Hundreds of skateboarders are bombing down Tepusquet Road this weekend for the annual Tepe and Tacos downhill skateboarding race and freeride, while also sharing meals and camping at the base of the run in the annual event.
Tepe and Tacos, which is officially recognized by USA Skateboarding, has attracted 240 skateboarders, street lugers and at least one roller blader, from around the world to the Santa Maria Valley back road. Riders arrived Thursday and will stay through Sunday.
Each run takes about 20 minutes through the most winding, switchback-filled section of Tepusquet Road, roughly five miles south of Highway 166. At the bottom of the run, a taco truck awaits riders.
“It’s a really cool event, with a great community vibe,” said Stephen Keimach, who drove from Montana. “There’s all sorts of people you’ve never met, but when you’ve both survived a run together, it really brings you together.”
Held annually since 2018, excluding 2020, the event is one of only a handful of fully sanctioned downhill events in the area. Three-time International Downhill Federation World Champion Keven Reimer, who currently lives in Santa Barbara, organizes the event. He estimates that he spends the better part of six months putting together permits with the county and sorting out the logistics.
“I’ve been in downhill professionally for 20 years. I’ve been lucky to have guys in the past organize these kind of events for me, so as my time as a pro is sunsetting, it’s been important for me to pass that on,” he said.
For the county to approve the event, which includes closing a large section of Tepusquet Road during the daytime throughout the weekend, Reimer had to ensure proper safety precautions. EMTs are stationed on-site and water walls and other barriers are placed along the route.
“We’ve been pretty lucky. I think since the start of this, the worst we’ve had is a broken ankle or a dislocated shoulder,” Reimer said.
Before racing began this year, Reimer took over 100 competitors to Santa Maria Brewing for a paperwork and an introductory bash Wednesday.
The four-day event officially kicked off with a race Thursday, which counts toward qualifying for the World Skate Games in Argentina later this year. The competitors are seeded based on time trials, then whittled down through heats of four.
The remaining two days are for freeriding, where trucks take riders to the top in waves, then clear the road, allowing all riders to go down at once. Some as young as 15 and as old as 60 are participating this year.
“We’ve got everybody from dentists to garbage collectors. There’s so much diversity,” Reimer said. “You meet a lot of interesting people. You’ve got to be interesting to ride downhill, and we all work together.”
The event is open to riders of all skill levels, with no barriers to entry other than the fee and waiver. Roughly half of the participants volunteer in some capacity, knocking off a percentage of the nearly $300 entry fee.
“I get people I’ve never met telling me, ‘Send it, dude.’ It’s really fun,” Keimach said. “When I first started, someone saw me on my longboard and told me, ‘I’ll teach you how to slide, come ride with me.’ It’s just welcoming like that.”
To make the event more accessible, and keep the community together, Reimer gets permission from local ranch owners to let the riders camp at the base of the run.
They bring in port-a-potties, trash cans and fire extinguishers, dividing the camp into a quiet side and loud side so families can separate from the crowd. Fires are not permitted.
“We’re very lucky to have permission for the campsite,” Reimer said. “It’s positive for the environment, because there’s less drivers, and it knocks down a barrier to entry, since people don’t have to pay more for gas.”
Because of the success of Tepe and Tacos, Reimer is already working on a similar event in Santa Barbara along Gibraltar Road, which is expected to run Oct. 15-16.
“Skateboarding really is a special activity,” Reimer said. “It’s fun, and not just downhill. You ride around campus or to work. It becomes a big part of your everyday life.”
To get some tacos and view the riders, take Highway 166 east from Highway 101 to Tepusquet Road, then proceed two miles to the base camp. Pedestrians are allowed alongside the course, but not on the road, while riders are descending.