Originally published at: http://esk8.news/esk8-squad-mountain-thunder-colorado-2019/
June 12th – 16th
You might be sitting there asking yourself “what the hell is this Electric Boarder “Thunder in the Mountains” I’ve heard about on the forums and who the hell is Lunasi?” Well first let me introduce myself to those in the community that don’t know me. My name is Corey Anderies and I run The Electric Boarder Colorado ride crew (a rag tag crew of my local skaters and friends) and am the Esk8 Squad ambassador for Colorado. I’ve been riding for a couple of years now. I used to beta test for Leiftech, I helped put together group rides and expand the early NYC eboarding crew, and I just like to ride!
Viva Las Vegas
This last year I attended (with many others) the Esk8 Squad Renegade Las Vegas 2018 event and really made some deep rooted connections within the community. Meeting the vendors in person and getting to speak to them put an actual face on the community that can’t be described. As a growing sport we’ve always been a small group and what was so refreshing in Las Vegas was to see how passionate we all were, no matter what kind of board we built or how we liked to ride it. We all just enjoyed riding together. I’ll write more about this in an adjacent article which I’ll link here as soon as I quit cuddling my cat and adjusting the screws on my board!
After our experience having a small run in with police last year during our race day out in the desert we decided we really wanted to take this event to the next level. I was gifted with the responsibility to put on another amazing event, and my goal is to do just that. In pursuit of that, we will be seeking permits and attempting to do things properly. In other words, my intention is for this to not be an outlaw event. If the cops show up this time, it will be because we called them, not because somebody else did.
We want an amalgam of different riders and boards from all walks of life coming out to have fun and maybe just show off their skills or builds. This event is to be welcoming to all boards and is about everyone just having fun. Commercial and main stream board owners are all invited to join in and ride alongside enthusiast and pro level builders, vendors, and other passionate members of the community.
One thing that makes last year’s event different than this one is that all the riders had to throw in more cash to come out. It was hard to invite an international crew with hotel costs and other expenses. I myself drove out from Colorado to Vegas and was short on funds with all the other money I spent on my boards. We want to change that this year and make it easy for all the riders to afford coming out and show even more variety of board builds and esk8 related companies. We’re even planning to provide some level of assistance with shipping boards from your house to the event and back so that you don’t have to worry about watt hours and plane regulations.
Another thing immediately discussed was making this a vendor driven event in order to cut the cost and increase the fun and protections for our riders. In Vegas alone we had 30-40 riders and it’s easy for something to go wrong, someone to get hurt, the cops to get called because we don’t have permits to be there, and all of that nonsense. We wanted to change that and give the boards a chance to show the community what we’re up to, and to show that we can do so responsibly.
By now you’re probably thinking “Corey shut up and tell me more about the event.” Fine.
The Tracks
Goals. Racing on these tracks is ours. Currently we’re working on our first goal. We need to reach a deposit amount in order to rent an amazing place called IMI Motorsports complex for 2 days. Once we’ve set that deposit we will be setting the final dates for the event and will be releasing more information about the event, but for now I’ll give you all a little teaser of what’s to come if we can make those goals.
Day One
We’re currently working on a few idea’s and looking at permits. This day will be mostly a meet, greet, ride and get to know each other day. More details coming soon.
Day Two
Day two would be our first race day at IMI motorsports complex. They have a mile long go-kart track and we would have food trucks out and would have an entire day to do all kinds of races including some wacky races (Mario Kart race)?
What makes this event unique is that were also offering all sponsors big and small the opportunity to have a few stock races with their boards. That means any company willing to sponsor the event will have their own special race for riders to have fun in a race on. The stock races are also fun because they aren’t just about who has the fastest board, even though I definitely want to be in that who has the fast board race!
I’ve heard a few people say “but I don’t want to race,” to that I say just come out and ride the track and have fun! Or grab a beer and watch everyone else. If it’s not about the speed for you, just enjoy coming out with a massive crew of people and ride the giant track for the enjoyment of it. Take a video of you carving it up!
Day Three
Day three is also at IMI motorsports complex and will be the off-road day. If you’re saying to me now, “but Corey I don’t have an off-road board!” then you should know that I currently don’t either. I am not sure if I will by then, either. What I do know is if we get as many people as we did last year you’ll still be able to race on someone else’s off road board. If we get really good sponsorship the idea is that you would be able to come and try the companies boards in the races even if you don’t own them. Keep in mind, races are for fun! Same idea as day one with stock board races and races for modded boards, plus some wacky races.
Day Four
Day four is the mountainside ride. Everyone has been requesting to ride a mountainside road so we’re looking into a spot to ride up (and for the brave to ride back down.) We will also be looking into some more easy going cruises on some mountainside paths later that day for the people that just want a relaxing cruise after the hill climb.
Day Five
Day five is the kind of optional day for people who may want to stay longer as some (if not most) people may have to leave by day four. This day is a cruise through some of Denver’s riverside paths and will be a fun day hopping around the city just grabbing food, drinks, charging, riding and having a good time together and celebrating what a fun event we’ve had.
After all the days we will be planning night activities and night rides as well so people can continue to have fun and enjoy the city throughout the night so don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to hit up those local breweries, dispensaries and restaurants because I know that’s all you dirty cats really came for (wink)!
We’ll be planning prizes and goodies and lots of other fun events for this year, so all of our riders will be rewarded for making the long trip out and supporting this amazing scene. For now, buckle up your seat belts because we’re trying to bring you the best friggin’ five days of your life. Except your wedding day of course because I know you’re going to tell me it was an amazing day even though your catering sucked!
This post is subject to updates as plans change, so check back often.
