Boardworks teamed up with local Washington shred stick makers, Subsonic Skateboards, to bring the North West a hectic Chinese downhill style outlaw race. If you are unfamiliar with what "Chinese downhill means", it is when all of the riders in a race go down the hill at the same time. While the hill itself was not particularly gnarly, after about two practice runs the group quickly decided that racing all 30 participants at the same time was a little too spooky. The max speed of the hill is only about 35mph with sweeping corners that require minimal leaning. But despite the hill's manageable nature and lack of traffic due to its remote location, the width of the road and high concentration of riders made Chinese downhill sound a bit too sketchy.
That being said the event still aired on the sketchy side, with the riders split into two heats of 14 (two people dropped out after the first two practice runs due to injury). Each heat somewhere between two and four riders were eliminated until we were down to a six man final.
After many tight pack runs the podium was decided. Arman Jaberi placed 3rd, John Slugg placed second, and Subsonic's own Ryan Villa took the win with 1st place. After the racing was finished we quickly packed up cars and vans and went back to the shop for a barbecue and prizes.
Below are some photos depicting all the shenanigans and gnarlienes that went down provided by Dylan Pierce (aka @nwordie).
Riders preparing at the start line.
We had some Alaskan visitors for this local event! (in front)
Ryan Villa of Subsonic Skateboards was way too fast on that little Subsonic Spirit 30".
Sometimes you have to pay to play.
Boardworks owner, Johnny Lupo, enjoying a beer run after getting eliminated. The fun did not stop after racing stopped!
Another Boardworks rider, Austin James Harrel, also enjoying a beer run.
Arman Jaberi made a sweet comeback to racing with a 3rd place podium finish.
The final heat rounding the last corner.
Ryan Villa taking the win with John Slugg, Arman Jaberi, and Nick Thayer close behind.
Thanks again to the Subsonic crew (and Brad Dad) for supplying the race with a shuttle!