After a cold morning doing PT I met up with Cass and Jake at a crowded Cushing skatepark. Jake’s back was hurting so we mostly just skated the micro halfpipe. Jake did his front and back blunts, switch blunt, almost sugarcane and more I’m forgetting. Cass and I had similar front 50s. He had some front 5-0s, tail. I had some disasters and the little revert tricks. It’s a really fun area. Did a couple of noseslides on the ledge. It’s funny to me how the switch front nose still gets love from others. Got a crooks that didn’t come easy. Cass may have gotten kickflip up the hip or b/s flip the hip.

Then we went to Merrill school which I hadn’t been to in a few years. The asphalt has taken a beating, but it was still run. Initially I was really sore and lacking confidence and didn’t think I would do anything. Cass got a good kickflip over the hip and I eventually got a really slow kickflip that didn’t go over the mound. Cass then did a really good hardflip which we are saving. I setup the cam for my b/s flip and tried to add fakie bigflip but didn’t really get it. Cass came really close to treflip. Then I started lining it out and it was really fun. The line is just a few basic tricks, but after not being able to really try tricks the last couple of months it felt so great to try hard and link a few tricks. Really fun session.

(setup 9/10 generator 8.5/14.25, jessup ultragrip, thunder team hollow 149 royal bushings, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, vans wayvee white size 12 spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insoles)
(pain level 4/10 started slow from all the ollies the day before but really it feels amazing to try real tricks again)

After getting lots of ghost pop lately I tried a different setup. Indys. It was below freezing and the slappy curb was wet. So I ended up at the rock area. I did a very easy feeling front axle stall on the rock first try and though wow this board has pop. But then I tried kickflips and ollieing onto the rock for quite a while. I did a slow kickflip before everyone of these ollies. I may look bummed, but I was pretty happy that my knee was letting me try so hard. I would never quite get the ollie up onto the rock, but I did get like 30 kickflips.

(setup generator blank 8.5/14.25, indy forged hollow 149 with royal bushings, orange spitfire f4 53mm 99a classics, vans wayvee white size 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insole)
(pain level 3/10)

Stopped at Valmont on the way home from work and met Dave. Dave ran the hip the way he does with some nollie and switch 180s both ways I think. I took way too long to front 180 the hip after carving the barrier. I posed some flippers over the hips and bailed a lot of ollies to fakie on various obstacles. Dave was going for a line of boardslide to fakie the rainbow and then switch front bigspin over the hip. He seemed somewhat close to me. I’m sure there is more, but I’ve waited to long to write this. Dave had to leave and I went to the dog park for the first time in a couple months. I did a crooks on the bench and a couple very slow front 50s on the curb and lurb.

(setup 3/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insole)
(pain level 4/10)

Went to Square State on a cool night hoping to meet Dave and it not being too crowded. Much to my surprise there was only Gray and Jordan when I got there. Dave would show up pretty quick and then Ashton awhile later “who just turned 30” ha ha. Dave and I kind of warmed up on the small bank to curb area. He was trying fakie back tail but couldn’t get it up there. I had some crook jibs, front smith, some boardslides. Dave did the ridiculous fakie crooks transfer pretty quick into the session. I would shortly get my line with the slappy then kickflip to fakie. There was a 20 minute stretch where my knee felt fine and I didn’t think about it and it felt great. Even if I bailed several kickturns for reasons I don’t understand. Dave and I couldn’t get slappy crooks on the wedge to bank. Gray did some slappys on it though. Also some nice kickflips to fakie on the qp and fakie ollie up the euro which is nuts. Ashton showed up and made a joke that he had just turned 30. He ripped. Back 3s up the euro, weightless airs, kick back tails, kick back suski, back smiths. Dave did the boardslide 270 several times. Ended with kickflips and the pivot shove fakie. Fun night.

(setup 4/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insole)
(pain level 5/10)