Downhillbillies Sessions And Jams Newsletter

[Marion Karr]

I have created this topic to keep everyone up-to-date on general DHB happenings and sessions to take place or have taken place other than the Dixie Cup. With the overwhelming vibe we have going on since the Dixie Cup I imagine that we will be having quite a few winter sessions that you all will be welcome to attend along with our other longboarding jams and the like. Watch this topic when updated to read about opportunities to ride with the DHB. Anyone wanting to come in from out of town for these sessions are welcome to crash at my house or we can make sure you are taken care of. Thanks for supporting the DHB....grassroots in the tradition of the Farm, Athens, Luna, and all other organizations that have laid the foundation!

[Marion Karr]

The Sk8sville Local DHB Crew broke out the timer and set up two different courses at Camper World last night for the "1st Annual Carve Cones Not Turkey Thanksgiving Outlaw". Festivities started around 8 pm and we all left the hill well after midnight. I just remember walking in the door this morning about 2 am. To say they that these boys are super stoked on slalom after the Dixie Cup is an understatement! Everyone in the group is screaming up the learning curve and down the courses and I can say with complete confidence that this time next year the DHB will be BRINGING IT!

We set a more hybrid than GS course on the Camperworld hill removing the big middle section of offsets we ran in the Freak Bros. Outlaw and staying primarily to the right side of the road. The only difference between the two courses we ran last night was that the first course had a large left offset near the stinger section and the end. For the second course we brought that offset in significantly to carry more speed going into the stinger. The middle section of both courses had some pretty agressive tighter offsets that punished you if you came in too hot (believe me I know..I had one of the more spectacular busts of the night there). The only negative to the night was some pretty bad headwind gusts at times that made the speeds slower than they could have been.

As anticipated, SST, now armed with his Insect (Thanks Mike..remind me to have a word with you when I see you...(smiling)) was killing it. Dude can ride anything and last night blistered everyone on both courses. He laid down the fastest times on both courses! SST you can use my wheels anytime but you have to run them without bearings from now on...

Most improved and getting fast incredibly fast is Evan aka Mac T. Dude, has been working hard trying different combinations, turned the wrench on his board all night and just plain killed it on the second course. Evan is another DHB that can ride and goes balls out everytime.

DHolt shows up a little late from so much Thanksgiving goings on, steps on his board, and just goes fast. Eric aka E the Axecutioner was also going for it and once he got his GS Axe dialed a bit he was ON. Jaybird was his smooth self. Love riding with that dude.

Brent, DHB Promotions, had never ridden slalom before the week of the Dixie Cup...Now he has a board and he is dangerous! Brent brought his nephew Nate who we are working on for the Junior DHB squad....my daugher Hannah is getting a Fatboy slalom board for her Birthday in December.

DHB Newbies were out as well. Doc Tommy from Winston-Salem posts on our website that he is coming over and turns out he never has ridden slalom either. He proceeded to catch on way too fast and when Jaybird loaned him his Chicken Doc Tom went off! (Note to self and Jaybird: Quit helping people kick our asses (again smiling)).
Local skater from back in the day and cool friend of us all Scott Wilkenson turned out last night toting and old G&S freestyle board. Dude is now super stoked on slalom as well. Look forward to riding with Scott again. He also did our timing for the second race..Thanks Scott!
Thanks go out to Keller for coming out, helping with the set up and running the timing table for the first race! Keller really was a huge help during the Dixie Cup and we appreciate the hook up on storage for the start ramps.

Last night was way too much fun and an awesome way to be "Thankful". Thanks to all who came out and look for us to be doing some outlaw sessions on the weekends during the winter. Next time we break out the timing system we will also be bringing out a start ramp. Any riders who want to come in for one of these weekend sessions let me know and we will look to find you a place to crash.

1st Race Results:
SST 31.913........
Marion 32.369.....
Dholt 33.040......
Evan Mac T 33.816.....
Lil E 34.169.....
Jaybird 37.980.....
Brent 38.030.......
Doc Tommy 39.920....
Scott 42.857....

2nd Race Results:

SST 29.960......
Dholt 31.565....
Evan Mac T 31.683....
Marion 32.003.....
Lil E 32.432...
Tommy 32.525....
Jaybird 34.005....


!"

