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)

Last Monday I didn’t skate because I was so sick of the heat. I did however play basketball with Ollie. I felt fine after, but woke up later in the night with an intense pain below my left butt cheek. I think I strained the hamstring. Ugh. Anyway, it still hurts. I skated, but I basically just did a few slappies and several slappy crooks. Saul said he was feeling arthritic, but he looked good. He was hitting the slappies front and back. Alley oop slappy, layback. We didn’t last long. I had bought a set of Mini Logo trucks to try. Yes, Powell Mini Logo trucks. This is because I really love Venture lows, but I wanted a wider truck. These are the same height as Venture lows, but wider (8.38). They felt great. They have a very small wheelbase, even less than Indy. They turn good. They just look pretty bad. Oh well, I had told myself awhile ago I should try them after reading some glowing reviews on the slap truck thread.

(setup 8.25 null abstract #6 deck, Mini Logo 8.38 trucks, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 2 washers inside each axle, stock mini logo bushings, new balance numeric 913 Westgates b/w, stock insoles)
(pain level 9/10)

Feeling tired after work again I went to dog park to meet Hayden and then go filming. I felt like mixing up my shoes and setup so I was on my old 8.5″ setup and 212 shoes. Board felt good, shoes felt good, insoles felt super thick. I started off terribly, but after a few switch front noses on the step things started to feel better. Then all the high school kids showed up and it was a huck fest over the barrier clogging the main area. Hayden showed up and we skated for a bit. Man he’s good. Ollie onto the step to quick 5-0, pop shove and 360 flip over the barrier, crooks and front tail the top step first try, front 180 fakie manual 180 out the black manny pad, fakie 5-0 halfcab out the ledge, back smith the top step. Wow. I had ended up getting a few of the normal things. Couldn’t quite get the fakie nosegrind this time. Almost got a flatground 360 flip after Hayden did his over the barrier. Had a lot of halfcab noseslides and switch front noses. Took a bit to get front 50 on the benches, but almost got shove and accidental 5-0 shove. Glad I got to skate some. I like 8.5 more than 8.3. Filming went well. Jack and Hayden got sick clips.

(setup 8.5 Null Lazer deck, venture trucks 5.8 cast baseplate titanium hanger , stock purple bushings, sml 53mm og wide wheels, 2 speed washers inside each axle, new balance numeric 212 gray size 12, spenco 3/4 orthotic under nike zoom air insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

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)

After work on a very hot Tuesday I stopped by the dog park with about an hour to skate. When I first got there only a couple people were skating. Withing a few minutes though another 10 or so people showed and all were skating hard. It was the first time I was annoyed with the crowds. Everyone there was around 20. The bigger board felt big, but it felt right. I struggled with lots of basics. About the only positives were that I had some okay back 50s on the low part of the black box, nollie back tails the little narrow ledge. I struggled with front 50 on the bench, halfcab noseslide the bench, crooks the tall part of the black box. I ended by finally ollieing over the wallie barrier without any wheel bonk. Then I went home for dinner and saw my friends were skating Glenn Close. 🙁

(setup 8.5 Null Lazer deck, venture trucks 5.8 cast baseplate titanium hanger , venom 91a bushings with no bottom washer, bones 52mm stf sidecuts wheels, new balance numeric 379 b/w size 12, currex runpro medium arch insole )
(pain level 5/10 all of a sudden my right knee hurts bad again ugh)

After some basketball and hanging with my brothers family Ollie and I hit the skatepark. No one else was there.  The park is mostly terrible, but it’s surrounded by ledges. This makes it better than most parks. I was feeling somewhat hungover from partying with my brother and I had a new smaller setup. A new 8.25 board and old small ventures. Yes, I brought extra stuff with me on vacation because I anticipated this change. I couldn’t halfcab noseslide the long ledge. Settled on a line of kickflip to fakie, halfcab flip, noseslide, sweeper. Took a bit. Ollie filmed it. I was very happy with how easily the board was flipping. I had messed around with other stuff too, but not much. Did the ol’ boneless rail transfer too. Ollie did the fakie shove. That was about all he did.

(setup 8.25 Null Lazer deck, venture 5.2 v-hollow trucks , venom 91a bushings, bones stf v1 53mm wheels, 2 washers on the inside of each axle, new balance numeric 212 maroon size 12, footprint gamechanger orthotic insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

After a long day of work I got out to the curbs with about 10 minutes of sunlight left. I had put that 8.75″ deck back on. The reasoning is that I really did like it before, but I blamed it for my sucking rather than the arthritis flare up. I still felt sore. I did a few slappies, slappy crooks, enjoyed how much easier switch 180 was off the curb cut, one front 5-0, that was about it. Oh yeah, I had a new pair of 212s. This time in size 12. They felt pretty large, but comfy.

