The Art of Riding Doubles
By Marcus Knox
Doubles riding is one of the most fun things to do on a wakeskate. If you can ride, why not share the experience with a friend? Here are a couple of things you can do to make your next doubles experience more fun/easy.
Category Uno: Helpful Stuff
1. Try and ride with somebody with opposite footing as you.
Not a big deal, but it is a lot more fun when you have one side of the wake to yourself, and you can easily see your buddy throwing whatever he/she decides to throw.
2. Try to find a competent driver. Pretty self-explanatory. If your next-door neighbor can barely drive you, he probably can’t pull two people.
3. Turn arounds. What I found is the fastest way to get back up after a doubles fall is for the person who didn’t fall to hang on. When the boat turns around to pick up the rider, edge wayyyyyyy out, in slingshot mode. This prevents the ropes from becoming tangled, and from you getting in the person who fell’s way when they are trying to get up.
4. Don’t be a trick hog. Your buddy didn’t come out to ride doubles with you to watch you try a dozen kickflips in a row and fall. Let the trickage be fun and equal. Doubles sets shouldn’t necessarily be progressive, just fun. Don’t be trying to land your next flip trick, its not cool and your partner is not going to appreciate it.
5. Encouragement! Encourage your partner to try something if he/she seems reluctant to fall. One of the cool things about doubles is you get to pep talk your buddy while your riding!
Category Dos: Fun Stuff
1. Slaysh/Tackle Wars. Spray the stew out of each other. Slaysh the wake right into your opponents face. Grab his/her arm and apply a swift yank. Pull his/her legs out from under her. Fight!!!!!! It’s fun.
2. High fives. High fives. Foot fives. Crossovers. All sorts of stuff with this one.
3. Handle switches. Tough to perfect, but worth it. Start by passing the handle without letting go, hand in hand. Eventually you can get to the point where you can pull hard then pass your handle through the air, catching your buddies. Dangerous, but fun.
4. Simultaneous tricks. Simultaneous tricks look sick. Double shuvs. Double 180’s. Double whatever, there is just nothing like the feeling of stomping a trick, looking across the wake at someone to see if they landed it, and seeing them giving you the same look. That’s a double grin for sure.
MOST IMPORTANT RULE!!!
None of this matters if it isn’t fun. Just do what you have fun doing, but if you haven’t ridden doubles, I would highly recommend you give it a shot. It just might be the most fun you have had on a wakeskate in a long time.
