On a really nice night I went to campus after work. Started at the meet up curb that isn’t so good anymore. Went into campus and somehow ended up at this little flat gap for a warm up. Did a warm up line of front axle the bottom step of some stairs, front 180 over a different part of the flat gap then switch front 180 the one I kickflipped. Then I went in on a line of halfcab flip, ollie the upper gap (which has a downhill landing so it’s a little weird) then kickflip the gap. Took a while and I struggled with the regular ollie the most which made me very mad. The kickflip felt really good when I got it. I went around the corner to a ledge that is normally knobbed, but it was deknobbed and lacquered and amazing. But the uphill part of it really hurt to push. I had zero pop. Got two tiny front 5-0 jibs and left having no energy. Turns out I was getting sick. Argh.

(setup 2/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace af1 44 lows hard bushings, 52mm bones stf v2, new balance numeric 440v2 wide sea salt size 11.5 currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 7/10 right calf pain)

Met up with Jesse, Darin, Rob, Sean, Garrett and Joe at Broomfield park on a really nice day. Yes, I said Rob. It’s been a minute, but he was there looking good. Jesse boardslid everything. Sean got far into his black ledge bag after he challenged me to SKATE in which I did pretty good for me. I was happy to get first try heelflip and even a defensive varial heel with some good toe drag. I couldn’t get a treflip though until after the game. There were quite a few other older dudes there, it was cool. Darin rattled of quartapotty tricks, some crooks. After a while I settled in on trying noseslide 270 shoves on the black ledge. Some were very close, one was technically a make although I came to a halt. Garrett and Joe showed. Joe did a line of front crooks to fakie into the bank then fakie hardflip nosebonk the ledge (going for fakie nosegrind). He was hyped. The old folks had left. Garrett, Joe and Sean played a game of SKATE that Joe won. I tried like 100 nollie treflips. Landed on some, was so close, but never got one. As Rob would say, my suspension would give out. Argh. Still haven’t landed that trick in my 50s.

(setup 6/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace af1 44 lows hard bushings, 52mm bones stf v2, new balance numeric 440v2 wide sea salt size 11.5 currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 5/10 some calf pain)

After work it was looking like rain so I avoided Broomfield with Sean. It was sprinkling as I drove off and I went to Wilville so happy it’s that season. I started off at the little curb below the manny pad. I was feeling very timid still afraid to push although the calf was feeling better. I went in on some hucking to begin. Switch noseslide kickflip out and varial heels on flat. Got incredibly close to both then the cops came and gave me the boot. Argh. I had literally just landed on the sw noseslide kickflip out. I mean I came to a halt, but I am a 50 year old trying some flip out shit with a bum calf so whatever. Some of the varial heels felt so good, but I never got both feet on it. So after the cops said no skating I went about 100 feet away to the rock ride area. Still feeling very cautious about my calf I did a first basic line of rock ride to fakie, fakie bigspin, front 180 the 2 stair. Then a bunch of front 180s up the 2 and a bad halfcab flip. I went back to the manny pad area as I could see the cop car was gone. I went in on the same two tricks, this time not as close. Did a few flatground basics. Really like how kickflips felt. Added a couple nose manuals then left when some other skaters rolled up.

(setup 8/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace af1 44 lows hard bushings, 52mm bones stf v2, new balance numeric 440v2 wide sea salt size 11.5 currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 5/10 still calf pain)

After work went to Square State since Brian was having a little anniversary of his new hip. I walked in to a session on the tiny qp with several excited kids. It was such a change after a quiet day at work. I kind of just messed around. Did one ghost front rock, front d, front 50. Tried a few kickflip front 50s which felt remotely doable. Brian got kind of busy with the kids so I took off. I hadn’t had a chance to fix my setup so I was skating my 8.5 slace setup which I did not like at all. My calf wasn’t really very happy skating. I wore some new 440 wides and liked them, seemed to help a little.

So I went home, put the low truck on the front of my 8.25 setup and went to the school. Pushing felt bad on the calf, but I was just skating slow just kind of hucked flip tricks. It was funny, I like really hucked. Like barely even tried regular tricks, just rare or hard ones. I landed on a varial heel with my hands down, a couple were close to being good. I randomly started hucking bigflips and they felt so close. There were a couple that felt so close, but a few ones I landed on were just varial flips with bad pivots. I couldn’t quite get a treflip or heelflip. Had a few kickflips, fakie flip. Most tricks kind of hurt so I left before it got too bad.

(setup 8/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace af1 44 lows hard bushings, 52mm bones stf v2, new balance numeric 440v2 wide sea salt size 11.5 currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 7/10 calf is risky)

On a nice morning I went to the pedestrian bridge and met up with Jake, Cass and his friend Nick. I hadn’t been there since it opened and it was way more fun now that people have added to it and filled in cracks. Nick was getting back into skating and did some boardslides and chilled. Cass easily grinded over the double qp gap. It was really casual. Then he did it frontside and even went to fakie (although he couldn’t do it with the camera on). Jake was going in on tricks on the steep little qp that was quite fun. Also boardslides on the flatbar. I was trying lots of lines, trying to ollie more and grind the little plastic box. I had some front rocks on the bank to curb, rock on the steep qp, front 50 the plastic bench, noseslide a regular ledge. The main line I was trying kind of morphed into what it was. I originally was doing boardslides on the long plastic box then ollie the little curb. Or I would do a front tail transfer over the hip. But the crooks was more fun anyway. The kickflips were hard. Unfortunately pushing started to hurt my calf in the way it did when I had strained it last year. I was so bummed. Had to give up. Then a nice lunch and back home.

