Unhelpful Text Flatland How-To #4: Halflash/Ashtray

Hey everybody! Welcome to the fourth installment in my series of flatland how-to articles without any pictures or videos! The thing about these is that my responsibility is to be able to accurately describe this stuff with language people can understand; however, your responsibility is to be able to understand the words enough to be able to vividly imagine yourself doing this stuff while you read the descriptions.

I know, it's like work.

The halflash and the ashtray are really two separate tricks, if you go by old-school style naming conventions, and give a shit. Most people these days call an ashtray a halflash and are done with it. However, I'm going to offer full descriptions of both... and to do so, I'm also going to have to provide a short description of smoothies as well.

So this episode is a 3-for-1 deal!

[commercial](Coincidentally, I have this affiliate shop thing where you can get stuff which I deem worthy to include-- including an actual complete DK Opsis beginner flatland bike you can use to learn how to do this stuff on!)[/commercial]

Let's start off with your basic halflash. To begin with, your ride forward at a comfortable speed with your left foot on the front left peg, and your right foot on your back left peg. When you're ready, lean forward, push forward on your handlebars to unweight the back tire. When the back tire comes off the ground, lightly kick the frame with your back foot and swing your bars slightly to the same side to get your frame to swing out in front of you. Set the back tire on the ground in front of you, so that the back wheel is rolling "backward" and you're standing on the pegs behind it rolling "forward."

That's a halflash. In it's simplest, most basic form.

Now, to get out of that and get back to the plain riding position, you have to do a smoothie. Technically, a forward smoothie, since I'm being pedantic.

So, now you've just set the back tire down in front of your after a halflash. To do a smoothie and get out, lean forward a little and try to get the frame to start rolling back in the same path it took when you swung it out in front of you before. To do that, stay over the front wheel and steer the bars to the left slightly. When the back tire switches its rolling directions and starts coming toward you again, step on the top tube with your hanging foot. Then switch the other foot off the front peg and on to the pedal. You're out. Good job.

But wait... it took you a couple days to get this stuff down. That's okay, though, because that's the way flatland goes sometimes. If you're a beginner, these are all new movements and positions to get used to.

Now... now we get to what so many people today are callign a halflash, the Ashtray. For the record, it really doesn't matter what you call it.

Start off, again, rolling forward at a comfortable speed. Take your left foot straight back to the left rear peg, and then put your right foot on the front left peg. Yes, you're switch-footed for this one; it's a good way to get used to being switch-footed when it comes to some later tricks.

So... lean forward over the front wheel, lightly kick the back end around when it's off the ground, and swing the frame around in front of you. Keep your eye on the back peg when the frame comes around, because you're going to step on it with your left (hanging) foot when it gets close enough.

When you step on the back peg, the back tire's going to hit the ground in front of you. Get your balance and roll in this position: hold the grips with both hands, keep your right foot on the left front peg, keep your left foot on the right rear peg (which is, if you remember, in front of you and on the left). Lean the bike away from you a little bit and roll in a circle.

*waits several days for you to practice*

Okay, got that? Now, let's get you back out of it. Lean forward and put all your weight on the rear peg while you make your circle tighter. Your back wheel is going to want to do the same thing it did during the smoothie; change directions and go behind you. When it gets slightly over halfway to you, lift your right foot off of the front peg and step on the closest pedal.

That's it. Practice that and you should be good to go.

Next time around, I believe I'll talk about fork glides, fork wheelies, and backward steamrollers. Until then, look for some pictures or videos so that all that gobbledygook up there starts to make some sense.