On a Monday off of work we headed to Estes. It was awesome cloud cover most of the time, not a single scooter kid, it was epic.  After warming up some the rain hit a bit and we played SKATE which Dave won.  

Rob: ripped.  front 50s, back 50s, manuals, gap to back 50, noseslide the bump to ledge, poppy backside ollies on the steep bank
Neil: hurting, mostly sat this one out
Joe: front 50 front board then kickflip to fakie to show us he arrived.  Gnarly line of a grind then full speed boardslide the flat bar.  Front 50 180 the bank to ledge.  
Dave: Demo Dave in effect.  Fakie tail the hip gap to curb, manuals, nollie shove tail the hip then pole jam, I don’t even know so many tricks and lines, ended with kick back tail the hip
Glen: Warm up line got me hyped of back 50 the curb up top, ollie the little a-frame, crook the ledge.  Noseslide the bump to ledge then kickflip, kickflip fakie and bigflip.  Backside flip the small hip after the a fun grind on the china bank, treflip flyout, fun line of kickflip then noseslide down to end it.

A lot more skating happened, it was a fun day. Hard to write about it all.

(setup: 8/10 8.3 aces 52mm orange spits, last resort cm002s currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

On a hot morning Joe, Neil, Rob and I met up with Cass then Brian and Kyle at the melted wax Cushing park. A lot of skating happened even if it seemed like nothing came easy for anyone. I’ll go for the short summary of each person I remember:
Robl: manuals on the deck, ollie up euro, boardslides
Neil: ollies, we both ollied the tiny “big” two stair.  Shove up the euro.  boardslides, ledge basics
Joe: pop shove fly out, axle stalls, b/s flip the hip.  Lots of ledge tricks on the puddled ledges.
Me: Front 50 the qp to ollie the tiny big 2.  Took forever to get a line of ollie the a-frame, noseslide the bump to ledge, kf to fakie the bank.  Then did a crooks on the bump to ledge which made me happy.
Brian: long boardslides, feeble to fakie the banked hubba, front boards
Kyle: treflip the hip so good, lots of tricks that were all amazing
Cass: Probably front shove up the euro because he’s been killing that trick and some crooks.

Then we went to the red curb/diy qp spot.
Rob shredded it.  front tails, slappies
Kyle kickflip the gap after solid front slappies
Cass: slappy back 50 shove
Brian : crail, blunt fakie, one footed front rock totally ripping
Hardflip Joe first try hardflip to fakie for $20
Jack nosepick shove and shove pivot
Jason Borne had some cool and weird lipslides on the side of things

Then we went to the warehouse and I think everyone skated at once. So it was really hard to follow. I saw Rob do halfcab boardslide shove out. Hardflip Joe was trying switch hardflip switch front crooks. Joe H was rattling off tricks on the little ledge. I tried desperately to get a line starting from the tall ledge. I think I got one like crooks, no comply 180, halfcab flip, front 50 but I’m not sure.  Brian front rocked the crazy qp. Jack had some rad wallies and transfer grinds. Garrett ripped the mini board. Jason board rattled off some cool tricks like halfcab crooks 180 out. Neil was going up and down everything. Cass was on the lower ledge. Dan did front blunt and perfect back nosegrind. Kyle with the line of the day. Treflip, crooks to fakie, switch treflip. So sick. At the end Joe and I raced on a couple tricks on the lower ledge. He beat me to back 50 but I would get it. I also got a really bad treflip. Fun day.

(setup 3/10 8.25 null time warp, null grip, indy 144 titanium, 53mm bones stf v1 103a, new balance numeric 272 half insole and currex runpro insole)
(pain level 4/10)

Picked up Neil early after his overnight flight then went to breakfast with Cass and Rob. We drove by dog park, but it was soaked and Valmont lived up to the “toddler park” nickname. So we ended up going to the library spot. It had been a little flooded so it was harder to skate than normal. I started slow, felt really off. Neil though, man he was charging. Manuals, nose manuals, crook shoves, noseslide shoves, boardslides, front 50 shove, front tail, nollie lips, front 50 the curved bar. I had a couple front 50s on the taller ledge, some good feeling crooks, long boardslide on the flatbar, close to kick back 50. Cass was ripping too. Crooks, crooks shoves, back 5-0s, front 5-0s, no problems popping. Rob sat this session out.

 Then we went to dog park. Paul and Luzius joined. Neil continued his ripping streak. Halfcab then quick shove, manual, super good no complies to tail, nose manuals, one foots over the grate, boardslides, etc. Cass and I tried to crook the upper tier. We both got into some crooks, but nowhere near the whole thing. Cass had back 5-0s, tailslides, poppy kickflips. Rob skated, had some good manuals, nose manuals, back 50s, back axle and no comply to tail on the bank to curb. Saw Dave casually front and back 50 the benches. I switched to my 8.25 indy setup and liked it more.  Got a sloppy fakie bigflip, good feeling kickflip, some slow 50s on the lurb, some fun front slappies.