(setup 8.75″ null event horizon deck, venture ftc 5.8s, doh dohs bushings (blue 88a barrel boardside one, yellow 92a roadside), bones stf v2 51mm wheels with 3 speed washers on the inside axle, new balance numeric 212 maroon size 12, nike zoom air insoles)
(pain level 5/10 knees)

After a 5 hour drive from Pagosa then a quick nap I went right to skating. Oh, well I mean after a setup change of course since the previous session was so bad. I put an old 8.25″ deck on and lower forged baseplates. I got to a dry Southern Hills around 6 and skated for a little over an hour. I had very little confidence and skated poorly the whole time. A warm up run felt okay. Noseslide a bench, kickflip on flat, front 50 the low stair, boardslide another bench. Also did some crooks, noseslide to fakie, back 50s the step. Oh yeah, I had worn some 212s as my 379s had a hole I didn’t have time to fix. They felt good. Then it was time to try front 50. Never got one. Not even close really. I got onto the ledge a couple times, but it was pretty miserable. I did get a halfcab noseslide at least, maybe a quick switch crook turn around on the step. I focused my old board and left.

(setup 8.25″ null lazer deck, venture ftc 5.8s v-lights, doh dohs bushings (blue 88a barrel boardside one, yellow 92a roadside) no boardside washer, bones stf v1 pj 53mm wheels with all washers on the outside, new balance numeric 212 b/w size 11.5, stock insoles)
(pain level 4/10 still some sharp knee pain and no confidence whatsoever)

On a cold night I headed out around 7:30 to skate. Seeing as how I had switched between 8.25 and 8.5 I put an old 8.38 deck on. I had also taken off the bottom washer on my trucks to loosen them up a little. So once again everything felt different, but it was in a good way. I started out on the top area at the bottom of the Max G rail. I skated it different than I have before. I ollied up one set then tried a stall trick on the next curb. I got a front 50 pretty quick, but going up backside was hard. I must say the Sour video is incredibly motivating and making me want to try new stuff. I got a really sketchy line of ollie up, nollie back tail, then no comply 270 to tail on the next set of stairs, then wallie nollie, then a wee little ollie over the sidewalk bump, ollie up the curb, kind of did a crooks, but I ran back into the ledge and sat on it. Pretty fun line. Then I skated the ledge area for awhile trying lines. Ollie up the curb, kickflip, terrible back 50 (but still a back 50 and I really want to get that trick back) go across the road and ollie up onto the manhole thing to quick ollie the tiny gap to the sidewalk then front 180 off. Sounds like a long run, but luckily there is no documentation of it. I got quite a few crooks. Got a line of front 180 up the curb, fakie shove, halfcab noseslide then bailed a flip trick. Going uphill is hard there. I got a front 50 pretty quick, but could never quite get another one. My legs had gotten tired. I couldn’t heelflip. I ended with a crooks like I always do there.

(setup 8.38 null atomic cowboy deck, venture ftc 5.8s, venom 91a bushings with no bottom washer, bones stf v1 pj 53mm wheels with all washers on the outside, new balance numeric 379 tan size 12, stock insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

Went to Squarehouse on a cold and snowy night. It was adult night, but there were a couple kids still skating and would throughout the night. They were cool at least. Saul showed up right after me. So did hardflip Joe which was cool. We mostly had the park to us for awhile until later when some college kids showed. I had put together a bigger setup again. Sigh. The trucks were so loose. My first run on the minramp was terrible, I bailed an axle stall. I would have thought the bigger setup would feel better than that. Saul was getting some long grinds in. I messed around with some ledge warmups for a bit. The bigger board felt good for noseslides and crooks, bad for front 50s. I managed crooks, switch noseslide shove, front 50 shove. All going super slow and feeling awkward. Saul was doing sick slappies. I slipped out and slammed into the wall. Argh. We skated the euro for a bit. Saul got ollie up. So rad. I got a kickflip which was fun, somewhat close to a first try bs flip. Joe was doing quick up to ledge tricks right behind were Saul goes. He got back tail and back nosegrind 180. So sick. I almost sacked trying to noseslide the second one. Argh. It was fun trying though. I kind of got a front nosegrind on the little black ledge, but it had the outro bonk. I couldn’t get kickflip to fakie on the mellow bank, but I did get b/s flip first try. That was about it for me. I left quite tired and depressed. I don’t skate how I wish I could and it seems to be getting worse lately. Maybe it’s winter, maybe it’s just me.

(setup 8.38 null atomic cowboy deck, venture ftc 5.8s v-lights, venom 88a bushings, no washers inside the axles, 51mm bones sft pj v1 wheels, lakai sheffield grey size 12, stock insoles)
(pain level 2/10)