After another night of insomnia and a busy day at work I met Rob at Dog Park after work. There was almost no one there. It was great for awhile. I had wore my old 379s and immediately liked them. Rob got on the picnic table pretty quick and I knew he wanted the manual. After a good slam/hangup he did it in a few tries. That got the session firing. I tried to get his back, but alas I wouldn’t get the manual even after several more tries. I got close, but most importantly didn’t let it get me down. A bunch of youth showed up. It was still fun though. Rob and I were going in pretty heavy on the 2 bench lines. He was doing front board then nollie front lip. He had a good slam on one of those too, but ended up getting a great one. Also some front 50s, front tail, crooks, halfcab boardslides. I was happy to get a front 50 shove in a couple tries. The halfcab noseslide to fakie took a few tries this time. Dan showed. Rob was trying kick front boards at that point. I missed the one he got unfortunately. Dan and I were hyped he was flipping in. Dan rips so hard. He started with some solid 50s then worked up into some long lines with his patented style. Such a treat to watch. Then we hucked off the kiddie kicker. I had gotten a bad kickflip and was trying to clean it up. Dan kicked off the train with nollie cab, rob back 180, then me with a terrible kickflip. It was fun. Dan and I hucked nollie inward heels for a bit. He was close. I wasn’t. Then Rob and I went to Saul’s. It was a pretty mellow session. My chipped wheel was way worse than I ever imagined and it definitely made me not want to skate much. But I had a few fun scratch grinds and several bailed axle stalls. Rob had some rad laps below coping and a few carve grinds. Saul did Saul. Super rad lines with quick grinds and turns. Also the best stand up back 50 I’ve seen him do. Dave showed at the end and killed it before we went to Dave Ls for the Shredder Orpheus premiere. That was a good time!

(setup 8.38 null dream machine deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, bones medium bushings, new balance numeric 379 b/w size 12, currex run pro insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

After work and another bad night of sleep I went to Dog Park and met Rob and Dave L. There weren’t many people there initially. It was nice. It’s hard writing these entries when I’ve been there multiple times since. Anyway, I remember having an okay start. Some fun slappy crooks, kickflipped the parking block, back 5-0 the tiny pad, ollied the 2″ gap onto the picnic table. It hyped up Rob to do the same. Max H was there destroying. He is such a ripper and nice dude. Halfcab nosegrind 180 was nuts. Fakie shove board break over the barrier was sick too. Dave L was on his normal program of several tricks over the parking block and manuals. He has a nice causal back 50 on the benches. I finally got to show Rob I learned one of his tricks, halfcab noseslide to fakie. I was hyped on how hyped he was on it. Rob is always a great hype man. He had some long lines, several 3 shoves. I forget the trick he was going for on the bench, front tail? I bailed a couple front 50s on the bench and it kind of ruined my session. Argh. Then about 50 people showed up and we tried to play a game off to the side, but at that time the biker lessons came in. So we played in the middle and it was total chaos. Rob set a backside flip and both Dave and I got them. That was the highlight. The lowlight was probably me missing several heelfilps then getting a letter when Rob did one perfectly first try. That also took out Dave. Rob took me out with a b/s shifty one foot. I stuck around until I got a 360 flip which took quite awhile even though I was committing pretty much every try. It was depressing. I was pretty over the grandpa shoes. I went home and didn’t sleep because my mind was wondering why I never progress and my knees hurt really bad. Argh. I think it’s because I change stuff way too much. Gonna try and stick with things that have worked. ~8.5 and vulcs with arch support insoles.

(setup 8.38 null dream machine deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, bones medium bushings, dc legacy 98 slim b/w shoes size 12, stock insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

