RoeRacing Mermaid Gen 1
RoeRacing Mermaid Gen 1
Link to Youtube: Longboarding the STP 2015
When RoeRacing went out of business in ~2018, I bought the remaining stock from the factory. RoeRacing is near and dear to my heart. Roe had the "special sauce" of being run by a slalom legend, Gareth Roe, and the decks were manufactured by a husband / wife team who were ex K2 ski employees. When K2 went out of business on Vashon Island, Roe bought and moved much of the specialized race ski tooling over to their own warehouse (which happened to be just a few blocks away also on Vashon Island). The husband / wife team primarily made high end ski core for boutique race ski manufacturers all over the globe, but they made the Roe decks entirely in house.
I've skated ~6 ultraskates, 4 STP's, 2 RSVP's, 1 P2P, and 1 A2A on Roe decks, as well as countless laps of Greenlake, Burke Gilman and Alki path thru the years. The Gen 1 Mermaid is a great balance of everything that is possible in a longboard. While I swear by decks like the Alki and Olo for flatland training, the Roe Mermaid is the choice for when the hills are steep, or you are just looking for the most advanced, waterproof construction.
Ambidextrous training -
Balanced, ergonomic athletic training on a skateboard. It is important to work long-term to open up the other side of your body to board sports as soon as you feel you can, even if this slows down your speed. For training goofy (or regular) stance, pads and slower than normal cruising speeds are strongly encouraged. To begin pushing with the other side of the body, try pushing uphill. Ambidextrous propulsion and training on a longboard is a healthy, safe, fun, and fulfilling sport.
Notable Ambidextrous Rides
75 miles Athens to Atlanta 2023 50% goofy stance
65 miles Athens to Atlanta 2022 50% goofy stance (1st longboarder invited to A2A)
204 miles STP 2018 50% goofy and then with no boardside bushing for last half of day 2.
204 miles STP 2017 on a bicycle
204 miles RSVP 2016 50% goofy
206 Miles STP 2016 50% goofy
209 miles - Ultraskate 2016 - 50% goofy stance (plus several more ultraskates in Miami and Netherlands over the years)
206 miles - RSVP 2015 - 70% goofy stance (2nd longboarder to complete RSVP)
204 miles - Seattle To Portland 2015 - 50% goofy stance (3rd longboarder to complete STP)
30 miles Passport 2 Pain 2014 - 55% goofy stance (1st longboarder invited to P2P)