Went into the garage on a decent night, but I felt too run down to skate in coldish weather. I had a new pair of 306’s in some fruity white with Miami Vice colors. Oh well, I like that shoe, it works best for me these days. I warmed up to some kickflips and fakie flip. Tried nollie flip for a bit before moving on to heelflip where I got stuck for like 30 minutes. I never landed one. It was ridiculous. After finally giving up I also couldn’t do a halfcab flip, but I blame the small garage space for that. Got a b/s flip and then a treflip pretty quick. So I left on a good note. Is it possible I can only land heelflips on low trucks? Argh.

(setup 2020 setup 8..25 null abstract 6 deck, venture 5.6 cast baseplate/v-hollow axles, bones medium bushings, old 53mm pj bones stf v1, 2 washers inside each axle, jessup ultragrip, new balance numeric 306 foy white/gum size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(Pain level 4/10)

On an insanely windy day I went downtown hoping the trees would block some wind. They did, and on top of that the wind almost stopped for a couple hours. I was pretty sore so I wore some Westgates I had gotten from Tytus. They felt pretty good initially, but I eventually got that cupsole knee pain that reminds me not to wear cupsoles. I want to explore more and since I was in pain that’s mainly what I did. Just kinda wandering in allies and behind buildings I haven’t looked at before. I had a really embarrassing slam on an ollie off a curb into a parking garage driveway. I almost stopped at that point. Did a fun wallie nollie behind the Boulder Theater. Took a long time to do a really lame manual down a sidewalk then forced myself to kickflip. Right next to it was a new mini bank to curb that I took too long to slappy. Ended up at Casey and took awhile to do a bad line of front 180 the little stage gap, switch front 180 on flat, get into noseslide on the kinked hubba. I had thought of falling off the first part to grass ride, but it was too wet to ride. Went down near Ideal. Did a tiny crook on the plastic bench in the back. Man I was sore and lacking pop. So I walked some more. I went to go home, but right as I got to my car Dave called and said he was on his way. So we skated Wells Fargo for a bit. To our surprise they had taken out a tree and made a new miniramp. Ha, it is so hard to skate. I took forever to get a front slash. Then we started trying lines. Dave had some good slams, but would get the 3 trick line for the win. Then he ended it with the 3 continuous slashes for the MVP award. So sick. Not the best start to a new year, but I was ultra timid on my ankle still.

(2020 setup 8..25 null abstract 6 deck, venture 5.6 v-hollows, 1/16” riser, bones medium bushings, 52mm spitfire green swirl classics f4 99a, jessup ultragrip, new balance numeric 913 black/yellow size 12, stock insoles)
(Pain level 7/10)

On J Mascis’ birthday I went to the dog park around 12:30 on a cool day. At first it was just Quincy and another dude Sebastian. It was a good vibe, but the cinder block benches had fallen apart which was a bummer. I had new shoes. NB# 255s. They felt great immediately. I couldn’t really find much of a groove with the two main benches in disarray. They were still skateable, but they felt weird as they were not aligned very well. Quincy did a line of kick back lip on the wallie barrier then front board shove the orange barrier. Wow. I never really stuck to much. Almost got a line of wallie, crooks the taller metal bench, 360 flip on flat. Got close to switch front nose, halfcab flip, manual the lower black ledge, ollie the wallie barrier. Had a bunch of slams on the ollie, but got one with the tiniest bonk. Flatground felt good with the extra grippy shoes although I didn’t really get much. I guess I didn’t have a lot of time. I also got up on the taller part of the black ledge again, finally rode the middle of a slanted cinder block ledge. Dave L showed up near the end and quickly did some nollie 180s over parking blocks, back 50s on the busted cinder block ledges, casual ollies.

(setup 8.5″ null curby deck, jessup ultragrip, venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular cast baseplate, bones medium bushings, 3 speed washers inside each axle, 52mm spitfire classic green swirl f4 99a, new balance numeric 255 b/w size 12, nike sb zoom air insoles)
(pain level 3/10)

