THE FUTURE RISE IN POPULARITY OF MOUNTAINBOARDING

....A short essay written September 2012 for an online competition.  Only changes are a small bit of punctuation update and a short clarification.

An essay in which Ade imagines a future where mountainboarding is far more popular than it currently is.

Imagine a world where mountainboarding was a viable alternative to walking, taking the car or riding public transport.  Okay, maybe a stretch too far, so let’s imagine a world the UK where just as many people participate in boarding dirt as they do on snow.  Not an unreasonable scenario, even with my limited imagination and entirely possible if only more people dropped the assumption of danger and embraced the lower entry level price-point allowing them to surf the hills right there on their doorstop.

Secretly though, isn’t this what we all want?  For the kids to think we’re cool and the ladies to swoon?  To be seen to be alternative rather the mainstream and to have the bemused onlookers wondering what on earth you are riding, and how could you possibly be in control?  This is of course a whole separate issue to be discussed at length elsewhere and for now let’s embrace the population en-mass.

It’s not hard these days to pick up a mountainboard, either new or second hand with spare parts going for pocket money.  Upgrades and pimping come at a price, but for the meantime, at least we’re riding.  From your budget Kheo or BlueEarth board through to the specialist MBS and noSno options, we’re not really looking at a huge price difference to the snowboard equivalent of £100-£500.  Take out the cost of flights and lift passes though and throw in a little petrol money, and mountainboarding  is clearly the budget-friendly winner of the two.

So what would happen if mountainboarding were to become the next biggest thing?  It’s not impossible and the scene could massively benefit from a boost in sales should a boarding sequence appear in the next James Bond or Jason Bourne film.  Supposing all of the above was to happen then several implications of such a scenario are envisioned below.

The entry cost of buying a boarding, already pretty cheap should drop as a result of mass production with an increase in both selection of board types and range of graphics.  It’s not implausible that far more money will then be invested by the major manufacturers into R&D, producing boards that are more specific to the discipline in which they are developed in order to give people a definite reason to buy the current seasons stock.  Of course, the market would be flooded with imitation NBS, Grampa and noGro knock-offs taking advantage of tried and tested to destruction designs but mountainbikes survived a similar growth spurt in the 1990’s and I suspect that micro scooters are going through a similar stage right now  And that’s great - it will mean that the public have embraced the idea of travelling by four-wheels, and when NBS falls apart or when Mr Public takes it to the bumpier hills, the established brands will still be there for those who want them.

Awareness.  Awareness of boarding is a tricky one, especially where the authorities are involved.  Bearing in mind that I have absolutely no idea where we stand legally when riding public footpaths (though I was once told with dead-certainty that mountainboards were legally in the same category as a pram), my excuse that “bikes are not allowed here but this certainly isn’t a bike”, presently holds a little weight.  Ignorance is no excuse, but when there’s uncertainty all around, make the most of it.  Awareness can lead to specific rules; no longer is it “keep off the grass”, but “No Mountainboarding on the grass”, leading to popular “Mountainboarding is not a crime” T-shirts, in dirty protest.

Awareness means that no longer are you the strange daredevil on the rolling board of death, but in the public’s eyes you’re the chap who’s trying out the latest “craze”, no matter how long you’ve actually been riding for and you are defined by what you do rather than who you are.  “I hate you because you’re a mountainboarder”.  Skateboarders seemed to have fought back well on this issue, but there is still objections to build parks in certain areas due to the perception of the people that may congregate there and not due to the skating that will actually take place.

Incidentally, more mountainboarders equals far more mountainboarders that are inevitably going to be better than me.  This is not good.

Busier Forums.  Today’s Internet culture means that people are usually happy ask questions first, search later, ignoring all the hard work done previously writing beautifully crafted stickied FAQ’s and other replies to every other new rider who bought a new board and didn’t check whether it would be suitable for the over 12’s.  We should prepare to answer the same questions over and over again, but that’s cool as everyone’s different and we all love receiving the personal touch.

Bear in mind that for Snowboarding, a sport that is limited to a handful of suitable UK venues or a handful of winter weeks (if we’re lucky), or the winter holidays, the SCUK [Snowboarding Club: UK] has close to 20,000 registered users compared to the world’s most active mountainboard forum [Surfing Dirt.com] (1,300 members, 200 active).  Certainly the skills between the two sports are very similar and if anything, there’s less parts to a snowboard, but there’s certainly a larger choice in regards to range of  manufacturers and varying products with their subtle (and not so subtle) differences.  In the end, people still want reassurance that they’re buying the right equipment and if you can’t do what you love doing, then what better than hanging out with people of the same mindset who will also discuss what you love doing?

So, should we hold out and hope for mountainboarding being the sport of the masses?  There is a popular podcast that goes by the name of ‘Answer Me This’, a UK based weekly production where listeners send in random questions which are then answered in a comedic way.  During Episode 175 [currently available as a download at http://answermethis.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/episode175/], co-presenter Ollie Mann states on the subject of Parkour, that to him, whilst all very cool, “feels a bit intrinsically 2006” after a period of relatively heavy use in both film and advertising.  Not an unreasonable comment and not a dissimilar feeling to how many members of the public are when pursuing the “next biggest thing”, leading to everything else to feel a bit dated.  If mountainboarding remains relatively unknown, then in a way, it can never become new, and following this strained logic, can never really become old.

The Mountainboarders Guide To Map Reading

[An unused article written late last year.  Shame for it to lie unused so is reproduced in full below (though a closing paragraph and disclaimer wouldn't go amiss)]

In this modern age, we are unlikely to discover anything truly new without going to the remotest jungles or the deepest oceans, but that doesn't mean that we can't all be pioneers in our own backyard.  Chances are in a land this large with so few mountainboarders means that there is a good odds you can find a local hill, wander up, ride down and become the first person to have ridden it on a mountainboard.  Then ride it again  clean to be the true Master of the Hill!

Perhaps you have conquered all of the local hills and are looking further afield for the next track to pick off, pioneer, then master, way before it later becomes a classic mountainboard location, ridden by riders from all over the country, all looking to replicate the success you have already gained.

But where to look in a country that is largely undulating but not necessarily mountainous; hilly but not necessarily accessible; accessible but not necessarily suitable?

A good starting point that should not be overlooked is local knowledge.  The UK loves to hike and everyone knows a good hill, or knows where the bikers like to go or where sledging is popular.  Where local knowledge is unavailable and where just going out and random wandering is not really a sensible option, then the next step is to pull out the OS map and get looking for clues.  Can you read a map?  Can you identify the terrain, footpaths, bridleways, roads, heights and likely gradients? Can you use the scale to estimate a rough distance and distinguish between a 50 metre dash and a 2km monster?  If not, read on!

Part 1: OS Maps - An Overview
Part 2: Estimating Distance
Part 3: Estimating Terrain
Part 4: Estimating Gradient

OS Maps - An Overview

Ordnance Survey (OS) provide UK maps at various scales, a popular one being 1:25,000.  Note that the smaller the second number, the greater the detail and in this case, a centimetre on the map represents 25,000cm (250m) in real life.  The exception to this are the symbols used to represent the various features; roads and rivers for example are a set width in order to be legible rather than being realistic.

Whilst other scales are available, for our purposes smaller scale maps provide insufficient detail and greater scale maps are harder, though not impossible to obtain.  1:25,000 map are available through bing.com and so are useful in this post for examples.

Usually, it is safe to assume that the top of the map points north (if you can read the writing then the map is probably the right way) and although there is a discrepancy between true north, grid north and magnetic north, as long as we are riding within the UK then we should be fine.  If you want to know more about some of the different poles and the differences between them, then the Ordnance Survey do a good job explaining:
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/support/knowledgebase/grid-north-magnetic-north-and-true-north.html

Please remember the following disclaimer though from Ordnance Survey:
"Whilst we have endeavoured to ensure that the information in this product is accurate, we cannot guarantee that it is free from errors and omissions, in particular in relation to information sourced from third parties."

In brief, use the maps as a guide but use some common sense!

Estimating Distance

OS maps show grid lines running both north-south and east-west marked in blue lines spaced apart in 1km intervals.  By mentally dividing these boxes by half or into tenths, smaller distances such as 100m or 500m can be estimated.  Remembering the principles laid out by Pythagoras, walking from the corner of one box to the opposite corner is therefore approximately 1.4km or 700 metres to walk diagonally across a quarter square.

Knowing distance is important for us.  It can tell us how far trail is from nearest parking, how long a trail may be, and crucially, how far it may be from the bottom of the trail back to the car again.

Estimating Terrain

Estimating what the ground may be like is far easier when you can use overhead photos to assist predictions, but a lot can still be read from using the map symbols.

