » Wed Jan 15, 2003 8:25 pm

Vlad, I cut the vid to bring you a little light on the dark side of the cone...

<A HREF="http://www.users.cloud9.net/~wbtway/test1.WMV">World Champion Snowboard Luge Race</A>

From a middle of the pack racer and damn proud of it!

John Gilmour
Team Roe Racing
Team Roe Racing
Posts: 1207
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am
Location: USA

Post by John Gilmour » Thu Jan 16, 2003 6:08 am

If Korten set the course it is likely that it was "super tight" and a wiggle fest from what others have said.

I've spoken to "korto" on the phone- and never met him in person. He seemed very occupied with religion and for someone occupied with religion it seemed really terrible things used to befall him.

His wife worked at a cannery, suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome. Jim Korten worked as a waste water treatment guy, and also at another time as a janitor for a school.

Korten was the person who told me about Hyper Strdas which quickly replaced my cs-62 Kryptonics.

Korten also made me a custom TS deck- which I could never get teh hang of. It was a coffin shaped deck with a built in front wedge riser. Laminated like the current Roes only.....zero flex. Super tight wheelbase sub 15 inch. Korten ran a lot of one foot slalom and also one foot backwards slalom- probably more like a rollerskater.

He made a 150 lb luge sled (strangely with a handle in the middle which gutted him like a fish) and had a wipeout involving hundreds of stitched and repured organs- many of the stitiches in his privates. Shortly afterwards his wife left with a rock band , according to Jim.

He did help get some neighborhood hids into slalom and actually made hte cover of one of the slalom mags and I think he raced in the Casl series or factory racing (I don't recall which..or both).

Korten did some design work with a company called Naked Snowboards, an East Coast company and came up with the first snowboard construction skateboards. A narrow deck and a wider super gs deck. I bought both and gave both away- one , the wider deck, went to Anres Sidler of the Swiss team.

From what I hear he was an obsessive practicer- more often than not skating alone.

I still am not sure if he was actually fast ....though constantly he would rattle off times for various cone distances and numbers of cones...I really couldn't make much sense of it. I really couldn't imagine that he was actually fast through cones that tight.


Stranger things........ from the dark side of the cone. Some might refer to him as a Kook, but he wasn't from the East Coast.

Andy Bittner
GBJ
GBJ
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Post by Andy Bittner » Thu Jan 16, 2003 6:34 am

Korten is definitely one of kind! One might even call him a little kooky. When he won at Reno in the Summer of '90, it was after the luge accident where he impaled himself on a wagon-type steering handle. He showed me the scars. Eeewwww... nasty. Shirley McClelland is probably who you are referring to as his "wife" and she was still around in the Summer of '90 too. I've heard that Jim got into some heavy religious trips at times, and some other heavy trips at other times. He could be hard to talk to, because he was VERY hyper and it was like he was talking about a hundred different things at one time.

Make no bones about it though, at least in the flat, sorta-tight set-up at Reno, Jim was THE very fastest wiggler I've ever seen. Period. I've never seen anyone... not JG, PD, Smokestack or Jani, who was even close to what I recall of Korten. Believe me too, I'm not one to make a statement like that lightly. It was clear that much of his experience came from quad-type roller skates, and yes, he had several of those little coffin-shaped, short wheelbased, homemade fibreglas boards with him. Aside from an injury at the event, I was skating pretty fast in those days, and Jim could rip through the course backwards on one foot faster than I could go through it forward on two.

I still wonder where Jim is these days. There's absolutely no way to predict where he might be by now. Shirley McClelland shows up on these slalom websites from time-to-time, but with all of the rumored volatility in there relationship, I never had the nerve to ask if she knew where he could be found.

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Thu Jan 16, 2003 8:37 am

I've known Shirley for awhile, actually since about 1977ish, I recently got to spend some time with her at her home and got to see well over 200 medals and trophys from her slalom days, She showed me her Custom Coffin ICK she has been riding for years.

She showed up the first time Hester took me, Chicken and Richy to La Costa (El Fuerte), we had met at a little hill across the valley from El Fuerte, Henry took Chicken and somebody else over to El Fuerte While I waited for Richy and Maria to show up, in the meantime Shirly strolls up because she had seen a post about our little get together. She busted out Her Ick and ran the TS course that was set, It was cool, I hadnt seen her for a couple years.