On an absolutely gorgeous day I went to dog park since Max was in town. I got there first. Max, Will, Jack, Mike KP would show from the young ripper contingent. Dave L, Will and Kevin would show from the older guy ripper contingent. Oh, and almost forgot Carleigh and Ashlynn would join too. What a fun crew. I had a new pair of the 306s, this time with a gum sole which isn’t as grippy. I should know better. I was pretty sore, I’m not sure why, but at no point did my body feel good throughout the day. Max and Will showed next. Immediately Max was destroying the place. His perfect switch tre was incredible. Will is super tall now, and rips even harder. Will and Dave L showed, Kevin too. Mike KP and Jack were next. It’s hard to remember everything, but those guys all heelflipped over the wallie barrier first try if I’m not mistaken? Then they went on to do a million tricks. Max was also doing amazing slappy crook variations. The switch front crook halfcab out blew me away. Max filmed me do a little line of front 180 the manhole, switch front nose a ledge, halfcab noseslide the next one. He was hyped on the switch front nose. Little does he know those are really easy when you don’t ollie. Kevin was ripping out of the gates. All his ledge tricks and nollie flips. I skated the parking block with Dave L for awhile. He did an amazing ollie over to nose manual to 360 transfer. I kind of got Dave F’s challenge of the crooks back 180 transfer. Now I have to do it while grinding. Then a ledge session ensued on the black box. I was on the small side, everyone else on the big side. Seattle Will filmed me do a line for a bit. I couldn’t no comply flip and It’s embarrasing that my crooks look like willy grinds. But the kickflip over the curb felt good. Then I filmed everyone hit the tall ledge for awhile. Some serious shredding was had. Mike’s kick front 50 and Will G’s back smith 180 were so crazy. Jack can do back 180 nosegrind 180 so good now. Kevin did the switch nosegrind 180 easy as well as the switch crook. Max was goofing around with hardlflip front nose stalls. Max, Will G and Mike left. I sat for awhile. Carleigh and Ashlynn had shown. Jack did the kick back noseblunt. I tried the crooks transfer some more while Jack did the no comply flip. Then we ended on the tiny pad trying tech tricks. Ashlynn got so close to heelflip front 50. Kevin close to switch flip front 50. I didn’t quite commit to kick back tail. Carleigh did pop shove front 50. Well, technically she may have not rode away, but she did it in my opinion. What a nice day with good friends and rippers. I was even happy with my setup. I could have gone for being a little less sore though, it prevented me from trying more ledge/flatground tricks.

(setup 8.3 null collage deck, jessup grip, venture 5.6 trucks, old 53mm bones stf PJ v1 wheels, venom 88a bushings (no boardside washer), new balance numeric 306 black/gum size 12, footprints gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 5/10)

After a fun hike with the kids I met up with Carleigh at dog park. Her girl crew was there as well as Dan and a few others. I was super tired and lazy and it showed. I did a few basics like halfcab noseslide before settling in on flatground with Carleigh. She wanted to get a halfcab flip. I tried a halfcab heel, but gave up after almost losing my nuts a few times. Carleigh was super close over and over. I moved on to treflip, got a sketchy one then Carleigh got my back with a great halfcab flip. So rad, that’s her second one ever. Then we chilled, Jack showed, we watched a back smith bigspin almost go down and left for the 303 Zero premiere.

(setup 8.25 null abstract 6 deck, Venture 5.6 trucks, venom 91a bushings , sml 53mm og wide wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, new balance numeric 306 Foy b/w size 12, footprints gamechanger insoles)
(pain level 3/10 just really sore)

Feeling incredibly sore on an absolutely beautiful night I met Dave at Erie Park. It was kind of crowded when I showed, but lots of youth that would leave soon. Eric showed around then. There were a couple other dudes that were fun to skate with. We were getting our warmups on. I had new shoes, DC Legacy 98 slims. They felt surprisingly good, but still different so took some getting used to. I had done a few flippers on the top area. Actually got the ‘easy straight 4’ aka no switch/nollie. I somehow beat heelflip master Eric to fakie heel. I was happy to also get a treflip. Eric was trying heelflips off the top 2 stair. He was getting close and slamming a lot. Good to see him charging like that. Dave was ripping the qp and bank to ledge. I tried a line for awhile of beanplant from the wedge to kicker followed by f/s flip, but never got the f/s flip on the bank. Dave was trying front 50 on the qp going fast to yank into the bank. Eric did back d on the qp. A big crew showed up. They made the park a less fun, but we still had a good time. I had done a few slow crooks and stuff on the ledges. Eric got the heelflip down the 2. I had posed a few treflips down, but never committed. Seemed doable though. I should have really tried, but having new shoes took away a little confidence. Eric was trying heelflip front noseslides on the lower step. I posed treflips noseslide for a bit, maybe making some progress (gotta got in with more angle). I got a first try kickflip to fakie front the wedge to kicker. I was really sore and started to sit for awhile. Dave was trying front nose to fakie on the bank to ledge. He got one then followed it with the front 50 yank off the qp that was so smooth. I had gotten back up with the goal of 10 tricks on the mini bank. The first few were some basic shoves, no comply shove, etc, but the last five were all flip tricks. Kickflip fakie, b/s flip, f/s flip, halfcab flip. Dave had started joining and gained on me quick as the halfcab flip took awhile. He did back tail shove, varial flip fakie, fakie flip, tech Dave in effect. Dave made me end with treflip fakie. I mean it was the logical choice for sure. Eric was doing heelflips and got a fakie heelflip. It took me a long time, but I got a ‘hands down’ treflip fakie. Oh well.

