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.

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Speed Wobbles, Board Maintenance, Single Track, The Powerslide… 16 basic ‘how to’ topics all packed with photos and illustrations and neatly organized with PDF bookmarks. “Gnar Shredder’s Guide to Mountainboarding” is great for new riders building there foundation skills.

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A cold tear streams from the corner of your eye as you continue to gain speed. The rumble of your wheels over the dirt path below sends a surge of adrenaline through your body. You crouch low as you feel the board begin to wobble from the speed.

Then it happens. The board wobbles to the right, or maybe to the left. You panic. The edge of your wheel catches and throws you into a violent tumble.

Next thing you know, your laying on the ground watching the dust settle and making sure your toes still wiggle. You have only two things on your mind. First, you’re wonder if anyone got your near-death experience on film; and second, you’re hoping your protective gear did its job.

Basic mountainboarding protective gear consists of a helmet, knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, and gloves. While there are other items that can be added to the list, these are the ones that you shouldn’t ride without. These basic peices of gear can help prevent injury so that you can keep riding.

Here’s a few things to think about when picking out your gear:

HELMET- The helmet is the most essential piece of protective gear you can own. Some riders go with the basic skate-style, while others prefer a bmx-style which covers the face as well.

Your helmet should fit comfortably and securely. It should not be able to slide around. Every person’s head is different; no one helmet is right for everyone. With that in mind, it’s best to try a few on before buying. If you can’t get a secure fit at the store, than you wont have it when you’re riding.

KNEE AND ELBOW PADS- These pads also need to fit securely and comfortably. Next in priority is breathability.

The pads should stay in place no matter how you move. Some have internal molded cups that prevent slipping. The straps also effect the fit as well as comfort. You should make sure the straps don’t cut into you if your wearing them over bare skin. A lot of styles have a sleeve built in that not only helps to fix this problem but works to keep the pads in place as well.

WRIST GUARDS- With wrist guards you almost have to try them on. When you do, make sure your wrist is supported enough that it isn’t allowed to bend beyond 45 degrees. You want guards that have a splint on both sides. Those splints should fit to the natural contours of your hand and should have as few pressure points as possible.

GLOVES- Gloves are easy. You’re simply looking for comfort and breathability. Then, depending on the terrain you ride, you may need to sacrifice some breathablility for durability.

Gloves give you a nice sense of confidence and allow you to touch the ground, if necessary, without tearing the skin off your fingers or catching a handful of thorns.

Protective gear is very important to the sport of mountainboarding. Not only does it help to prevent injury, but it allows us, as riders, to continue to evolve. We are able to break barriers instead of bones, and write new chapters in the history of mountainboarding.

Any mountainboarder who has done any riding has felt the terrible wrath of speed wobbles. What seemed like a smooth, controlled ride suddenly turns into a violent struggle for balance. The board takes on a mind of its own as it darts from right to left. The trucks become extremely sensitive to the slightest movement or the smallest rock. You become a ticking time bomb, and more often than not, you lose.

A physics lesson is not necessary as I’m sure we can all agree that speed wobbles are, as the name suggests, caused by speed. Both body weight and the speed in which you ride (either due to the steepness of the hill or the terrain you’re on), are part of the equation that causes the wobbles. With speed being a good friend to many a mountainboarder, experience and technology has brought us ways to prevent the ugly side of speed from showing its face.

Your board has a few features that help to defend against this:

First, you can always lower your tire pressure to prevent gaining too much speed, but then you’re not living so let’s move on.

Second, most trucks are equipped with a hex bolt directly over the springs which can be adjusted. This either compresses or decompresses your springs, depending on which way you turn it. The more compressed your springs, the stiffer the ride, and the faster you can ride without speed wobbles.

The last piece of technology available is what’s called egg shocks, or torsion cubes depending on who makes your trucks. These are placed inside your springs (or in the middle of your trucks if you’re using torsion cubes) and further stiffens the compression. There are different levels of stiffness available so that you can tailor to your specific needs.

Of course, even after proper adjustments have been made, we sometimes find ourselves reaching a speed that is just a little faster than what we prepared for. There’s a few things we can do once the wobbling begins. Most importantly, focus and stay calm. Your goal is to slow your board down gradually. Keep in mind that the response time of your board is now much quicker. You will need to fight to maintain your balance and unless you want to wreck, the best way to stay on your board is to mentally eliminate the option of wrecking. Once you consider the option it’s over. Mountainboarding is full of mind games, isn’t it great.

I stood atop a windy, Alaskan ridge with my gear strapped on and my mountainboard under my arm. I looked down into the valley below attempting to spot a nice line of decent. The moss-covered terrain was steep and lumpy. Large boulders, once carried by glaciers, now lay scattered about on the mountain side. The view was such a contrast from the coastal firebreak roads of Southern California where I had been mountainboarding for the past three years.

I struggled that day to maintain control of my board. The place seemed strange and foreign. Techniques that worked on the dirt firebreaks, failed miserably on the lumpy moss.

Mountainboard experiences like this one can go two ways. First, the rider can find the new terrain frustrating and choose to only ride the type of terrain that he or she is familiar with. Second, the rider can accept the challenge and learn how to ride it. While neither of these approaches are wrong, the second provides a valuable learning experience.

While many of us have a favorite terrain to ride, “mixing it up,” can greatly improve your skill as a rider. You will become more versatile, and your creativity will improve. Even if you go right back to your favorite spot, you’ll still find that the lessons learned improved your riding in some way. The basic principle here is experience.

A simple example of this is sand patches. Let’s say you’re out mountainboarding a hard dirt road and you’ve never hit a sand patch before, and then on this day, you do. You haven’t learned that your wheels will sink quickly into the sand. You might not lower your stance and you won’t know how to prepare for the sudden jolt that you’ll soon feel as your speed drops suddenly. Most likely, you’ll get tossed forward off your mountainboard and thereby learn a little about how to ride over sand patches. Next time you’ll be ready, you’ll be experienced.

So if you want to improve your riding, I suggest finding a place to mountianboard that forces you to learn a new terrain. Don’t freak out if you can’t tear it up like you normally do. You’re expanding your element, and that requires some work. Have fun.