Then we went to a random street spot off east Pearl. It wasn’t all that, but we skated it a bit and everyone did their thing. Rob would do trick of the day with a long manual drop down to manual.  Neil and Cass did some manuals too. I did a couple noseslides on a tall bench.  One floppy b/s flip on the sidewalk that hyped me up.  Neil couldn’t quite get boardslide.  I ended on a silly front nose stall turn around manual for a couple feet.  

(setup 1: 3/10 8.3 thunder team hollows 52 spits, new balance numeric 272 green size 12 half insole currex runpro insole)
(setup 2: 6/10 8.25 null time warp, indy 144 titanium, 53mm bones stf v1, 272 green size 12 half insole currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

Went to Willville after work with rain threatening. I wanted to start somewhere else so I went back behind the medium pads and kind of found a new curb spot I want to rub brick. It’s like a mini bank to curb spot with some weirdness. I tried this warm up line of switch 180 off a curb, ollie on a mini bank, curve around slappy crook. But I never got the slappy crook in a line. Then I backed up and started trying a kickflip off a bump beforehand. Oh, here’s where it gets weird I had a setup and shoe change so kickflips felt off. 8.3, thunders, vulcs. I would eventually get the kickflip got to the curb again and hucked kick back tail which was not close at all. Then the line started with ollie down the 3 stair. I would get a first try halfcab flip that felt great, but trying to ollie up the 3 felt absolutely impossible. Then I went to the little ledge at the bottom of the main pad, but it started to rain. I had done a couple ultra basics, but the rain it really came so I left.

(setup 6/10 8.3 null time warp, jessup ultragrip, thunder team hollow 149, sptifre f4 99a classic shape orange/black 52mm, new balance numeric 574 vulc grey/orange size 11.5 half insole and currex runpro insole)
(pain level 4/10)

After work and a couple naps I went to Broomfield on a hot night. There was only two other people skating and I was there for a good 20 minutes before Cass showed. My warm ups went well. Basically everything until ollies or flipping the board. But it was fun, I felt sore, but good. I would get some front 50s, maybe a back 50 on the blue lurb, some boardslides on the bump to bar, hurricane the bank to curb, noseslides to fakie on the bank to ledge. It was fun. But the front 50s were pretty hard on the black box and it ate at me. Not as much as how hard flip tricks felt though. They felt impossible. Cass was skating decent. Some front noses, front nose shove, 5-0s, front shoves out of the bump. We played a game of SKATE and I SUCKED. I took 5 tries to get a kickflip and the only other flip trick I landed was halfcab flip. Cass won it. I went home depressed. I had wanted to change my setup before this session, but I didn’t because I’m sick of madness. But I hated my board beyond belief.

(setup 1/10 null time warp 8.25, null grip, venture 5.6 v8 with hollow hanger, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, emerica og-1 black size 12 gameghanger insoles)
(pain level 6/10)

Met up with Paul after work at Valmont. There was cloud cover and it was nice out and there weren’t many toddlers learning to stand at the skatepark. Paul had done a couple front 50s on the PJ ledge. I warmed up and then for whatever reason we went in on the hip. Paul did some switch 180s, then got some cabs over it, then some switch bigspins. I had posed some cab flips that weren’t very close before doing a few fakie bigflips and a couple b/s flips. We hucked some more, I felt surprisingly close to treflip a couple times, didn’t quite get halfcab flip.

Went over to the plaza. It was seriously so nice out. Didn’t do a whole lot beyond my basics. Oh I guess a nosegrind 180 on the curb that made Paul laugh because he said I didn’t even ollie into it. Skated okay until the dreaded front 50 on the bench which I could not do this time spiraling me into setup madness.

Hip session was great though.

(setup 3/10 null time warp 8.25, null grip, venture 5.6 v8 with hollow hanger, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, emerica og-1 black size 12 gameghanger insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

On another sunny and warm morning I met Cass and Kyle at the old Commerce City skatepark. I had a setup change. 8.25 with Venture V8s. I was quite happy with it at times. Anyway, Cass and Kyle were kinda lazy with it, not really feeling it. They did skate some. Kyle did a cool kickflip wallride on the back of the capsule. Cass had some nice front noseslides and front boards on the new flatbar. I had some okay feeling boardslides and stuff, took several tries to get a kickflip. But man, had a first try ollie up up a ledge that surprised Cass and I. That made me pretty happy. Kyle and Cass left while I waited for Garrett. I did a line on top of slow front 50 the curved ledge, ollie up the ledge, kickflip on flat, flailed a wallie nollie. Then tried a line for a while of ollie to fakie on a bank, halfcab noseslide a bench, back 50. Never got the back 50 and really struggled with the ollies to fakie which was annoying. Garrett came and did his line pretty quickly and man it looked good. He had also done a nosegrind shove that was very pretty.

