Since I've been longboarding, I've found out that the best hills in Fort Collins are in the hills around the reservoir. They're really not hard to find up there. The only thing I have to say about them is be careful. It's mostly rough pavement and long hills with sudden tight turns that seem to almost corkscrew down the hill. I've gotten the fastest I've ever been up there and it's quite buck!
         As far as my favorite hill in town; that goes to a hill that I believe is pretty underground, along the grounds of longboarding. At the Hummel Lane and Front Nine Drive crossing, off of South Lemay Avenue, is  where you'll find two buck hills. They're short but they make up for it in steepness.
        Hummel Lane is more laid back than Front Nine. It starts off at a decent slope with a beautiful backdrop of the front range in your view. It turns left as it flattens out but you should be carrying enough speed to get that adrenaline rush. Then the road comes to a "T" at the bottom perpendicular to Front Nine. I try to make wide "S's" towards the bottom and I take the sharp right turn onto Front Nine by carving to the right side of Hummel while turning onto Front Nine which ends with a cul-de-sac/court.
       Front Nine Drive is a much steeper hill. It's more of a thrill ride than a hill. Front Nine does have a slight curve to the right but it feels more like straight down. This hill is a beast of a neighborhood hill. Just be careful at the bottom. There tends to be debris in vital points of the cul-de-sac if you prefer curving around the perimeter of the the cul-de-sac like I do. I've lost a chunk of my right knee to the coping of the street drain at the bottom after going down Front Nine. I also got a buckin' concussion.
Should have been wearing a helmet.
                                                                    - BUCKY

      When the snow stops, the rain pours, then the sun shines. Leaves and flowers bloom from the tree branches; and that yellow dead grass grows green and soft. Soft enough to fall in! During Colorado's warm season, Bucky bucks out his longboard and finds the steepest, smoothest, and (don't forget) safest hills. Living in Fort Collins, I can't speak for the whole state, but Fort Collins has got some gnarly hills. I'll be talking longboarding, skateboarding, and maybe mountain biking and hiking later in the season. For now, longboarding is going to be my topic of discussion.
        I've owned several boards. My board right now, is a Loaded Flex 2 on Gull Wing trucks with yellow Orangatang Stimulus wheels. I'll admit I'm a much much better skier than a longboarder. I can take those steep hills and carve my way down; rarely going over 30 mph.
        The things I see these guys do longboards just leaves me stunned. They cruise down hillsides either heading straight down or power sliding the BUCK out of those boards going at speeds and sometimes exceeding 40 maybe 50 mph! WOOO GETTIN BUCK!
                      
                                                                 -BUCKY
                                                                         
Here's some buck Colorado Longboarding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkDznmi5V78

        Before I switch into spring/summer Colorado outdoor recreation, I want to go over the importance of safety. The Colorado experience is quite amazing and epic, but nonetheless our state is dangerous if you don't know what the risks are. My top priority is hydration when I'm engaged in strenuous activity.
       Colorado is a mile above sea level, even in its flat amber plains. That means you're losing TWICE the amount of essential water from your body than at sea level. This is because the air pressure and humidity are much lower at high altitude; which means moisture evaporates quickly. Signs of dehydration include lack of perspiration, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, headache, and fatigue.
        I'll be further elaborating on safety later. Here's a preview of what my next posts will consist of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYY8AylpPg&feature=endscreen&NR=1

                                                                        - BUCKY

Bucky here!

Spring is in the air! Flowers are blooming on this beautiful, rainy, spring day! Sorry I haven't been posting much. I was only able to ski several more times this season due to the conditions. Bucky likes the powder to at least be knee deep. If you guys didn't hear, Steamboat Springs got 5 feet of snow one day a while back this season. I missed it but I heard you needed a snorkel to get down the mountain. Now that's buck! My last ski trip was to Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort; unfortunately, on my second run I got kicked off the mountain for coming out of the Ambassador's Glade  and jumping the high wall onto the Demon trail. To my dismay I jumped over a ski patrolman. The bastard chased me down with a whistle. I couldn't help myself from thinking I was being chased by Inspector Jacques Clouseau from Pink Panther, which was quite comical to me. It was quite unlucky. I could of just gotten a warning but I felt disrespected by the patrolman when he told me I was skiing "out of control" and Bucky got a little too buck!  How's that for your last day on skis for the season.
      That was my first time visiting Purgatory and possibly the last. Next season I'll be stationed in Gunnison, CO instead of Fort Collins, CO, so I'll have the choice of Crested Butte or Monarch resort. I find that exciting. I know Crested Butte is beautiful western resort with steep terrain that Bucky will love. I don't know much about Monarch Mountain. I've heard it gets a lot  snow and I've heard it blows. I'm excited to find out.
             
                                                                             -BUCKY