I bought a mountainboard.
It came with a kite, which meant I could fly the kite and drag myself up and down a big lawn, if I could find one. So I did that, all well and good.

Then I thought, hey, this is like a snowboard, but one I can use in Britain, in the summer! Forgetting completely that I hadn't, and haven't, ever snowboarded, and ignoring that this was about 15 years after my last go on a skateboard, I launched myself down Parliament Hill, on Bank Holiday Monday one August.

Unfortunately, there were some people sat to my left, and my right, so when it was time to slow down, I didn't have many options. I took one foot off the board, and put it on the floor to help me stop. It was the front foot, foolishly, so it was very effective in slowing me down, but not for maintaining the integrity of my ankle. It hurt, a lot.

In short, I took up a dangerous sport in a stupid location with no preparation or transferable skills, and ended up running over my own leg.

My ankle swelled up to the size of a grapefruit overnight. I couldn't put any weight on it for a week, and it took a month to go back down again. If you decide to montainboard, go to a quiet hill, or even a proper centre, and most importantly, don't run yourself over. Never run yourself over, in anything. It hurts.
(sabre-tooth monkey, Thu 29 Jul 2010, 22:13, 2 replies)

I always preferred kiteboarding to mountainboarding
You've got the pull to brace against when you want to slide to a stop, and you tend to do it on the flat.
( MatJ LOOK, Thu 29 Jul 2010, 22:39, closed)

I'm sure Brian Harvey would concur

( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Fri 30 Jul 2010, 17:00, closed)