Another day wearing glasses and trying to avoid sunlight I went to campus before work for some flatground.  I went to the flagstone ledge area and mostly hid in the covered area.  I downloaded some random skate dice app to use as a warm up.  It did some basic tricks to start with like nollie back 180, switch shove, helipop, etc.  It was fun.  Then I tried halfcab flips for way too long before getting a couple really slow ones.  I ollied onto the ledge after and came remotely close to dropping into cali grind on the sidewalk.  Took a while for heelflips too.  I hucked a lot of nollie/switch flips and were close to both.  Committed, but didn’t get my feet on.  Couldn’t get a treflip which is always depressing.  I think the tighter bushings I’ve been rocking hurt treflips.  Man did I even land anything else?  I did a crooks or two, noseslides.  Ended trying kickflip then front 50.  I got into a couple front 50s, but never grinded and landed one.  Argh.  I wasn’t too depressed when I left skating, but upon writing this I am. I really hated how my kickflips felt. I wasn’t popping the tail.

So after work I tried low trucks again. And I loved it. I warmed up with some slappies in between some longboarders then skated some flat on the side of the school. I had some new wheels and bearings too. Spits 51mm. They felt great. My kickflips felt sooo much better. I was 3-3 on heelflips at one point too. I had a few initial tricks that felt good, then kinda went downhill. I mostly hucked all kinds of tricks without really sticking to or landing much. It was fun though.

(setup 1 8.25 null archway deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.2 custom hollow cast baseplate v-hollow hanger then venture 5.2 lows, bones hard bushings, bones stf v1 51mm 103a, new balance numeric 212 b/w/yellow size 12, nb abzord insoles)
(pain level 3/10)    

After a long drive from Steamboat and some chilling at home I ended up at Southern Hills on a warm evening. I had put some new wheels on. I think the old 54mms proved they help me get up on things, but the wide ones were hard to flip. So I am trying some narrow 54s. STF 99a V3. They felt good on the disintegrating concrete at Southern Hills. I haven’t been there for awhile, there were pebbles everywhere, but the benches were in good shape as was the step. I did what I always do there, line things out. First one was pop shove, front 50 the step, noseslide to fakie a bench. Then kickflip, back 50 the step, front nose to fakie a bench. Fakie flip on flat, switch 180 to front 50 the step, crooks the bench. Ollie up the two, no comply 180 into the handicap ramp, switch noseslide a bench. Then the line that darn near killed me. Ollie up the two, kickflip into the handicap ramp, front 50 a bench. To my surprise I got most of the ollies up the two. It felt great, like the taller wheels were a cheat code or something. I was able to flip them too. I would try flippers on the way back or at the start of lines. Got first try halfcab flip, treflip in under 10 tries, super close to nollie flips. I would get into a few front 50s, but not land them. I was so tired I guess from the drive. Anyway, I would eventually land the line and it felt awesome. Like really awesome. I know it’s just a front 50 on a normal size ledge, but that is a battle for me these days. I wanted to also try a line of halfcab noseslide, frontside flip, switch crook on the step, crook the bench, but I couldnt get the halfcab noseslide. I hucked a few front heels that were really close and felt good. I got a little switch crook to forward followed by crook on a bench and it made me feel good so I left on that note. Fun motivated session even if I was overly tired for some reason.

(setup 8.3 null spanbauer pro deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.8 cast baseplate titanium hanger, bones medium bushings, 3 washers inside each axle, bones stf 54mm v3 99a, new balance numeric 288s navy, no insoles)
(pain level 2/10)

A little after 9am on a Sunday I went over to the school as Dave F said he was gonna be there with a friend. Tony. He was cool. Total surfy style going fast on slappies. I had a new board and wheels – Enjoi Wallin deck with Franky Villani graphics and Spitfire F4 51mm radial slims. It’s crazy how good the F4s felt compared to what I’ve had recently (blanks and classic formula). Those guys were already warmed up and trying feebles on the double sided curb. Dave had a nice front board. Tony did a rad noseslide over the drainage hole. I had some okay slappies. I had put the lows on again with a riser. They flipped nice. After awhile we were mostly at the hook area. Dave and Tony were doing amazing noseslides through it. I slowly worked up to some front slappies through it and they were so incredibly fun. Tony ollied the gap to the sidewalk a few times. Dave would end up doing a no comply over it. I was trying to line out, flip trick, slappy, gap. I got halfcab flip then front slappy, but missed the ollie. Then I did one of the best fakie bigflips I’ve done in awhile, got a questionable front slappy and missed the ollie again. Then I took awhile to do a switch front 180 up the curb cut then kickflip off, missed the front slappy but still rode away then tried a no comply flip over the gap, but didn’t get it. Fun morning.

