After the snow stopped falling there were some dry patches where it had been plowed so I went searching. Ended up out on Arapahoe and had some good decent flatground a curb and a wet ledge. I hadn’t setup a new 8.5/14.25 board so instead I just brought a couple setups with Aces on them. Meh. I compared the two but mostly skated the 8.25. Did a few stalls on the curbs and managed one fakie back tail. I tried a line of halfcab flip, treflip, b/s flip. Never got the treflip. Wasn’t even really close or fully committed. Did some axle stalls. Would end up getting a few halfcab flips, close to fakie front heel. For the most part though flip tricks seem impossible these days. Kickflipping up the curb was mental battle. Also, ace trucks with 53mm wheels do not flip well. But the wheels did ride through the huge cracks before the bump to ledge pretty well. Kinda weird calling it a setup change because had I known it was going to dry up I would have setup a new board.

(setup 2/10 8.25 pmg ace 44s 53mm pjs es swift 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsoles)
(pain level 4/10)

Went to square state for Tuesday night session. At first it was just Nick and I skating. I had some okay warm up lines and ollied and front 180’d up the euro pretty easy, some ghost pops over the wedge. Nick had a good line with rock powerslide the qp, powerslide noseslide the little ledge then pop shove fakie on the little bank. Then it got kind of crowded. I tried a couple kickflips up the euro but wasn’t feeling it. Ended up in the small section for quite some time. Struggled with front 50s on the bank to curb but would get a few. Also really struggled to ollie up the curb which really bummed me out. Did the little line above which took an embarrassing amount of time. Gray had a few axle stall 270s. Then I went onto the ramp to do some flatground and hide by myself but after 3 bailed kickflips I focused my board and left.

(setup 2/10 generator 8.5/14.25, jessup ultragrip, thunder team hollow 149 royal bushings, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, es swift b/w size 12 currex runpro insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

After a fun day of hanging with the family I got out for a short session. Which was good because my legs didn’t have much anyway. I had thought of this spot and after some lurking ended up just skating here. The ledge is somehow taller than it looks. And I’m not just saying that because I haven’t tried to skate a ledge in a couple months. I warmed up with some no pop lines like switch front nose then fakie shove. Noseslide to fakie then fakie bigspin. Got to crooks then kickflip which I thought would come quick, but no, never landed a crooks. Unheard of! That ledge isn’t really a good crooks ledge though. I got a few very slow front 50s that barely grinded. One halfcab noseslide that felt pretty good but then I couldn’t do it again. I didn’t film long because I didn’t really feel like filming considering how badly I was skating. I got a line of ollie onto the pad, front 180 off then switch noseslide the ledge going so slow. It felt cool though. Got one ultra slow jib fakie front nose. Couldn’t get a back 50. I got a few flippers I haven’t done in a couple months. Varial flip and both halfcab flips. I was pretty beat, but overall pretty happy that I skated and started trying to pop onto a ledge again.

(setup 7/10 generator 8.5/14.25, jessup ultragrip, thunder team hollow 149 royal bushings, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, new balance numeric 212 b/w size 12 spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insoles)
(pain level 3/10 unbelievable! after skating for 3 days in a row)

After a cold morning doing PT I met up with Cass and Jake at a crowded Cushing skatepark. Jake’s back was hurting so we mostly just skated the micro halfpipe. Jake did his front and back blunts, switch blunt, almost sugarcane and more I’m forgetting. Cass and I had similar front 50s. He had some front 5-0s, tail. I had some disasters and the little revert tricks. It’s a really fun area. Did a couple of noseslides on the ledge. It’s funny to me how the switch front nose still gets love from others. Got a crooks that didn’t come easy. Cass may have gotten kickflip up the hip or b/s flip the hip.

Then we went to Merrill school which I hadn’t been to in a few years. The asphalt has taken a beating, but it was still run. Initially I was really sore and lacking confidence and didn’t think I would do anything. Cass got a good kickflip over the hip and I eventually got a really slow kickflip that didn’t go over the mound. Cass then did a really good hardflip which we are saving. I setup the cam for my b/s flip and tried to add fakie bigflip but didn’t really get it. Cass came really close to treflip. Then I started lining it out and it was really fun. The line is just a few basic tricks, but after not being able to really try tricks the last couple of months it felt so great to try hard and link a few tricks. Really fun session.

(setup 9/10 generator 8.5/14.25, jessup ultragrip, thunder team hollow 149 royal bushings, 52mm bones stf v1 103a, vans wayvee white size 12 spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insoles)
(pain level 4/10 started slow from all the ollies the day before but really it feels amazing to try real tricks again)

After getting lots of ghost pop lately I tried a different setup. Indys. It was below freezing and the slappy curb was wet. So I ended up at the rock area. I did a very easy feeling front axle stall on the rock first try and though wow this board has pop. But then I tried kickflips and ollieing onto the rock for quite a while. I did a slow kickflip before everyone of these ollies. I may look bummed, but I was pretty happy that my knee was letting me try so hard. I would never quite get the ollie up onto the rock, but I did get like 30 kickflips.

(setup generator blank 8.5/14.25, indy forged hollow 149 with royal bushings, orange spitfire f4 53mm 99a classics, vans wayvee white size 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insole)
(pain level 3/10)

Stopped at Valmont on the way home from work and met Dave. Dave ran the hip the way he does with some nollie and switch 180s both ways I think. I took way too long to front 180 the hip after carving the barrier. I posed some flippers over the hips and bailed a lot of ollies to fakie on various obstacles. Dave was going for a line of boardslide to fakie the rainbow and then switch front bigspin over the hip. He seemed somewhat close to me. I’m sure there is more, but I’ve waited to long to write this. Dave had to leave and I went to the dog park for the first time in a couple months. I did a crooks on the bench and a couple very slow front 50s on the curb and lurb.

