• 

My ankle was still hurting, but it was Go Skate Day and I thought I could handle some slappies.  I had my new setup and was blown away by how sharp the Aces could turn.  There was a big puddle from the sprinklers right in front of the main spot which would get much worse after the sprinklers turned on once again.  UGH!  I did a few front slappies, few slappy crooks and that’s about it.  I didn’t want to pop with my ankle feeling the way it did and the sprinklers kinda ruined it anyway.

(setup 8.5 null smoke valley, jessup pj ultragrip, ace af1 55, spitfire f4 53mm classic shape 99a, new balance numeric 212 cream size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 6/10)

Will, Kevin and I met Rob on campus.  First spot was the little two stair with the light bank to it.  Great warm up spot.  I had put my venture 5.8s back on along with some little 50mm spits so I had some issues getting used to a new setup (like always).  I had a back 180 nosepick 180 that felt pretty neat.  I’m writing this too late to remember what others did, but we all had a few moves and seemed like a good warm up.  Next we went to Baker.  I think Rob was the first to get a nose manny and also the first to heckle some kids that couldn’t even say hello to us.  Kevin and Will front 50’d pretty easily.  I had a good slam on a front 50 when I popped way past where I needed to.  I guess that seemed to prove to me that Ventures have way more pop than Thunders.  I got a slow one after a halfcab flip.  Couldn’t get the noseslide to crook though even though I got up in one or two better than before.  Kevin and will had done a few basics then sat down while Rob and I kept skating.  Rob had halfcab boardslide quick, hc nose, front nose 270 and more.  Kevin did manual to 5-0 and nose manual to 50.  Next we went to the new business area.  Rob shredded as evidenced in the footage.  Will had a sick nose manual to firecracker and then some lengthy 50s and 5-0 on the long lower ledge.  Kevin’s line was pretty insane with the pivot to fakie and the halfcab down the 4.  I was unable to skate and got so frustrated I threw my board into the grass.  After a friendly kick out we ended up at the ol’ bank to curb.  Will battled no comply.  Kevin battled back tail then rattled off some Suciu-like combos.  Rob had pivots, pivots to tail, front tails.  I battled a few basics then tried no comply tail shove.  Never quite got one.  I’m definitely not old enough to count whatever it is I did.  I ended forcing myself to get at least one really bad treflip then we bounced for some glutenous food at Petes.

(setup 8.25 nullosaur, jessup pj ultragrip, venture 5.8 cast plate titanium hanger, bones medium bushings, spitfire 50mm f4 99a classic shape, new balance numeric 212 salmon size 12 with nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

• 

• 

Went to campus after a nice walk with Liz then dinner.  Missed the old guy session at the curbs, but I wasn’t really feeling like skating curbs again anyway.  It was a nice cool temp.  I had setup an 8.25 with Thunder 148s and put some old Bones wheels on.  Cruising into campus it felt great, lower to the ground and the hard wheels felt great.  I ended up at a spot I haven’t really skated before.  It’s a ledge that looks perfect, but got knobbed right away.  Anyway one of the knobs is missing making for a 4 foot section.  I did some lines to warm up.  Ollie a manhole cover (my first ollie was surprisingly painful), noseslide the ledge, no comply 180.  Then the other way switch noseslide, nollie tail a short downhill section, front 180 the manhole.  Switch 180 the manhole, kickflip on flat, noseslide to fakie, fakie flip.  The kickflip took awhile.  Argh, I could feel the board was lighter, but I still struggled.  I couldn’t crook the ledge, the truck difference was messing with me.  I did have some fun slappy crooks on the uphill section. Too bad it’s knobbed because it would be fun to go all the way up.  I managed a couple incredibly slow front 50s.  For how bad I was feeling that made me a little happy.  Until I tried to line them out with halfcab flip.  That’s when things got depressing.  It took forever to get an incredibly slow one.  Not much went on after that, I tried some treflips, but didn’t land one or even commit.

