Longboarding from Midd to Burlington, Just to Start

It starts off as a tick in your head: ‘We should definitely do this one day, guys.’ One day — maybe when we’re older, maybe when the circumstances are different and everything seems more nearby. This — an adventure you envision but know you will probably, despite your extreme excitement at the time, never do.

For Stephan Köenigsberger ’16, there was never an implied maybe. After Köenigsberger was inspired by a series of longboarding videos, on Wednesday, Sept. 3, he set out on his longboard and departed from Middlebury for the 5.5 hour trip to Burlington.

“People [told] me I [was] not going to do it, but I love proving people wrong,” said Köenigsberger. “As soon as I got there it hit home. My friends were like whaaaaat?”

When I had the opportunity to sit down with Köenigsberger, he brought his board with him, complete with new purple wheels he had bought at a skate shop during his trip to Burlington. Köenigsberger received a longboard from his grandfather as a high school graduation present and proceeded to master it on streets of his hometown, New York City.

When asked about his passion for skateboarding, Köenigsberger replied, “I couldn’t exactly tell you why. It’s a natural thing. I’m so happy when I step on it,” Köenigsberger said. “You’re not flying, you’re rolling, but you feel like you’re off the ground floating along, and the wind is in your face.”

Bringing only his longboard gear, a GoPro, and a backpack with six bottles of water, four sandwiches, and an apple, Köenigsberger skated through 35 miles of paved back-roads and strips of highway to make his way to Burlington at speeds as high as 45mph.

With no headphones or GPS, Königsberger demonstrated how to unplug in an age when getting from point A to point B is far from independent.

“I wrote down turn at this road, turn at this road, and I stopped a lot of times to ask for directions. It’s sweet to have a destination remembered by directions. If Route 7 ever closed, I’d be like, I got you,” Köenigsberger said. “I just wanted to be there. I didn’t bring headphones on purpose. I was looking around all the time, it was the most beautiful day.”

For Königsberger, traveling alone is often overlooked. “I loved going by myself. You get to know yourself better.”

Königsberger’s journey proved that two of the many great things about adventures are their spontaneity and unpredictability. Not only did Köenigsberger have the opportunity to converse with “Joe,” a Vermont garbage disposal man whom he met during the trip, but after Köenigsberger arrived at Church Street, Burlington, he ran into a friend and a New York Times photographer. After asking a girl to take a picture on his phone that disappointingly turned out to be only of his feet, Köenigsberger was able to get a real photograph of him holding up his longboard.

Köenigsberger epitomizes the need for a persistent positive attitude. “In the universe, awesome attracts awesome,” Köenigsberger said. “If you do things you like, a lot of good things will happen along the way of doing those things.”

A Geology major, Köenigsberger compared his love for longboarding to his love for rocks. Mentioning a massive rock collection, he explained that “I couldn’t exactly tell you why I like rocks either.” He was able to stop and look at some particularly cool ones during his trip.

Köenigsberger’s plans for future longboarding pursuits don’t stop with Burlington: Montreal, Toronto, New York City and even north to south Germany are all potential destinations for the near future.

Montreal could even be happening this coming fall break, but this time Köenigsberger may be joined by two other friends, verifying longboarding’s growing popularity as a campus and group activity. In fact, according to USA Today College, in 2011 a number of student newspaper reports across the nation confirmed longboarding as a frequently used mode of transportation, due mainly to its high speeds, smoothness, and gliding ability, traits that give it an edge over traditional skateboarding.

Königsberger summarizes his experiences so far by saying, “This is possibly the most awesome adventure I’ve ever done. I just want to do ones bigger and better”.

In the meantime, keep a look out for an upcoming video of edited GoPro clips from Köenigsberger’s trip to Burlington. And if you see a guy flying past you on your way to class on a longboard with purple wheels — it is probably Köenigsberger, chasing adventure.