Oh and it turns out I accidentally had one ace low truck (back) and a regular one (front). So that really messes with my setup madness!

(setup 4/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace 44, bones 52mm stf v1, emerica og-1 with footprints gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 7/10 calf pain which sucks because I was really loving the shoes and insole combo)

Met up with Paul after work at dog park. I was wearing some bulky Emerica MJ reissues. They felt insane at first, but I have to admit very little pain. It took me a while to get going though. Paul had been there a bit, or maybe not too long. But he was doing slappy crooks back 180 out and he thought somehow I could just learn it in a few tries. Jason from 303 and Steeze were there, both were in good moods and fun to skate with as well. Paul was ripping as he does, but working mostly on slappy crooks 180s. He got a ton of them. I should have filmed him, but I was still skating. I tried a lot of noseslide 270 shoves on the metal bench and was only close a couple of times. Never got a treflip although felt like almost all of them were close. Started getting close to slappy crooks and since Paul was done skating he insisted on filming me try. I was so close. I also did several crooks on the bench, most of which felt decent. I struggled to pop in those shoes, but man I was in the least pain in a while. Fun night.

(setup 5/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace 44, bones 52mm stf v1, emerica og-1 with footprints gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

After working at the office I met up with Dave on a nice afternoon with rain threatening. I had two changes. Aces and back to the 540 vulcs. I felt much better on my skateboard than the night before. Dave was going in on the hip. He did a really nice back 180 noseslide on the edge of the hip. I took a bit to get warmed up and used to my setup changes. Then as Dave went in on switch back bigs over the hip I tried a line of frontside ollie a hip then b/s flip the next one. Dave would get an amazing switch back big. It was rad. Even the younger crew “was that switch .. damn”. He would go on to also 5-0 the rainbow and f/s flip the other hip. I went through a phase were I couldn’t ollie the hip to save my life and it was driving me mad. Eventually they came back and I would get the line a couple times, but with toe drag. Dave had left, I went over to dog park. I was pretty sore and didn’t do a whole lot, but a few things were rewarding like a couple crooks on the bench, some slow front 50 variations on the lurb. Front 50 shove felt really good and then a switch front nose on the bench. Had a good feeling halfcab flip, didn’t commit to treflip though. I tried to front 50 the bench a few times and could not get it. One squat hurt my knee too much and I called it a session.

(setup 5/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, ace af1 44, bones stf v1 52mm, new balance numeric 574 vulc size 11.5 with half insole and footprints gamechanger lite insole)
(pain level 6/10)

Went to Square State on a nice, but breezy night and had it all to myself for a while before Jesse showed up. I had worn my 600s in hope of less pain. There wasn’t really less pain, but there certainly was less board feel. I felt totally off and horrible on my skateboard for the entire session. I had a warm up line before Jesse got there of slappy the bank to parking block, front smith the mellow wood bank to curb then a ride on back 50 terrible front 180 out. Jesse showed and rattled off some tricks on flatground and the mini ledge. I tried too, but kept not ollieing good and couldn’t kickflip. I was going mad. At one point I got front smith stall on the wood bank to ledge then a front smith on the little qp after. Jess had a similar line. He couldn’t quite get a bean plant into the miniramp. I had a line of front tail the wood bank to ledge then hurricane the little qp. That was about the only thing worth a crap I did. Jesse had a back d on the qp.

(setup 0/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, thunder 148 team hollow royal bushings, spitfire f4 99a 51mm classic, new balance numeric 600 black/gum size 12 footprints gamechanger lite insole)
(pain level 6/10)

On my daughter’s last day in CO I escaped for a little session while she ran errands. I waited too long to write this entry, but I remember Dave was shredding and I didn’t land much even though I was close to some good ones. I had some fun nollie shoves on the bank, a fun crooks on the ledge, kickflip up the curb, slappy crooks. Flip tricks were tough. I was close to some harder ones for me like varial heel, treflip but couldn’t get them. I tried like a million front 50s on the ledge and could not get one. Dave on the other hand was ripping. Fakie back nosegrind, fakie back nosegrind 180 on the curb. Manuals on the median. A lot more I’m forgetting, but he ended it off with a banger with several front 5-0s to switch crooks. Incredible. There is a lot I’m missing, it was a fun session, we skated hard.

(setup 5/10 8.25 pmg, jessup ultragrip, thunder 148 team holllow royal bushings, spitfire f4 99a 51mm classic, es swift 1.5 size 12 custom orthotic insole)
(pain level 5/10)