Shout Out to Nick

Damn, Nick is cool! Makes a sign, stands in the rain, even snaps a few fotos of fellow Concretins doing some non-concrete pedestrian activity! Thanks, for showin up, Nick, and cheering us on at MiniMarathon. You propelled Kyle to the finish line with his best time ever - under two hours! Thanks again for the support, dude! You rock - as we see here in the photo.

Mid-Week Dually

That's right two sessions right in the middle of the week. Who knew life could be so good?

Wednesday nite found me in Corydon, IN with Ramp Ranger Kyle. Although it was definitely Spill-City none of the slams were awful and the quality of skating certainly made up for it. It was just me and Kyle and we skated almost break-less for an hour and half. Kyle was hot and landing new tricks: a couple of New Deals - which is effectively a nose pivot straight back in, and a ollie 270 from tail stall back into the ramp. He was smoking high on the wall almost slamming the rafter with HUGE slides back down.

I did great for me. I was hitting the pivots and gettin back in the ramp on the majority of my frontside stalls. I was killin the switch frontside grinds, but ONLY the grind. I never did get back in on those. One was so spectacular- switch frontside grind to slamming the wall, straight ass on flat bottom. 'A' for effort, 'A' for humor factor (cuz it didn't actually hurt), 'F' for style. ST. 'Swinging' Richard was once again on my side as my board attempted brutal thrashing of my testicles a la ' Bugs Bunny vs. The Gas House Gorillas (strike one, strike two, strike three yer OUT!) when it popped, swooshed thru my legs, whacked the tranny and spun back for a second swipe at 'em and then I fell spread-eagle straddling it with about a 2 mm gap between the board and the berries - whew!

Thursday, I snuck out to the skatepark around 9 Pm and hooked up with Brett. Although the weather and temperature was absolutely perfect, surprisingly few people were there. SCORE! Brett was killing it- FS pivots and board slides IN THE 6! I took it easy in attempt to save my self for the Mini on Saturday. Mostly, just carve, love it and be grateful for the park's existence. It was a blast - and a big surprise cuz I was supposed to be in ATL on business, but the trip got canned last minute.

When I grow up I wanna skate more concrete

Lone Concretin Tucson Tour

The trip out was sketchin' when our flight was delayed more than an hour and we were going to miss our connection in Houston, and that was the only flight to Tucson from Houston... They did well and got us on a flight through Atlanta, with us arriving only an hour or so later in Tucson than originally planned. AND our luggage arrived on time too, THAT was a surprise. Damn Tucson is cool. Sunny and warm. All day, every day. Our hotel kinda sucked, but it was just a 2 star joint. The room smelled NASTY of smoke, and of course there were no other rooms available. Customer service was awful, but the room was just a place to sh*%, shower, and shave. Don't stay at Exended Stay Hotels. Ever. We headed out to get some FeBreeze and some food with a friend.

We hung out with Roberto and he took us to dinner and mini-golf. Lil' Tony made a few appearances and we called it a night soon after. Tuesday included a visit to the St. Xavier Mission. I got some good footage of the gorgeous artwork throughout the church, but didn't get any full photos as half the building was covered in scaffolding for restoration. We then headed east to Collossal Caves for an underground tour. Pretty cool and I got some great photos of the desert foliage (catcti). Driving on the east side we were constantly going by the airplane "storage" yards and grave yards. I'd love to get inside and just take pictures and footage all day. It was amazing to see hundreds and hundreds of planes lined up, waiting for a reason to fly. Creepy and so cool at the same time. We headed back to base to change clothes and choose a fancy restaurant for dinner. BistroZin. EXCELLENT grub! Fairly fancy and great atmosphere. New Zealand wine even. Fairly appropriate for our anniversary don't you think? It was amusing when the waiter waited for me to sniff and swish the wine - only 2 years old and a twist off cap? I think not. Just pour. But potent was the vintage as Alice was giggly all evening after a glass and a half. (I'm ordering a case when we get home!)

