Meeting up sooner than I wanted I got to the dog park around the same time as Sean and Garrett. Hayden, Bo and Peyton were already there. Jack would come about an hour later. My first kickflip attempt hurt so bad I didn’t think I’d be able to skate much. I mostly stuck to the little area on the easy side of the black two level ledge. The nullers were mostly doing ledge tricks or tricks over the orange barrier. They make it all look so easy. I ended up having fun as my legs began working. Had a fun line of noseslide to fakie the tall side, fakie flip. Fakie 50 then halfcab flip. Almost crooks the tall side then treflip. Highlights from the Nullers are Hayden’s full pull around the whole park, Jack back 180 switch crook, Garrett nollie front nose and fast casual smiths, Sean learning back smiths and doing 100 of them fast, Peyton front crooks shove and his patented sketchy landings (not a diss and he does land tricks clean often, but I love how he can land tricks most people wouldn’t), Bo has clean pop and solid tricks. I got front 50 and accidental 5-0 on the bench, crooks, halfcab noseslide, fakie nosejib. I hucked a dream trick – treflip noseslide while Jack landed (I think) fakie flip b/s nosegrind. Wowsers. Super fun session, it was hard to leave. I didn’t skate anymore after that. Jack got a good hammer. Sean ollied a monster flat gap. It was good times until it got cold again.

(setup 8.25 null abstract 6 deck, venture 5.6 cast baseplate/v-hollow axles, stock bushings, old 53mm pj bones stf v1, jessup ultragrip, new balance numeric 306 foy white/gum size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(Pain level 6/10)

On a cool morning we chose a spot that gets a lot of sun. I arrived at Platt first. I did a manual or two then was messing around the 3 stair area and saw that you could switch noseslide down it while holding onto the rail. What a perfect warm up. Ha. Dave L showed up around then. We both kinda just looked at things and checked out the spot. I had brought out the 8.25 again, this time with stock bushings. I had realized that I like the stability of larger setups, but the flippability of smaller setups. So why not just make the smaller board more stable with stiffer barrel bushings? It was a little weird at first, but it seemed to prove the point. Jack and Carleigh were next. Kevin and Eric awhile after that. Everyone was feeling things out, skating it pretty differently. Jack did back tail and kick back tail up the 3 stair. Dave was trying to grind down it and bonk a tree stump. Carleigh was ollieing the kicker and kickflipping down the 3 stair. Eric was on that heelflip tip right away and landed a couple I think. Kevin manny bonked the stump and did some funny kickflips down the 3. I had started trying to motivate myself to b/s flip down the 3 stair. I had done this several years ago. It took a boardslide and no comply shove as well as Kevin filming to get me to really commit. But I struggled so much on the no comply shove that I lost the trigger on the backside flip. Doh. It was cool trying hard and getting remotely close at least. After that I filmed everyone else. Kevin came up empty handed on nollie b/s flip. Eric didn’t land the heelflip again. Dave got a sick line though. Manual, nosebonk 180, switch 180 down the 3 then pivot shove on the bank to curbish side of the 3 stair. Carleigh threw down too and got the ollie and kickflip combo. Then I tried a dork line for awhile while Carleigh did no comply down the 3. Switch noseslide the 3 stair then go around the handicap ramp and wallride nollie off the 3 stair. Took awhile and I felt super dumb, but the wallride nollie did indeed feel awesome when I got it. We hit the manny pads briefly as it got colder. I took a long time to nose manual it. Dave switch manualled it and came close to nollie front 180 nose manual. Jack did the back 180 fakie manual 180 out. Then we went out for dinner. Yum.

(setup 8.25 null abstract 6 deck, venture 5.6 cast baseplate/v-hollow axles, stock bushings, old 53mm pj bones stf v1, jessup ultragrip, new balance numeric 306 foy white/gum size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(Pain level 4/10)

Had a free day off work. Went to Berthoud park as it was kinda close to LOCO which I needed to bring boards to. Since I was running early I went to the park first. It was only 25 degrees when I got there. It felt quite cold. Although it looks sunny in my footage it wasn’t sunny most of the time. My first challenge was a stupid one. Front 50 the second step off the bank. It was so hard. Took so long. I got a few flippers going slow in between tries. Well, basic flippers. My board was feeling huge. Next line was manual the pyramid, fs ollie the qp, ollie onto the ledge, front 180 off, switch noseslide to fakie the tiny ledge. I should mention the main ledge had ice along most of it which was a total bummer. Then I tried a line of kicklfip the bs hip, boardslide the flat bar, kickflip the fs hip. But for some reason I could not kicklfip the bs hip. It was so frustrating. I got maybe 5/50 and was so angry at times. I never got the fs flip after and gave up and decided to try two different lines. Front board flat bar (super short jibs on the end), ollie to fakie the pyramd, f/s halfcab flip the hip. Got kinda close to that. The other line was ollie onto the ledge, kickflip off, bs flip the hip. I didn’t get that in one line, but I got all the tricks. After that I was pretty beat, cold and sore. I hucked front heels or treflips over opposite hips. never getting very close, constantly wanting a smaller setup. I ended hucking front smith on the bank to ledge, but never committed. I left not feeling very stoked.

