22
Skater's Edge
Much light has been shed upon the sub-
ject of overland transportaion by Bob De-
nike in previous articles of the Skater's
Edge, but to date no mention has been
made of the situations encountered when
a skater takes to the air-the airlines, that
is. As skateboarding continues to grow in
popularity around the world, and sponsors
are more willing to help with travel ex-
penses, many skaters and others involved
in the sport are able to fly instead of drive
to their destinations. By observing a few
simple guidelines and using some common
sense, even the skater with a low score in
the I.Q. department can make his check-in
and flight a fairly hassle-free experience.
First of all, get to the airport. Use a map
if you have to. If you get lost, call your mom,
she knows everything. Got your skate with
you? Good! Now if you want to see it make
the flight, don't let it out of your sight until
you either check it in or board the plane
with it. There are plenty of low-life and crim-
inal types lurking around the terminal who
will gladly separate you from your skate
and everything else, if they get the chance.
Now it's decision time. Don't cry, it's a
simple choice. Are you going to put your
skate in with your luggage or carry it on
the plane with you? If you have a suitcase
big enough to fit the necessities plus
your skate, then do it. Make sure you wrap
the skate in plastic trashbag material or
something similar, 'cuz there's nothing
worse than opening up your case at the
other end and finding your stuff smeared
with grease or shredded by grip tape. If you
pads smell dead, it's a good idea to wrap
them too. On the other hand, if you're travel-
ling light, you probably won't have a big
enough case for your skate, in which case
you'll have to try and carry it on the plane
with you. Do yourself a favor and keep a
low profile with your board while in the ter-
minal. Resist the temptation to grind every-
thing in sight, causing elders to stare in
amazement and small children to cry: your
check in will be a lot easier if they aren't
alerted that you're coming their way.
It's also a good idea to know the restric-
tions regarding your baggage weight and
number of allowable pieces. This info is
usually in microscopic print on the lowest.
Flying The Friendly Skies By Keith Stephenson
corner on the back of your ticket. Airlines.
differ in check-in allowances, all the way.
from one piece with weight restrictions, to
2 or 3 items and unlimited weight. Don't
get caught having to pay extra for your
skate and equipment. Almost all airlines
allow only one piece of carry-on luggage,
but usually you can get away with a carry
on (containing camera, fragile stuff, etc.)
plus your board as a second carry-on.
Make a scene and act scared, cry if you
have to. These tactics usually work as a
last resort. Pick the one you're best at and
be ready to give it your all if necessary.
Now that you've made it through check-
in, just get on the plane before it takes off
and you're stoked. One last piece of ad-
vice-bring a Walkman with you in your
carry-on, 'cuz the in-flight music on the
plane sucks!
Now, maybe you've decided
not only to switch cities but
countries as well. Bon Voyage
First, you have to get a passport, and
then, depending on where you're going,
you might need a visa and a shot or two.
Now get a ticket. Got everything? Good.
One last thing before you take off: make
sure you change most of your cash into
traveller's checks, plus a little currency from
the country you'll be visiting to get you
through the first couple of days..
When going through customs, don't try
to wrap your skate up or disguise it, 'cuz
that will make it much more suspicious. If
you've got a board with skulls or other mor-
bid designs on it, be ready for a full-body
search as you pass through customs. Any-
body or anything that stands out is
thoroughly searched. Just smile a lot and
pray.
Now you're on the plane and on your way
and you're stoking, right? Well, maybe.
What are going going to do when you get
to the other end? Do you speak the lan-
guage? Didn't think so. Hmmm, could be
a problem. How are you going to find a
place to: A) crash B) eat C) skate?
Before you stress out and cancel your
reservation, stay calm and learn how to
overcome the fatal "Where-am-l-why-don't-
they-speak-english-what-the-hell-do-l-do-
now" syndrome. Falling prey to this di-
lemma can ruin even the best layed plans
for a cool skate trip.
The first thing you're gonna want to do
is find out as much as you can about the
place(s) you're going to visit before you get
there. This should include; local skater
phone numbers and addresses, locations
of any skate shops or parks, and maybe a
cheap place to crash in case no one can
flow you a stay. Hopefully you'll be able to
contact a skater and let him know when
you will be arriving. Knowing that someone
is waiting for you on the other end will give
you one less thing to worry about.
Once you've contacted a local skater you
shouldn't have any trouble finding places
to skate. If a local skater isn't to be found,
check for a local skate or surf shop in the
area. These people can usually put you in
touch with someone who skates.
Travel between foreign countries can be
hell, so make sure you take care of travel
plans in advance, or you could be bum-
ming. The easiest and cheapest way to
travel, especially in Europe, is by train. If
you're going to be there for a long period
of time, a ticket called a "EuroRail pass is
happening. This ticket entitles you to unli-
mited use of train services within Europe
for up to 2 months. You can travel through
France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, etc. all for
the price of one ticket. Unfortunately, it
seems that many people who are in the
business of transporting people take great
pleasure putting large amounts of hell into
your life. Advance planning and a little pa-
tience is needed to avoid a run-in with these
stale types. Also, it's been said before and
will be said again, you can never be too
careful. Have you ever seen the face of
someone who has just had their wallet,
camera, etc. stolen? It's not pretty. It always
happens to someone else, right? Wrong.
Keep everything with you at all times.
Passports, cameras and wallets are usually
the first thing to go, so be way careful with
those. Thieves aren't choosy, though, they'll
take your whole bag, your skate and the
shirt off your back if they get the chance,
so "wochit suckah...
One problem that doesn't seem possi-
ble, but is worse than true when you're crav-
ing food after a full day of skating, is EAT-
ING. The U.S. is a special place in that you
can buy what you want when you want it,
courtesy of 24 hour stores like 7-11, Stop
'n Go, etc. Very few other places in the
world have a setup like this. Many stores,
especially in Europe, close for 2-3 hours in
the afternoon and then for good in the early
evening, so eating when you want isn't al-
ways possible, unless you've got the bucks
to eat out every night. Neil Blender is known
to carry a "food bowl" during his overseas
ventures, purchasing food whenever possi-
ble, mixing everything together in his bowl
and then consuming as the need arises.
Eating what you want isn't always possible
either. Unless you can handle a cup of cof-
fee and a croissant for breakfast,
knockwurst or pasta for lunch, or raw fish
for dinner, you're going to be out of luck in
a lot of countries. Fast-food fanatics will be
pleased to learn that no matter where you
go, there is usually a McDonald's or
Wendy's close by. The cheapest, easiest,
and healthiest way to keep yourself in food
is to buy lots of it at a local market and then
stash it wherever you're staying.
Well, that's about all for now. In closing.
let me just say that taking your time, plan-
ning ahead and using some caution as well
as some brains should be enough to keep
your trip on the right track.
Rob
Roskopp
DESIGNS
SANTA
CRUZ
ROB ROSKOPP DESIGNS
4401 SOQUEL DR, DEPT. RA
SOQUEL, CA. 95073 TELEX 172476
For demos call (408) 479-1665 or (408) 475-9434
Send $1.00 for decal and catalog.
SLIME
BALLS
Photo Pomara