(setup 3/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insole)
(pain level 4/10)

Went to Square State on a cool night hoping to meet Dave and it not being too crowded. Much to my surprise there was only Gray and Jordan when I got there. Dave would show up pretty quick and then Ashton awhile later “who just turned 30” ha ha. Dave and I kind of warmed up on the small bank to curb area. He was trying fakie back tail but couldn’t get it up there. I had some crook jibs, front smith, some boardslides. Dave did the ridiculous fakie crooks transfer pretty quick into the session. I would shortly get my line with the slappy then kickflip to fakie. There was a 20 minute stretch where my knee felt fine and I didn’t think about it and it felt great. Even if I bailed several kickturns for reasons I don’t understand. Dave and I couldn’t get slappy crooks on the wedge to bank. Gray did some slappys on it though. Also some nice kickflips to fakie on the qp and fakie ollie up the euro which is nuts. Ashton showed up and made a joke that he had just turned 30. He ripped. Back 3s up the euro, weightless airs, kick back tails, kick back suski, back smiths. Dave did the boardslide 270 several times. Ended with kickflips and the pivot shove fakie. Fun night.

(setup 4/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 with spenco 3/4 thinsole orthotic and 272 insole)
(pain level 5/10)

Decent day out, little cool. Met up with Sean, Cass, Kevin and Nick at Broomfield. They were all there before me. I didn’t feel so good on the board at any point, my body wasn’t having it. I would get a ‘full pull’ though as my one highlight. Crooks, switch nose 270 shove, shove out of the bank. They were all sketchy and slow, but it was a first try line because Kevin told me to show up Sean who hadn’t landed a crooks yet. I also got a little halfcab nose slide and finally ollied onto the black box. It was really slow and sketchy and felt okay the first couple of attempts, but that third attempt felt real bad and I stopped skating after that. Nick hasn’t skated in months, but still had poppy kickflips, good manuals and nose manuals. Cass had an amazing hardflip out of the bank, noseslides, back 50s, treflips, ripping. Kevin was getting his tricks back like nollie nosegrind, Gish. He would get treflip and switch tre. Sean was ripping. Lined out most of his tricks but the fakie back tail 270 shove and then kickflip nosegrind were the highlights for me. Then we had a nice lunch at Prost. Come back soon Kevin!

(setup 7/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 custom orthotics)
(pain level 7/10)

On a gorgeous Saturday I got out early to meet up with Venture Dave, Jake, Dave, Kevin, Cass and eventually Jack and Joe. And much to our pleasant surprise Brian showed up too. Work been crazy so I don’t have much time for this so here goes.

Kevin was in town and he’s recovering from knee issues too and just getting back into it. He seemed to have quite a few tricks back but it may have taken him a few more tries than normal. Like the Gish, nollie tre and switch flip off a curb. But it was great seeing him and man he still shreds.

Jake’s back wasn’t feeling it so he didn’t really get to skate much and offered to film. He still did some rock’s and a hurricane on the steepest qp though. Venture Dave with the shoves, front noses, I think got a few nose mannies too.

I felt pretty weird and hesitant still. I would go on to have a fun session and get a little confidence back, but didn’t really do anything I was hyped on. I couldn’t get fakie bigflip or treflip and I wasn’t sure how many times I could try before it was too much for my knee. Did a couple of super slow front 50s on the curb. Slappy crooks were fun, some boardslides and noseslides were fun. I was happy to ollie up the curb slowly a couple times and pose a kickflip or two up it.

Dave was on fire. Slappy crooks the qp to curb, halfcab boardslide transfer, front 50s the ledge, wallie manual body varial (shhh), boardslide transfers, kickflips and much more.

Cass quietly shredded too. Front board off the spine, nollie back neil revert, line of back 180 up the curb halfcab on flat and then back bigspin off the curb.

After that Cass, Kevin and I got some food and met up with Joe and Jack and a little ditch spot. Joe got into some hardflip front noses and front noses. I did a couple of switch nose jibs and a rock ‘n roll on the bank. Really fun day, a lot of skating and my knee seemed mostly okay.

(setup 7/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 custom orthotics)
(pain level 5/10)

After work I met Dave at Valmont park on a cool, but nice afternoon. The park wasn’t too crowded. Dave was already there finding new ways to skate it. I had worn different shoes, vans wayvees with custom orthotic insoles. They actually felt really good and I think the heel lift in the NB 600s was contributing to my pain. I tried to do some manuals across the pyramid but got scared of the speed, ghost popped a lot of ollies over the hip and the new hip. Dave had some really good ollies over the hips. He did a line of ride off the wedge then come around and a super solid f/s halfcab over the hip. I did kickflip to fakie and the crappy b/s flip shown above. But man it felt good actually and I was happy to be able to try them. Dave had a banger line of f/s ollie the hip, kickflip over the hip. Also the amazing grind off the wedge to wallie into the bank. Some f/s grinds on the volcano then nose manual on the pyramid. He had to leave. I did a couple grinds in the pond then called it a day after almost dying on one.

(setup 7/10 generator 8.5 14.25, jessup ultra, venture 5.8 titanium bones medium bushings, bones 52mm v1 stf, vans wayvee white size 12 custom orthotics)
(pain level 5/10)