Who's Down with LDP?

LDP pioneer James Peters on his longboard commute to work in Washington state.

At 37 years old, I get some odd looks when people hear that I ride a longboard. Hopping on a skateboard for a few hours and covering 20-30 miles is not a normal occurrence. Especially not for a grown-up, a father no less. When they hear that I sometimes get up at 4:30am and wear a headlamp, the rocker is not even in the house.

But that's not the aspect of our particular style of longboarding that scratches the most heads. When I mention that I have gone for 10 miles or so without putting my foot on pavement, people aren't sure what to make of it, how to picture it.

Thankfully, we've got James Peters and Pavedwave on the internet, spreading the long distance pumping (LDP) gospel. Above is a great video of James commuting to work. His feet are on board. He's helped develope the science, the technique, the set-up, to create an efficient pump. And most of his YouTube videos have jazz soundtracks, which I especially dig :)

In James's world on the west coast, they have organized long distance skates between cities. They hold 24-hour Ultra Skate events. Skateboarding and longboarding has caught on more than it has in our rural corner of Maryland. But there seems to be evidence that there is some growing interest here. More people are buying longboards. More people are asking questions with an interest. And more people are realizing how much fun it is to see the world from four wheels and a deck.

So here's a little LDP action to enlighten the seekers. And of course, check out Pavedwave to see more examples and to touch base with a community of folks seeking the same stoke.