Longboard racers dig their rubber wheels into the smooth pavement, trying desperately to stay on their board while negotiating a turn. Some make it, some don’t.
Broken bones, sprained ankles and lots of lost skin all come with the territory in the sport of longboarding.
Just ask Gael Chomik. The Sherwood Park mom was in Rundle Park yesterday watching her two sons, Alec, 16, and Quinn, 12, compete in the fourth annual Ribbon of Green Ultimate Endurance 20-kilometre longboard race.
“It’s scary, they’ve both fallen,” Chomik said.
“My youngest boy lost a lot of skin a couple years ago but I think they’ve learned to be more cautious so hopefully they stay safe.”
Both Chomik’s sons successfully stay on their boards as they pass by their mother, but another racer isn’t as lucky and race organizer Mike Sanders has to rush off to deal with what could be another broken arm.
It’s the risk you take to experience the exhausting exhilaration of racing down a bike path as fast as you can.
About 150 participants took part in this year’s race from Hermitage Park to Government House Park.