[Wesley Tucker]

If the weather holds, a DHB contingent is getting up to Occoquan, Virginia's Fountainhead Park for an Outlaw race. It's announced that John O'Shei and Bulky Olson will be in town for the proceedings. Weather is looking iffy for travel, but we'll know more later in the week.

So far, NCL, Marty, Ron and myself are up for it. Jim and Surly from Raleigh are also talking about making the trip. My Avalanche is full, but if anyone else feels like racing this weekend with the DC Outlaws, let us know. The itinerary is simple:

• Drive to Fredericksburg, VA Friday night and spend the night.
• Drive 40 miles to Fountainhead Saturday morning and race all day
• Drive straight back to Statesville Saturday night after the race.

As I like to call it, "Slash & Burn, No-Frills Slalom Racing."

And remember: it's not the weather Saturday that matters, it's what happens Friday night and Saturday night that'll make the call on hitting the road. I live in South Carolina for a reason and it's because I can avoid snow and ice with no effort. I intend to keep doing that.

[Marion Karr]

Due to the weather in DC the GASS/DHB crew have decided not to make the trek for the DC Outlaw race tomorrow. Instead, Ron O and Marty Schaub will be coming to Sk8sville today instead. We will be sessioning at Camperworld tonight starting around 8 pm or so and tomorrow at Hobby Park in Winston-Slalom, NC. We will have the timer with us tomorrow and plan on running some single lane hybrid and possibly some GS. Trying out some new course set ups using the run out. If you are in driving distance and want to come skate call me on the mobile 704 657 9531.

Look forward to seeing any of you! To the DC Crew: Sorry we are not going to be able to make the trip! Hope to skate with you later in the Winter.

[Marion Karr]

Due to the snow out of the DC Outlaw race we put on two impromptu sessions here in Sk8sville, one on Friday Night at Camperworld and one on Saturday at Hobby Park. Ron Olson and Marty Schaub (DHB/GASS boys) came up from Georgia and shared their stoke and knowledge once again with the local DHB crew.

The Camperworld Friday Night Freeze
The local crew turned out along with Marty and Ron and it was a blast. Temperatures hovered around freezing all night (The Camping World Time/Temperature sign kept a constant reminder). It was so cold in fact that the timing system would not work and the start ramp (which we brought out of storage) got frozen and slick.

We set a completely new course this time that was the fastest one we have created on that hill yet. The whole course (60 cones) stayed to the right of the hill and featured two pyramid sections (a now staple of DHB courses) and some fast step over sections. This may become the foundation for next year's Dixie Cup Friday night course. Everyone liked it and found it very challenging and fast.

Marty got to test the ramp out first and on his first attempt he got sideways on the slick transition and it pitched him straight on his head! Needless to say, the start ramp the rest of the night was pretty fun and scary at the same time.

Local ripper SST was killing it as usual, along with slalom newbies Brent, Doc Tommy, and Scott Wilkenson. Evan Mac T was going hard as well along with Rookie who now has his slalom board totally dialed. All of these guys are getting better and better and are going to be bringing it in 2006! Doc Tommy is going to be particularly good once he has is own gear. The dude is like SST, rips everything he rides.

Saturday's Hobby Park Session
By now you have probably read about the two spectacular crashes on the Dixie Cup GS course by Ron Olson and yours truly so I won't go into detail again here however, I can say this, WEAR A HELMET AND YOUR GEAR!

We set two courses up, the Dixie Cup GS and a tight hybrid running the opposite way on the runout side. We had a great turn out again with locals Doc Tommy, Brent, Rookie, myself, and Keller in attendance, along with Ron and Marty, and our Raleigh/Chapel Hill crew, Mr. Surly and Jim Mathers.

The Dixie Cup GS course had a fairly strong head wind at the bottom and times were down a bit but the course was still very fast. Ron Olson's crash pretty much took the wind out his sails for the day (as it should have..dude, smacked his head HARD) but still looked great on his board. Marty was laying it down and ran the fastest time of the day.

We then moved the timer over to the tight/hybrid course and the locals and Raleigh boys were going off. All are new to slalom and are just freaking killing it. Ron and Marty ran the timers and cone headed and provided coaching for us all. (Thanks guys). This course featured spacings of 6' to 8' and had both a pyramid section and step overs along with some straight stinger section to finish.

