Longboarding is one of those sports were the difficulty never increases with the board or the rider, but with the geographical location of the event. Very similar in ways to snowboarding were the difficulty increases with the elevation on degree of the vertical drop and trail you plan to ride. It becomes obvious very early on when you begin longboarding that different environments can require a different set of skills to overcome. So the crucial aspect, around which everything revolves in the sport of longboarding, is your location. Don’t be afraid to be extremely particular to what you decide to ride, and what you decide that looks to be the death of you (believe me I know it all too well). Although as your skill progresses it becomes more and more fun picking and distinguishing between locations for variations in skill levels.
When picking a spot first inspect the path that you will take. See how the turns are, if there are any at all. Take a look at how steep the path drops and where it drops at. And most importantly take a good look at the quality of the road. While most poorly paved roads can be rode on, some are just beyond the capabilities of your board to handle. Especially if there is a lot of debris, because remember that even the smallest pebble can take you out of commission, so be careful. Next, after you have inspected the ride, prepare your board for it. If it’s a straight drop, make sure your trucks are as tight as you can get, otherwise you’ll just get the death wobbles. If the curvation of the road is more severe then you need to loosen your trucks in order to make the turns, otherwise you’re going to have a very short ride. And for your everyday street riding just keep your trucks at tightness you find comfortable, something that lets you keep your control, but also gives you plenty of movement.
Now when it comes to riding a steeper hill try and keep your feet wider apart down the length of the board, and stay lower to the ground in order to lower your center of gravity. A lower center of gravity means more control and more control means that you’re less likely to fall. When it comes to an area with a lot of turns, keep your spread out wider on the width of the board, in order to control your turns a little better. Start off small with these easy steps to improve your skills in no time.
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I never knew so much thought went into riding a longboard. I learned a few good things from this article too, such as a lower center of gravity = less likely to fall. I'd think I'd be more scared to be closer to the ground while on a moving object, haha but that's probably just me.
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