Then I met up with Garrett and Jack and we met up with JJ, Sean, Jeff, Ryan, Cass, Ted, Joe, Brian and probably more I’m forgetting. We went to that new ledge school on Tejon. Well, the old school with the knobbed rail that now has tons of ledges. People were hitting the ledge over the gravel gap. I felt very out of place, and failed at noseslides forever. Jack casually did front tail front heel and back lip shove. Sean did a bunch of front tail variations, but not the one he wanted. Garrett did crooks and crooks fakie quick, but no halfcab noseslide nollie flip. JJ tried to run into the wall. Jeff did nose manual nollie flip and a textbook switch tre. Man it ruled seeing Jeff skate again. Joe did the slowest and most chill back 50 ever. It made me jealous.

Then we went down the block to skate a bank to rail. But Ted and I got distracted by this and stayed there for awhile. Okay a long while. I never got the boardslide, I was skating so timidly. Ted front 50’d it. Cass joined after awhile and got close to the boardslide, but like me struggled with how inconsistent that side was. Jeff would show up and front 50 it casually. Then Brian showed up who I haven’t seen in forever. He looked as good as ever on the board even though he apparently hasn’t been skating at all. He front 50’d it then went on to front 50 to front board like Ted did.

Last we went to the steep stadium bank. I dropped in once or twice near the top then Garrett was ready to go so I started filming. It took awhile but he got a Janoski flip! It was sick. Joe and Brian tried some tricks too, but never got their feet on them. That was the day. I felt terrible after, I guess the heat got to me. Argh.

(setup 8.25 enjoy wallin, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.2 awake lows, 1/8″ riser, 3 washers inside each axle, 51mm spitfire f4 radial slims 101a wheels, new balance numeric 306 foy blue size 12, nike sb zoom insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

On a nice morning I had gone for long walk then decided to skate flat. It was still pretty early, around 10am. I was armed with a list of 15 tricks. I wasn’t limiting myself to a certain amount of tries, but if I wasn’t close at all I would stop around 10 tries. I had warmed up with a few kickflips and was skating the 8.25.
Halfcab flip – came quick and felt good
Backside flip – took close to 10 tries
Fakie bigflip – around 12 tries
Heelflip – came quick
Halfcab heel – didn’t get it, but it was close and I committed.
Front heel – not close. Feels doable, but never committed
Treflip – got a really bad one 20th try.
Nollie varial flip – can’t land this to save my life anymore
Switch flip – not very close
Switch heel – they flipped really well, but never committed
Varial heel – committed, got close, but never landed on the grip
Switch tre – not even remotely close
Frontside flip – got a decent one for me, but it was really slow
Nollie bigflip – not as close as I hoped
Heelflip body varial – the last trick was originally rick flip, but I swapped it for this one to try and get Dave a trick. I was close before I turned on the camera, and not that close once it was on. Doh.

After lunch I went to Rocky Mountain to meet the Daves. Max and Will would come about 30 minutes after us. The parking lot was almost completely wet from the melting snow. The drains from the roof sounded like rivers. The sidewalk was mostly dry except the ledge area which now had a pretty water gap added to it. It would let up later on and sound more like a babbling brook. Max laughed at that and said I should crook over the babbling brook. Ha. I did a little line of kickflip up the curb then noseslide to fakie over the water gap. Dave L was doing some good manuals. He had a nose manual that bonked off a grate then back to nose manual. Dave F had the sickest boardslides to fakie over the water gap and skates the banks like they are doable. Max and Will are on another level. They were doing really hard tricks immediately. Max had b/s flip over a median on the bank, ollied the bank flat gap, slammed super hard on front heel over a median, did a lot of manuals/nose manual spins on the median that shouldn’t be possible, back tails over the water gap so much more. Will was a little more low key, but was killing it too. Front 3 over a median, back tail the water gap. I’m forgetting other tricks right now, which is a shame. I managed to cleanly ollie onto the narrow ledge by the entrance. It hyped me up. I failed at crooks over the water gap. I blame my new wheels, narrow trucks and lack of skill. Dave had a nice front 50 over it as we were leaving. I wish my legs didn’t lock up at the end so I could have tried too.

