WORDS Pete Eubank ART Kris Haro
When I roll around at night, whether I am doing full moon runs down a favorite canyon run, cruising to the market for burritos and beer, or just spending some alone time at the skate park; I feel as if I am getting away with something—that although I am tired and drowsy from the duties of the day, I have somehow unlocked a secret to an extra zone of temporality. Sometimes I get a celebratory feeling that I am on borrowed time–anything can happen here! When I have surrendered to only a few senses, those left in action become more acute. The wind blows my jacket as I float through the blackness, dim lights in the distance become waypoints, and my feet render the bumps of the pavement as if they were sightless men reading brail.
There is stillness within the night. Darkness frees my eyes from the minutia of detail and I focus on form rather than color. Bright lights can be the natural enemy of eyes adjusted to the dark so I am aware of the twilighting situation before I decide to get too gnarly. Once the sun goes down the Earth gets colder so I also make note that crepuscular activities are sometimes more ideal in hot locations or seasons—generally, my wheels feel more grippy on the cooled road. I remind myself to be aware of unseen wetness on the road, since its dark it will be more likely that water, which was there in the afternoon, is no longer evaporating as fast and will still be sitting slippery and mirroring the stark blackness of the sky above. That said, the twilight brings super powers of perceived speed to my skating. This is a result of an optical and sensory illusion that tricks me into feeling like I am riding extremely, but in most cases that is just a feeling caused by fewer visual reference points and cool air.
Contrary to what nay sayers might suggest, you wont be that tired at work tomorrow and you will never regret a radical time on board when the lights of Earth are dimmed. Wherever you are, you can find friends and the time to skate at night, especially in scenes that include college shredders and 9 to 5 workforce warriors. When obligation has ended and opportunity abounds, good times are to be had! Whether your plan is to push the neighborhood alone or rally a crew for a session, be a night owl and move through the enveloping darkness of the night. Yeehaw!
-Pete Eubank
________________
Please Join the live-streaming discussion of this new Yeehaw! column later today, Wednesday at 5PM PST (1/20/2016) via the WheelbaseMag Periscope. THAT’S TONIGHT!!!!!
@wheelbasemag
As we here at Wheelbase are looking to grow and further explore connectedness and dialogue with our fellow skaters from across the globe, we ask that you please spread the word about these new live-streaming Periscope discussions. And also, please add any comments ya have below in the comment section so that I can hit ya back and discuss them on-air tonight once I go live from somewhere near Aptos, California. Shredlove and thanks for checking out Wheelbase Magazine and my Yeehaw! column of 2016.