Feeling incredibly sore on an absolutely beautiful night I met Dave at Erie Park. It was kind of crowded when I showed, but lots of youth that would leave soon. Eric showed around then. There were a couple other dudes that were fun to skate with. We were getting our warmups on. I had new shoes, DC Legacy 98 slims. They felt surprisingly good, but still different so took some getting used to. I had done a few flippers on the top area. Actually got the ‘easy straight 4’ aka no switch/nollie. I somehow beat heelflip master Eric to fakie heel. I was happy to also get a treflip. Eric was trying heelflips off the top 2 stair. He was getting close and slamming a lot. Good to see him charging like that. Dave was ripping the qp and bank to ledge. I tried a line for awhile of beanplant from the wedge to kicker followed by f/s flip, but never got the f/s flip on the bank. Dave was trying front 50 on the qp going fast to yank into the bank. Eric did back d on the qp. A big crew showed up. They made the park a less fun, but we still had a good time. I had done a few slow crooks and stuff on the ledges. Eric got the heelflip down the 2. I had posed a few treflips down, but never committed. Seemed doable though. I should have really tried, but having new shoes took away a little confidence. Eric was trying heelflip front noseslides on the lower step. I posed treflips noseslide for a bit, maybe making some progress (gotta got in with more angle). I got a first try kickflip to fakie front the wedge to kicker. I was really sore and started to sit for awhile. Dave was trying front nose to fakie on the bank to ledge. He got one then followed it with the front 50 yank off the qp that was so smooth. I had gotten back up with the goal of 10 tricks on the mini bank. The first few were some basic shoves, no comply shove, etc, but the last five were all flip tricks. Kickflip fakie, b/s flip, f/s flip, halfcab flip. Dave had started joining and gained on me quick as the halfcab flip took awhile. He did back tail shove, varial flip fakie, fakie flip, tech Dave in effect. Dave made me end with treflip fakie. I mean it was the logical choice for sure. Eric was doing heelflips and got a fakie heelflip. It took me a long time, but I got a ‘hands down’ treflip fakie. Oh well.

(setup 8.38 null dream machine deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, bones medium bushings, dc legacy 98 slim b/w shoes size 12, stock insoles)
(pain level 6/10)

After some physical basketball with Ollie I went out to skate well after dark. I intended to find something new, then remembered the new rock hump thing on Valmont. I parked near there and decided to warm up with some flatground or something elsewhere first. I had setup a slightly warped new 8.38 deck as it’s as close to 8.5 as I can get. It felt fine, I wore some old 212s to make things even more weird. I found a new super mellow bank. Did a couple kickturns and stuff, some side rocks. It has some potential for more stuff. I tried a ‘warm up line’ that ended up taking forever. Noseslide the low bar of a down ramp rail, kickflip on the bank, back 180 off a curb cut. The kickflip took forever. Ugh. Then I moved on and found even more new stuff. A brick ledge off a step, and a weird long 3 stair and some good flatground. I tried a line for awhile there too. Noseslide the ledge (it was brick and I didn’t wax it so they were just little jibs), ollie onto the top of the 3 and ride down, then a flatground trick. But I kept bailing the ollie onto the step. Then I did varial flip first and still bailed. Finally did it after a halfcab flip, then followed it all with a bad b/s flip. I was so beat by then, mainly the basketball earlier. I saw a fun looking tiny gap then manny pad on the way back to the car. Pretty rad as I didn’t even make it to the desired spot so I still have more exploring to do.

(setup 8.38 null dream machine deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, bones medium bushings, new balance numeric 212 grey size 12, nike zoom air insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

On a hot morning I met up with Rob, Kevin, then Dave L and Sean. I had put my 8.75 board on because I wanted an 8.5, but have none and thought it would feel close than 8.25. It felt great for the first couple hours. I warmed up on the quartapotty/blue pad. Rob and Kevin were on the banked blue pad. It was nice cruising around the park without a bunch of beetles everywhere. Dave L was the next to show. I don’t remember much before settling in on a couple lines starting from the top. Had a fun rock ‘n roll on the steep bank, then nollie to fakie in the hump, halfcab noseslide the black ledge. Rob and Kevin joined in on line time. I took awhile to get close to a full pull. Kickflip on the hump, crook the black ledge, front 50 the black ledge, treflip out of the bank. Never got the treflip, the 50s were a pain too. Rob did some kickflips and one foots on the hump. Kevin was doing switch flips and ending with nollie tre out. Kevin had also skated the doubleset rail and did a few tricks. There was a crew of bowl dudes playing some typical skate rock that sounded pretty good. Next thing I remember was the blue pad. Kevin trying kickflip nose manual, Rob doing bigspin front noses, me trying fakie 50 switch front shove out. Sean had joined us and kickflip nose manual pretty quick. Kevin tried to say “oh yeah, you can’t do this” and tried switch flip manny and slammed. That’s quality entertainment. Dave L was hanging in the shadows for the most part, but would come out with some serious bangers. Nollie front 180 the parking block then switch manual the blue pad. Nose manual 270 on the banked brown pad. I had pretty much started hating the huge board. Then it was time to go film. Sean made a gnarly 5-0 shove look oh so casual. Jack did a couple incredibly nollie tres and destroyed himself skating so hard. Then we ended up at Jack’s spot. I didn’t really skate. Sean did a 180 nose manual at rocket speed. Pushing that fast on my filming board was scary.

