Article From RollerSkating Magazine April 1980 Section 3. Marathon: From Seattle to San Diego with skates and sails by Jamie Budge T.M., T.C.,C.C. - Rollerbirds in flight. The opportunities to WindSkate came and went as radically as the changing coastline. Where the wind would blow perfectly across the highway for one section, it would be blocked by trees and mountains the next. It would be a perfect free ride down the highway next to open ocean for several miles, then the highway would turn inland away from the wind. Every day was a combination of uphill, downhill, speed sprints and WindSkating. At night we would find a campground or trailer park, shower, eat and sleep to be ready for the next day's roll. As we adjusted to our life of movements on the road, every day had a new focus of interest. One day we rendezvoused with my friend Michael Kevin Daly for champagne and sandwiches along the highway. Michael was one of the original photo-journalists to shoot pictures of WindSkating some four years before. The sun came out and the wind freshened in his honor, and w filmed a great WindSkate session along the sand dunes of central Oregon. We also earned pedestrian violations for drifting out of the bike lane and onto the open road while filming some roller-skating on the main highway. At the same time, we learned our rights as pedestrians to roller-skate so ling as we kept to the shoulder and stayed off the freeways.... a minor regulation that wouldn't cause us too much trouble till we got to California. On Saturday, October 6th we crossed the border into California. One hundred yards into the state, a highway patrol officer stopped us once again an clarified the freeway rules. Looking at the map, we realized that some of the alternative roads to the main freeways were pretty rugged. At dust on Saturday evening, Terry Marcellino skated a road known only as "D-8" It went practically straight up to a height of about 700 feet, then turned to gravel where sections had landslided down sheer cliffs to the ocean below. I had a very similar experience on Thomson's Hill, another gravel and tar mixture that went straight up and down. Fortunately most of the highway in California has smooth surfaces and sufficient shoulders, but is not formal freeway. By Sunday night we had covered many inland areas of mountains and redwood forests. It was early Monday morning when we reached the summit of a long mountain road that would drop 20 miles downhill back to the ocean and California Highway 1. The road wound like a roller coaster as it disappeared into the darkness, in the evening. Colin jumped out of the van and shot away in a rush of speed that made it impossible to keep up with him in the van. He could turn corners faster on 8 wheels faster than I could on 4 powered by the miracle of internal combustion ... which was alright, except that he would out-distance the headlights and be skating in total darkness at 20 to 30 miles per hour around radical curves. This was obviously undesirable. He stopped for flashlight to give him some vision when he left me behind. using a combination of T-stops to slow himself downi (dragging one skate sideways and the added braking power of a heal stop (which could bring him to a total stop in a short distance), there was adequate control. However, the overall impression was that of a downhill ski racer on a radical bobsled run in darkness, luckily, Colin reached the bottom without mishap and in good spirits. Terry and Terry hold hands for added stability on a downhill run along the North Pacific Coast. Monday and Tuesday were charted for our final approach into San Francisco. It was still a long distance away, but our conditioning was building up to greater speeds and endurance. Weather permitting, we should have no problem. It is interesting to note, however, that in Washington and Oregon it rains 17 out of 31 days in October. We had been lucky enough to have missed any rain the entire trip ... until Monday afternoon just north of Jason, California, that is. It sprinkled for a while, then came down in torrents - complete with thunder and lightning. We sat in a highway cafe, eating dinner and waiting for the storm to pass. Within just a few hours we were able to continue our journey on damp highways with a spectacular lightning show just a little too close for comfort. We continued while making wild speculations about the effectiveness of roller skates as lightning rods. We were glad we didn't have metal wheels! We reached San Francisco in time for a TV news WindSkate demonstration that we had scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. In unusually light winds for that part of the Bay area, we skirted back and forth along the Promenade with the Pacific Ocean and world famous Chart House