Blue Skies park after lunch on another cloudy and cool day in the low 30s. Since I know it’s going to be really cold at night I’m trying to skate during the day. I was feeling better then yesterday. I went through the warm up rounds somewhat quick and settled into some new stuff. Was trying a line of front 50 up half the escalator ledge (above), b/s flip on the bank, crooks the low ledge, then hippy jump a flat bar. The front 50s started off good and I was going faster then I normally do, but the b/s flip was being tough (it’s a narrow bank making it harder for me). Somehow I eventually managed all 4 and the hippy jump was the first one I’ve done there. It was scary as that trick terrifies me for some reason. I was hyped on that. I tried to ollie onto the main ledge when I didn’t get the line. I got close, but no cigar. For a bit I tried front 180 off the ledge then fakie treflip on flat. Got close. Then I settled in to trying front shoves off the ledge. It’s hard because there isn’t much setup time and even for me I’m going slower then I want to be. About 20 minutes later I finally landed it. Whew! Two new tricks at the park in one day.

Around 9pm after helping India study for her math final a little, dishes, etc I went out to Rampy. I was really sore, but I didn’t care. I didn’t skate for too long, but did a few things I’d like to remember. Did a couple hurricanes. Did some fakie pivots where I went in to fakie without first pivoting on my front truck. Also did one of those f/s bean plants to tail. That trick is fun.

On a sunny, but cool Monday in the low 40s I headed to Blue Skies after lunch. There were a few puddles throughout the park and some ice left over from the little snow shower, but things were mostly skateable. It became apparent quickly that I would not be skating well. I managed a few things I enjoyed. Fs ollies on the little qp, boardslides to fakie on a flat bar, fast for me front 50s on the low ledge, back 180 the low part of the snake rail, cab kickturn on one of the weird banks. Finally got the backside 180 off the main ledge. But man it was really bad. Tried to ollie the low part of an escalator ledge and failed miserably. Seriously, not even close. Bummed me out.

My first hangover in awhile (from the 303 Landrace premiere) and I’m skating with Riley and Nolan? It was a good excuse to mostly film, but I did actually skate alright all things considered. Nolan though geez, Rampy might have a new champ (sorry Gordon). His first run ever on Rampy had a blunt to fakie in it. Pretty mind blowing to me. He went on to do so many tricks it would be easier to list the tricks he didn’t do. Some of the highlights include back noseblunt, back blunt bigspin first try, back blunt bigflip out, fsa, madonna?, so much it’s crazy. Riley ripped it too. Switch blunt nollie heel out, front noseblunt, 5-0s to fakie so steezy, so many tricks. I’m seriously blowing it here, they landed so many tricks I can’t remember more then a few. For me I wasn’t expecting much, but managed a fakie 5-0 to fakie, front feeble, front tail. So some of my better basics.

i can’t ollie

Slept in a bit for once on a cloudy saturday. Ollie actually wanted to skate. I had to meet up with Rob in Niwot so after that we ended up at this random bank behind Case Logic. I was sore from so much skating recently and hiking. Ollie had some nice fly out 180s both ways. Manuals down it. Some other stuff before getting distracted by a pile of tar to reshape. I went through a few basic flippers on the bank then started trying to ollie the trash can. I originally placed it the lowest way possible and was able to ollie that pretty easily. But I couldn’t get it the ‘taller’ way. Not even with Ollie shooting a sequence and cheering me on. Just look at how my back foot isn’t even close to the board. What the heck? Ugh.

Ollie had enough skating so I dropped him off and ate some food before going to Southern Hills. This spot is tougher to skate then it looks and I didn’t have much pop. I started linking some basics together. Noseslide, heelflip, crooks. But then some kids came to play basketball which kind kills half the spot. It was ok though because then I could just go back and forth and not line out as much with how tired I was. But I had to skate the old ledge (front left in the photo) which doesn’t grind all that good. I was only able to do the basics. My front 50s were really slow and full of struggle. I kept trying though. Got one front 50 shove out. Couldn’t do back 50. Couldn’t do halfcab noseslide. I put a little rock between the crack and 2 stair so I had to ollie over it. I only managed that a few times. Also kickflipped into the handicap ramp a bunch and a halfcab flip that felt great. Ollieing up the 2 was hard. Flip tricks weren’t going well, so I mostly hucked ones I can’t land anyway. After awhile the basketball kids left. I forced myself to ollie up onto the bench (right front in the photo). I was going pretty slow but I figured I should do it with a kickflip off the bench. After only a few tries I rode away from the first kickflip I committed to. I was so tired until that point and it totally hyped me up and gave me a second wind. I got a treflip, hucked a bunch of fakie tres, tried to slide front noseslides longer. Did a bunch of crooks on the good ledge (back right of the photo). Then forced myself to get into crooks at the start of the ledge in hopes of crooking the whole ledge. I didn’t get close to crooking the whole thing, but I was hyped to get on early and grind it awhile. Then it got dark.

