skate journal: solo research center / campus fun (July 26, 2014)

feel the heat

Haven’t been able to skate a whole lot and finally feeling quite a bit better. There were clouds in the morning and the forecasted high of 95 didn’t seem like it would happen. So I got out of the door around 10:30, ran a few errands then posted up at the research center. I struggled big time initially just to even ollie. But I stuck with it and ended up having a blast. I started with some simple lines and get a little bit techer with each one. First one was kickflip on flat, ollie up the curb, boardslide pop out. Then halfcab flip on flat, ollie up the curb, noseslide to fakie, turn around and then manual the long pad around the corner. Fakie big flip, ollie up the curb, pop shove, crooks. Oh and the clouds had burned off and it was really hot. Somehow it didn’t bother me too much though. Started going for treflip on flat, up the curb and then back 50. Got a few tres, but the back 50 was going to be a battle. I ended up doing quite a few treflips and added kickflips up the curb to the line. I eventually got the back 50 and I still have no idea how I did it. It was funny. Hyped I made myself do so many treflips. Some took a few tries, some several tries and at one point I did 3 in a row. Then I went home and got some food.

what would suciu do here?

After lunch and then some baseball tossing with Ollie I headed out to campus. I was planning on going to the new ledge that Matt, Dave and I skated a couple nights before, but ended up warming up at the spot above and ended up just staying there. I really like the aesthetic of that spot and it brings out the inner Suciu in me. After some dorking around on the low step (which I should wax up because it could be really good) I basically settled into two lines. Coming from the opposite side of the photo; ollie up the 2, back 180 off then fakie tre. Never got the fakie tre, but after bailing one I randomly decided to try a nollie flip and landed it! So sketchy and horribly landed. But alas, it was a nollie flip! Only my 4th one ever and it’s been several years since the last one I landed. Going the other way was the line I really wanted. Manual, 360 flip on flat, ollie the 4 stair, somehow make the corner of the sidewalk and do the hill bomb. The manual is much harder then it looks because there isn’t much setup room and the brick part is really rough. I only got a couple without scrapes and then of course treflips were a battle again. It started raining and I knew I only had one last try. Somehow did the manual good, did a horrible treflip with both hands down and came to a stop (but had to count it because it was getting wet quick) then ollied the stairs (felt so good, kind of a longer then normal 4), made the corner and had a few fun powerslides down the hill.

way faster then it looks

I took cover at the top of this garage for a bit and ended up skating the hill into it several times. It’s way faster then it looks. The concrete is super smooth. I had bombed into it before and it’s scary, but I felt like doing powerslides so I did a bunch. On one of them I hit a crack and somehow ran out of it. But other then that it was just a great way to end a day. I did a few grinds on the yellow curbs at the top to start the hill bombs. So fun. The rain let up and everything dried out right away so I went over to the new ledge and of course, the only car there was parked right next to the waxed part. Doh. I did a couple front 50s, but it was scary because I thought I’d shoot my board into the car in the landing. I ollied up a taller part of the ledge and then ran out of gas and called it one awesome day of skateboarding.