restaurant in the background. Although we had managed just a few hours to spare for sightseeing in the city, we were all anxious to be on our way after the demo. By dark, we were well out of the city and camping out at a facility in Half Moon Bay. By now, the long-distant prospect of getting home was becoming a close reality. In the morning, we flew down the highway in such a hurry that we missed another TV demonstration that could have been scheduled in Santa Cruz. Colin was energized and had put in a record-breaking 29 miles by the time we were in the Salinas Valley. The strong Pacific sea breezes were blowing in from the ocean, and many of the inland roads through the local agriculture offered unobstructed WindSkating. With these prevailing winds, speeds of 23 to 30 miles per hour would be easily attainable with the WindSkates. However, with the road jagging at angles up-wind or down-wind, the best speed directions were not always possible. The average highway WindSkate speed was closer to 10 to 15 mph. However, this effortless speed could make a lot of difference of some otherwise arduous skating. By late afternoon we had reached Monterey Bay. The winds were moderate, but it was still an easy sail along the smooth scenic route that lined the bay. We sailed by long lines of waves on the horizon as surfers took advantage of another kind of ride in the background. Sunset caught us on the Seventeen Mile Drive around Monterey Peninsula with the bright orange globe sinking into a gray fog bank. The wind puffed and died and left us unassisted as we stared down the long highway. Today had represented a real accomplishment: Half Moon Bay to Monterey Peninsula, with some real wind power assist. But tomorrow would be the big challenge: Carmel to Morro Bay, over the mountainous sea cliffs of Big Sur. The chances of the wind helping out would be minimal, due to the high cliffs that deflect wind upwards and the narrow winding roads that make it a traffic hazard. Leaving Carmel, I was first off early in the morning. It was mostly a long and fairly speedy climb and then a drop into Big Sur. The weather had presented us with it's photogenic best; blue skies, bright sun and vibrant scenery. I climbed a steep upgrade out of Big Sur... to the point of exhaustion and broken blisters. At the summit I turned it over to Terry and Terry, our uphill and downhill enthusiasts. They took the steep down grades in stride at easy paces of 20 to 25 miles per hour. Side skating was a good stable speed position, and sometimes they could hold hands facing each other for extra stability. Heel stops and T-stops were used when braking was necessary. Just when the thrill of the long downhill race was feeling like routine, it would be time for another long ascent to the next summit. At the most radical peak, they reached a height of almost 1,000 feet with a sheer drop to the ocean. The last long downhill ran radical curves down to the flatlands of the San Simeon area below. Once again we found that the downhill roller skaters were more adept at handling the curves than was the van. Terry and Terry outdistanced us on the long descent. On the flatlands below, we did some WindSkating in the diminishing winds of dusk. It was very beautiful along that particular stretch of highway, but short lived. Colin took over with one of his speed sprints across the low rolling hills and completed the distance to Morro Bay. Another landmark had been reached in our homeward trek. In the enthusiasm to get home, Terry Caccia had accumulated a total of 40 miles that day over some of the most radical terrain of the tour. The rest had been divided somewhat equally among us for about 102 miles total. Hometown Venice was just two days away. When the crew awoke the next morning, we found a note from Terry Caccia explaining that he had started skating at 6:30 a.m. We rushed through breakfast and finally caught up with him just north of Guadalupe, some 30 miles from Morro Bay. The rest of the day was somewhat uneventful as we skated through the rough back highways near Lompoc. By ten o'clock on Friday evening we had reached Santa Barbara. Saturday morning we headed down the coast, making good time until reaching the Ventura/Port Hueneme area. Where the winds had always been of assistance to us on the trip, we found out how much resistance they could be when they were blowing against you. A strong head wind was as bad as a steep uphill. The setback was but a minor delay. Rounding the tip of Point Mugu realigned us with the wind and it was a clean skate south. The hills and highway of Malibu vanished in the enthusiasm of getting home. By 8 p.m. I sat in the van a block away and watched three skate missiles -- Terry Caccia, Terry Marcellino and Colin Courtman fire down the Santa