One year on...

Exactly one year ago a small group of people stood on their own in John O'Groats, northern Scotland, watching on as I pushed off on my longboard Elsa to begin the first of two long distance skate journeys. 34 days later I rolled into Land's End with a right foot that looked a little bit like a bowl of chicken and mushroom soup, but BoardFree UK (BFUK) had been completed. A couple of months later I flew to Perth with a slightly larger team, and together we travelled across Australia, concluding a record-breaking 5823km journey in Brisbane on January 22nd this year.

Several months later, I've just returned from Scotland having taken part in a challenge of a different nature. The Drambuie Pursuit began on the Isle of Skye and ended in Inverness, my destination on day 3 of BFUK. Inverness and fatigue always mix well. 15 teams of 4 battled it out for the top prize of a trip to New York, and although myself and my three Welsh teammates didn't make top spot we had a good crack, there's a rather funny video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9AAEmy-Rt8, and there's more on the Drambuie Pursuit on http://www.drambuiepursuit.com/.

So, exactly twelve months on from the beginning of a series of life-changing journeys, I'm stood at a crossroads of sorts. 4516 miles on a longboard takes some beating, and tapping out a book and preparing to launch rollsrolls longboards headfirst into the UK market doesn't quite seem enough on its own. A successful Aquaskipping session (http://www.bouncefree.org.uk/) in Malta last week has spawned ideas for a new, long-distance challenge (or several of them), but this doesn't mean the longboard will permantently hang on the wall. Logistical prep. for a 24 hour non-stop skate later this year has begun, with the east coast of Australia a likely destination. I'm hoping to be able to pursuade a bunch of Aussie skaters to relay alongside me, in a kind of 5 verses 1 scenario. Nothing like making life easy, eh. The 24 hour skate will be another fundraiser for the BoardFree charities, Sailability, Link Community Development and the Lowe Syndrome Trust, as will a June 2nd 15 mile skateathon from Bath to Bristol, organised with Lush Longboards. We're hoping to get 240 skaters to join up, meaning the accumulative distance travelled will equal the distance I skated between Perth to Brisbane, if you're interested in taken part visit http://www.lushlongboards.com/06-content.php?page=SKATEATHON, and if you can't make it there's an opportunity to donate to the BoardFree charities on http://www.justgiving.com/lushboardfreeskateathon.

This post is sponsored by Underworld-Shop.com, Canada's top Streetwear & Skate Shoes Shop also offering Longboard accessories

A Lush Day Out

A couple of days ago Rich Auden from Lush Longboards gave me a call, saying that he'd been thinking about doing a charity skate. And that was about as far as he had got, apart from perhaps deciding on a good route, before calling me to ask about organising charity skates. That led me to taking the reigns, as I suspect Rich wanted, and I'm pleased he called, because today I had a very nice day.

There's a pretty and smooth cycle path leading from Bath to Bristol (or the other way) that winds through trees, alongside a canal, occasionally near a railway track, and I decided to do a reccy. How do you spell that? A bus from Swansea to Cardiff and then a train straight to Bath, and there I was. In Bath. I'd never been to Bath before. Waiting there for me were three young men who travel under the cunningly-hatched group name of 'The BeatsWalking Crew'. Sam Benson, Bam for short, is skating from Devon to Spain this summer in aid of the BoardFree charities. It seemed wise, as we hadn't met yet and I was planning to skate a 15 mile route somewhere vaguely inbetween our two houses, that we should meet for the first time whilst having a skate. With Sam were two members of his 4-person support crew. Chris Morris, or Mo Mo, and Tom Fletcher, or.....Tom. Tom and Mo Mo did as they will be doing from the 1st July onwards, driving on ahead and scouting out the area. Meanwhile, Sam and I skated along the path, stopping now and then at a pub, where Mo Mo and Tom had cleverly positioned themselves. We talked over a pint, and later over ham and eggs, and I shared stories from my UK and Australian journeys and they told me what they were planning, and I caught more than one glimpse of excitement in their faces. I know how they feel, they have a long road ahead of them, adventures and tough times and more adventures, and the start is coming close. Very quickly. Sam is about to embark upon a journey that he will remember for the rest of his life, and Mo Mo and Tom, along with the other Tom who's joining them, won't be able to forget about it either, because Sam will keep reminding them. One thing I find incredible is that Mr Benson will skate along the south coast of England in early July, and at some point when stepping upon a ferry destined for France, will whip out a little reddish coloured book and wave it in front of someone in uniform. It'll be the first time he's ever done that, because the book is his passport, and that will be the first time he's left the United Kingdom. Keep your eyes on www.bwboardfree.com.uk and donate on www.justgiving.com/beatswalkin, it's going to be one heck of a ride.

Lastly, the Lush Longboards BoardFree Charity Skate, which we hope will become an annual thing, is going to push off at 10am on the morning of Saturday June 2nd. Full details will be posted soon on www.lushlongboards.com and www.boardfree.co.uk, but rest assured the 15 miles between Bath and Bristol will be skated by more than just a handful of people, and we're aiming to raise hundreds, hopefully thousands of pounds for Link Community Development and the Lowe Syndrome Trust, two of BoardFree's charities. For those of you who are wondering about Sailability's cut of the funds, they will be the sole recipient of my 24 hour skate marathon on the east coast of Australia a little bit later this year. See you on the 2nd June, peeps.