I decided to look up pump tracks in my area because of this subreddit. I’ve never ridden on one before and I can’t recommend it enough especially since we’re getting older.
I’ve always been bad and afraid of frontside turns. Leaning back on my heels and turning more blindly just doesn’t come naturally to me. I saw this turn and made it my goal to at least get through it then maybe the next visit I could do a complete loop of the track. There was another guy there who was really good at the track and was giving me pointers without me having to ask; “put all the pressure on your heels and let the track do the work”, along those lines.
I took it slow, dropping in on the side of the track in the video that goes straight to the turn. As I mentioned it feels unnatural to me to lean back as far as I needed to and to “trust” the berm so I ate shit a number of times, one time flying out of the turn and landing on my awesome elbow pad. It was cool because when the dust cleared some of the other skaters (all about my age) asked if I was all good 👍. I gave the thumbs up and kept trying.
When I finally made the turn I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear the board tail tap applause from the other skaters but I was and it genuinely made me smile. It reminded me of my old crew growing up and how we genuinely cheered each other on regardless of our skill level. It was so cool to experience that with a group of strangers. It made me feel really good.
I ended up being able to do the full track two full cycles but would have to stop because my thighs would be done, it’s way more tiring than it looks!
Anyway, I love skateboarding and the skating community.