Took and ‘off’ day. I’ve been liking the bigger setup so much I committed to it with a new deck. While I was at it I put some new wheels on that weren’t worn down under 50mm. The 360 manuals with ollieing really are fun.
(setup 8.38 null control room, venture wides, venom 91a bushings, bones stf 51mm v2, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)
Don’t get me wrong, Trent McClung is rad too, but man, Diego is changing the game!
It’s been awhile since I’ve skated this spot. Mostly because it’s not really skateable during the winter as the bricks retain moisture. But it was good on this day and way more fun then I remembered. I warmed up slowly on the tiny banked curbs, started going noseslides and before long got into it. Pretty quickly I had a fun line of crooks over one brick section then noseslide to fakie over the next. It felt really cool. I tried to get better crooks, but never really did. I randomly hucked a kickflip nose stall and pretty much did it first try. I got close and technically landed one, but still never posted up like I want. It’s weird how the bigger board felt better for it though. Took too long to do front 50 over a gap, couldn’t get shove out. Did some switch noseslides. Only a few flippers here and there. That old board is pretty shot, flippers would benefit from a new one. Couldn’t get halfcab noseslide over a gap or back 50s. Started hucking front crooks (not over a gap) and got into a bunch of them. It felt pretty awesome. Never landed one, but got really close and it brightened my day.
(setup 8.38 null ollie deck, venture wides, bones stf 51mm v2, venom 91a bushings, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)
Had a lazy Sunday going after such an action packed day the day before. I headed to research ledge late in the afternoon. I brought some wax and it was kind of melted from the warm weather so it caked the ledge. Maybe too much. I started with noseslide and noseslide to fakie, then crooks, boardslide popout, back 50, halfcab noseslide. Some of these were done really badly, but I didn’t want to focus on them. Then went crooks to fakie which took awhile and finally I tried back 50 shove out for awhile and forgot how to back 50. Ugh. I got a little mad at that point. Doing flatground going back up to the starting point went better then expected. I got a lot of my basics. The heelflip first try kind of surprised me, that is one of the tricks I’m supposed to lose with the bigger setup. I ended trying crooks shove out the hard way. I didn’t get close at all, but it seems possible. That’s kind of a dream trick.
(setup 8.38 null ollie deck, venture wides, bones stf 51mm v2, venom 91a bushings, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)
Feeling more exhausted then I should I was woken up by Joe and crew around 8am. They wanted to skate! I dragged more then normal, but we headed out for Broomfield around 9am. After a coffee stop we arrived at a crowded and bright park. It was hard to get things going. I tried to pace myself. Joe and Damon were ripping, played SKATE. Rob met us. Fuzz too. Carleigh even later. I was skating the big board, not really liking it. Most of us eventually settled in on a blue bank session. Joe and Fuzz did various 180 combos. Rob was the manual king. Damon was doing fakie tres. I switched to my little board temporarily and hated it, went back to the big board and did a bigflip on the bank. Carleigh did a back disaster on the brick qp.
After some Chipotle we went here. This spot rules. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been here. Fuzz and I started with a game of no pop SK8. I owned him. Ha. People warmed up with ledge tricks. Joe and Fuzz tried fakie willys. Joe landed a good one to forward. Fuzz landed a hilarious one, but it counted! Fakie 50s to fakie, those two were killing it. The setup got further back each time and before long we were lining it out. I think everyone ended up filming lines before too long. Carleigh learned straight no complys and did one in a line off a drop. I did a line with the only two tricks I can do moving faster then a snail (kickflip and front shove). It was incredibly fun when I got it though, as the front shove off the tiny drop felt like a Baker Maker. I filmed Fuzz, Joe, Carleigh for awhile. All got good stuff. Joe tried fakie 50 to back 50s for awhile and got a good one. I tried front 50 kickflips out for awhile and got pissed.
Then we went to 287 ditch. It was muddy and not as fun as last time. Well, for me. Dave met us and slayed it. Him and Joe were skating hard. I tried to get going, but couldn’t. Damon ripped it too actually. Kickflip to fakie, front 50s, front boards. Richard showed up at the end and did a back blunt on the parking block almost immediately. So sick.
Then Liz, Joe and I went to the Iggy Pop show! It was pretty incredible!
