Southern Albuquerque, near the airport, University Avenue sweeps down and up through the Tijeras Arroyo, its half mile hills bordered with giant mosaic rattlesnakes. For blading, it’s too steep both ways –up and down. On my way down the northbound descent, braking and looking back, a car showed up behind me, so I braked and climbed on to the shoulder landscape area.
The late model Audi slowed and stopped, effectively blocking the 1-1/2 lane roadway. At first it looked like my friend John Badal in his spaceship Audi. The window came down and the guy said something like ‘You think you own the road, don’t you’ .
“What?” I looked to the right and started running. A Honda CRX was bearing down on him at 50 mph. The kid braked and downshifted, straddled the curb where I had been standing, then bumped back onto the road and came to a stop, plastic pieces hanging off his car.
He got out to inspect the damage and the Audi guy just took off.

skate mesa del sol