(setup 8.25 nullosaur, jessup pj ultragrip, thunder hollow 148s, bones stf v1 52mm 103a, adidas puig b/w size 12 stock insoles)
(pain level 4/10 not really that much pain, but I just had no energy or ability to jump)

• 

I got to Broomfield park around 11. The crew was already there in the heat of the battle. Kevin was trying nollie noseslides. Rob lining out to no comply boardslides. Dave L casual nose mannies. Eric was charging back 50s. I had a new setup that I pretty much disliked out of the gate. Of course. I think it was the new wheels/bearings combo which is tough at a skatepark. It was so smooth it felt like I was gliding on ice. Anyway, I started slow and never really got going. I had a goal of noseslide back 270 out which I tried, but did not get close to. I also did a PJ inspired crooks to fakie then fakie bigflip on flat (jessup had just posed him do a crooks to fakie then quick fakie crooks bigflip out and I figured I’d do at least 2/3 of the line (which has since been taken down so I couldn’t link to it)). Kevin also got nollie crooks. Rob put in a journeyman effort on pop shove llipslides. Man he was close. He also pounded out tricks like front tail, back 50 back 180 and many more. Eric heelflipped the parking block, crushed lipslides, back 50s. Dave L almost got nose manny nollie back 180 on the brown pad. I’m missing a ton. I tend to do that when I skate bad.

After lunch and some basketball with Ollie I went and skated flatground at the school.  I was feeling sore so started with nollie shoves, fakie shoves.  Then kickflip, no comply 180, fakie flip took way too long.  Started trying the thing where the end of one 2 trick line is the start of the next 2 trick line.  So next was fakie flip then halfcab flip.  Halfcab flip then b/s flip.  B/s flip then fakie bigflip.  Fakie bigflip then varial flip.  Varial flip then heelflip.  At this point I was so dead from skating earlier and then basketball with Ollie.  But I went for heelflip then treflip.  I got so tired on heelflips that I would only even try like 1/5 of them and I missed the few treflips I tried.  I gave up, but was happy I skated.  I’ve come to realize that a lot of my sucking lately is because I’m too embarrassed to skate around people.  I wont try basics that I’m not good at and therefore I can’t expand upon them.  Argh.  I guess I need to just deal with it. 

(setup 8.38 null smoke valley, jessup ultragrip, 5.6 ventures hollow axle 3 washers on the inside of each axle, spitfire 51mm green slag radial 99a f4, new balance numeric 212 size 12 nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain 5/10)

On a very nice morning I arrived to an empty NorthGLENn park. Then Dave and a bus full of Square State kids arrived. It was fun though. Simon and Jake would show too. Then Brian with another bus of kids! I had a new setup:

• 

8.75 Null Jack Night Skate deck, big Ventures and big colorful 53mm conical fulls (yikes!). Why a change after so long on 8.25? Because I haven’t been landing anything on 8.25 anyway so might as well ride a board that actually fits me and enjoy the ride more. It was funny how mad Dave got at the crowds. But it really wasn’t bad and getting to skate with Brian was awesome. My warm ups went decent considering my huge setup change. I did the kickflip on the bank and then noseslide pretty quickly, had some fun 50s both ways on the noping bank, enjoyed some hip ollies. Everyone seemed to be up in the handrail area so I joined. Jake did some solid no comply 180s into the first bank, front rock and pivot on the barrier. Simon boardslid the rail, to manual, to fakie, noseslide too. I think he did stuff on the barrier as well. Dave boardslid it then front boarded it, boardslide and feeble transferred into the bank and probably did tricks on the barrier too. Jake got going with bluntslide and noseblunt. I got stuck filming for awhile. Brian almost got some ride on bluntslides then the crazy dropin. Simon and Dave did all kinds of tricks on the noping bank. Daves crook fakie and Simon’s bluntslide rock fakie were so good. Dave also got switch front crook fakie (I think). Earlier on Dave had done one of the best lines I’ve ever seen him do. Feeble transfer into the bank, ollie the kicker gap, lipslide the top qp, back 180 up the euro, switch crook the bank. I tried a bunch of front feebles and only got one which didn’t really grind. Near the end I wanted to relive the blunt to back d on the little noping qp. Much to my delight I followed it up with a fakie hurricane. Dave did the 180 switch crooks and we bounced to Ambulance ditch where Dave did a quick hammer for Stubborns 2. I hucked nollie tres. Some of which felt totally doable. But Dave had to leave so we left after about 15 min.

