new layout

How do you like it? My brother thought the old one wasn't good and said he could do better. He was right. I think it is lookin pretty good right now.

To end my post, I will give you a picture from my hospital visit:

                                                    

no longboarding for a while, atleast for me

Two days ago i had a half day of school. Got picked up by my dad and went to the church where he works so he could finish up some stuff he had to do. I had some goldfish and a rootbeer and woke up  looking at a bloody hospital bed while getting put in a cat scan machine. The first thing I thought was dang it, I fell longboarding.
I don't remember any of this but its what i have heard. I went speedboarding on my favorite road which starts on a steep section into a tight right hander, this section of the road, I had not done more than once before. I most likely started low on the steep section then worked my way up. 
There are multiple ways i could have fallen on the turn. I could have lost traction then regripped and highsided, or I could have hit gravel and flipped forward. Either way I have road rash on my elbow, knees back and head. I was wearing my helmet, so I most likely fell luge style and my helmet caught the road and it slipped up my head.
A lady who lives in the house on the corner was unpacking groceries and heard my fall. She came over to help me and i didnt respond to her. I picked up my stuff and proceeded to walk home. She knew I wouldn't make it home and saw that I was bleeding from my head, so she took me inside. I called my sister, said hello, then handed the phone to the lady because I had no clue what was going on. My parents came and took me to the hospital.
I now have a concussion and am out of the hospital. I had an iv in my arm,so now I look as if I shot heroin. I'm not in pain. I've got 2 weeks of no exercise and 6 months where I can't afford another head injury. Now go skate enough for me!

Gravity Amazes Us Again

I just saw Gravity's section from the Concrete Wave Evolutions DVD. All I have to say is the gravity has so much style it overwhelms me. I will let the video finish the talking for me.

Justin 10 Day Update

"10 days: Thank you to everyone on "the Fish" and in the longboarding community who have been so involved in Justin's recovery. You've been great! Although Justin is out of the ICU and off of most of the monitors and life support, he is far from recovered. He still needs a feeding tube since he can't be counted on to swallow past his airway, and his strong, uncontrolled movements require him to be strapped to his bed. His eyes open but they don't track or focus yet and he doesn't respond to verbal prompts or directions yet, except for once last Friday when he said his name and again on Saturday when he said both his first and last names. So far, those three words are all we've gotten from him. This is all to be expected while his brain injuries heal themselves, but we're anxiously waiting for him to come to and talk to us. He had orthopedic surgery on his broken pelvis yesterday where they discovered that his whole right illiac crest had separated from the pelvis in addition to the several small broken pieces we had already known about. A plate and a couple pins put him back together, and they reattached some tendons and muscles. His liver laceration seems to be healing, and he appears to have recovered full motion, mobility and reflex movements although he's still slower and weaker on his right side. We're hoping for a full recovery, but it's going to take some time before we know. We appreciate the cards, letters and visits he's gotten so far although Justin hasn't been aware of them yet. Either Carol or I read his messages to him and hope he can hear them. I'm sure he'll read them all and respond when he comes around. His mother and I had to trade places last Saturday, so I'm back at home in Virginia now and Carol is at the hospital with him. Thanks again for caring. Drew"

Best of luck to you Justin and thank you Drew for keeping us updated.

Maryhill Registration

Registration for Maryhill Festival of Speed opened yesterday. Then closed seven hours later. That means 120 riders signed up in seven hours. The good news is, there is a reserve left and 40 spots left or inlines, gravity bikes and luges.

Justin ONe Week Update

Got this from the fish

"1 week update:

Good news! Justin is starting to come around. He has been taken off the ventilator and the cranial monitor. He's waking up occasionally and for very brief periods. When he's awake he moves most of his muscles himself (although quite a bit less on the right side) including reaching up to rub his head and pull at his monitor leads. Although he still doesn't track well or follow verbal directions much, yesterday he WAS able to respond to the question "Do you know your name?" by saying "Justin" and this morning he added the last name "Justin Metcalf". It's not much yet, but considering where he's been for the last week it's incredible! His mother, his doctors, and I are thrilled. It shows the synapses and connections in his brain are starting to reconnect. Progress is expected to increase as time passes.

It's still likely he'll need surgery on the pelvis fracture, but the timing for that depends on when the neurosurgeons will allow it. More on that later.

Thanks for the cards, visits and phone calls. Keep hoping for a full recovery.

Drew"

Best wishes again and hope your back to normal as soon as possible.

sad news, kids

                             
Fellow Virginian Justin Metcalf (A.K.A. Stinee) has unfortunately had a terrible crash while freeriding. He is currently in an induced coma but is in stable condition. He was on a trip to MT Baker and is currently in the Seattle Hospital.

Andrew from Ontario witnessed the crash

"Justin hit the ground at about 70-75km/h, around 40mph? he slid about 20-30 feet and rolled over the embankment, 

He was wearing his Icaro. The chin guard is broken on both sides. We initally thought he had broken his jaw from the crash (i couldn't see how he fell because of a cloud of dust). "

 This is a terrible tragedy in the longboarding world so send him your love and hope he is back on his board soon.

I will post more info as I get it.