A 30 km (19 mi) Longboarding Tour From Vienna's City Centre Beyond Town Limits and Back [Week Five of Six Week Health Challenge]

For today's activity i chose longboarding and my favorite route to the Aupark, a riparian forest in Klosterneuburg. The beauty about this route is that I can ride the whole tour from the city center to the city limit and beyond the whole time on the board.

First I got myself a new set of bearings, because I never changed them in all those years. In this case the cheapest are actually the best, everybody loves the Bones REDS, they are the most durable.

The service guy gave me some tips how I could even use my old ones, which stil were good to go. He removes the red rings so that the bearing balls are completely free. Once a month he puts one drop of a special cleaner into them. The dust enters easier but also comes easier out. After a few turns my old ones ran smooth again, so now I have a spare set :)

My setup comsists of Carver CX.4 Trucks, they are made for pumping, that is you can ride it like a surfboard.
The front truck has a special geometry, you load the bushing by steering to one side and it snaps back with additional help of your hips and core muscles. In that way you can ride the board solely with the strength of your core, without using one leg for pushing. On a flat and smooth street I can build up quite a speed that way! Doing that for a few kilometers is a very good core workout :)

The rear truck Is a reverse kingpin so it is stable enough to ride the board in the traditional way too. The trucks are a little higher to prevent wheel bite. With the Loaded Poke, a relatively short and broad board I got a very versatile setup, commuting through the city, pumping, doing tricks with the kicktail, and speeding on slopes.

I also got myself sliding wheels, but I'm a footbreaker 4 life, so a pair of skater sneakers with a flat sole are also part of my equipment.

Before every ride I tighten all the screws (same applies to snowboards) because they can get loose with time through the vibrations acting on the board.

Last but not least you can see a helmet on the desk, which I urge everyone to wear, especially if you are a beginner, and if you are really clumsy when falling, a full face helmet, elbow, knee and wrist protectors should also be in your repertoire.

All clear now to take the board for a ride, lets go!
First down the Mariahilfer Street and along the Vienna Ring.

I posted a lot of the Vienna Ring in my bike ride post, so I show you the Danube Canal next.

Is it golden hour already? I planed the tour for the morning but plans and me don't mix that well :)

This trucks are made for pumping, so I show you how this works, the front pin is vertical, look how specific the axe moves.

A little downhill, remember though that this is not a downhill board, 50 km/h(30mph) should be ok, but especially with this trucks I would tighten the bushings. I got the Orangatang 4 President wheels with the lowest durometer to have a smoother ride over all the cracks and pebbles in the city. They got a good mixture between sliding capabilities, grip and speed.

I'm always astonished how talented some of those street artists are.

Boats everywhere.

Swan lake, but as beautiful as they are, we are on a mission to move.

Its getting colder outside of Vienna as you can clearly see by the ice.

Got myself carried away, but I have 15 km to return and a lot of it uphills :)

I just love swans.

Back in Vienna, but stil a long way to the centre.

From the skyline in the background I got stil 5 km to go.

Looks like a scenery from A Westside Story.

Townhall, same sight, different means of transportation.

I'm glad to live in a country where woman can communicate their rights.

Endspurt, legs where a little shacky at the end, not so much from the length but pushing uphills really burns the standing quadriceps and the pushing calf.

The whole tour was 30 km/19 mi in length and took me slightly less than 3 hours at a relaxing pace. Since a couple of seasons I ride exclusively goofy stand, that means with the right leg in front, to be proficient on both sides and for symmetry. It's astonishing that my weaker side still didn't catch up although I don't ride regular stance at all anymore.

Big thanks @sweetsssj and @healthsquared, you give me the kick I need to pursue my beloved activities:)

Until next time,
Miron