I was planning to meet up at Crisis, but it was only 5pm so I went to Broomfield park which was mostly vacant. I mostly dorked around on the blue box and quartapotty. Did a switch boardslide on the blue box and a back 50 front 180 out. Front 50 back 180 out, lots of slappy tailslides. Tried to do fakie nosegrind sw 180 out, but couldn’t quite do it. Man, what a long day of skating. Later that night Fuzz kept telling me I skate too much. Ha.

7am flatground session. Sure why not. #ihaveaskateboardingproblem #flatgroundfriday

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:39am PST

Woke up around 4:30 am and could not go back to sleep. So I got up and did a few things around the house. Since it was my day off and I was planning an all day date with Liz I decided to skip out and skate flatground for an hour or two. It felt really cold when I started (mid 30s), but as the sun came up it warmed up quickly. I was really sore and stiff when I started and it took me several minutes and tries to get kickflips working. But I did. I ended up rattling off quite a bit of my bag before settling in on ‘new’ tricks since I still have to land 3 new flip tricks this month. I was getting desperate and realized that varial flip rewind was a new one I did a few months ago, but I didn’t want to count it. Well, now I don’t care anymore because I need numbers! I did several of them. None perfect. Then I tried switch f/s flip and nollie bigflips. I would eventually get the nollie bigflip. I have landed that one before too, but only twice or so. So yeah, two new tricks for the numbers. Now I have over two weeks to land one more new one. I started trying other tricks like f/s halfcab heel, the incredibly elusive treflip, fakie treflip. I finally landed another treflip, but landed in the middle and made the crack in my board way worse. A few tries later I tried a fakie tre and the board cracked beyond use. Doh! Stoked I went out skating and got a couple ‘new’ tricks though. Of all the flip tricks I’ve learned this year I’d really like the nollie bigflip to become a staple.

Old guy day. @_f_u_z_z not being old. @b_l_a_i_n_e_ @fullertrron

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:49pm PST

@fullertrron vs the volcano. Today was super super fun with the dudes @corpoglenny @b_l_a_i_n_e_ get well soon @43shifty

A video posted by Jeremy Frankovis (@_f_u_z_z) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:38pm PST

Took the day off work because it was supposed to be 60 degrees. Met up with Fuzz then went to one of our favorite parks. We got there around noon and it was already super nice out. No wind, just amazing. We warmed up on the little manny pad ledge. Fuzz had some sketchy back 50s to begin, but turned it up quick. I had thought of how I wanted to do a backside nosegrind on the little thing while driving there. Some 20 tries later I landed a couple. Rad. It’s been years since I’ve done that one. We started doing some 3 trick lines, but Fuzz would normally land 5 tricks at least. Some lofty b/s ollies on the steep bank hip, hippy jump the flat bar into the bank, ollie it into the bank. Then the cool fs ollie above. He started initially by doing manual on the ledge to the right of his photo then ollie to fakie. I had a back 50 on the manny pad, kickflip on flat then boardslide down a little rail. Then we did some lines starting with wallriding (ok technically bank riding) over the two stair. Fuzz was lining to the manual / hip ollie above. I was lining to a boardlide transfer up the long ledge. It took me a long time and by the time I finally landed it Dave had arrived. I must admit rolling away from it felt really neat though. My legs were pretty much shot by then. They haven’t felt that bad in awhile. Doh. With the exception of a few ledge basics, kickflip on a bank and a great feeling flatground nollie treflip I was done. Dave went on to kill it. Him and Fuzz were doing long lines that involved boardslide to fakie a flat bar and fakie ollie on the bank (in Fuzz’s photo). Blaine arrived too which was sick. He had a bunch of steezy ollies and back 180s. And some gnarly no comply 180’s in to fakie off a ledge into a bank. Dave shut it down with this manual a few times as the skatepark filled up with the after school program so we bounced. Fun times.

Feeling a little better health wise and on a super nice day I headed out to Blue Skies on my ‘gym break’. I felt motivated rolling to the park and pushed really fast into the downhill bank entrance. Wheeee. Ha. I didn’t end up starting too good though. I slammed pretty hard on a nollie to fakie attempt on the main bank. Kinda cruised around for awhile before settling in on flatground. Was 1-20 on treflips. Argh. Landed on a nollie bigflip and fakie double flip. Then added back 180’s off the main ledge and front 50 on the taller part of the narrow ledge. I would never get the back 180, but I did get the front 50. This one was better then the one other time I’ve done it there.

