Boarding the Canyon

Several years ago, when my family still lived in Washington, my older brother DJ took Ben and me out one day to teach us how to long board. We drove down the street to a new housing development that was being created. The pavement was new, clean, and smooth – perfect for long boarding. After a quick set of instructions we were ready to jump on our boards. None of us ever having long boarded the street we were on we weren’t completely familiar with its course. But Ben having ridden his bike on it several times assured us that there was turn with an ever so slight downhill – nothing to be concerned about. With that we hopped on our boards and began the cruise.

After gaining some speed and then making the turn we all realized that the ever so slight downhill was in fact quite the down hill – a hill FAR more advanced for Ben and me to ride on for our very first ride. DJ was trailing behind us and yelled encouraging words to us to keep going and that we could make it. I had the wobbles like crazy and my fear was increasing by the second. Ben was ahead of me and shortly after our decent down the hill he wiped out. When I saw him go down I knew I was a gonner too. I took a hard crash just seconds later. I still have scars from it. I haven’t had much interest in long boarding since then. I always admired the people I would see doing it, but had accepted the fact that it wasn’t my thing and I was perfectly content.

A long board happened to fall into my care by a trail walker friend of mine who joined the army. Knowing that DJ & Adria are really into long boarding and hearing that Ben was bringing his long board to Utah I decided to bring the one I have as well. When my family discovered that I had brought my long board with me we decided to drive to Provo and board down Provo Canyon. I had a bit of anxiety about boarding to begin with, not to mention down a canyon. My mind began envisioning how steep Provo Canyon (even though I had never been there) was and then I began to visualize what my funeral was going to be like. I was scared.

The drive up the canyon only deepened my fear. I couldn’t imagine riding down something that steep. It wasn’t until we reached the starting point of our ride when I realized that the pathway wasn’t as steep as the freeway we drove up to get to that point. Phew! I was still quite nervous though. Adria gave me a few pieces of advice and after a slow ride to begin our way down the canyon DJ stopped me to give me a few more helpful pointers and some encouragement. My confidence in riding was greater and I began to become excited for the ride.


Left: Ben, DJ, & Adria riding the canyon.

Right: Me trailing behind...













Stunning!


Left: Adria & I below Bridal Veil Falls

Right: DJ & Ben below Bridal Veil Falls











Left: DJ working the board!

Right: I got this shot of Adria as I passed her while both riding our long boards









Right: Bridal Veil Falls!
















There were only a couple places in the canyon where I stopped to walk, but other than that the ride was AMAZING! Not only was I able to ride the majority of the canyon, but the pathway was absolutely gorgeous! It was lined with trees that were changing color and the pathway was also littered with fallen leaves that made it really fun to ride through. I learned that Bridal Veil Falls was along this pathway – a place I have heard so much about and have always wanted to visit. It was awesome! Everything about the ride was amazing! DJ, Ben and I had our cameras with us and took pictures of one another and the scenery as we rode down the canyon. It was an absolute blast. When we got done I wanted to go back to the top and do it all over again. My view/opinion of long boarding has thus changed. I love it! I’m bummed that the weather has turned bad preventing me to take any rides myself, but I look forward to when I can get on a long board again and enjoy a nice ride while tuning and improving my proficiency of riding. Thanks DJ & Adria for your pointers and encouragement and for believing in me!

The Four of Us!
(Ben, Rachel, Adria, & DJ)