(setup 8.5 null curby deck, venture 5.8 trucks cast baseplate titanium hanger, bones medium bushings, bones easy street v5 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 306 foys white/gum with nike sb zoom air insole)
(pain level 6/10)

Went to the garage on a warm enough night, but I was feeling kinda sick and didn’t want to go outside. Kickflip, fakie flip went alright. Hucked nollie and switch flip for a bit, both close, especially switch flip. Didn’t try heelflip but switch heel felt remotely close. Got a bad halfcab flip, b/s flip, treflip. Hucked nollie varial flip and fakie varial heel and didn’t get too close.

(setup 8.5 null curby deck, venture 5.8 trucks cast baseplate titanium hanger, bones medium bushings, bones easy street v5 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 306 foys white/gum with nike sb zoom air insole)
(pain level 4/10)

Wanting to enjoy some of the warmth from the day I went to the dog park for lunch. I got there shortly before Luzius. The warm up process feeling pretty overwhelming. I tried to huck some, start with a line of noseslide the black ledge, b/s flip on flat then halfcab noseslide. But I couldn’t get on the b/s flip with that big board. I think I just confirmed it’s too big for me. Dave warmed up with his smooth destruction over the parking block. Crooks on the cinder block benches were working okay, halfcab noseslides. I really didn’t do a lot, but I did skate with some motivation. Hucked a few flippers, none of which I put my feet on. Dave can 50 5/0 the benches so easily now. He also learned nollie front lip. I got the tiniest fakie nosegrind imaginable, a line with crooks then front 50 the benches. I ended hucking some 2020 dream tricks. Kickflip noseslide on the upper black ledge, kick back tail on the lower. I could really feel the hardness of flipping the board on the kick back tail. Then it was back to work, right about when I was warmed up.

(setup 8.75 null event horizon deck, venture 6.1 trucks, bones medium bushings, bones easy street v5 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 306 foys white/gum with nike sb zoom air insole)
(pain level 4/10)

Feeling alright after dinner and noticing it was still 45 degrees I grabbed my 8.5″ setup and went to the school. I started with some slappies which were pretty fun. I haven’t been there in awhile. I got a few basic slappies then went to the back area. The smaller board still felt big, but good. I had a few kickflips, fakie flip, still didn’t land other flip tricks. But since it was the second time skating today I was pretty sore. I struggled to ollie onto the easy rock, struggled to get stalls on the other rock, posed ollies over the big rock, came kinda close to a switch flip.

(setup 8.5 null curby deck, venture 5.8 trucks cast baseplate titanium hanger, bones medium bushings, bones easy street v5 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 306 foys white/gum with nike sb zoom air insole)
(pain level 6/10)

On a winter Sunday I went to dog park to meet the Nullers. It was windy and cold when I arrived and I couldn’t find the motivation to try whatsoever. I had an 8.5″ board and it just felt weird so I went to the car and traded for the 8.75 waiting for Riley to show up. Yes, that’s right, Riley! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him skate and I’m so happy his knee is doing better. There was a brief period where I was actually trying, it was only when the wind had died down. I was trying halfcab crook while Kevin was trying nollie 180 switch crook. Sean, Hayden, Peyton, Bo, Riley, Garrett, Jack were all there ripping. Peyton did the fastplant fingerflip pretty quick. Garrett had some pretty funny slams. I had a lot of trouble committing to a front 50, finally got a slow one at the end. It was great seeing Riley skate. He looked great on his board. Front blunts, back tails, switch flips, switch heels, halfcab crooks, 5-0 180s, just ruling it so hard.

Then we went to the new campus spot again. And it was just as cold as the week before. Luckily I skated for awhile and it was fun skating with everyone. They all skated the top ledge, I skated the ground level one. I locked into a couple fun crooks then started hucking crooks shove. In a reasonable amount of tries I landed one and even smiled! I tried crooks bigspin for awhile, but my knees started to lock up. Then I froze. I mean filmed. The dudes killed it. Jack’s blunt pop out was popped so high. Sean is so incredibly smooth and solid looking on his board. Garrett came up short, but had some entertaining slams at least. Ha. Peyton took a beating too, he almost put down shove late front shove. It was crazy how close he got and the slams he took. Riley was ripping and rattled off a few basics in true ripping Riley fashion. Bo had a sick front 50 kickflip. Kevin was ripping as well, he stacked a couple clips. The kick back tail was so good. He can get up ledges so easily. Hayden’s fakie 5-0 was bonkers. These dudes rule, but I am so over winter and freezing when not skating.

