Hello from Wisconsin......

I am a complete Newbie and I live in the of Wisconsin. I am 57 years old, retired for 6 months, married for 35 years, the father of 2 grown boys and a grandpa to 3 little boys ages 2, 4 and 7. I live in an area where I very seldom see a skateboarder. I have never skateboarded. I am 6’2” tall and about 245 pounds. I know I am a big guy but I've been working on that! Planning to be 200 by 7/4/19 and have made lots of progress toward that goal so far.

Now the really crazy part for a guy like me - I want to buy an Evolve Electric Skateboard and learn to ride it. You are probably laughing right now but I am serious! I am an outgoing fellow and in my younger years climbed all over the world, ran 42 marathons, bicycled across the USA twice- but that was all a long time ago. In Wisconsin here people will think I am nuts and have lost my mind but I don’t care. I live out in the country outside the city. The roads here are all paved and mainly low traffic. The pavement is sometimes worn and abrasive but normally does not have potholes, etc. I could ride for miles. The terrain is slightly rolling with small gradual hills.

I am serious about learning and riding and plan to order a new Carbon GT board with AT wheels next week Monday.

At present it is winter here in Wisconsin and I couldn’t ride here until mid April. I would like to get geared up between now and that time.

I really need some experienced guidance to get going and start out correctly this late in my life. I am not going to ask permission of my family or friends - I am just going to jump right in and experience the road rash, learning, and fun even though I am much older than most. I look forward to meeting many of you online!

Thank you!

 

First off... Congratulations on the retirement...that's awesome! While I haven't been as fortunate as you and still need to work for a few more years...I can relate to your situation as I'm 51 and just recently purchased an Evolve GTX about a month ago. My motto has always been "we're as old as we let ourselves be" ...and in my case that's about 35..lol. As further personal validation goes...I live in the the south now (North Carolina) and I don't need to look very hard to find someone 1/2 my age wobbling around like an 80 year old or hacking up a lung from a lifetime of smoking....my point being that age is somewhat relative and within our general control. With all of that being said...we still need to be smart about things...injuries take longer to heal and worst case scenarios can be permanent game changers. My immediate advice would be to make sure you're rolling on AT wheels as they seem much more forgiving to small rocks, cracks, etc., get a good helmet (triple 8 has a line with advanced brain protection features), elbow and knee pads never hurt either, and get some good hightop shoes with ankle coverage (Van's high tops are my favorite for this ). I would also recommend starting off with the board turned off...especially if you haven't been a skater After a little non-powered orientation ...start off slowly and get used to using the brake (I was zipping along happily one day when a crazy squirrel ran out in front of me...always expect the unexpected). Lastly...work on nice easy side to side carving and enjoy the freedom. Last pointer would be the fact that slower speeds are actually harder to keep your balance...so don't get frustrated when the board is so wobbly at low speed (you should also tighten the trucks at first to make it more stable).

Where in Wisconsin? I travel up there all the time these days.

 

That's awesome man! I just got into eskating myself at the age of 48. I now own 5 boards and will be eskating for as long as my body let's me. I highly recommend eskating at any age if you are up to it. I am looking for some riding buddies also. Where are you in Wisconsin?