She is a Christian and promotes Christian Punk Rock Shows, Way Hip Lady
Arab

Henry Hester
Team RoeRacing "Bad H"
Team RoeRacing "Bad H"
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Del Mar, CA, USA
Contact:

Post by Henry Hester » Thu Jan 16, 2003 6:08 pm

Agreeing with GBJ, Korten is the fastst TS guy I've ever seen. If he were racing with us today, the season would be boring, at least in the TS races.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Henry Hester on 2003-01-16 12:10 ]</font>

Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Posts: 1189
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by Claude Regnier » Fri Jan 17, 2003 5:06 am

I'm with Andy and Henry. I met Jim in 81,82 and 86. Evans won in 82, Korten I think got 3rd maybe he knocking out Rick (Ick). I had qualified fifth and that was it.

In 86 he was running the Slalom event for CASL. He had to calm me down when Jose Dematos showed up and started taking runs. After seeing Jose's times were only a couple 10th's quicker then me, along with Shirley and Jim's calming way, I cooled down. This was my last Amamteur race.

He was fast and the 1 foot thing along with the rest of his stuff was great. He was fast and like Henry said, if he was racing today ??????

On the subject of all the names. It will be hard to get a conscensus anyway you look at it. It also however needs to be done.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Claude Regnier on 2003-01-16 23:10 ]</font>

John Gilmour
Team Roe Racing
Team Roe Racing
Posts: 1207
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am
Location: USA

Post by John Gilmour » Sat Jan 18, 2003 6:01 pm

I'd like to race Korten - his way flat tight straights- then race him my way on a good hill , tech, fast, fast start. Both feet on the board though or It is likely he would set a roller skater slalom course and ride one footed.

Sooner or later this guy is going to pop up. (after all only a few haven't. Mike Goldman, Mike Williams, Conrad Myioshi, Danny Trailer (heard he run the Chart House restaurants), and of course our Elvis of slalom BP).

I'll put in $50 to get him to the next FCR race- sooner or later he'll find his way to a computer. (sounds like a good opportunity for a hoax).

Andy Bittner
GBJ
GBJ
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Post by Andy Bittner » Sun Jan 19, 2003 1:13 am

Well, John, the Korten reality is that, for all we know, the guy's been institutionalized somewhere. He was not normal. Ever since I saw him race in '90, I'd wondered about whether he could race on a hill. Somewhere along the line since then, someone who knew him from CASL said that he was as good outdoor on hills as he was indoor on flat. His technique was virtually flawless, and if you think the only way he'd beat you is by setting up a rollerskate course and riding on one foot, my guess is that you're kdding yourself. Believe me, John, because I've been around this slalom-thing for awhile. Jim might be a bit of a freak in his brain, but his knack for riding skateboard slalom is even more freakish. You've got me, Claude and Henry Hester attesting to the fact. You're a great slalom skater, but Korten is (or was) simply off the scale. However, I don't think you're going to find him. At this stage, from the kind of rumors I've heard, there's probably a better that 50/50 chance that he's some kind of evangalizing preacher somewhere in Micronesia by now.

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Sun Jan 19, 2003 8:39 am

Heres the last Email I had for Shirley

wolfrespect@fda.net

Drop her a line and see if she knows where he is at.

Arab

Brian Morris
Posts: 157
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Hawthorne, NJ
Contact:

Post by Brian Morris » Sun Jan 19, 2003 6:14 pm

I wish I still had the email, she contacted me sometime before my Tight Slalom race, about the condition of really tight slalom in the US. I exchanged e-mails for a little bit and than stopped. Unfortunately, I deleated the email when I had to clear out my inbox. She did say she checks out the NCDSA page once in a while.

Brian

Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Posts: 1189
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by Claude Regnier » Tue Jan 21, 2003 5:45 pm

I sent an E-mail to Shirley. She replied and is doing fine. She was thinking about doing some Slalom again (she still has her old set-up) but has another interest that is going to take up too much of her time for now.

No word on Jim at this point, I am awaiting a 2nd reply.

By the way if there is no lighting it won't matter where you stand cause you'll be "ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE CONE" :roll:

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Claude Regnier on 2003-01-21 11:46 ]</font>

John Gilmour
Team Roe Racing
Team Roe Racing
Posts: 1207
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am
Location: USA

Post by John Gilmour » Sat Feb 01, 2003 6:24 pm

You know all this stuff about TS is kind of funny.

