If you're going to try ollies on ramp we'll assume that you at least know a little bit about how to ride transition. After you know the basics like pumping, kickturning, and grinding then you'll be ready to try ollies. The description below corresponds to ollieing off of a transition onto the deck. For beginner basics on how to ollie, check out your Aug/Sep 2002 issue of "Surfing Girl" magazine.

1. Ride straight up the transition with enough speed to clear the coping and land on the deck. The amount of speed you have will determine how high your ollie is going to be. Start out small and work your way big.

2. Your back foot should be positioned straight across the tail of your board, with even pressure on your whole foot. Your front foot should be several inches below your front truck bolts, not as far back as was described for the flat-ground ollie.

3. As you ride up the transition keep your knees bent with your weight distributed evenly on each leg. Remember to keep your shoulders squared with your knees. This will allow you to ollie straight.

4. As you approach the lip of the ramp, shift most of your weight to your back leg. Before your front wheels are about to hit the coping, push down the tail of your board with your back leg and suck up your front knee towards your chest. Note: Depending on how tight the transition is, and how close to vert it gets, you may or may not be able to actually smack your tail off of the ramp. The looser the transition, the easier it will be to pop an ollie off of the ramp. With a transition that goes closer to vert you're going to have to simulate smacking your tail. You do this by "bonking" off of the coping, or the lip if there is no coping, as a means of popping your board into the air.

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5. Bonk your back wheels off of the coping, or ollie off of the transition, and slide your front foot up towards your front truck bolts.

6. As you reach your highest point, level out your board by shifting your weight forward, evenly over your front and back leg. It may be difficult figuring out how to shift your weight forward at first, since the transition will automatically throw your weight back. Compensate for this by throwing your shoulders and upper body forward.

7. Your front foot should be over your front truck bolts and your back foot should be evenly on your tail. As you begin to descend, keep your knees bent to absorb the shock of your landing.

8. Try to land with all four wheels on the ground at the same time. This will enable you to better keep your balance.

9. Stomp it down. Roll Away. Be stoked. Do it again.