Well my obsession over new trucks resulted in some new Royals. Based off a lot of things. First, I had them a long time ago and liked them. Second, Meta had them. Third, just look at the dudes that skate them! Cory Kennedy, Wes Kremer, Mike Carrol, Hsu, etc. Baller team and their footage looks like their trucks perform how I’d like mine to. Stable on straights, tight when you want them. Fourth, still completely blown away by the level of nerdiness on this site and he says great things about Royal. Anyways, I was at Meta at closing time and Matt came by with his cruiser, but we went and got his real board to get gnar. We started by looking for some metal construction manual pads and upon finding them just bombed a little hill instead. Then we ended up walking up to Casey and the ledges were lit so we skated there. My new trucks were a bit weird, but I couldn’t really complain. I didn’t have much pop. Got a front nose 270 out (aka the Helmstetter), noseslides, boardslide, possibly a crooks and a front 50 that was a battle. Flip tricks went ok, the Royals are lower so flip faster. The 3flip I landed felt really weird. Matt had no problem front tailing the ledge. Then went on to do a sick line with a little manual bonk on a rock, front tail to fakie then switch tre on flat. Whoa! He also got noseslide 270 shove and back tail. Then we rolled the rough hill back down and called it a night. Fun.

Met Rob a little before 5pm on another chilly day. Sure it wasn’t all that cold (around 50), but there was a cold chill in breeze and it’s the middle of May already darn it! Warming up was very slow for me. I didn’t even really do any flip tricks, but I did one fakie flip where I was barely moving. So slow in fact that Rob laughed because he saw me land it, looked away, looked back and I was still in the same place. Yeap, that sounds like me. We mostly skated the ledge. Rob had some longer noseslides and boardslides, some crooks (the photo above isn’t a make, but oh well), front noseslides, halfcab boardslide, and manualled the whole hill a couple times. I had a few longer noseslides, crooks, couldn’t get back 50, got a front board pop out then started hucking a Fuller trick. Front board to fakie. Not even possible. I did however end up getting a front board back 270 out. Pretty sure it slid at least 6″ so it maybe counts as a new trick. It was fun. We didn’t skate too long, it was nice. I have to say I’m wanting to try some new trucks that turn tighter. Not sure what it’s going to be yet, but man, this website rules with all it’s info about trucks. I’ve been completely out-nerded. I’m ashamed.

Shortly after dinner on what will hopefully be the last cold night (~40 degrees) I headed to campus to skate for a bit. The students are gone! Normally when the students are gone and I’m skating campus after dinner when it’s still light out it’s warm. But no, there was still snow in some grassy areas and I had three layers on and a beanie. Anyways, I had thought of the area above because of a session awhile ago when there was some jersey barriers. The barriers were gone though. I popped a few ollies on the way to the spot that didn’t get off the ground. Great. I felt good, but just couldn’t ollie apparently. I blame the cold. But I got to this area and ended up having fun trying a couple lines. The first one was just ollie onto the platform (far right behind the upright parking gate), ollie off, nose manny the little manny pad, lap over lipslide a parking block then a manual the long way. Tried to do some flatground after that, but my legs were shot. Next line was a front 50 on the somewhat waxed part of the ledge, heelflip on flat (I rarely landed them), manny the manny pad, ollie up onto the platform (coming from the left is so much taller), then back 180 off. I only got to the back 180 once and landed on it, but didn’t rotate enough. A cop walked by and gave me a mean look at this point. I tried a few more times, but ended up getting tired and the temperature had dropped and it was snowing a little so I left. In between heelflip bails I would try slappy crooks on the waxed part of the ledge and got into a couple, but not enough to ride away. I had fun, it was cold, but I skated and actually listened to my body saying it was done rather then stubbornly continuing.

Matt (not a geezer), Neil, John and I met up with Dave and Brett in Longmont and went to good ol’ Rocky Mountain Elem to start. John started with flatground. Halfcab flips, nollie flips and treflips. Dave was working the bank to window sill with nose stalls to fakie then a bunch of pivot tricks on the side curb. I managed to backside ollie over a median without touching my tail multiple times. Got a front 50 shove on the ledge, back 50, got a 3 flip on flat, but didn’t really get much else. Matt did kickflip and treflip over a median, came close to a bad slam trying to ollie the bank gap, front 5-0, front smith, front smith 180 on the ledge, treflips, probably much more. Neil was killing it. Had a line with front tail on the ledge, Neil comply boneless over a median, almost crooks. Nose manual the round flagpole ledge, a bunch more. Brett had moves too. Shove fakie, no comply shove, a gnarly slam on the bank, noseslides on the ledge and a bunch more. My session ended right as it rained as I was trying some flatground trick and the board shot right into the pin in my knee. That’s like a mega funny bone attack and I couldn’t move my leg for awhile. It was fine after a few minutes, but the pain is intense.

