I've got my stoke on. My first slalom race ever is coming up next weekend, and I may well finish DFL, but I'm starting to think I could actually do it.

I had a great big blast practicing today, in any case. I set up a course in the parking lot behind the Kiwanis Hall in Hudson while Ev and his pal skated the park nearby. It wasn't much of a hill, but I don't have much skill, so it was a good fit.

I set up the 'cones' (plastic Dixie cups) in a straight line at first, seven feet (my own, heel to toe) apart. After a few runs, I started scooting every other cone off to one side, a little bit at a time.

I started skateboarding in my latter elementary school years, in the late 1970s. I never really stopped, but I never really got any good, either. I can cruise around fine, but I can't ollie, ride vert or anything like that. I've always loved to carve, though… on a snowboard, motorcycle, ice skates or skateboard. It's addictive, the feeling of swinging through a turn at speed, balancing on the edge of traction. Movement forces one's mind into the moment, and one good turn flows into another.

Slalom is the essence of skateboarding - gliding, carving and pumping. Serious, competitive racers cut through the cones at speeds well in excess of 20 miles an hour. Speed and accuracy are the goals — you lose points for hitting cones, and disqualify for missing them, otherwise, the fastest time wins. I'm not fast. My main goal, first and foremost, is to not get hurt. Much as I enjoy slalom, a bad fall could really mess up my running.

The first time I moved the cups aside a bit, it had little effect. The second time, I added nearly a foot of offset in total, and started spraying Dixie cups all over the parking lot. After a few more tries, I started running them clean again… and soon it was time to nudge them out a little more. I found myself swinging my arms from side to side, to pump all the stronger. The faster I rode, the cleaner my run it seemed. Practicing on a gently sloped parking lot is, I know, nothing like the real thing. Still, I'm told the hill at Needham High isn't too steep… and I'm sure it will be fun.