PDF documents explaining all the symbols can be downloaded from the Ordnance Survey site at both 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scale.
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/education-and-research/teaching-resources/map-symbols.html

An overview of the most useful symbols ones will be covered below.  Lets take my local hunting grounds, Allestree Park, as shown above.  Even if we were unaware of the area, some common sense and the fact that it is labelled a 'Park' and has a 'Big Wood' should give us some clues to the likely local terrain.  Lets now look at some of the symbols:

Parking.  Very useful if you want a starting point to store all your gear and want to do a quick reccee without lugging around all of your equipment with you.

Footpath.  In this case suggests that there is a 'Public Right of Way' across the site and so easy to get onto the land i.e. you don't need to fight through bushes to get to where you want to go.  Also useful if you want a well defined track which may be harder under foot and hence faster to ride.  Could also be a wet, sloppy mud-fest.  Keep an eye out for walkers when riding, obviously.

Other path types include:
Non-coniferous trees.  Here you can see from the overhead camera that a single tree icon designates several trees, or wood in this instance.  What is not clear from either the map, nor the overhead shot is how densely packed the trees are, or what the forest floor is like.  This is where going for a recce is the only way to be sure.  Coniferous trees are also shown on this map, though unless you ride into one of them, it shouldn't make a difference one way or another.

Other tree types include:

Golf Course.  Always popular with riders as the fairways are usually well maintained with the grass cut short.  Of course, how well you are welcomed will depend on the 'exclusivity' of the course, ranging from tolerated to actively hunted and removed from site.  Exercise caution.

Contour Lines.  This is a section in itself and will be dealt with in Part 4, Estimating Gradient.

Lake.  Don't fall in the lake.

Other possible symbols that might indicate a good place to ride include Mountainbike trail (the downhill parts anyway), Campsite (Good if you're in the middle of nowhere) or Viewpoint (suggests that it could look out over some lower terrain.

These are only some of the features shown.  If something looks unfamiliar, then check the symbol guide!

Estimating Gradient

Everything written above means nothing though if we get to a spot to find that it is flat as a pancake.  Fortunately, OS maps give a good indication through the use of contour lines.

These wiggly orange lines connect together areas of equal height and are indicated at either 5 or 10 metre vertical intervals.  If it helps, they can be thought of as being similar to isobars on the weather reports, connecting the areas of equal pressure.  Follow each line far enough and we should find a number equating to height above sea level.  By comparing the lines to those adjacent to it, we can determine where the high and low ground lies and the direction of the slopes.

From 'The SAS Survival Handbook', by John Wiseman are a couple of images that may assist the notion of representing terrain through the use of contour lines.

In a nutshell, where they are tightly packed together means that the terrain is steep, or even a cliff if the lines converge and where they are far apart, the gradient is slight.  We can even gauge if the shape of the hill is concave or convex by examining how the lines are grouped:

Lets take an example then using what we have learned so far.  Imagine that we have a 1km square and there are roughly 20 grid lines equidistant across the square with each one dropping by 5 metres each time.  From this we can determine that over that one kilometer, the height has dropped by 100 metres (20 x 5), equating to a 1 in 10 decent.  By this, we mean for every 10 metres ridden, you drop down one metre.  Not a bad decent; great if riding a firetrack, reasonable if riding short grass, may not be adequate if riding dense forest undergrowth.

It's worth mentioning that you cannot be over confident riding a trail 'blind' from map alone as the map will not show any terrain detail lower than the changes in contour lines.  For example, if the contour lines only show 10 metre changes in height, then a significant 5-metre drop could be encountered that would never have been shown on the map. Again, exercise caution.

Happy 2013!!!!

Where to begin?  Well, happy 2013 for a start and sorry for the lack of any updates whatsoever.  It's not even as if nothings happened with good times by one and all and the mountainboard scene ticking over nicely. 

Actually, it's not all fun and games and real life gets in the way sometimes, but I won't blame that for the silence, nor is it the lack of motivation.  No, sometimes things crop up that grab your attention and hold it for far longer than expected.  Still, whilst no blogger has ever asked me for advice, should this ever happen I would say 1) Content is King: It is far easier to start a blog than to maintain a blog over a prolonged period of time.  And 2) Blogging should be fun: do not become a slave to the blog.  And with that in mind, doing absolutely no creative writing whatsoever for the past 3 months or so has been very relaxing.

And the point of this blog?  Only to say that the Monday Evening Summer Sessions will return once our light sufficiently returns, be it in a slightly modified format.  More on that later.  In addition, there are a few articles and bits and pieces that never got published for various reasons that will crop up over the next few days.  A few older articles may get a quick dusting off and reissued with a brand new sparkle, and if you're very, very lucky, maybe some brand new stuff will emerge....  Not just yet though, it's still too early.