Then we went to Longmont High. Dave had left for his daughters birthday party. I was so sore and like an idiot kept trying to skate. I should sit down sometimes, but I just never do. I didn’t have much to be proud of. Some kickflips over the little crack gap, slow front 50s on the ledge, fell into the thorn bush, couldn’t ollie a 1 foot cone easily, still had fun though. Brett was going for hurricane on the little ledge, got front board on it, noseslides, some long noseslides on the low ledge, a long front 50 followed by a bad slam. John showed up Neil by doing Neil’s line first try. Halfcab, boardslide, ollie the cone, noseslide the long ledge. Ha. Also had some nice halfcab flips. Neil was ripping here again. Front tail and front tail to fakie the long ledge, nosebonk a ledge. Matt back 50’d the long ledge from the tall part (geez), super fast front tail and front tail to fakie the long ledge, nosebonks, ollies over the ledges like they was nothing and tried to kickflip one.

A bunch more went down. I can’t remember it all. It was a fun day and a fun crew.

Went to Lafayette park right after work on a pretty nice friday. It was pretty windy at times though. I got there slightly sooner and took a couple warm up runs in the fish pond then Matt made me drop into the pro bowl (shallow end). Scary. He kept his speed all good and almost carved tile. Then we skated the flow bowl which turned into a bail fest. I think I finally scratched a little grind on the pool coping, but I’m not even sure. He back 50’d it good, but couldn’t get front tail. I bailed front d’s over and over. Then we kinda did whatever for awhile. Matt back 50’d the bump to big ledge. I spend a lot of time working on halfcab flips. Ugh. Got a noseslide down the hubba. I got a few tricks on the tight qp at the entrance of the park. I was hyped on all the kickflips on the bank to set up for it. Eventually got a tiny boneless on it. I was struggling with flatground, definitely feeling the big board lately and its starting to wear on me a bit. Matt tre flipped up the long euro, had some big ollies in the snake run and got a nollie flip to fakie on a bank.

Then I went to Crisis to deliver some boards for awhile. Then I went to Safeway ledges and it was pretty windy. I was super stiff at first. Eventually got skating harder and did a line of crooks the fence ledge, front 5-0 the reg ledge then a horrible treflip. Got a few back 50s, back 5-0, kick back feeble (supposed to be 50), front tails. Flatground was pretty bad. Came close to a nollie tre, was 1/10 on heelflips. Doh.

Matt and I met up with John, Rob and Neil at Safeway ledges on a perfect weather evening. Cloudy in the 70s. It was perfect outside. Matt and I got their first. He got to the grind basics before me with front and back 50s right away, 5-0s, tails, and went on to land lots of flip tricks and got into back tail on the tall fence ledge. I got going kind of quickly for me though. Crooks on the lower fence ledge, kind of a front smith, a very short kick back 5-0 (stoked and I was actually trying 5-0), my flatground was not great but I was hucking nollie bigspins feeling like they were possible. Rob skates this spot so well. He did a perfect 180 nosegrind and his patented back 50s amongst a bunch more tricks. Neil was hurting and kept it mellow til later. John had a sick bigspin front nose, a sick impossible, nollie flips and more.

Then we went to the park which was pretty crowded. Dave, Blake, Eric, Darin and many more were there. Obviously with how crowded it was and with so many people there is no way I can document everything that went down. I’ll try to remember some of the highlights. John was lining out the blue ledge with back blunts on the quartapotty and his patented “switch” front noseslides and almost switch back nose 270 out. Dave manualled the deck of the brick qp. Neil was killing it with nose manuals, manuals, lipslides everywhere. Matt took awhile to back tail the tall brown ledge, fakie 5-0 blue ledge, treflips on lock, ollied the trash can with ease, back 50 the double set hubba. I was was having fun and skating somewhat hard, but can’t think of much worthy of writing about. I got a fakie nosegrind on the blue ledge, front d revert on quartapotty, hurricane on qp, a slow back 50 on the black ledge, but nothing new really.

Then we played a game of SKATE. Dave, me, Rob, John and Matt. I need to take a break from these I think because I got so mad because I’m sucking at flatground lately. I bailed a no comply 180 then Rob went right after me and did one which I got a letter on. Then it was my turn again and I bailed a pop shove. Then Rob did pop shove revert which I also got a letter on. I held off focusing my board at that point. I got out a couple tricks later and felt so mad I wanted to leave, but remained at the park for the last few minutes of lights. Overall a really fun night with the exception of how mad I got for bailing tricks I can normally land in SKATE.