Monica bike path. You would never skate that fast down the path unless you were coming from 1,200 miles away! Minutes later we were all at Road Skates in Venice. In the thrill of getting home, it seemed like the tour was over. But tomorrow we had to leave for San Diego! On Sunday we had a reception at Road Skates and Terry Caccia gave a windless WindSkate demonstration in the rink area. An hour later, the real wind came up and we continued the tour. Along the bike path through Playa Del Rey is one of the best-groomed WindSkate runs in Southern California. The bike trail weaves across the sand and down the Promenade in an uninterrupted as it covers the 15 miles to Redondo Beach. The winds were perfect, the skies were brilliant and the path was nearly empty in the Fall weather. The backlit sails looked like Christmas tree bulbs as they glowed against the dark beige sands in the background. The crew moved down the path in a tight regatta, occasionally breaking free in an adjoining parking lot for a few moments of freestyle sailing. Marina Del Rev appeared in the background, but the WindSkaters were the only sailing devices that didn't leave the marina by water. By El Segundo, the power plant appeared, adding an ominous edifice that seemed monstrous in comparison to the mini sailors passing. At Manhattan, the bikepath turned into the beach front Promenade, and the WindSkaters continued south. On Monday morning, it felt just like going back to work when we put on our skates. It was hard not to end the tour at home and then head out again. By afternoon, enthusiasm was returning when Terry Caccia and Colin speed sprinted across Camp Pendleton on a bike trail that was off-limits to the van. We waited in Oceanside for them to exit from the Marine Base. We continued to Cardiff by the Sea, just a few hours from San Diego. Tomorrow was the end of the tour. The skate into Mission Beach (San Diego) was something of a fast-paced leisurely stroll. Only the up-grade to La Jolla reminded us of the agonies and endurance required of our marathon. And the downhill to the beach refreshed our enthusiasm for the free ride. We arrived at 1 p.m., three and half hours ahead of our scheduled meeting with reporters from various stations and newspapers. We assigned ourselves to important tasks such as finding chocolate covered bananas to toast our accomplishment. By mid-afternoon, the wind gave us a breezy acknowledgement and we set out the sails for a few quick runs up and down the Promenade. The photographers and reporters appeared and we recounted our adventure in grande finale form. We had covered some 1,440 miles in 17 days of skating as much as 18 hours at a time, non stop as a relay team. We had done a lot of roller skating and also demonstrated the versatility of WindSkating in some of the most unexpected environments. It is a safe bet that it will be a long time before a farmer in Salinas sees any skaters sail by his celery field again. And very few Oregon highway patrolmen will give citations for pedestrians sailing in the wrong lane of the Coast Highway. The Seattle to San Diego WindSkate Marathon certainly did bring to the public attention some unique methods of crossing the country ! In the weeks that followed the marathon, public awareness of WindSkating seemed greatly increased. WindSkates appeared in "Skatetown, U.S.A." and "Roller Boogie," two motion pictures about roller skating. WindSkaters appeared exclusively in a television commercial for Superior Beer of Mexico. "California Fever" scheduled some WindSkating for their television series. Terry Caccia and I put on five days of demonstrations at the Exotic Sports Expo in Los Angeles. The requests for WindSkating seem unending. But best of all, more people want to try WindSkating. Our weekly trips to El Mirage are packed with enthusiasts, and WindSkates are always in demand on the parking lots and bike paths of Venice and Santa Monica. In other parts of the world, WindSkates are used to cross the Sahara Desert or to sail down the beaches of France. In the northeastern United States, a skate sailing association hosts a membership of 500 ice skaters who spend the winters sailing frozen lakes and rivers in a form of WindSkating that dates back to the 17th century when the Dutch sailed the frozen canals of Holland. In other applications, WindSkates work on skateboards with ice blades and on flat snow with either cross-country or downhill skis. WindSkating is available on salt flats, wet sand, hard snow, ice or Interstate highways. For the everyday outdoor roller skater, WindSkating is as available as the next windy day. End of Section 3 End of Article
For More Information Contact: Windskate Santa Monica P.O. Box 3081 Tel: 310.453.4808 FAX: 310.829.9511 email: windskate@windskate.com