Hey y’all, Dirk here again with some random jargon for you to digest.
Today I’m going to write about 10 things I find are must-haves for a top quality shredfest with your Freebording buds. As someone who has had his fair share of Freebord trips at this point, I feel fairly confident that I have some tips for must-haves to ensure a good time.
10. Extra socks – If any of you have had the displeasure of having me take my shoes off after a long day (or even worse, multiple days..), you know the dirk-foot-funk be strong. I highly suggest bringing extra socks or take a page from Mike Hoppe and buy new socks on the trip. Your shred-mates will thank you for it.
9. “Don’t forget to bring a Towel” – This ties in slightly with the socks thing as a hygiene item. Showers are dope in any form, be it a nice enough person to let you use a real shower, to the gas station bathroom, or even a moist- towelette/baby wipe rub down. Those are actually a major go-to for me these days and almost deserve to be their own list item. Just try not to get addicted to them…But you get the picture.
8. Cell phone charger(s) – Obviously a must…You can’t be swipping through Tinder (or whatever the kids are using these days) in the areas you’re chillin’ post-shred if your phone’s dead!….Nah, but seriously, it’s good to have a charged phone for an infinite amount of reasons. Be it something as simple as being left somewhere stranded, or maybe trolling the map for a sick new hill. Probably a good note to find a way to label it as your own.. if I had a nickel for every time someone was like “Wait isn’t that my iPhone cord?”
7. Comfort items – Sometimes shred trips can be stressful.. For a couple years, every time I would drive from my quiet little mountain town down to the Bay Area, (especially San Francisco), I would damn near have a panic attack. Too many people jammed into one city if you ask me! But anyway, in those somewhat uncomfortable situations, it’s good to have items that keep you sane. For me, as many of you could probably guess, I always have a Quartz Crystal or two I’ve unearthed with me.
6. Headphones – Now, I know plenty of people don’t use head phones while riding, but I myself am a huge advocate of one ear bud (for safety reasons). That being said, I really do enjoy having tunes while I ride.
5. Spare board parts – You never know when going hard will catch up with your equipment. Many of us carry backpacks or bags full of everything you would need to re-build a whole new board or two. For example, Bently likes to lug around a bowling ball bag full of wheels.. but he’s obviously not a golfer.
4. Snacks – I get a mean hunger on after a good shred. I always carry at least some emergency granola just in case we aren’t in a position to stop and get real food.
3. Cash – It is always good to carry a little bit of cash… but not too much. Never know when a crazy bum might get bold in the city. But it could come in handy for many reasons even in a world where most places take cards.
2. Friends – I’m a firm believer that good times are best spent with good people! Find a crew that you vibe with and hit the road together, the rest will work itself out. I’ve made some of my best life long homies on these trips. Nothing brings people together quite like a good shred-bonding activity.
1. WATER! – I don’t care who you, we are all mostly water and when we are rippin’ you’re losing it quickly! Especially in the mid-west and western United States, where I’ve been living for quite awhile. Almost no humidity means you’ll dry out like a old sponge quicker than a mouse when the lights turn on.
Hope this list was informative in some way or another. What do you think would be a Shred trip must-have? Comment yours below! Thanks for reading and y’all come back now, ya hear!