Feeling pretty good on a nice warm monday. Played some pretty heavy basketball with Ollie then met up with Matt downtown. After he setup a shiny new Null board we cruised from his place. We started at the red ledge spot in the alley and we actually lasted awhile. Long enough for me to front 50 and back 50 the ledge, pose a noseslide on the flat bar and do a dorky little dropin (and the make). Which meant it was long enough for Matt to do front 50, front 5-0, back 50 and the tall noseslide above. We got the boot then went to St Julien.

Oh yeah, I had new shoes:

They skated rather well. The NB+s are still good, but they just never stretched out like a normal skate shoe and are too small for me, hurting my feet legs. But man if they get them at Meta again I will be all over them. Anyways, yeah, we went to St Julien and did tricks over the little bump for awhile. Matt rattled off back 180, manual bonk, nose bonk and kickflip before I had landed a front 180. Then we went for treflip which ended up taking him quite awhile and forced me to do more tricks. I eventually got a no pop kickflip, no comply and no comply nose grab over it before posing backside flips. The treflip Matt ended up getting was super good though.

There’s a lipslide buried in there.

Then we went to check out Canyon Center, but it was under construction and almost all of the metal banks are gone. Doh! Lastly we ended up at this ledge. We were both pretty tired/sore, but had fun. Matt did nollie front flip and then front lip. So good. I had a few weak boardslides, but one in a fun line of kickflip up the curb, boardslide, back 180 off the curb. Then we pretty much walked all the way back. I really liked the Vans, but was more sore then normal for a relatively short session.

Feeling slightly better in the warmer weather I set off for the Boulder Skatepark for the game of SKATE Meta/YMCA was having. No one was really there yet when I got there so I skated the curb solo for awhile. It was fun. Just did some basics and avoided flip tricks. Then after awhile John and Dean showed and joined. I still didn’t land much. Almost a kick back tail and almost a back 50 on the low curb to crooks on the 2nd curb. John had some nice 360s to tail. Then the game of SKATE started. I had hardly even skated flat at all. Doh. I think since I was the oldest person to enter I got matched up with a guy that couldn’t do much more then kickflip. He was super nice and it was fun, but yeah, I got to the 2nd round where I got more nervous because people were watching and bailed 2 varial flips giving the dude I was playing every chance to do 3 shove variations and pressure/casper flips. I got pink slipped and bounced immediately to get Ollie to his football game.

Neil, Blake and I headed to Greeley for the grand opening of The Lookout. After checking out the shop there was a game of SKATE in front on the narrow sidewalk. I tried to warm up a little in the alley and man I was struggling. Then the ‘over 40’ game of SKATE started and it was Neil, Eric and I. I bailed pop shoves twice, rolled my ankle a little on an ollie north, didn’t get close to a front shove, but managed to land most no comply / boneless tricks I can do. It was fun. I don’t even know if we really kept track of letters, but Eric one and deserved it.

Then Neil, Blake and I headed to campus. The first spot we hit was the bench spot in the photo above. Neil and I struggled. Getting old is tough sometimes. That spot is setup so that you can do a ledge trick, flatground trick then another ledge trick. I technically landed a line of noseslide to fakie, halfcab flip then crooks (tiniest crook bonk to date). It took me all I had to front 50 the ledge Neil is 50’ing above. Neil was shooting for some lines too, but couldn’t get crooks. Blake front 50’d it no problem and also got noseslides and a sick front 180 nosegrind.

Next we went to that little gap in gap out sidewalk thing. It was somewhat banked up to it on both sides. Not much went down on it. You could skate it like a hip too. Then we moved on near the stadium where I wussed out ollie’ing down a 4 stair and a 5 stair. Blake did them. Blake and I also ollied onto a sidewalk and rolled down a narrow gutter which was pretty fun. Then ollied off a little ledge and slappied a curb.

We found this mini steep bank to curb next that Blake and I skated. I got back axle stall, crooks stall to fakie and front pivot. Blake got axle stall, back pivot, rock fakie (ha).

Then we went to another area that looked incredible for skating, but both Neil and I’s legs were not working. My shoes are partially to blame, the are too small and hurting my feet/legs. Blake had a cool run of manual a ledge, ollie a little wall then ollie a two stair. He also front 180’d the wall then halfcabbed the two stair. That was it on the skating. It felt great being out skating street as I’ve skated too many parks lately, but man my legs were not working. I ate two flour tortillas earlier in the week thinking maybe in the warmer weather I didn’t need to be so concerned about eating gluten free. Nope. Lesson learned.

Another dude on the favorite skater/person list. Monico rules.