On the East Coast we race TS on hills- steep hills- and certainly UR13, TK, Tway, Noah, Levene, Stride, Jani, Jose, Ritchie, Vlad(I'm sure I've forgotten a whole bunch of people) would have no trouble running a TS on La Costa's hill and perhaps some would have been comfortable running TS on Avila's hill.

Hopefully soon California's skill level will rise to the point of being able to do TS on hills- they have improved in the last 3 years.

Right now IMHO Ritchie, and PD (and likely Maysey, Holl, Ransom and Evans) are the only ones capable of running a fast technical TS on a steep steep hill. (Who am I forgetting?) As a result I don't expect many West Coasters to come to the East to race TS on steep hills. Though I do expect Ritchie to race out here and his wonderful wife to fly out here and perhaps shoot some video.

Nearly all of the Europeans could race 6.5- 7.5 foot TS on steep hills- save a few of the flatlanders.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: John Gilmour on 2003-02-01 12:26 ]</font>

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Sun Feb 02, 2003 4:21 am

JG wrote:
"Hopefully soon California's skill level will rise to the point of being able to do TS on hills- they have improved in the last 3 years."

Along with all the other East Coast bias you spew, When is there gonna be some East Coasters that can slalom period, heck theres 1 or 2 at least.

John I've seen you run TS on steep, your own course in fact, and you couldnt even make it thru the course, so who you tryin to kid.

Dont come on websites and start this East West thing again, why are you guys so hell bent on trying to 1 up the west?

Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Posts: 1189
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by Claude Regnier » Sun Feb 02, 2003 4:25 am

Probably because guys like u exist, I guess ?

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Sun Feb 02, 2003 4:28 am

Well you have failed miserably, Not only in showing up to try and 1 up us, but when you do you cant even qualify.

Another whiner, OH CANADUH

Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Posts: 1189
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by Claude Regnier » Sun Feb 02, 2003 4:31 am

Well I never went in the back door.

Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Eric Groff
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:00 am
Location: CA, USA

Post by Eric Groff » Sun Feb 02, 2003 8:46 pm

OH CANADUH-You went right thru the back door when Hester decided not to race on Sunday and your non qualifing ass got a freebie, that is the only reason you got to race.
I went right thru the front door racing in all but 1 FCR event in 2002 to qualify in the top 16, Even if you showed up and raced in all the events I did, I'm sure your skills wouldnt have been good enough to crack the top 16 and you would have had to qualify anyways, or should I say not qualify, You see OH CANADUH, We have all seen you race, and unless you have your friend with the timer in his hand you aint goin anywhere, because you just aint got what it takes, Sorry I only call em as I see em. BOO HOO

Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Claude Regnier
Posts: 1189
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by Claude Regnier » Mon Feb 03, 2003 8:18 am

Arab last post on the subject bacause as u like to say facts are facts.

There is only one guy from that race that I moved ahead of with my improved run that I have not since defeated or raced and that is Pierre Andre. Oh Yes, I haven't raced Brian Martin either but we all know how he did in Morro in 2001.

So other then the fact that there was no timming error I have since finished ahead of the other racers involved.

Matthew Wilson
Posts: 241
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Lone Tree, CO
Contact:

Post by Matthew Wilson » Mon Feb 03, 2003 9:15 pm

lala
slalom is good

John Gilmour
Team Roe Racing
Team Roe Racing
Posts: 1207
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:00 am
Location: USA

Post by John Gilmour » Wed Feb 05, 2003 12:30 am

Arab- when I'm practicing for the most part I go full throttle.. and I could care less if I hit cones. All I have to do is add .2 to my time and I can run clean or just hit a cone- but that isn't much fun, and is pretty boring.

I've just bored with beginner slalom. I have no incentive to get in shape for it, or practice a boring course. I will not travel for beginner slalom- I did that all last year. Hell, I may as well just lift weights- its so mind numbingly boring-like playing a video game that never gets more difficult.

IMHO slalom involves more than just a fast pump and grippy wheels- there is a skill set to it.

I know Gorman, have skated with him and hunted hills with him. I know JPL is a good thing and fast like it should be- it is the step in the right direction.

Post Reply