(setup 8.75 null event horizon deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers insie each axle, bones medium bushings, new balance numeric 868 black/gum size 12, stock insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

Moving slow on a Saturday morning I went to Douglass to meet the Dave’s, Rob, Kevin and maybe more. I think I got there around the same time as Rob on a warm, but not too hot day. The Dave’s were already putting in work. Dave L was trying a line of kickflip then manual the long narrow ledge. He got it, then tried again, but with a treflip. He got that too, but I think he must be a perfectionist because he kept going at it. Didn’t really get to skate with Dave F since he was filming it all. The rest of us started our warm up process. I haven’t been there in awhile, it’s such a fun spot. I was having fun on the tiny hip in the back that I love doing nollie back bigspins over it. Some “nollie” front tails, super slow 50. Rob was getting the wallie nollies really good. Kevin was setting up a new board, then went right into a line with young kid pop legs. Nosebonk, ollie, wallie. He wanted it filmed, added a back tail and a nollie tre and did it first try. He tried to clean it up a little, but we settled for the first as it was so good. Rob and I had been trying our normal pattern of lines. Something up the curb, something on flat, some ledge action. Rob as crooking the short side of the benches, which was really sick. Also noseslide to fakie. I had started in on a 5 trick line just having fun cruising. Cali grind up the curb, heelflip, curve around to noseslide to fakie the bench, switch front 180 off the curb, nollie shove manual on the speed bump. I think I actually did this before we started filming. Once we started filming I tried it all the same, but with a 180 out of the manual. I would never get it. I tried a lot. Rob got a couple lines to work with too. Back 180, halfcab, crook, noseslide to fakie, shove/no comply shove and a backside flip. I came incredibly close to getting the line. Kevin and Dave L had taken turns filming me. I just missed the 180 out. I was struggling with heelflips too much, so rarely getting far in the line. After all this we called it a day. I thought. Kevin did a cool hippy jump. Dave L tried and did a 360 flip off the narrow ledge after curving around the corner. Pretty crazy. Fun day working hard, I wish I would have gotten the full line. Maybe some other time.

(setup 8.25 null abstract #6 deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers outside each axle, bones medium bushings, new balance numeric 913 westgates b/w, stock insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

Feeling super exhausted after working early at work I went to the dog park with a couple hours before date night. It was super nice out. I was gonna take a nap in the car until Dave showed, but when I arrived I saw Jack and a fun crew there. So I didn’t nap. I had put Ventures back on. They were super loose. People say they don’t turn, but wow, they turn incredibly sharp compared to Mini Logos. I guess Jack had just done a kick back noseblunt on the ledge:

Man he’s good! Collin, Blake, Dan, Joe. All ripping. Joe 50’d the 2nd tallest flatbar. Jack got into nollie back tail and front noseslide 270 shoves. Collin was trying nollie tres. Blake almost kickflipped the black manny pad. Then they all started trying tricks over it. I was kind of hiding as I was not feeling good on my skateboard. Not good at all. I did at least get a crook on the bench which I wasn’t able to do on mini logos. Dave showed and we just skated the little spine wedge thing. I had a really awkward wilson slam on a pop shove on flat. Then another bad slam off the side of the wedge trying a dump truck. I’m sure some of it is to blame on the truck change, but I blame most of it on exhaustion. Dave had done a rad fakie dump truck first try. Then a steezy pivoted regular dump truck transfer. I kind of did one too, but ended more in disaster. We did some nosepick 180s. I got a kickflip feeble transfer. Sounds way cooler than it was, but it felt fun. Then died on the next try as a screw holding the metal in place fell out. Argh. Dave did a pivot shove transfer. Then we left.