Needless to say, a fun weekend of DHB skating was enjoyed by all. The wrecks were scary but the good news is our equipment did its job and no one was seriously hurt.

Special thanks go out to Ron and Marty for bringing the GASS stoke fuel up from Georgia and to Jim Mathers for providing the Pizzas at Hobby!

Hobby G/S Best Times:

Marty Schaub 18.285 secs
Marion Karr 18.499
Ron Olson 19.263 (layed down AFTER his crash...way to get back on the horse bro!)

Tight/Hybrid Times:

Marion Karr 13.984 (13.784 raw with 2 cones)
Doc Tommy 14.080
Rookie 14.365
Jim Mather 15.671
Mr. Surly 15.954


Look to this forum for updates for future winter sessions with the DHB.

[Marty Schaub]

I'll tell ya guys, the DHB will be a force next year. Newbie Doc Tommy was on a slalom board for the 3rd time and was .1 off Marion with a clean run.

He was riding and has also ordered an AXE, so keep your eyes peeled. These guys push each other hard. It reminds me alot of the La Costa scene early on.

And happy belated B Day to Marion "The DHB" Karr. I cannot wait till next year bro.

[Marion Karr]

The Barium Springs YMCA has asked the DHB to put on a slalom demo and class for young skaters this coming Saturday at Barium Springs/Troutman, NC from 10 am until 12 pm.

Any of the local skaters or anyone in the area that would like to help out as a volunteer please contact me at 704 657 9531.

Thanks

[Marion Karr]

If you are in the area on Monday evening Dec. 26th come and join the local DHB crew as we celebrate the day after Christmas with a full on Downtown Skatesville Session to include downhill bombing, URBAN ASSAULT SLALOM (bring your gonads), hitting the Book Drop (gonads required as well), and running the Skinny with SST (totally gonads required), and what ever else we can hit! Session time to be determined and posted here later.

Come on out and hit the streets of Skatesville with the crew! You will be glad you did!

[Marion Karr]

Go to www.downhillbillies.org to check out new videos just updated to our site.

Check out the Dixie Cup video in particular...it is only a taste of what the DVD that will be out later this Spring is going to include!

[Ron Olsen]

I'm not sure who's crazier, SST, the coffin run, slalom on a crutch, or DEX for chasing him with a camera. Great stuff!

Ron

[Marion Karr]

Last night the local DHB crew had an awesome session at Camperworld. We set a very technical, fast, GS/hybrid that featured a new design for us we called a flat top pyramid that required a tremendous amount of concentration and control to take at speed. The course also featured a speed section in the middle third of the hill that had a double pyramid design that reguired both a toe side and heel side turn at speed at the two points (challenging to both regular and goofy footed riders). This is by far the fastest use of that hill yet and it is giving us some ideas for the Friday night race at the Dixie Cup this Fall. That hill can be a great deal faster than the way it was set up back last year so bring your skills!

11 riders turned out for this session that lasted from 8:00 pm to after 1:30 am! Big shout out to Carl Creider aka Mr. Surly drove 2 plus hours to ride with us and was one of the last people off the hill! Then drove back home! Thats HARD CORE in my book! After the sesion we took the whole crew over to check out the Book Drop at the Library and everyone broke out their downhill boards for some high speed screaming through the turns and streets of our town! I had the big crash of the night trying to negotiate a 90 degree turn at the bottom of the Book Drop at over 30 mph. Needless, to say, the city is going to have to do some more landscaping in the parking lot planter that I plowed. Totally destroyed the Seismic truck on the front of my Bozi. Anyone got any yellow springs then can sell me? Mr. Surly got to see the Book Drop for the first time and his initial reaction, "Holy s#@!!"

Thanks go out to Dholt, Jaybird, SST, Evan (flying dude), Mark Nix (awesome gap ollie over the planter at the Book Drop), Brent, Newbie fast guy Scott Wilkenson (another Axe Man..hey Richie and Maria, where's my commission?), Keller, Rookie (Axe II Dude), and Keller's daughter for marking all the cones!


Also, big shout out to our local police force who are the coolest! Their gas pumps are directly accross the street from the Book Drop and one of the local sheriff deputies came over and watched for a while!

[Claude Regnier]

Okay you guys, enough already, EH!

You're really making me jealous and I want to move.

Take Care and all the best see you soon.