Later on that night after a run to Crisis I met up with Nolan at Broomfield park. It had gotten quite cold. I mostly just got some phone clips of him for the nullogram, but I did get some skating in. He shredded the bowl. I tried to skate it for a bit starting from the bottom. It was pretty fun except for a weird slam to my hip. Nolan did all kinds of stuff. Then we skated the quartapotty. I had gotten frozen filmer legs, but they came to life. Did most of my tricks and tried to learn a new one that Nolan said would be easy – front feeble to fakie. While I was working my rock fakies closer to feebles Nolan landed 3 or 4 new tricks I think. That’s pretty much how it goes for me. Anyways I was getting really close and the lights shut off. DOH. Nolan wasn’t having it though and moved his truck to light up the spot. Crap, gotta do it now! I did. Sweet, that’s a totally new tranny trick for me. Not sure I’ll be able to do it anywhere else, but it was fun either way.

Headed out around 7pm for a short skate before finishing off a new Null clip and getting it to 303 before the premiere on Saturday. I hadn’t felt well all day and it became apparently really quick that I was gonna suck. I should have left immediately, but I am dumb. It was pretty cold out. I started just doing different slappy stalls on a parking block then tried to get something going with flatground. I have to land 3 new flip tricks in the next 3 weeks so I feel this huge pressure to just skate flatground. Which isn’t all bad for me, but my body and mind wasn’t into it. Did a few kickflips, a first try heelflip that cheered me up a bit, a few no comply 180s and a fakie flip or two then I got an email from Rob with the files I needed to finish the Null clip so I went home to do that and write this run on sentence.

Feeling pretty tired, but not as arthritic I did my gym break at Blue Skies. I didn’t feel like ollieing too much so I decided to finally skate this little quarterpipe thing. Front lips took a few tries which was bumming me out, but then tricks started flowing pretty easy. Front tail, back 50 fakie, back 5-0 fakie, a few frontside ollies that felt really good. Did some fastish front 50s on the low ledge, still struggled with crooks which I don’t understand as I used to do them good there. Did a really slow front board on the flat bar stoking me out that I can land those to forward now. Now I just need to start going faster. Ended with an ollie off the main ledge (above in photo) and went back to work.

@bkfilmphoto waxing with a $5 foot long

A photo posted by Null Skateboards (@null_skateboards) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:44pm PST

@fullertrron front tail yesterday

A video posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:31am PST

For the first time in awhile I was feeling pretty arthritic. I don’t know why. It was pretty breezy so maybe that was it, but either way it kind of sucked. We met at this neat little bank. Someone had waxed it beyond belief. Dave locked into some good front tails as shown above. Rob had some too and no comply tails. Dave setup a piece of wood to dropin from the other side and try back tails which mostly just resulted in slams. I had some mini back tails and some bluntslides to grind, but mostly just bluntslide and not get out of it. Also tried kickflipping into the smallest part of the bank and then back 5-0 to fakie. Technically did it, but it felt really bad. I was struggling with kickflips. Ugh. Riley and Bernie showed up Riley did front tail, front tail fakie, front 5-0 and front noseblunt within a few tries. Geez. Bernie had some good front tails too.

#junkjamz

A photo posted by Rob Helmstetter (@43shifty) on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:24pm PST

Then we went into this new building that’s being constructed and junk jammed it. Bernie and I started with a game of SKATE. It was super dusty in there so whenever you landed or bailed a trick dust would fly. It looked neat, but it tasted horrible. The only trick I got Bernie on was nollie tre and the one I got felt really good. At one point I tried a b/s flip and hung up on the back wheels and did a back 270 kickflip. We laughed and Bernie wanted to count it, but I just couldn’t. Bernie got me with heelflip, cab flip, fakie inward heel, and a couple more I can’t remember right now. Then the junk jam was in effect. Dave, Rob and Riley were skating a pallet manny pad. Okay Dave and Rob were doing manuals on it and Riley was doing tricks over it (heelflip, kickflip maybe even switch flip). Us old guys tried to ollie it too, no one put it down. Then we made a bank spot. Riley killed it. Ollied over the whole thing, back heel, varial heel, geez. Rob had some sick one foots, a rad crook bonk, and more I can’t remember right now. Dave and Riley transferred a corner hip a bunch. I had a b/s flip and some little crooks. Bernie did a crazy front axle stall, Riley and Dave did crazy roll ins. Fun was had, dust was inhaled and the day ended on a tic tac race.

Sometimes you gotta finish the day with a good ol' #tictacrace

A video posted by Null Skateboards (@null_skateboards) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:42pm PST