The first class of Longboarding 101 for 2018 is now open! The first 20 students to sign up are in! LESSONS LINK
Longboarding 101 Classes through Portland Community College – PCC.edu
Location – Mt.Tabor
Spring Term 2018: April 4 – May 16 – Registration OPEN – Direct Link
To ring in the new year of 2018, we are introducing a new series of skating sessions in Portland, Oregon called PDX DOCKSESSIONS!
We actually had the first event on 12/23/17 at the dry day location in S.E. Portland at Arleta School. For wet and raining days it will be located at another school a mile away called Marysville that features a large covered area. Follow the Facebook Community Page PDX DockSessions to find out which location each event is at. The plan is to have them every other Saturday from 1-4pm in Jan, Feb, and March and see how it evolves.
The next event is on 1/6/18 – Event Page
The Arleta School location is perfect for Dancing with a huge flat smooth blacktop. Also great for street skating with several metal edge staircases for grinds and tricks. Also an empty parking lot on the weekends with parking blocks, both of which areas are fenced in an free of car traffic on the weekends. Another awesome feature are 2 new slappy grind curbs that are freshly waxed and ready to roll up on and grind away. The are on the northern perimeter of the parking lot with a sidewalk entry onto them.
The Marysville School location is a big flat concrete area that has a huge covered area to skate on. This area is great for Dancing as well, but does not have parking blocks, curbs, and not as many features to street skate on. However it’s dry when raining and we plan on bringing some things to skate with like hippy jumps and possible small ramps and rails to hit up.
All are welcome to come skate and hang out! Whatever style you got, bring it! We are just about having fun together and keeping the longboard community alive and strong during the off season. Bring ramps, plywood, or whatever other features you want to add to the mix, lots of room at both locations.
One of the best Holiday gifts you can get any boarder on your list, the Eastside Balance Board!
Weather a snowboarder, skateboarder, longboarder, surfer, wakeboarder, ect, this thing is guaranteed to be a hit. What’s special about our balance board besides the price and how well it’s made, is the design allows for continual improvement. Most other brands have limitations with stoppers on the ends and a track in the middle. That’s all fine and dandy until you get the basics down, which is pretty fast for a lot of riders. After that they get boring because there is no freedom to go different directions and push your limits. A lot of times in life, simpler is better and that’s what our Balance Board is all about! Check out the video to see what I mean by no limitations on what you can do with it.
It’s awesome for anyone who wants to improve their balance, have something fun to do indoors, and it’s great exercise. People who ride them have a better sence of where their body needs to be on whatever board they are on outside. And can practice the movements that directly correlate to their sport such as learning how to get a toeside turn down on a snowboard. Plus it strenghtens all your tiny muscles around your lower legs, feet, and ankles that prevent injuires in the long run. A win win all around, and still fun for the experienced rider.
If you live in Portland, you can call Robin at 503-680-0457 to arrange a pickup for only $30.
Or you can order on the site here with free shipping. – BALANCE BOARD
Happy Holidays!
Here’s limited time offers on our latest model the Blazer V2 just for you!
Black Friday Deals – 20% off the New Eastside Blazer V2 Deck or Complete.
Offer good through Cyber Monday 11/27/17. Free Shipping in U.S.
USE CODE: BLAZER420
Fall is here with a limited time offer for 20% off from the website with Free Shipping by using this DISCOUNT CODE: EASTSIDE420
The 5th annual event is back next Sunday Oct.1st with pre-events the Saturday before Sept.30th.
Mt.Tabor at noon will be showcasing 2 different slalom courses. A SGS and head to head GS.
Come out and enjoy these longboard friendly courses on Portland’s most famous longboarding park.
That night will be hosting a Parking garage session in downtown Portland as we have previous years. There will be a parkade style race where everyone goes at once with the last 4 eliminated each round until finals.
The main event is in Banks, OR at the Banks trailhead of the Banks/Vernonia trail. $20 to enter both the 5K and 10K races.
More info on the Facebook event page –
https://www.facebook.com/events/442773292735430/
We’ve been working on this updated version of the original Eastside Blazer for almost a year now. And have the final proto under our feet with complete joy and satisfaction! We kept most of the great qualities of the original version and just changed a few things from valued fan feedback . If you have the original version and are ready for a new one, then don’t fear this one has the same awesome feel with just a few minor changes. We think you’ll love it as we do and will barely notice the difference unless you are a longboarding geek like we are!
We added a bit more wheel-clearance as some riders who ran stock bushings and really big wheels over 76mm would occasionally get wheelbite if they were a heavier rider. So we made sure you can run center set 80mm wheels like the Orangatang Kegels with soft bushings and loose trucks without getting wheelbite. We also added a bit more meat on the ends of the board for durability making the overal length 40″ instead of the previous 39.5″ inch. However we still recommend the Nosejob Noseguard for this board, which still fits great on it and ensures no damage when it slams into a curb.