(setup 8.38 null ollie deck, venture wides, venom 91a bushings, bones 51mm stf v2 nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)
On a cool day I went out to Louisville park. I would meet up with Dave and eventually Rob. I started out just kind of cruising around, nothing special. Did a few long cali grinds. Started trying front 50 kickflip out. Didn’t get very close. I was on the bigger board again. It felt good for the most part. Dave showed and a mostly hip session went down. I took a long time to get a backside flip over the hip. Dave did a frontside cab and some good pop shoves. I hucked 360 flip, half cab flip, cab flip before settling in on fakie bigflip which also took awhile to land. Dave started trying these sketchy back 50s with no setup and grind into the bank. I thought he was going to die. I was happy when he stopped trying it. Ha. Then Rob showed. Rob! On his first day back on a board after his annual trip to Ireland. He looked good out there. Front board pop outs, manuals, ollies over the hip, crailslides. Killing it. I was liking my bigger board until we went to the hockey rink for flatground friday. Man that big board was harder to get around. We played a game of SKATE which I managed to win, but it was only because Rob didn’t want to try fakie flip yet. Skated flatground a bit longer. I didn’t land much, but a halfcab flip felt really good so it kept me from obsessing over my smaller setup sitting in my car patiently waiting for me to skate it again.
(setup 8.38 null ollie deck, venture wides, venom 91a bushings, bones 51mm stf v2 nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)
Another minimum night in the garage. I had a little more desire to skate at least, but still didn’t ollie.
(setup 8.38 null ollie deck, venture wides, venom 91a bushings, 51mm stf v2)
Almost ended my streak and goal of 366 days this year. I was determined, but Ollie made me go out in the garage for a minimum sheet of wood manual session. He joined me. It was fun, we goofed around. I rode a big board that was in my garage instead of my little one. It felt good. I didn’t ollie at all and my streak of doing at least one kickflip a day is over. Kind of sad about that, but it was ruining me.
(setup 8.38 null ollie deck, venture wides, venom 91a bushings, 51mm stf v2)
Drove up to Fort Collins on a cool, but nice morning. I arrived to an empty park. I pushed around not feeling all that great or as motivated as I thought I would. Another dude showed for awhile and I finally got a little warmed up. Then he left. I set out the GoPro and tried to film a front 50 kickflip out on the little ledge for awhile. Got close a couple of times, but the ledge was so inconsistent that I gave up. I tried a few lines for awhile. Ollie the small part of the rail, ollie onto the dragon bank and axle stall the qp. Never got it. Nose manual, front tail over the tiny hip, back 50 on the ledge. This actually took me a long time. Back 50s are the devil lately. Was trying a line of nose manual, b/s flip, halfcab crooks when Steve showed up. I haven’t skated with him in like 8 years. Crazy. He still had it. After some warming up we played a game of SKATE. Right away he hit me with some of his old classics that always got me letters. Nollie back 360, nollie heel, creepy spin. The game would take awhile and I didn’t land much, but I would end up winning it. We skated the park for awhile. Steve was skating the bench without problems. I couldn’t get the fire going, but I did have some ok flippers including a nollie 360 flip that felt awesome. We played another game of SKATE that went T-T before I won. Then we played on the tiny mound qp for awhile. It was fun. It’s the only place I can do pivots to fakie. I also got a blunt to back disaster. That trick kind of rules. Front pivot to fakie, tried front noseblunts. Steve did some rad bluntslides. That was pretty much it. I was dead tired, so incredibly sore and bummed on my state of skateboarding. I think I need to give up on the goal of skating every day this year. It’s killing me and making skating not so fun.
(setup: 8.1 null control room, venture 5.25 lows with 3 washers inside, venom 91a bushings, 50mm bones stf V1 wheels, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)
Matt and I met John at the Broomfield park. We pulled in at the same time. Actually John pulled in right as Matt was opening his door and it was close to taking out my passenger door. Ha. We tooled around for a bit before skating the flow bowl for quite awhile. It was fun. John was shredding. Rock’s both ways on the pool block, blunt on the noping, switch carves, feeble grind the pool coping. Matt took awhile to get the channel ollie, then put down a good one, had some good frontside carves. I did some axle stalls, realized low trucks suck for carving, started popping micro airs up into the small qp on top. It was fun. Then we mostly skated the black ledge. Matt killed it with so many first try tricks. Fakie 5-0, fakie nosegrind, backside nosegrind, back nosegrind back 180 out, front tail, back tail, I don’t really remember, but he rattled off a ton. John got a fakie 50 to fakie, switch noseslide shove. I only tried noseslide 270 shove and switch noseslide tricks. John and I started hucking switch tail kickflip out. I mean why not? Then i was off to the Polar premiere.
(setup: 8.1 null control room, venture 5.25 lows with 3 washers inside, venom 91a bushings, 50mm bones stf V1 wheels, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 steel/gum)