I stopped by Broomfield park on the way home, but it was super windy and crowded. I went to the nearby Safeway ledge and it was somewhat protected from the wind so I skated. I thought I would be too tired, but I kept going and skated for a good hour. I made myself do 10 back 50s which took awhile considering how bad I’ve gotten at that trick. I also did front 50, front 5-0 (accidental of course), front 50 180, front smith stall, front tail stall, got into a few switch crooks, took too long to do nollie back tail and couldn’t get very close to kick back 50 with the big board. Long, fun day of skating.

(setup 8.75 null spanbauer night deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 6.1 with stock bushings no big washer, spitfire 53mm conical full f4 99a red/blue, new balance numeric 212 cake size 12, footprint elite mid insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

After dinner I was sitting around about to watch the Nuggets lose and decided I should probably try some flippers in the garage. I had reassembled my 8.25 setup with 5.6 v-hollow and 50mm wheels. It felt like a dream. Warming up was okay, kickflips weren’t consistent, but fakie flip, halfcab flip and b/s flip were all real quick. I tried cabs for awhile and kind of got them. If I had more space I think I would have done a proper one. Then I tried to combine all of the previous tricks into one glorious cab flip. I never got my feet on one, but a few did feel close. Then I went in on treflips. I was really hoping to get at least one in 10 tries, but I didn’t. I was about to get bummed, but then landed the 12th and 13th. Then another a few tries later. 3/17 is my best in a long time. Still want to get my 3 tres in under 10 tries though and obviously going to keep working on them. I tried nollie flips for awhile, not too close. Switch front heels, but I ran out of steam. I was happy I skated.

(setup 8.25 303 deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.6 v-hollow, bones medium bushings, spitfire f4 50mm classic shape 99a, new balance numeric 212. b/w size 11.5/12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 3/10 not so much sore just didn’t have much juice)

Knowing more snow is coming and the wind had died down a little I headed to campus after dinner and some wine. I was on a different setup altogether. 8” with 8.25” trucks and small wheels again. Why not right? I started with a couple curb stalls at the new meetup spot then rolled down to the yellow lurb. There was some snow near the fence, but it was mostly fine. I didn’t do much of anything. Actually, now that I think about it I probably only landed crooks to fakie and front tail without any slide. I was kind of close to front nosegrind 180 and back 50s. But was bummed how much I struggled with back 50. I had a kickflip that felt so incredibly easy though. I also hucked some halfcab heels as it’s a trick I’d like to do in a line there. Then I rolled down to the new area hoping to try and ollie onto some taller ledge. But almost everything was unskateable because of snow or ice. I did some rock ’n rolls on the bank, but that was about it. I hit a wood bench in the covered area and did noseslide and noseslide to fakie, a fakie flip and good feeling halfcab flip. I looked at some other spots, but they were all snowy or covered in gravel so I just went home.

(setup 8’ null archway deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.6 cast baseplate v-hollow hanger, bones medium bushings, spitfire 50mm classic shape f4 99a, new balance. numeric 212 b/w size 11.5/12, nike sb zoom air insoles)(pain level 2/10 felt surprisingly loose just didn’t have much mental drive)

On an incredibly nice morning I rolled to Denver, picked up Kevin then went to the Rhino plaza. Kevin and I warmed up with some flat ground and nose slide variations on some benches. Nothing too special. Noseslides, nose slides to fakie, crooks, etc. Kickflips for me, nollie flips for Kevin. It was so warm out. 55 degrees felt like 80 after how cold it’s been. Cass showed up and slammed super hard on a puddle at the start. It was brutal. He recovered and shortly after we went to the “flatbar” which was now about 6” off the ground. Kevin was able to front and back 50 it. Cass may have gotten front 50. I posed some front smiths that turned into little jjbs. Then we skated the orange double ledges. Kevin had some good front 50s hop the gap back to 50. Cass had front nose. I had some crooks and felt out noseslide through the gap.

