Skateboarding

Last weekend I was riding my motorcycle up Cypress bowl road. For those who don't know this road, it is a fairly narrow, twisty mountain road heading up to a ski hill. It has a 60 km/h speed limit, which is almost reasonable given the hairpin switchback turns and general twistiness of it.

I was heading up the mountain at around 59.9 km/h (of course), when I drove past two people heading downhill at what appeared to be well more than my speed, on skateboards. They were wearing full motorcycling leathers and a full-face helmet (in fact, they may have been better protected against road rash than I was), but still: they were going well over the speed limit on a twisty mountain road, on a skateboard. That is to say, on two skateboards (one each).

I couldn't help but think about the 180-degree switchback which I had needed to slow down to about 35 or so to get around, and about the fairly small parking area and viewpoint on the outside of the switchback, and what I presume was sheer cliffs at the end of the parking lot.

I continued on my way up (I couldn't safely turn around, even if I had turned on a dime, I wasn't about to catch up, and what would I have done had I caught up anyway?), then turned around. On the way back down (also at 59.9 km/h, of course), I noticed both of them walking around in the parking area, so I guess my concern was misplaced.

Needless to say, I didn't pass anyone holding up traffic, but it is a fairly deserted road (I think I saw only four or five other vehicles on the road that trip).