Screw the train, just Push!

Travis Davenport wrote this post for skatefurther.net after a few stoked sessions with the Paris longboarding crew.  Enjoy…

iv had a very unusual chance to travel with my longboard, for every stamp in my passport there is memory on a board to go with it. and with any luck a connection made to the people of our skate community worldwide.

I have no better example of this than Paris, France and the RiderZ association.  I make a couple of trips a year to this beautiful city and continue to appreciate how Longboarding has no home, no language barriers, and no prejudice.  This group of skaters i have met a few times now have blown away any awful stereotypes you know about Parisians not being hospitable or welcoming of foreigners.

I used to push many miles a day going to one appointment after the next traversing paris and wondering

“this city is ripe for Push Culture, where are the skaters” with every road being well paved and so much existing bike traffic and diverse elevation it was what kept me coming back to Paris. and I couldn’t figure out why i didn’t see more guys/girls pushing on the streets.

Then one day I had a message in my Youtube account. it was from a guy in Paris who had seen me on the street and read the Bustin stickers on the back of my helmet, actually recognized them from my videos which he discovered after i had been trying to contact riders in France trying to track down the scene.

he told me about the Paris “longskate” scene and how they had a weekly meeting at Trocadero every sunday night. so I was there the following sunday i was in town. I felt like I had found the pot of gold id been looking for. over 20 skaters came through that night and I made some exciting connections for the future of developing Push Culture into one unified, transferable entity.

Then something strange happened….

after the night was wrapping up most every single skater walked down into the Metro and road a train home.  I was shocked and alarmed, and despite all my stoke and excitement for the evening that was a disappointing  finish.

I became determined to bring the NYC “screw the train, just Push” attitude to longboarders of paris. You miss so much being in the underground, especially when you know the street side of that tunnel your in is perfectly paved, usually a one way and maybe a has a nice bike lane.  Iv had people from paris, even some of those local skaters, tell me i know my way around and across the city faster than they do. Which is only explained by “Screw the train, just Push!”  You can absorb your surroundings, fresh air, directions, and architecture (which paris has the most beautiful in the world) when you stay over ground.

I found my self coming back to paris for a short trip this last spring and contacted my friends Chris Vallender (of Here & There, Ici & La-skatefurther), Marvin Thine and Antoine Badin threw together and mini house party and epic night of skating. we stared West of La Defense and hit up the business center and garages there, then the distance push back to paris down Av. Charles De Gaulle that rides you straight in to the back side of Arch de Triumph, and from there all the way east through the city. we shredded champs Elysee at 2 oclock in the morning and continued until we hit the 19th arrondisement of Paris and could lay down to rest, finally.

Point being, La Defense is a suburb of paris to the north west. its few stops out on the suburban express train, about 7 miles (12K) from the center of paris.  we went there because thats where the garages are (including a 5 level corkscrew) and a friend alex has an apt. that served as the meet up spot and launch pad. it was a cool skate to the garages and then I realized most of them assumed we would grab that train back and skate some cool spots in paris. however thanks to some real LDP disciples like Chris, Marvin and myself we were able to convince every one to push it! it was a long late night of skating but I think a lot of guys, and even one girl, were able to skate further than they ever have before in one session. and that was only 20 k.

I couldn’t be happier. im so blessed to meet these stoked crews and skate. some of my favorite personalities i meet im not able to speak more than a few words with, but we communicate all day and connect more than the others just by stoke. bombing a hill inches away from another is worth a thousand words, no matter what language there in….its all understood.

this is my first post on Skate Further I look forward to sharing my adventures with ya’ll as I go, i heard wonderfull stories from my brother brian who was at skaiti about all you LDP guys and cant wait to push the distance with you one day!

thanks for having me,

Travis