Modern Marvel: My Vew-Do Balance Board

You can see me here on my new Vew-Do Balance Board. My kind parents bought this for me for Christmas. My folks have always been supportive of skating, going back to my offsetting the cost of my first board at age 11, through to letting my brother build a mini half-pipe in their back yard when he was 16. And though my mother was somewhat concerned that I would hurt myself when I announced I was getting back into skating at 31, both mom and dad thought taking it on would do me good.

But I guessed I might lose whatever skating edge I'd been re-sharpening over the summer if I just atrophied over the winter, and so when I heard about the Vew-Do I was intriguiged.

The Vew-Do apparently came out in 1990--right before I quit skating, it seems, and was marketed to both skaters and general sports-playing-jock-types. I think I remember seeing it way back when, but it looked dopey, and of course the price is akin to a complete board, so that, to a 15-year-old, was itself prohibitive. But not so now. The folks were looking to buy me something different for Christmas, and this fit the bill.

So here it is, the Vew-Do SK8 model in all it's indoor fun-ness. As you can see from the photos, the board is just like a normal skate deck except instead of trucks/wheels it's got a heavy-duty plastic beam on the bottom that fits into a groove on the "rock"--a large, wooden mono-wheel support. One balances one's self by centering one's weight above the "rock", and then shifting weight from foot to foot to change the position of the board.

It's both more challenging and enlivening than I thought it would be, and I find myself hopping on it two or three times a day just to give it another go. Each time I do I find that my balance is a little more sure, and the experience of riding the Vew-Do is yet more enjoyable.

Next up: tricks on the Vew-Do. Apparently one can do ollies, kickflips, shuvits, and more. Best thing about it is now I can rationalize making a post here during the winter months (one that's not along the lines of, "It sucks that I can't skate.")

Waiting, Not Skating

I had a really good session the other night. In Utah County the evening was very cool, and though at first it seemed too cold, after a few minutes I warmed right up and the air was most refreshing.

Not much happening in terms of tricks, but good ollies, manuals, on and off of short platforms, all in my favorite parking lot.

And now it is snowing; not necessarily too cold, but certainly too wet and slick for any skating, which leaves me in the unenviable position of waiting for the Spring.

P.S. For those of you snowboarders who are instead rejoicing, yeah, I snowboarded for about 15 years, but it's just too much money and time for an old man like me. In a year or two when my son is older, then winters might seem a little riper and brighter...