The Cheapest Thrill

My first downhill longboarding experience was a short one. I had zero experience and my genius 14-year-old brain didn’t have the precognition to look up even the bare minimums about bombing hills before doing it, and Tenny met Asphalt quite quickly.

I have never thought of myself as an adrenaline junkie. Sure, I like riding rollercoasters and think to myself maybe one day I’ll put skydiving on my to-do list, but never defined myself as a “thrill seeker.”

That was before my first time going downhill on a longboard. Sure, I might have crashed, a lot, but that indescribable feeling of standing on the verge of total disaster the rush made me get back up again and again. Because when you’re in that moment, where the wind is pushing against your eyes so much it hurts, the air is howling against your ears, and your board is shaking way too much, there’s no other way to describe it other than it’s awesome.

The best part? At the end of the day, I’m longboarding. Down a random street five minutes from my house.

I talked about “getting your adventure on” with longboarding in a piece I did last week, and I stand by that this fact about longboarding is why it is one of the best hobbies: it brings adventure to your life.

But as much as we love a good thrill, it often comes with obstacles. Thrill is one of those things that isn’t really cheap or doesn’t require time. You have to drive to amusement parks, buy gear for skiing or snowboarding, and anything more extreme you’re going to have to shell out some money to experience that skydive or helicopter ride.

Longboarding is an activity that you can find yourself lost in without the monetary asterisks: it’s a cheap thrill. Sure, it might not be the life-or-death feeling you get from something like skydiving, but you can do it without the long car rides traffic.

I still wouldn’t say I consider myself as an adrenaline junkie. I’m just going to a hilly street I know that usually doesn’t have a lot of cars on it, but I can get the euphoria I get from a much crazier activity. It’s “easy” adrenaline, and there’s merit getting that unique feeling with so little bother.

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