I used to take the DC orange line metro to and from work every day. As can be expected, after a short while the routine became monotonous so I tricked out my commute by train surfing. While the thought was inspired by the Brazilian train surfing phenomenon of the late 80’s, I found riding inside the train to be much safer and just as entertaining.
How to Stand: You’ll first need to decide your footedness. For the sake of this blog, let’s assume you are regular footed. Stand in the middle of the train, preferably next to where the row of seats face both forwards and backwards. Your front will be facing the windows on the side of the train. Start with your feet spread apart so your weight is evenly distributed, knees relaxed and slightly bent, feet flat with your toes pointing toward the windows. Your arms should be relaxed at your side (this may not be an option, depending on the crowd).
Leaving the Station: Once you hear the “Doors Closing” call, you’ll need to change your stance. Straighten out your back-train leg and lock the knee, shift most of your weight over your front-train knee (which should be partially bent). Once you feel the train move forward, keep your feet planted but let the train push you so that your back-train knee is no longer locked but is bent and is absorbing your shifted weight. Move seamlessly from this stance to the next stance.
Moving slowly after leaving the Station: Slightly shift your weight over your back-train foot, but keep both knees bent and ready to flex. The train will sometimes stop and then accelerate in fits-and-starts, so be ready to shift your weight from back-train foot to front-train foot. This takes practice, and you’ll find that you need to train your legs to quickly shift from braking (front-train knee semi-locked) to accelerating (back-train knee semi-locked). Think of it as wherever your weight was just thrown, that knee should now be bent and the opposite knee now locked or semi-locked.
Accelerated Motion: Once the conductor has determined that the rails are clear, the train will begin to move quickly. Straighten out your front-train leg and lock that knee, shift most of your weight over your back-train knee (which should be partially bent). In this stance you’re pretty safe from falling, the only thing to be wary of are subtle shifts in forward velocity which may throw more weight over your back-train knee than expected. If that should happen, absorb your body’s weight by slightly crunching down on your back-train knee.
Arriving at the Station: Once the train begins to decelerate, go back to the same stance that you held when you were moving slowly after leaving the station. Remember to be alert but loose as the conductor will mess with your balance by shifting between braking and accelerating.
Stopping at the Station: When you are coming to a stop, quickly shift to the accelerated motion stance (front-train knee locked, back-train knee locked). As you feel the train stopping, flex your front-train knee so that it bends to absorb all of your forward moving weight. After a safe stop, you’re ready to do it all over again.
What isn’t factored in here?: Tilt variations in the train will throw your balance face-forward or backwards. You’ll have to get to know your route and memorize every turn so that you can anticipate these tilts. The best way to surf them is to shift your balance naturally.
Do you surf on the trains during your commute? Ever tried on the VRE, MARC, or other metro rail systems? What is your technique?
Be safe out there, but beat the week.
