There’s something beautiful about a long day of mountainboarding on dirt. One can’t help but notice how the dust in the air from an aggressive powerslide appears to dance in the light of a setting sun. Even the sound of your wheels rolling over the dry crumbling earth has an almost musical effect. Is all this real or is it simply the result of too many wrecks. You decide.

There are many of us who have developed a strange kind of love for the dirt we ride. It seems odd as most humans seek to avoid dirt. The mountainboarding dirt lover, on the other hand, searches for it. Hard packed and sun-dried, soft and crumbly, or wet and muddy, all its varieties are welcomed and equally embraced.

Dirt provides a ride like no other substance can offer. It moves and shifts under your wheels almost as if it has waited its whole existence for the sport of mountainboarding to grace its surface. Its sensitivity to weather make it ever changing and often unpredictable. Sun, wind, and rain gradually mold our playground in order to provide us with new riding opportunities.

Let us not forget our good friend Dirt. As we mountainboard its dusty surfaces, let us not consider it to be simply another peice of earth to ride. Surley it is more. It is Dirt. Let your apreciation reflect in your ride as you carve your tracks into its surface. If you wreck, take a moment to enjoy the cloud of dust that applauds your efforts.

Perhaps these thoughts really are brought on by a few too many wrecks. Whatever the case, to those who share similar feelings, for us the ride is all the more enjoyable. So grab your mountainboard and your gear and go out to thank your local dirt.

Most of us have a favorite spot that we ride at again and again. While this is perfectly fine, there is a whole new sensation to be experienced by mountainboarding a new place. It’s all about the element of surprise.

We all know that the more you ride a specific spot, the better you get at it. You get to know every turn and drop. You know what sections have good run-off and which sections don’t. You can almost ride it with your eyes closed.

Well it’s time to shatter your comfort zone. It’s time to ride somewhere you’ve never ridden before. It’s time to face the unknown.

There’s something almost eerie about strapping in at the top of an unknown drop. Find a nice long stretch to really get that mystery factor flowing.

Even if you mapped it out in your head as you hiked up, you still don’t know exactly how the terrain will effect your ride or how the ground will respond. Excitement and uncertainty twist themselves into a knot of adrenaline that seems to lodge itself in your chest. The mind is anxiously awaiting answers to its many questions.

This flood of emotions won’t discourage you however, from strapping in and making the drop. For the mountainboarder, these feelings are soon converted into an intensely enthusiastic energy, better known as “a wicked stoke.”

Riding the unknown is an adventure in itself regardless of the outcome of the ride. You might go right back to your old spot for your next session, but you’ll take a piece of your adventure with you. You’ll be more open to new things. You’ll think more outside the box, keeping your riding far from stale.

Face the unknown. The wicked stoke awaits.

Stopping for a quick break I took the opportunity to survey the constancy of the dirt road I would soon be riding. The road was originally a mining road that served as a passage through the mountains. The natural layer of hard packed dirt from recent rain was littered occasionally by a protruding boulder or a scattering of crushed gravel. Earlier on in the road I had found myself walking over a thicker level of gravel, most likely an recent improvement to the old road.

I capped my water and pulled on my pack and after situating my mountainboard that was secured to my pack I continued up through the pass. My intentions for choosing this place for my World Mountainboard Day adventure was for the ride. Of course it’s always for the ride but on this day I wanted to focus especially on the ride, the flow, that connection between rider and earth.

The road was somewhat steep at parts but for the most part wound gently through the surrounding hills and peaks. The hike was quiet, except for the rocks occasionally grinding against each other under my feet.
Soon I reached the highest point of the road beyond which descended further into the pass. Marking the end of my journey and nestled in the hills was a small lake. Fed by trickling streams that tumbled down from melting snow and distant glaciers, the waters still surface seemed to reflect the solitude of its setting.

It was at this lake that I geared up. I pulled on my pads and prepped my gear. The actual descent hadn’t even started yet but already the gnar was working it’s way into my blood. The awesome scenery that sprawled out around appeared littered with possible ride spots. Having spent extra attention in surveying my descent path and it’s terrain I felt connected with the ride already-it was mine.

After a couple adjustments after initially strapping in I found just the right tire pressure in order to slow my ride to where I wanted it. The entire mountain was mine, only a couple of confused marmots witnessed my ride. While the ride was somewhat slow, I maintained enough speed to be able to enjoy that awesome sensation of the carve; the exchange with gravity and momentum, the careful balance between too much and too little force at the peak of each carve.

Although my World Mountainboard Day was spent on a solo adventure, I was united by riders from all over. Everyone doing their thing. I think that’s the what makes mountainboarding so gnarly; everyone has their own thing but yet on World Mountainboard Day we can all still unite.

Don’t forget about World Mountainboard Day on June 19th. That’s in just two days if you haven’t noticed so make plans now if you haven’t already done so.

What an awesome opportunity for us as mountainboarders to unite and do our thing- however it is we do it. Please use the comment form below to throw down what you plan to do for World Mountainboard Day. If you dont have plans yet, maybe you can use these comments to gather inspiration.

Here are ten ideas in case you don’t have your own yet:

1. Hit up your favorite park/centre with your crew.
2. Ride the entire day and film it (and if you’re really cool, submit it to Mountainboard.net for posting).
3. Pack a bag full of food, water, and perhaps a few energy drinks and pull a wicked awesome 24 hour session.
4. Throw your own mountainboard film festival.
5. Ride somewhere new- explore.
6. Park hop, hit up as many parks or centers as you can in a single day.
7. Raid a skate park.
8. Start the morning off with a deep clean and tune up of your mountainboard.
9. Invite local crews to ride with your crew (total spirt of unity here).
10. Shred the gnar like you mean it!

Trampa Boards, as most of us know, have established a reputation for custom, bombproof decks. Recently they added their own line of trucks, bindings, and wheels. Many riders here in the U.S. have eyeballed Trampa’s mountainboards, but ultimatley have been turned away by the killer price of international shipping along with the import taxes we get nailed with. Trampa Boards is based out of the U.K. and once the total price including shipping is added up, the appeal of a sexy, bombproof, gnar hungry mountainboard seems to loose it’s appeal.

To help make Trampa Boards excessible to U.S. riders, MountainBoard.net is now an official distributor of Trampa products. The details are still being hashed out, but the “Trampa Shack” is coming soon, and will be added onto Mountainboard.net’s website. I don’t have the exact prices available right now, but I’ll do my best to get them as low as I can.

I’m totally stoked to be able to provide Trampa Boards to the U.S. as I’ve been very impressed with their products. The “Trampa Shack” is already being constructed, so it wont be long now. Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Check out TrampaBoards.com if you haven’t already. This is the Trampa’s website. Email me at Editor@Mountainboard.net if you want to be notified when the Mountainboard.net Trampa Shack is up and rolling.