You probably hear it before you see it. The noise gets just loud enough so that you're able to dodge out of the way before you're run over. The ominous rumbling you heard, however, was just the combination of wheels on pavement and poorly-oiled trucks.
The guy (or more often, girl) on the longboard gives you a sheepish smile before speeding on to Druckenmiller, arriving just as the chapel bells chime eight, a full three minutes before you.
Although some might make the connection with surfing and skateboarding and assume that longboards are mostly used on the West Coast, longboards (basically longer versions of skateboards with wider wheels) are gaining popularity in beach communities on both coasts?where there are long, flat boardwalks?and among those who just want to use their boards to cruise or as a mode of transportation. But how are they popular at tiny, freezing Bowdoin?
Most Bowdoin students who own longboards, which are faster and more stable than their smaller counterparts, use them as a means of transportation, an efficient vehicle to cruise the smooth, flat sidewalks and paths of the Bowdoin campus, or to venture to town.
"People would assume that it's a West Coast thing but a lot more people do it for convenience reasons and getting around," said longboarder Nick Turner '07.
Some, however, are disappointed by the campus's lack of hills. The origin of longboarding, in fact, is as that of an extreme sport. It is even featured in the X-Games, where competitors race down hills to reach high speeds.
"You need hills for it to be an extreme sport," said Kerry O'Connor '06, " but there are no extreme longboarders in Brunswick."
Longboarders have their share of hair-raising stories. O'Connor described how, one night, a friend attempted to descend a Rocky Mountain pass on a longboard at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Turner's father was also a longboarder. His dad's friends would clock his speeds as he boarded down hills, which sometimes measured up to 40 mph.
Longboards are apparently easy to learn to ride if one wants to use them solely as a mode of transportation. Another perk is that they are very low-maintenance, only requiring their wheels to be greased every two weeks.
Jess McGreehan '08 suggests riding every day to get used to the traditional stances?"goofy foot" and "normal foot"?and to acquire the balance that is essential in longboarding.
And if going down hills is your thing, McGreehan has a tip to help you avoid the worst thing that can happen to a longboarder: "Speedwobbling. [That's] what happens when your board starts to spazz. Basically it's wobbling caused by speeding down hills."
In that case, what one should do is "carve," or make long drawn-out, skier-like turns down the hill on your board.
But according to McGreehan, if you just want to go to Hannaford's, "Ride it every day for two weeks and you'll be good to get around, as long as the squirrels don't run in front of you."