Street

We go up staircases everyday and rarely notice the handrails tracing the edges on each side.  If we do, the thought is brief. They are objects with one purpose, guidance.  Typically, we avoid the use of them knowing the amounts of germs that scale up and down their surfaces.  This is the majority view on handrails.  However, through the eyes of a snowboarder you’d see that these are handrails thriving with life, an opportunity for expression and creativity.

            Snowboarding is usually associated with snow and mountains.  The idea of pine trees, groomed runs, and chairlifts tends to be the general picture.  This is only a small branch in the snowboarding world.  Another direction to take your style of riding, often unheard of, would be to the streets. “Street riding” is a subculture within a subculture.  These riders go into cities, towns, or any place with concrete, buildings, and metal, looking to unveil the life within.  A typical spot for riding could be a railing behind Walmart or a ledge enveloping a loading dock at some company.  It is endless as to what you can ride in a street environment.

            A normal setup for these street sessions would entail having a snowboard, a means for getting snow and momentum, and a shovel.  When a spot is located, the first thing is to make the in-run up to the rail.  An in-run is a trail of snow wide enough for your snowboard to move across and ends with a small jump to place you up onto the rail.  If there is no snow in the vicinity that you are riding then you have to bring it from abroad via truck beds or tarp-lined trunks.  Also, the landing at the bottom of the rail should have adequate amounts of snow giving you time to stop your momentum.  After the setup is constructed then you are free to express your riding.

            Getting enough speed for the rail requires one or two people to pull or push you along the trail of snow.  Another way is to build an incline of some sort in which you ride your snowboard down a steep but short declining ramp which gives necessary speed.  From there it’s all about having fun.  There is some inspiring and addictive feeling that comes with being able to express your skills in an area that wasn’t intended for it.  Once you submerse yourself in this world, you will never look at urban architecture the same again.