(setup 8.25 null curby deck, venture 5.6 v-hollow trucks, stock bushings with flat top washer, 53mm purple swirl orb wheels classic shape, new balance numeric 288s jack curtain size 11.5, no insoles, incrediwear knee sleeve)
(pain level 5/10 – it was fine playing skate early, but gradually more sore at the school)

On a really nice day I met Kevin at Broomfield park by 11. It was just us there initially, but it would fill in quickly. I felt pretty blah and rusty and it stayed that way. Kevin chipped his brand new deck right away. He did switch manual before I ollied. I got a fakie nosegrind pretty quick, but other then that I stunk it up and felt bummed. I had a few crooks, switch front noseslides, couldn’t halfcab noseslide, didn’t land much for flippers. Kevin ripped although took longer than normal to get tricks like nollie nosegrind, back tail. After awhile Sean showed and we went over to Emerald. Kevin quickly went to work on crooks bonk. I lined out a dorky noseslide to fakie then creepy spin over the ‘hip’. Also got a nollie front bigspin (dave’s latest challenge), but I gotta do it on something better. Sean worked on back 3s. Kevin did nollie cabs, Janoski flip. Fuzz showed. Sean did a crazy ollie. Then we chilled. Great seeing Fuzz again.

(setup 8.25 null curby deck, venture 5.6 cast baseplate with v-hollow hanger, venture white bushings no bottom washer and bones flat top washer, 51mm bones stf v1, jessup ultra grip, new balance numeric 306 foy white/gum size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles

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)

Went to dog park on a cool, but sunny day. Dave L was there. The parking lot was being redone so I had to park the next street over. I wasn’t as cool as the dog owner who parked his car on the median. I wore my PJ shoes in hopes of reducing some soreness. It seemed to help. I had also put the 5.6 axles on too. Initially my board felt excellent. I had some new Spitfire 52mm tablets. Dave was doing his warmups over the parking block. I was feeling out a few things. Got a bad line of ollie the little narrow ledge then slow back 50 the step. Also boardslide a bench then noseslide 270 the next one. Dave got the kickflip over the parking block then quickly stacked tricks on the benches. 50s, 5-0s, manuals, nose manual, almost nose manual 180. Then he was mostly working on switch front boards. I tried a line for awhile of crooks a bench then 360 flip , but never got a 360 flip. I did have a good feeling halfcab flip earlier at least. I slammed pretty hard trying to get a back 50 over the top of the black step. Got front 50 180 first try, sketchy fakie nosegrind first try, halfcab noseslide to fakie. Slammed on a treflip. Also slammed trying halfcab noseslide 270 shove. Argh. I had mostly fun though.

(setup 8.3 null collage deck, venture 5.6 v-lights, 1/16″ riser, spitfire 52mm tablets 99a f4, 3 washers inside each axle, bones medium bushings, jessup grip, new balance numeric 533 grey size 13 with stock insoles)
(pain level 4/10 just sore still)

Starting to feel a little better after catching a cold I went to the curbs across the street at the very second the winter storm kicked in with a fierce wind. I did a couple slappy crooks, a couple ollies, and a front slappy and left. I had new wheels and my 8.5 setup. The STFs felt real good on the street.

(setup 8.5 null nolan deck, Venture 5.8 trucks (cast baseplate titanium hanger), indy 90a bushings , bones stf v5 54mm wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, new balance numeric 306 foy b/w size 12, footprints gamechanger insoles)
(pain level – I don’t know since I lasted about 5 minutes)

Went to Dog Park on a Saturday to meet Sean and Garrett before the big King Of The Hill contest. I was feeling pretty lazy. Almost no one was there when I arrived, but Denver/Fort Collins dudes started showing up. I was hyped on Mike and Austin of Reed Wheels fame. Although they both had smaller boards which I didn’t need to know. Ha ha. I putzed around for awhile mostly watching the new people rip and and enjoyed watching. Mike is so good. Then Sean came and we went to play a game of SKATE. After a couple bails I felt the twinge I haven’t felt in awhile. Plantar Fasciitis. No!!!! Ugh. It ruined me. I couldn’t really skate after that even though I posed some nollie tres. Sean took me out with nollie back heel. I put some 212s in the car on, but didn’t really skate. Bo’s friend Andrew was doing crazy techgnar lines. He did a kick front board on the 2nd tall rail so good. Mike and I were blown away. Oh yeah, Mike B had shown and was quickly ripping. Back smiths, back tails, all that. Forgot to mention Garrett too. He hasn’t been on the board much, but had a nice treflip nose crack. Ha.

