In
skating terms it, simply enough, means being
pulled along, or towed, by a
car. Sounds
simple enough, but don't get any
allusions, this isn't like a towing a
trailer, this is a
dangerous (but rather fun)
maneuver, so you need to know what's
involved. In
layman's
terms, cars can be
dangerous, so can
skateboards, adding the two together
provides for an even more dangerous
experience. So, if you choose to follow this and stuff up you can
expect blood,
grazing and possibly
snapped bones.
Now you know the risks, here's what to do:
1. Make sure the car is stationary, and jump on your board. Stand behind it and find a comfortable place to grab on. The most obvious place would be the tow bar, but it may be too low or non-existant, so find somewhere else and take your time. Once it gets started you won't be able to change your mind.
2. Check your riding stance. If you are experienced (which you should be before even contemplating this) you may have a particular riding style which you are much at ease with. Use it if you think you will do better at it, if not, this is my advice: ensure you have both feet firmly on the bolts, not touching the nose or tail and not too close to the middle; point them both slightly forward.
3. As the car begins to take off steady yourself, then as it speeds up counter by crouching. This helps maintain balance and absorb shock (which you will have alot of). You now have three considerations for stance - uphill, flat or downhill. If going uphill, crouch as low as possible, lean back a little and pull yourself towards to car; on a flat take a medium crouch, stand straight and just hang on; going downhill take a slight crouch, lean forward and push yourself away from the car.
4. Now you're going to be balancing, but you need to know a few things. Skateboards really weren't designed with speeds of 80 km/h in mind, so you are now on a volatile thing. I have seen a skateboard snap clean in half from hitting a rock while towing, so you must know how to handle such disasters. If you hit a ditch or a rock, you will fall 80% of the time. 10% of the time you will fall without losing your grip. The other 10% you will keep your board and won't fall. In the first situation, cross your arms over your chest, extend your legs and hold them together tight and ROLL. In the second situation, pump your legs, run like you have never run in your life. Yes it will hurt, yes you will probably fall, but it is better than letting them smack the road and scrape. Finally, if you find yourself lucky enough to still be with board, regain your balance by pulling yourself close to the car and use it to stablise yourself, then return to your position.
5a. If you want to stop, its generally a recognised sign that you bang on the trunk/back window, but make sure your friends know beforehand. Its not recommended to actually remove your hands from your grip, but if you need to stop its better to let them know than to stick it out.
5b. As the car slows, counter by straightening up (but not too much). Make sure you don't jump off before everything has stopped, and that includes your legs that will probably shaking terribly from all the shock off the road, not to mention the adrenalin.
So there you have it, how to tow. Its not easy, its scary and the consequences are rather drastic, but it is quite fun, and you feel like a million bucks if you pull it off! Its also not a bad idea if you've run out of seats in a car (assuming the person is experienced enough).