(setup 8.25 null abstract #6 deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers outside each axle, bones medium bushings, new balance numeric 212 grey size 12, gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

Feeling very exhausted after work I went to the Dog Park with an hour to kill before hanging with coworkers. Gold Hill Josh was there so we chatted for awhile. Nothing worked for me skatewise. I couldn’t crook, 50, heelflip, treflip, anything. The only things I did I was happy with were noseslide to fakie, fakie 50 to fakie the low step and wallies over the littler barrier are always fun. I’m over the mini logos.

(setup 8.25 null abstract #6 deck, Mini Logo 8.38 trucks, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 2 washers inside each axle, buttom 88a doh doh and stock top mini logo bushings, new balance numeric 913 Westgates b/w, stock insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

On a rainy night I went into the garage for the first time in a long time. Cleaned it up some then tried to skate. I had some old 379s with gamechangers in them and started on the putter. Nothing was working. Eventually I was back in the Westgates and on my regular setup and things felt better. Once the flippers started I had some fun. I was listening to Fluung on the boom box. I got another one of those ‘barely a make’ varial heels, first try heel, b/s flips, couldn’t treflip and ended with a fun feeling fakie 3 shove.

(setup 8.25 null abstract #6 deck, Mini Logo 8.38 trucks, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 2 washers inside each axle, buttom 88a doh doh and stock top mini logo bushings, new balance numeric 913 Westgates b/w, stock insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

On a beautiful night I arrived at Broomfield park by 7pm.  Carleigh and Kevin were there.  Carleigh was in the very early stages of warming up.  Kevin said he was too, but he had already done nollie flip and switch flip.  So he wanted to play a game of SKATE.  It was decided he would do everything switch versus regular for me.  That included nollie vs fakie.  It was fun.  It started with a Kevin switch flip and Carleigh and I both had to double or nothing kickflips.  Carleigh ended up getting like 3 letters on pop shove.  Ha.  We offered quadruple or nothing.  It was pretty funny.  Carleigh got out after heelflip, halfcab flip and something else.  All of which looked like she was very close to.  Kevin and I’s game went on for a long time.  Dave, Sean, Jack had shown.  I managed defensive bs and fs flips which indeed means Kevin did them switch.  He also did jansoski flip, switch tre, nollie tre, dude was shredding.  I missed fakie tre, got a sloppy tre, couldn’t get a fakie bigflip, got a letter on fakie heel and it was over with f/s halfcab flip.  When Jack showed he did a no comply flip followed by a wallie noseslide down the brown ledge that turned some heads. Kevin, Sean, Jack were mostly hitting the black ledge. I saw Jack get a cab nosegrind. Kevin got stuck on kick back tail, but got a great nollie flip into the bank. Sean’s back nosegrind 180 then front nosegrind 180 were so smooth. He may have also gotten back nosegrind nollie back big out. He was trying it at least. I moved into the beginner/old guy section with Darin and Dave. We were trying lines with flat, quartapotty and the blue pad. Jack was there too, but doing crooks transfers into the brown ledge. We got some lines. I tried to start with treflip, but kept not riding away. I was happy to get a line of fakie flip, fakie stall to fakie, fakie nosegrind. That’s a lot of fakie. Darin was skipping the first trick, but had tricks like front blunt and back tail on the qp every try. Dave had pop shoves, kickflips, fakie varial flips to start. Back tails, learned front feebles on the qp. Was trying nollie back tails on the pad and eventually got one. He had done some good nose manuals too. I got a lot of heelflips, it felt great. At least 10 of them. One cruddy nollie back tail. Tried a bunch of fs halfcab noseslides. Even got a couple! It felt really cool! The worst part of the night was all the stupid beetles. Especially by the qp, it was seriously grossing me out. As I left Dave was trying switch deck check to manual on the escalator ledge. I bet he got it. I skated pretty terribly all night. I was frustrated, but had to remind myself that I haven’t been able to skate much recently and was still having hamstring issues. Also, the pivot cup on my front truck had blown out and I had my first bit of annoyance with the mini logos. Oh, and I missed several crooks which added to that frustration.

(setup 8.25 null abstract #6 deck, Mini Logo 8.38 trucks, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 2 washers inside each axle, buttom 88a doh doh and stock top mini logo bushings, new balance numeric 913 Westgates b/w, stock insoles)
(pain level 4/10)