Then Garrett and I went and met with Kyle and Cass at the warehouse DIY. There were a few other there, everyone was cool. I chilled for a bit since I was full from drinking my smoothie between spots. Cass had a nice crook. Kyle with the ridiculous line in the gram above and ride on grind the entire ledge. They all took turns on the Sk8 Mafia mini board. Kyle’s treflips were ridiculous. Garrett’s crooks and kickflip up the ledge. Garrett skated his regular board too and had some good nollie front noses, back tail bigspin, etc on the long ledge. I got warmed up slowly then went in on a line that made me happy. Noseslide to fakie the new tall ledge, halfcab flip on flat, drop down, front 50 the long ledge. I think I got it and I also did front 50 shove but I’m not sure if it was in the line or not. Had a lot of crooks that felt good too on both ledges. Then we celebrated Garrett’s birthday over some very over priced margs. Fun day.

(setup 7/10 null time warp 8.25, null grip, venture 5.6 v8 with hollow hanger, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, emerica og-1 black size 12 gameghanger insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

Another hot day. Had no plans and kind of lounged around for a while after a run with Liz. Waited for some cloud cover then went to campus in the early afternoon. I started at Baker. Similar setup to yesterday but Aces instead of Slappy lights which I liked more. But that’s not saying much. I was pretty sore out of the gate and would have periods when I felt okay. I started with some no pop slide tricks on the lower part. Was starting to get beyond the warm up tricks when it started raining. I chilled under a gazebo for a while then went to the downhill covered hallway. Took a bit to do kickflip then noseslide. Went back to Baker when it dried. Didn’t get beyond warm ups again, got into a couple front 50s, manual, good feeling noseslides. Then I went and looked at this little area with a picnic table and a 3 stair. I’ve wanted to line out something like this for a long time, but it was so much harder than I thought. Mainly because the bench of the table felt like it was super tall. But I would eventually get some bad noseslides. Got an ollie after. Then eventually the 180 too. Regardless of how sloppy it was, I did enjoy it. I think I basically went home after that.

(setup 3/10 null time warp 8.3, jessup ultragrip, ace af1 ksl 44, 52mm spitfire f4 99a tablets, emerica og-1 black size 12 with footprint gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 6/10)

Met Gordon and then Paul after a while at dog park on a warm morning. I went back to 8.3 with thunders. Hated it. I think I hate every setup at this point. Anyway, warming up was mid for me. Gordon was ripping, poppy grinds, shoves and manuals. Paul came and immediately back 50’d the bench. I had a line of crooks the bench then back 50 front 180 out the curb. Tried several halfcab crooks, was not close. Took a bit to ollie the grate then boardslide the taller portable flat bar. I was wearing the Emerica MJ remakes. They felt good as far as pain, but were not very grippy. Gordon got a line of nollie back 5-0, front nosegrind, nollie nose manual. But never linked them all together again when we tried to film it. Paul went in on noseslides over the top tier. He took a while, but he got it. I was trying a line of crooks then kickflip 50 which I got kind of close to, but not that close. Then it started to rain a lot harder and longer than it looked like it would.

(setup 4/10 null time warp 8.3, jessup ultragrip, thunder 149 team hollow, 51mm spitfire f4 101a classic, emerica og-1 black size 12 with footprint gamechanger insoles)

After a couple of naps I ended up at Willville with a different setup. Well, same everything except trucks. Didn’t like it. Imagine that! I mostly skated the shady flatround area. Kickflips were hard, but I did manage some halfcab flips and fakie bigflip. No treflips though argh. Posed a bunch of kf nose stalls which were kind of close. Couldn’t ollie for crap with this setup though and couldn’t even axle stall the upper knobbed ledges. The tree growth made the manuals weird. At the end I made myself do 10 tricks on the lower ledge. I think every trick was a non-ollie trick except for front 50. Still fun. Glad I skated an eliminated another setup from contention.

(setup 4/10 null time warp 8.3, jessup ultragrip, slappy lights 8.25 with indy 92a bushings, 51mm spitfire f4 101a classic, emerica og-1 black size 12 with footprint gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

On a hot Thursday afternoon before a 3 day weekend I went to skate campus without knowing there was a big Phish concert. Doh. I had parked and was well into campus before I realized what was happening. I went to warm up at the downhill hallway spot, but there was already a couple people skating. Ended up at the shaded hallway by the student center and skated flatground for a while. I had a setup change, basically the same but with indy titaniums. I hated them and everything about the setup. I struggled to land anything, I think in 30 minutes I had only done kf, fakie flip, halfcab flip and b/s flip. Ugh. I moved on, rolled all over campus, didn’t really skate anything until the flagstone ledge where I proceeded to lay an egg and basically did nothing.

(setup 1/10 8.25 null flaherty, pj grip, indy titanium 144, bones stf v1 53mm 103a, new balance numeric 440v2 wide size 12 navy with half insole and currex runpro insole)
(pain level 7/10 in fact after skating I sent Nate a text that said ‘it’s one thing totally sucking at skating and another totally sucking and being in incredible pain while sucking’ ugh)