The riding platform of the board is still longer than most other drop-through boards with an EFP of 26″ allowing a wider stance for taller and heavier riders. It is deemed the larger rider’s board or for those riders who prefer a wider stance with plenty of room to spread their feet out. It’s also made from 9 plies of 1/16″ longboard grade maple to hold up to 250 pounds without much flex at all. So yes you taller and heavier riders will love the ample room you have on this double drop board!
Another change was adding a bit more concave with no angled edges or gas-pedals. After riding each version down hills and sliding both hands down and stand-up, it became clear that the higher concave on the new version feels more locked in than the original version which had gas-pedals.
One last change was adding a top print silk screen logo in the center of the board just like the lastest version of the Relic board has. We are keeping the original Blazer bottom graphic of molten fire and lava capturing the essence of the Blazer.
Here’s all the official specs of the new version below. Expect to see the Blazer V2 available during the next month on our website here and at our official online retailers Daddies Board Shop and MuirSkate.com. Like the original version it will be available in both Drop-Through and Top-Mount, both having the 5/8″ drop-down platform.
BLAZER V2 Specs:
Length: 40″
Width: 10″
Wheelbase: 30.5″
5/8″ Drop-down platform
9 ply longboard grade maple
Effective Foot Platform (EFP): 26”
July, August, and September is the best weather of the year here in Portland and everyone’s favorite time to longboard. If you want to stay safe this summer and not sure of your skills getting down the hill, then we’d suggest contacting us for a lesson. Perhaps you are already good at bombing hills and going fast but want to learn the art of sliding and taking corners at speed, then we can help on that too! Mt.Tabor is a great place to learn everything longboarding with all the different types of runs and sections of closed to cars roads. Stay safe this summer, wear you helmet and other safety gear to ensure you have the best chance of not getting hurt. Just one hour of one on one with Robin McGuirk will really help you progress and learn some very important skills to keep you safe and riding all year long. He is a friendly and accomplished native who has taught hundreds of students in the area over the last 10 years.
For more info check out our LESSON page below. The classes are already full this year but Private Lessons are available during other nights of the week and on some weekends. Contact us today to check our schedule – robskey@gmail.com.
Ok this one fills up fast every year, only 3 spots left right now! The class has a max of 20 students.
Longboarding 101 Classes through Portland Community College – PCC.edu
Location – Mt.Tabor
Summer Term 2017: July 12 – August 16
DIRECT REGISTRATION LINK TO PCC – Summer Term 2017
Class Description:
Learn the basics of longboard skateboarding: How to ride with control and safely slow down and stop.
Focus on downhill and sliding in a permitted group setting. All levels welcome.
Required gear: Longboard, Helmet, Slide Gloves.
Recommended gear: Knee and elbow pads, old pants and sweatshirt, skate shoes or shoes with flat flexible bottom.
The longest running skateboard race in the Pacific Northwest is going down again for the 13th year in a row on May 28th. Otherwise known as the Mt.Tabor to Sellwood Park Race it celebrates the tradition of skating at Tabor and Portland’s unique City Ordinance 20.12.205. This states that skateboarding is a legal form of transportation. Riders are expected to follow all traffic laws such as stopping at red lights and staying in their lane. The event raises food for Oregon Food Bank with riders bringing 4 cans of food to enter. Every 4 cans received a raffle ticket with no limit on donations. Then after the race at Sellwood Park all the prizes donated by the many generous sponsors gets raffled off. So basically the more food you donate the better chances of winning prizes!
Check out the Facebook event page for more details including your waiver print out if you are under 18.
The first 50 riders will also receive a laminated map of the course. The route is fairly easy to follow and for a push race it’s not very grueling so most any skater can do it easily as a cruise. It’s 5 miles of mostly slight downhill through the city, then 3.5 miles of flat on a bike path leading to the finish line at Sellwood Park. There are 2 sections early on that are steeper. However if you know how to keep your speed down by footbraking or simple getting off your board and either buttboarding or walking down them, then it’s no big deal. Just be prepared if you are worried about them by going down Lincoln street from 58th to 20th on your own prior to the event. Other than that you are in traffic so following the same rules bikes do will keep you safe. There are only 3 stop lights on the whole course: 50th, 39th, and crossing Division St.
If you’re a rider in the area and have never been, then mark in on your calendar to come out to support and good cause, celebrate our city’s privilege to skate the streets legally, and have fun rollin’ down the Eastside of Portland with a crew of locals!