Ollie, Gabe and I had a fun cruise down the hill to the contest. It was fun to watch. Easily the gnarliest skate event I’ve ever seen. Near the end Gabe, Ollie and I went to dog park. It was mellow, a nice group of older skaters almost all of which were wearing NB#. Crazy. I was wearing some 379s I had with the ol’ Nike Zoom Air insole. It didn’t really seen to help/hurt the PF pain. Gabe and Ollie had never been there before. Gabe was super hyped and got in the mix quick. We both ollied off the kicker then joined a few others in trying to kickflip off. Gabe got his sooner. Ollie had some nice front 180’s off. One dude stuck a nice treflip. I would eventually get the kickflip and it was one of the better feeling kickflips I’ve done. It was good enough that someone actually commented to me that it was ‘perfection’. Not sure I’ve ever had the complement before and it felt pretty cool. I followed it with a treflip with a lot of heel drag in the landing. That didnt help the PF pain, but it felt cool. After that I didn’t really skate much, just did some dorking. The park was filling up. Ollie had some nice manuals and was going for boardslide on the flatbar and slammed really hard. Gabe had some nice front 50s which impressed me. Bo showed up and asked me to film something. I settled with a boardslide then crooks as the kicker session was in effect and right next to the benches. Then Ollie and I got a cool combo where he ollied a parking block and I did no comply flip. Then I watched everyone rip and help give Gabe pointers on boardsliding the wallie block. Hayden had shown up too which was fun to watch. Fun day, we got some pizza after that.

(setup 8.5 null lazer deck, venture trucks 5.8 cast baseplate titanium hanger , bones medium bushings, spitfire 51mm classic f4 wheels, new balance numeric 533v2 gray stock insoles – then black 379s size 12 with Nike zoom air insoles)
(pain level 5/10 plantar fasciitis back in effect ugh)

Kevin and I showed up with Christmas completes and had someone take a photo of us.  We were thinking it would be funny to just leave after that. Ha. Kevin had some Venture lows instead of his normal thunders.  I sized down to 8.3 with the new venture 8.25 trucks.  I had huge new wheels. 53mm SML wheels.  I was super hyped to support that company, but should have gotten smaller wheels as I really struggled for awhile.  Kevin on the other hand was totally shredding rattling off ledge tricks.  Nosegrinds, back smith, 5-0s.  Carleigh showed up and pretty quickly joined Kevin on the bump to barrier.  He did different tricks until she landed the boardslide.  The nosegrind was sick. Carleigh did the boardslide pretty quick.  There was almost no one skating so we told Rob to come back.  He did. Rad. Of course the crowds had reformed unfortunately.  The only thing I did that I was hyped on was the line Kevin filmed.  I did it a couple times before filming.  Way better of course (Just joking, but since there is no footage in my head it was better). Ollie the flat bar (hyped that this seemed easier on the smaller setup), wallie the barrier, nollie back tail the small narrow ledge, crook the black ledge.  Carleigh and Rob jumped on similar lines. Rob with the ollie then front 180 over the barrier.  Rob gots pop.  But it’s funny because he can’t wallie it.  Carleigh did ollie, wallie, front 50. 

Later on we met up with Jack at his wood spot.  It was so hot.  That spot is so hard. Well, not for Jack and Kevin. They were ollieing up the weird corner like it was nothing.  Both doing manuals. I think jack ollied the big two out of manual. Kevin did manual drop down to quick back 180.  Kevin ollied the flat gap easily.  Jack did a bunch of tricks over it. One of the steeziest backside bigspins I’ve ever seen, backside flip, impossible some more I’m forgetting.  Carleigh and I were struggling to get up the corner ledge. It was frustrating. I was posing ollies over the flat gap.  I eventually got the ollie up the ledge. Did a boneless down a level, then somehow made it over the flat gap. I say ‘somehow’ because what I did was not technically an ollie.  It was some weird awkward momentum that got me over the gap. It stoked me out regardless.  It also showed Carleigh that if she actually ollied she could do the gap. She tried that while I tried another line to clean up the ollie.  I tried ollie up the ledge, kickflip on the narrow ledge, ollie the gap. I got it and ended it with a back 180 off. It felt awesome.  Carleigh got the ollie too. Jack did a rad quick foot line. Ollie up, gap ollie, half impossible.  Wow. It inspired Kevin to switch flip the gap.  Unfortunately an hour and a half later he gave up after landing on several. Doh.  Fun long day of skating though. I like my new setup so far. 

(setup 8.38 null event horizon deck, venture 5.6 trucks, doh doh bushings (88a boardside, 92a roadside), 53mm sml og wide wheels, 3 bearings inside each axle, mob grip, new balance numeric 533v2 pj grey size 13, currex run pro insoles)