Then we went to the nearby escalator ledge, gave it some rub brick love and started skating it. It had started getting cloudy and cooling off a little bit, but still quite nice out. The ledge was harder to skate than it looks. After not skating outside for so long it felt cool to just flow around and do slappies, flip tricks, ollie over manholes, etc. Cass had done a better noseslide shove. Kevin and I did some crooks. Mine felt good and then I saw the footage. Doh. Cass had a nice treflip. Kevin and Cass did 3 shove late flips. Wow. I couldn’t even treflip.

Then we went real close to a bar that had a crappy quarterpipe outside of it. Cass got food while Kevin and I skated it. It was about 4 feet tall, soggy, slippery and falling a part. it was kind of funny because the asphalt was pretty good, but it took awhile to adjust to slowing down that quickly. Kevin of course ripped it. Nollie flips, switch flips, back d, switch front d, pivot fakie. Then he went to eat. I mostly just skated flatground very badly. Oh yeah I was skating my 8.25 at the first spot, but had switched to the 8.5 for the second for reason’s I do not really know. I tried to get a line of halfcab flip on flat, b/s flip low on the qp, treflip on flat. Never got the kickflip, but got a couple treflips in a row and several halfcab flips.

(setups 8.25/8.5 ventures/ 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 212 b/w size 11.5/12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

Initially warming up went pretty well, before flip tricks started.  I got the first two kickflips, but then struggled with them until I got my 5 in a row.  Fakie flip came quick.  Then I tried switch flips which I committed to, but was not close.  Nollie flips next and I was really thinking I might land one.  But nope.  Did b/s flip and halfcab flip next.  Then heelflips which took a long time and I started to get angry, but the one I got felt really good.  Tried some switch heels. I actually committed to some, but they only half flipped.  Switch f/s flips were next, only a couple of which actually flipped around, but no commits.  I ran out of excuses to try treflips so I went for it.  It took about 20 tries to get one, but I went on to get a couple more.  One of which felt pretty good.  After that I did halfcab heel and hucked fakie inward big heels.  Ha, I don’t know why, but that trick seems doable.  I wasn’t close.  Fun little session.  Mostly because I landed some treflips.  Oh yeah, I was on my smaller 8.25 setup and I really liked it. (setup 8.25 303 deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.6 v-hollows, stock purple bushings no big washer, 1/16″ riser, spitfire 52mm f4 classic shape 99a, es accel slim plus size 12, thin xero insoles) (pain level 3/10 some right knee pain still)

Woke up early when I’m on the late shift at work so I did some exercises then went to the dog park. It was cold in the upper 20s and took a bit to get warmed up. But after a bit I got a great long warm up line that put me in a good mood. Back 50 little one, crooks the two step, kickflip on flat, wallie wallies world, noseslide to fakie cinder block shuffle, fakie flip on flat, halfcab noseslide, heelflip, little front nose jib the two step, front 50 the little guy, bailed a treflip. I did get real close to a few treflips. Been trying to adjust my foot placement after seeing that guy in Rhino the other day. Oh yeah, I was back on my 8.5 setup. This time with big 54mm Bones wheels. I think I really need the extra pop of the hard Bones wheels. I would have a decent session. Did a few lines. Front 50 the black box, crooks fakie cinder block, halfcab flip. Tried back 50 shove on the little guy for awhile, but didn’t get it. Ollied Wallie World for the first time in forever. Tried to front 50 the two-step, but never got it. I was close though. Then I ended by doing front 50 shove on the cinder block ledge. I was happy I didn’t completely fail at that again. All in all a decent session. For the first time in several days I wasn’t super bummed on myself after skating.

(setup 8.5 null plant life deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.8 red cast baseplate titanium hanger, venom 88a big bushing 91a small bushing flat washer top, 54mm bones stf v5 with all washers outside the wheels, new balance numeric 212 mustard size 11.5, footprint mid elite insoles)
(pain level 3/10)