(setup 8.38 null dream machine deck, Venture 5.8 titanium trucks with regular stock baseplate, spitfire f4 101a 51mm classic wheels, 3 washers inside each axle, bones medium bushings, dc legacy 98 slim b/w shoes size 12, stock insoles)
(pain level 6/10)

After work, nap, dinner I went across the street with an hour before family movie night. I was wearing the new PJ shoes, they felt good, but quite different than the 212s. I got into line mode pretty quickly. Took a few tries to get kickflip off the curb cut. Front slappys were still there, I don’t grind them very long, but man I’m hyped on them. Had a couple good feeling slappy front crooks. Tried a line of back slappy, slappy crook, kickflip on the tiny bank, 360 flip. Only got to the 360 flip twice. Going the other way I had been trying front 50 back 180 out then fakie flip out of the curb cut, but the sprinklers turned on and messed with that. Around then Ollie showed up. Whoa, two days of skating with Ollie in a row! He did lots of ollies up the curb and was trying his no comply 360 flip a bunch. I was really trying a line of front slappy, 360 flip on flat, ollie up curb, kickflip off the further kicker. Never got the 360 flip. New shoe blues. Well, and I haven’t been trying that trick much lately. Also the ground isn’t very good for flatground. See, I got excuses for days. Saul showed up too on a monster setup and went right into some long slappies both ways. Almost got slappy crook too. Ollie did some cool f/s halfcabs out of the tiny bank and dropped in on a wood pallet. I had gotten super tired. Then it was movie time.

(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 PJ 533v2 grey size 13, currex run pro insole )
(pain level 3/10)

On a nice night I finally collected on my rain check to skate campus with Ollie. When I skate with Ollie I try to just skate fun stuff and not get focused on trying hard tricks. I had some new shoes, NB# 212, they felt thin after the 868s, but still good. We pushed a bit and ended up the flag stone bank spot. Right out of the gate Ollie was ollieing onto it then worked up some speed into rock ‘n roll. I filmed him do the tricks for a bit. The rock ‘n roll to manual has a tilt. Oh well. He could have cleaned it up, but we were having too much fun. I got the halfcab board transfer pretty quick and tried to do a back 180 out, but we moved on. We did the drop in a couple times. I tried to kickflip off the curb, but wasn’t ready for that. Next up was the gap to manny pad. I thought Ollie was going to slam super hard trying to gap to manual, so he just did the ollie. I’ve never seen him ollie a flat gap so that was cool. I took like 15 tries to get the manual which was a bit of a bummer, but still fun. We hit the tiny manny pad around the corner. I got manual and nose manual. Ollie couldn’t get the manual so we moved on. I ollied down a big part of the knobbed Baker ledge which was fun. Ollie did the drop down 180 pretty quick and dropped in on the top part of the ledge too. I bailed a couple noseslides on the dried out ledge around the corner. I posed some front boards on the loading dock to low rail. Ollie came close to doing a good boardslide 270. I took too long to back 50 it. The drop in to stair ride was way too fun of an ender. The shove version took me a bit, but was so fun. I had to give up on riding the correct way off each step. Ollie did it way before me. Then we had a fun push back to the car and I ended on a great feeling slappy crook. Super fun night.

(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 212 grey/orange size 12, currex runpro medium arch insole )
(pain level 3/10)

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)

The sun finally came out! And of course so did the wind. Argh. I met up with Rob, Aki and Dave at Blue Skies for an hour lunch break flatground session. I haven’t seen Aki in awhile so it was great to see him. Aki was doing kickflips quickly and got a treflip pretty quick. He had gotten there first and he’s only 30 something. Ha. Rob has his quick feet routine down. Fakie big, nollie shove, shove, front shove, kickflip and b/s flip this time I think? Rob and I had both gotten first try kickflips. I got a first try treflip too a little later on. Halfcab flips were okay. My board feeling huge. Dave arrived and did a lot of nollie 180s, halfcabs, fakie shoves to get going. The wind and the sun made it all feel like it went so quick. Aki had a bunch of heelflips and learned f/s halfcab flips and sex changes in a few tries. I got one at the end too. Dave had done a couple, varial flips, fakie sex change I think. Rob had gotten a couple halfcab flips and close to fakie bigflip. I couldn’t put down a heelflip. I had hucked a bit and it was fun. Then I had to head back for a meeting only to find out it had been moved. Then I was sent home early anyway.

After a long walk, dinner and a few drinks Liz and I were walking home only to see Saul and Dave skating the curb. Dave grabbed his phone and pointed it at me and said “30 second kickflip challenge!” Oh man. I quickly grabbed Sauls board, missed the first one, but got the second. Whew! Then I went home and grabbed my board to skate with them. I kept it pretty mellow with mostly slappies and almost no flippers. I saw Saul do the longest slappy yet. I think it was two full sections. Dave was getting tech doing lots of flippers and trying switch crook kickflip out. That would be so nuts. He had some really long slappy crooks too, back 5-0, back 180s out of the median the hard way, nollie front tail. Saul has frontside slappys now too. Also hands behind the back and layback slappys (or street plant or whatever you want to call it). He also did a couple front 50s where he ollied in. Even saw him get kinda close to kickflips. He had some nice slappies around the corner. That was really fun to see them and skate some more. Oh yeah, I had started some new b/w 379s.

(setup 8.75″ null event horizon deck, venture ftc 5.8s, doh dohs bushings (blue 88a barrel boardside one, yellow 92a roadside), spitfire f4 classics 52mm green/yellow swirl wheels with 3 washers on the inside, new balance numeric 379 brown and then b/w size 12, nike zoom air insoles)
(pain level 5/10 in the knees)