Riding the Long White Cloud

I came across these videos on Prolly and even though he points out they are a little dated, I’m soooo glad he still shared them. These videos are so well done that it was hard to stop watching them at work and wait until I got home.

The videos document a bike tour by a group of professional skateboarders who ride their bikes down New Zealand, hitting skate spots along the way. There has been a recent trend in skateboard culture that pairs skateboarding with Easy Rider-like motorcycles, but I had yet to come across skateboarders holding any interest in bikes, let alone bike touring. The melding is a little awkward, but the outcome fascinating.

As an ex-skater, I’ve always been floored by the courage and ability professional skaters have to huck themselves off crazy high ledges, while executing a dizzying skateboard trick in the process. Maybe I’ve been a touch envious and jealous too. So it was somewhat amusing to watch these professional skaters get completely humbled by the simple process of bike touring for a couple weeks straight. The videos show them struggling to overcome the physical demands of bike touring, sometimes at the expense of their skating abilities, but keeping an overall positive demeanor the whole way.

If you like(d) skateboarding or bike touring, you won’t be able to watch these and not feel like you’re smiling the entire time. Enjoy.