Saltspring Slasher

Ever hear of the Saltspring Slasher? I hadn’t until last weekend. This was a longboard competition on Saltspring Island and we went to check it out. Wow, very fun. The corner we were watching from was a switchback just before the finish line. Lots of chances to see the riders make the corner, crash, pass each other, and just have a good time.

As they approached the corner they were going around 85 KM/H, and to slow down before the corner, they would do a speed check which involved putting a hand down on the pavement and sliding the board perpendicular to the road to scrub off speed. Their gloves all had a puck made of some hard plastic. Incredible.

Hay bales lined the corner and we soon saw why. Sometimes hey didn’t slow down enough and couldn’t make the corner. Rather than hit the dirt and slide into the trees, they would hit the bales in spectacular fashion.

I’d come back again next year to watch again. It really was quite spectacular. I loved their shuttle to the top too. They had pickups and as many guys would jump in the back as possible. Anyone else wanting a ride up held on to the truck and it would pull them up.

It was great to see that most of them had full leathers on, including the 9 year old kid who was racing. There were a couple guys who didn’t but they were the minority. It was also good to see the racing spirit between they guys too. We saw one guy make a mistake and take another guy out into the hay bales. As they jumped up laughing they shook hands and joked about it.

Check your calendars next year, and head to Saltspring if you can. It is worth the trip.

Here are some videos I took: