After another snowstorm dropped 9″ of snow the sun came out. It wasn’t very warm though so not as much had melted as I hoped. Liz had the car so I just walked over to the school after work. The area by the curbs was mostly dry, but the curbs had snow on them. I had some new shoes. Some Lakai Carrol XLKs. They seem potentially good, but were very weird on day one. Even though the sole isn’t physically thick, they felt really thick skating. I struggled to jump and flick in them. I started off really basic, struggled with the beginning of flip tricks. I did have a couple decent lines though. Halfcab flip (which took way too long), b/s flip, fakie flip in one line. Actually, that’s probably the only decent line ha ha. I would eventually get a rocketed heelflip followed by a terrible treflip, but everything was a struggle. Fakie flip then f/s halfcab flip. I would get a few more tricks, but couldn’t get nollie varial flip or tre, no front heel. I ended forcing myself to do fakie bigflip and f/s halfcab heel. I shouldn’t get too upset as I was on super rough uneven asphalt in the cold, but I was. Not a good first session in the Lakais.

(setup 8.5 null jack pro deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.8 cast baseplate titanium hanger no big washer, 53mm spitfire f4 99a conical full red/blue swirl, lakai carrol xlk grey size 12 no insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

Feeling a little less sore I went and met Sean and JJ at the dog park after a mellow morning with the family. It was almost 80 degrees! Suns out guns out! Ha ha. I was skating my 8.5 setup. Again I didn’t like how it felt, but it didn’t feel too small or too big at any point. Sean was working on fakie 5-0s the tall bench as well as nollie back 5-0 front 180 out which he would get a couple of. And he grinded them far. JJ is a shredder. He did front board around the kinked flatbar, nollie front lips, back lips, front boards, lots of tricks. I didn’t get too far into my list or skate very hard, but it was a nice chill session. I still managed to get a switch crook jib, switch noseslide 270 shove, front 50s, a couple flippers. Hucked quite a few kickflip crooks which still feel realistic, but I never committed. Oh yeah and I had some new pink 212s.

(setup 8.5 null spanbauer deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.8 cast baseplate titanium hanger with stock bushings no big washer, spitfire 52mm f4 101a radial slims, new balance numeric 212 salmon size 12, footprint elite mid insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

On a nice breezy day before the big storm was to hit I went to the BV park. To my surprise it wasn’t full of strider bike kids. Instead there was a couple actual skaters. One was a very talkative dude that needed to tell me over and over he was getting old and his ankle hurt. He looked around 25. Yeah. STFU with your ‘getting old’ bullshit. I was wearing some new shoes I have had on ice for awhile. NB# 212s. Aka the best skate shoe there is and they delivered once once with no toe pinching pain. I had b/s flip and kickflip to fakie on the bank right away. “Old guy” had some nice nollie 180s out of the bank. I came close to a first try treflip to fakie on the bank. I didn’t skate the transition well at all, had a few okay flippers on flat, couldn’t front 50 the angled ledge, front 50’d the wood ledge into the bank. Then I had the park to myself and did a couple things with the phone pointed at me for the sake of the journal. The front rock was scarier than it used to be, I also did some axle stalls on it. The front 90 flip took longer than it should. The wallie manual was really fun. Then I ran out of desire to skate that park and called it a day. That park really is terrible.

(setup 8.25 null spanbauer deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.6 v-hollow, bones medium bushings, spitfire f4 50mm classic shape 99a, new balance numeric 212 white/navy size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

Pretty much right after work I met up with Dave at the new meetup spot on campus. There was gravel everywhere from the recent snow so we moved on right away after Dave shoed me up with a nollie back tail on the curb. Ha. Actually he had been doing it for awhile waiting for me and it was the first thing I tried. We moved on to the little yellow “ledge”. It must be a “ledge” if it has angle iron right? I had new shoes, some Es Accel Slim Plus shoes. I was trying anything to reduce knee pain. They were a big odd, but felt good and my knee pain was less severe so maybe they did the trick. Anyway, we did some tricks. We mostly started with nose jib 270s and stuff. I managed a nollie back tail first try, take that Dave! Ha. We would go on to get a lot. I had crooks, crooks fakie, front 50, nollie front tail 270 shove (maybe a gleNBD?), kind of a nosegrind 180 with the back wheels dragging around, front 5-0 to front board (not much grind if any), remotely close to kick back 50 and front 5-0 kickflip. I couldn’t do a back 50 to save my life though. Dave had nollie back tail, front 50 back 180, switch crooks fakie, switch front crooks fakie, crooks, crooks fakie, back 50, back 50 back 180 (one with a super bad slam to elbow that I can’t believe he kept skating), and super close to halfcab crook to fakie. Way too close. Dave was getting frustrated. We moved on. To the new business building area. The lights were alright, not great, but it was fun. We started with some kickturns on the bank and checked out the spot. We put the table after the bench. It was so much harder and scarier than we thought it would be. I did a million rocks before I finally ollied onto it. Dave had beat me with his amazing cab kickturns then ollie on. I played around with some side rocks and axle stalls with lines too. Almost ollied onto a lower ledge then off a tall drop over a rail, but chickened out. Dave’s front tail was unreal. We played around at the bottom of the new area too. Dave did a cool ride on to ollie on to drop down. I tried to ollie the six stair gap thing (height of 6, distance of 3), but chickened out and just caused pain for myself. That spot is like a skatepark. Fun times with Dave, we skated for a really long time.

(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, 52mm spitfire f4 99a classic shape with all washers outside the wheels, es accel slim plus gray size 12, xero thin insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

Was not gonna skate, but still floating around the idea of going for 365 in 2021 so I went to the curb on a nice afternoon. And it was super fun. Just did a few slappies, kickflips. I’m liking the Thunders. I had a new pair of the 212s. This time in an ugly bright mustard color.

(setup 8.25 303 deck, jessup ultragrip, thunder 148 HL, venom 88a big bushing, 91a small bushing, spitfire 52mm 99a f4 classic shape, 3 washers inside each axle, new balance numeric 212 mustard size 11.5, footprint mid elite insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

On a cold and snowy night I went into the garage.  The goal was to rotate between 6 different types of tricks.  Kickflips, heelflips, nollie, switch, 360 flip, random trick.  It made for a lot of failing, but at the same time made for some good motivation.  I had a new pair of 212s and they felt a little slippery and stiff.  Good shoes take a minute to break in.  Also my trucks were making so much noise they were driving me nuts.  Maybe it’s time to order better pivot cups.  Basically I was not close to anything other than kickflip tricks and a couple terrible heelflips.  I was not close to treflip at all which was oh so frustrating.  I had gotten halfcab flip kinda quick which was maybe the only joy I had on the 8.5.  At some point I grabbed my 8.25 sitting there and said “8.5 never again”.  I didn’t land a treflip on it, but I actually committed finally.  I got a f/s flip that felt alright.  Some nollie and switch flips were close.  Was not close to casper flips.  I went in after about an hour and a half of flailing around feeling quite depressed.  I guess the one positive is I think I finally found some insoles I really like.

(setup 8.5 then 8.25 both with ventures and 52mm wheels, new balance numeric 212 black/pink size 11.5, footprint mid elite insoles)
(pain level 2/10!)

After a way-busier-than-it-should-be day of work Jake and I rolled to campus. It has snowed and appears to be sticking around longer than we hoped. Uni Hill was snowed out, we went under the tunnel and ended up behind the UMC to a good section of dry concrete and a couple puddles. I had some new shoes, the NB# 212, aka the one shoe that does not hurt my feet at all. It helpsed, I was able to skate. We did some lines over little puddles. Starting with 180s, switch 180s and moving on to really technical tricks like kickflips and fakie bigspins. Ha. It was fun though. Jake did a bunch of front axle stalls on a tall flagstone ledge to start a line, then nollie back 180 then fakie bigspin over the little puddle. I tried a bunch of front axle’s on it too, but only got one. I did have some front and back axle stalls on the 2nd step, darn near died trying to kickflip a little pile of snow. Then we played SKATE. The first game was kind of a wash as Jake got burned by fakie flip and missed a triple or nothing. I added heelflip and halfcab flip and that one ended. We played another game that was really good with a lot of tricks for both of us. I was up with f/s halfcab heel (hyped on that one 3rd ty), first try varial flip, and f/s halfcab flip. I matched Jake’s fakie flip and f/s flip (maybe my fav trick I did), but he came back with switch shove, nollie bigspin and a creepy spin. After that I got a halfcab heel that didn’t count due to heel drag, but I was still hyped. We battled treflip for awhile and I got one first. Jake almost matched it, but then went down swinging. It was a fun session. One of these days we’ll both have our treflips down good again. After the game I took a few tries and got a sketchy fakie bigflip.

(null 8.25″ spanbauer deck, venture 5.8 trucks (cast baseplate titanium hanger), venom 88a bushings, spitfire 52mm radial slim f4 101a, 3 speed washers on outside of wheels, new balance numeric 212 blue/gum size 11.5 stock hard rubber insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

I met Rob around 10 at Frederick on another warm and gorgeous day. Cass would show shortly after us. I had setup a new board and shoes. They felt fine, but I had some back pain I haven’t had in a long time. I couldn’t really squat well and everything hurt. I didn’t skate as bad as I felt at least, but nowhere as well as the day before. After some rolling around and warming up we mostly hit the manny pad/ledge for a bit. I took a few tries to get a nose manual, but finally got it. I also got switch front 180 up, nollie front tail off. Front 180 up, switch front nose off. Cass did some really good front noseslides, front noseslide bigspin and maybe manual to front board. Rob had a rad boardslide transfer then 270 off. Also manual to boardslide, manuals, I think nose manual. Cass had some good treflips over the kicker. I had some fun long back 50s down the dumb corner quarterpipe. We hit the bank to curb section. Rob had a nice front tail. Cass had good slappies and treflip flyouts. I didn’t get anything on the curb and couldn’t get b/s flip on the hip again. Rob left. Cass and I played a game of SKATE. It wasn’t great for either of us, but I got letters on tricks I can do like treflip (I was close at least), front shove, b/s flip and I lost on halfcab flip. Argh. I did get a good heelflip and a defensive f/s flip that made me happy. I thought that would get my body going, but it didn’t. I went to the bowls for a bit. But I was in too much pain to run down the transition so I was ultra conservative and went to sit down. Saul had joined and was in lots of pain too. Dang. He was able to get his patented quick scratch grinds until he got warn out. I did a couple attempts at the pull-up loop again and some nollie inward heels. But I was toast and ended up leaving.

(setup null 8″ archway deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.2 v-hollow highs on red cast baseplate, venom 88a bushings no boardside washer, old bones stf v2 51mm, new balance numeric 306 foy navy/white size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 6/10 i was able to skate at times, but by the end it was unbearable)

On the way to my mom’s in BV Steve and I hit the Frisco park. He doesn’t skate anymore really. He wanted to check out the bike park, but it was closed and a bit snowy. The moonscape of the skatepark is appealing to people that don’t skate much so he was down to check it out. We did hit the moonscape area some, but there was snow in the shady sides limiting things quite a bit. And most of it was too gnarly for my brother (and me). The skatepark was mostly empty. It was awesome. Steve would take breaks often and I skated quite a bit. I skated my 8.3 setup with the Thunder 151s. I ended up not liking it so much. Argh. It had weird crooks and I still struggled to pop onto ledges. I didn’t get kickflip to fakie on the bank, but did have some fun backside kickflips. I got the down rail first and every try. It’s tiny, but still fun. I did the front shove in a few tries, it was fun. Oh yeah I had new shoes. NB# 288s. They felt decent. Steve was having fun with the little early grabs. He had a couple sketchy bails, almost got a boardslide on the end of the flat bar. He had fun. I was hyped to get to skate. Right after the park Steve had to run some errands so I tried some flippers in the parking lot at Copper. I had locked up with soreness so just hucked back heels and switch bs flips. I wasn’t close to either, but it was fun trying.

(setup 8.38 null plant life deck, jessup ultragrip, thunder 151 hollow light, 52mm bones stf 103a v1, all washers on the outside of the wheels, new balance numeric 288S maroon size 11.5, no insoles)
(pain level 4/10)

On a warm day we gathered at dog park. For some reason lately on Saturdays I wake up without much desire to skate. This would be the same. I need to figure out why it keeps happening to me. I had a new pair of 212s, they felt large and weird. Rob and Eric were already there. I saw Rob get a nice back 50 back 180 and Eric heelflip a parking block before I had even stepped on the board. Sean, Bernie, Kevin would join shortly. Kevin and I played a game of SKATE. He had a new board, different trucks and new wheels. I had new shoes. I got him to SKA on kickflip, fakie flip and something else. Then he got his switch flip, nollie flip, janoski flip, switch front shove and something else to get me out. I was so bummed to get a letter on halfcab flip yet again. Shortly after that I would bail a front 50 or something and scream and throw my board. After that I just chilled for the most part did tricks that didn’t involve much ollieing. Jack had shown and tried a bunch of no comply flip 5-0s. Rob front boarded the tall bench and the tall part of the weird obstacle. Kevin did a no push line of back 5-0 the black ledge, front nosegrind the 2 step, back tail the tall part of the weird one. Sean ripped as he does. Eric had lipslides, wallie 180s, maybe a nosegrind, crooks, lots of charging. Bernie was adjusting to some new Venture lows (jealous) and still ripping. Near the end we all started hucking dream tech tricks on the black box. Rob was going kick front board, I was trying halfcab heel noseslide, Jack was trying Rick flip back tail, Kevin switch flip switch front nose, Bernie hardflip front nose, Sean and Eric were in it too, but I forget what they were trying. Jack and Kevin got into their tricks. Bernie and I got close. My mood would have changed drastically had I landed that. It felt good to huck and even commit to a few.

After some spot lurking we ended up at St Julien. Jack couldn’t get his mind into trying his trick. Joe had joined us. Most were trying fakie varial heels on flat. After Jack gave up I went and played Rick flips with Bernie. He got a couple, I kind of got one.

Next we went to Howard Huston. The struggle was real. Jack put an end to his beat deck after an awkward slam. Kevin was motivated to line out to a front blunt, but getting there was a battle. The front 5-0 shoves were sick. Sean had easy 50s, but mostly chilled. Bernie had a couple tails, noseslides, maybe a 50 or two. I couldn’t 50 the ledge to save my life. My legs were so sore from skating so much, but I was too dumb to stop. I did at least have some really fun crooks. Ventures pinch the crooks so well. Joe went off. Front 5-0, heelflip, hardflip front nose. He actually did like 7 hardflip front noses as he was trying to get into front crooks. He would prevail with a really good one. Bernie and I had made the silly decision to play a game of SKATE. It almost ruined me. I couldn’t land much of anything. I was hoping Bernie would land anything to get me out. I got a very defensive fakie heel. But ended up losing on something like cab flip? I don’t even remember. Ha. Long day. Tough day. Skateboarding is not easy. At least we had good company.

(setup 8.25 null spanbauer deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.6 v-hollows, venom 91a bushings with roadside washer, 51mm bones stf 103a v1, new balance numeric 212 b/w size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 4/10)