(setup 8.75 null event horizon deck, venture 6.1 trucks, bones medium bushings, bones easy street v5 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 306 foys white/gum with nike sb zoom air insole)
(pain level 5/10)

After working most of the morning I met Jack ,Carleigh and Ella at the meetup lot. We pretty much went right to the Baker ledge/manny pad area. It was quite cold out and the breeze did not make it fun. None of us were particularly motivated and it showed. I struggled with kickflips, but got a first try f/s halfcab flip. The bigger board rules for that. Jack had some nice back 180s, fakie ollies, halfcabs, bonks off the ledge. Tailslide up to nose manual, back 180 fakie manuals where he kept spinning on accident. They were funny. He also did a bunch of perfect front 5-0s on the ledge, front 5-0 back 180, front tails, front tail 270 shove. Carleigh had some kickflips, no comply off the ledge, noseslides. I couldn’t front 50 again. It’s frustrating. I think it’s partially a timing thing with big boards, I gotta get used to it. I couldn’t even front 50 up to manual. Came close to a manual to grind, had a fun switch front noseslide. Then the wind/shade dropped the temps and we left.

(setup 8.75 null event horizon deck, venture 6.1 trucks, doh doh 88a bushings, sml 53mm og wide wheels, new balance numeric 306 foys white/gum with nike sb zoom air insole)
(pain level 4/10)

On a cool morning I brought my quiver to the dog park. 8.25, 8.5 and 8.75. I was a little later than the last couple days because I had been called for work. I warmed up on all 3 trying a line to see which board worked the best. Boardslide the butter bench, front 50 the little metal ledge, kickflip, back 50 the lower step. For awhile I thought I’d just be happy and stick with 8.25 because I couldn’t kickflip the 8.75. The 8.5 setup had some bushing that had totally froze up and made the comparisons a little hard. Anyway, the 8.75 started to win even though I struggled with kickflips. I ended up mostly skating it the rest of the session. I’m not calling it a setup change, but it probably will go down and I’ll owe Launch some money. I went on to actually have fun on my skateboard again even when a couple high school kids came and hogged the benches. I did a few things I hadn’t done in awhile. Kinda ollied the wallie barrier. Actually, it was epic as I ollied it but rode down the other side. It takes special skills to be that bad. Had some good crooks, halfcab noseslide, noseslide to fakie on the taller metal bench, ollie the little kinked rail, front 180 a parking block super easy. Struggled with flip tricks, but was having enough fun to actually try them. I got a line that made me happy enough to leave. Fakie nosegrind, switch 180 then front smith the lower step (I didn’t grind, but popped out quick – whatever it’s me). So this whole goal of the same setup all year might technically be shot, but at least I had fun. I wanted to stick with 8.75 initially before the wheelbase was different in the latest null shipment. So maybe I can just blame Generator. Ha ha. It was nice to enjoy skateboarding.

(setup a mixture of old stuff, boards, 2020 8.25 setup and 8.75)
(pain level 3/10 feeling better too!)

Feeling a little better physically I went to the dog park before work and had about an hour to skate. I skated TERRIBLY. The only thing I was happy with was a couple halfcab noseslides on the cinder block benches. I was almost unable to front 50 a bench. I tried to ollie the wallie barrier after and couldn’t do it. I couldn’t land halfcab flip. It was so depressing I went back to obsessing over my setup.

(setup 2020 setup 8..25 null abstract 6 deck, venture 5.6 cast baseplate/v-hollow axles, bones medium bushings, old 53mm pj bones stf v1, 2 washers inside each axle, jessup ultragrip, new balance numeric 306 foy white/gum size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(Pain level 4/10)

On a nice morning I went to dog park. I was still fighting a cold, lacked some energy and any pop whatsoever. Starting was more of a struggle than I imagined possible. Everything hurt and nothing came easy. I tried a line of halfcab noseslide, crooks, ollie the wallie wedge. I had some good feeling halfcab noseslides, but never got the ollie. Tried a line of wallie the wedge, front 50 a bench, treflip and more, but it doesn’t matter because I never got the tre. In fact I only got two front 50s and a terribly slow speed. It was a mental struggle to get up on it. I failed at several other things and then just started trying f/s halfcab noseslides. I needed to hand Dave a trick so I went for it. I got one that was way better, but my phone was pointed up too high. I’ve done this one a couple times, but definitely want to keep it in the rotation.

(setup 2020 setup 8..25 null abstract 6 deck, venture 5.6 cast baseplate/v-hollow axles, bones medium bushings, old 53mm pj bones stf v1, 2 washers inside each axle, jessup ultragrip, new balance numeric 306 foy white/gum size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(Pain level 6/10)