Pushing through the Streets

I waited many days and many nights, long enough to get anxious, but now it's finally over. Today, my skateboard arrived. It's so hard to express how happy I am. It's like having something between your teeth for the longest time. You try and try and try to get it out, but it won't come loose. And then, in an unexpected moment of relief, it's gone. You feel like celebrating by eating something with many seeds, because it's not only gone from between your teeth, but has also left from your heavily occupied mind. So good. 

I received the parcel shortly past noon and carried it up to my room. I stole a sharp knife from the communal kitchen and used it to carefully cut open the taped edges. Slowly I put the knife away and opened the box. What was there in front of me, it's hard to put into words. Getting the single parts out of there felt like rescueing suffering animals from their kraft paper cage. First the trucks, super light Venture 5.0 lows in matt black with soft Bones bushings and 52mm Bones STF slim wheels, then the deck, a Forrest Kirby 7,5'' Zoo York in light blue.

Hidden in the back pocket of an old pair of pants I found my faithful skate tool. From another pocket I fished out a set of 7/8'' black allen Skate Junt hardware: seven bolts and seven nuts. And of course, one additional white one to costumize it in a decent way. No stickers, no colored griptape, no writing on top, only that one white bolt on my front truck. Mmhumm, that's it. Setting up my board is such a satisfying act, it's the first step of getting to know it, I don't understand how people let other people do it for them.

After waiting for Mr. Ali to fix my window, I finally got some time in the afternoon to grab my board and skate the streets of London City. First I took it down Camden High Street, past Mornington Crescent Station, into Hampstead Road and all the way down to Euston and Russell Square. It's amazing how different it is, different to the streets back at home. The sounds are different, because the pavement is different and the asphalt is much rougher. Cars approach you from the wrong direction, it's all very new and exciting.

I didn't have a destination in mind, just took the most skateable street on every new junction. Since most of the streets are too rough to even roll on I had to take it to the sidewalks many times. Problem there is the people, although most of them seemed rather curious. So different to Germany. Somehow I ended up in Oxford Street, impossible to skate, and fought my way through Soho and made it to the Strand, much more relaxing. Finally I crossed Waterloo Bridge to South Bank, and found some fellow skaters. Good times.