It feels like a looong time since I was in London, because the environment where I am at the moment, is so very different from the hectic city. I am doing a short-term artist residency programme in a small village in Belgium. Work takes most of my time, but managed to sneak out, and skate a bit in a Turnhout skatepark a few days ago.

The start wasn’t promising. I was very tired (this changing a place (too) often and working in a new place etc. is taking its toll) and was struggling again with the fear. Finally started to try out new things, and started to feel more comfortable, so rode in quite a good speed, as can be seen in this video.

 

More than conquering a new spot, I am happy of taking first steps with new tricks. These are:

• footplant on flat / boneless (see here what it means: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrDJlw6r5GI) – I have trouble even putting my front foot down from the board, as so far it’s ALWAYS been only BACK foot on the ground
• Old school carving (something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NSKhWcZPRo) – I just need to learn to carve ‘sharply’ first….
• to ‘jump’ when hitting the edge, honestly it does not look like it, but in the video when getting up the bank, I am doing it: at least in my head 🙂

Dear reader, I promise you, by the end of the summer, I will nail (or at least somehow manage) those!

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During the skate session happened something I thought to open up, even though it is not really a big deal, but can’t believe it would happen if a) I would be a man b) I would be younger – and it does bother me a little; and similar things happens time to time (also when I am running). I was skating with my boyfriend, who was having a break and was sitting on the edges of the park, when a man (not skater himself) passing by with a dog joined him. Afterwards heard the man was commenting my skateboarding – and this is a bit that disturbs me. I do not mind advices , and I know part of the skateboarding is to be watched by others, but would he had done the same, if it would have been the opposite way: my boyfriend (well, a ‘real’ skater, but not a young one) skating and me sitting on the edges, and then to comment to me how he skates? I doubt that. And it annoyed me more than the pebble on the ground that made me fall off.