Wednesday was Concretins Skate Tour day. We first hit the Rita skatepark. Easily found and fairly small. I thought for sure I was gonna rip here as Kyle's ramp was an excellent primer for this place. This place was low and looked like it would be easy to wire. BUT, as we all know, I SUCK! The transitions were also lumpy, but I should be able to adapt better than this. I even had to psych myself up for a bank rail that was maybe 8" high. BUT I did make it multiple times with only one slide out to ass on the flat. The 'crete was polished smooth and slippery. And someone forgot to tell everyone that Lil' Tony and a Concretin were coming because NO ONE showed. I had the entire park to myself the entire time. Which was ok really, because I was embarassingly sucking. My "date-for-life" camerawoman put up with my lameness and filmed in the hot unforgiving sun. The rail was really the only thing I landed worth mentioning. I also took note of their gate - VERY anti bike as you can barely wear your backpack and still fit through. We headed out to the exact opposite corner of Tucson for more 'crete on stop #2 buried in the Cortaro Farms area. Rolling up, I thought FOR SURE I was gonna rip here as the Louisville snake run is an excellent primer for this place. But, as we all know, I SUCK! This park was so SMOOOOTH. The problem was that it was about 4-5 feet high with 4-5 transitions. Not a mellow spot in the place. I feel spending a few hours there, Concretins could have it wired and start ripping it, but I was already really wasted, and getting worse as the day progressed. The sun was beatin' down, and up from the polished 'crete. I thought someone had actually heard about the tour, but when Isaiah rolled up, he didn't seem to realize it was the Concretin Skate Tour. He was rippin' and had obviously had skated there a time or two. I introduced Isaiah to Lil' Tony and perhaps he'll check out the blog-feel free to leave a comment or two Isaiah! I felt like a complete idiot, in full pads, bailing e v e r y t h i n g. I couldn't even draw a carve line. WhattaLoser. He also told me I should have hit the YMCA pay park as it has pools and real transition. Damn. Though I did finally hit a few nollie disasters which made me feel like I could stick 'em in the 8' bowl back home. Hmmm... Anyway... the tour was fun as I got to skate new 'crete, but it sucked, 'cause I suck and just couldn't adapt fast enough. Skating alone also makes it hard to pysch up for rippage.

The skate tour portion of the trip was over. I was crusty with salt in my hair and boy did I reek. I got cleaned up as Alice treated her sunburn where she apparently missed with the sunscreen. We went shopping with Robert, and had dinner at Oregeno's. Actually we had a few bites, as the food there was HUGE. And damn was it good! (It made a nice lunch before we headed to the airport on Thursday.) We also learned our waitress was headed to New Zealand in a few weeks. Very cool and we traded short versions of our trip there. More shopping and then off to two casinos to give them $60 in the nickel slots. No roulette tables? Whatta jip. That was it for Wednesday and Thursday was just a short stop at a few artsy fartsy shops and then to the airport for the trip home. A young nice-legged cutie traded seats with Alice so we could sit together to Houston. (For some stupid reason, Continental doesn't automatically put seats together, even if they're reserved at the same time, and checked in at the same time. Duh.) The flight from Houston was AWFUL. Alice had already started feeling bad that morning, and then I went down hill when they seemingly couldn't regulate the cabin pressure (it was a little bitty plane, just 3 seats across). My ears popped, pressurized and popped again, about 15 times as we approached Louisville. OW. Finally, we hit the ground and we were happy to be home again. Though now on Friday, we're both sick with head colds!? How does that happen? But anyway... we're back. And I'm ready to rip up my home 'crete.

Few Tithes Paid at the Post-Thunder Church of Skatin'

Judging by the mess, I would say about 800,000 people trampled thru or around my beloved skatepark on Saturday Nite. It was Extra Lethal Skate Day. As if concrete, metal, wood, urethane, speed and insanity weren't potentially disastrous on their own - the folks who stopped by the park for Thunder were kind enough to break about one bazillion bottles all over it. Everywhere you looked trash and glass - lots of glass (See YOU PEOPLE SUCK! in Nick's Thunder rant below). Fortunately, it was mostly on the deck and only minor amount of crap was in the bowls, but the word was still 'carve high or don't go!'

I rolled in about 8:20 and Church was in session but only a scant 4 concrete disciples (1 Concretin, Kyle, 1 Honorary Concretin cuz he's in the vid, Brett, and a couple of groms). 2 Bikers rounded out the chapel. But, hey I ain't complainin' - anytime I get my own 2 million dollar skatepark with clear skies and 68 degrees I'm a happy man. 'Cept when I suck out the wazoo which was today. I couldn't land a damn tail stall. Pitiful! No FS Airs. No 8' 50-50's. Nuthin'. On top of all that I had to tie my shorts together cuz the button and zipper popped and somehow I missed my morning constitution, so I was skatin' with one in the chamber and ready to launch the whole time I was at the park!

To make matters worse was having to sit there and watch Mr. Ramp-Owner, Mr. Are-You-Sponsored?, Mr. Can-I-have-a-Turn-Now, Kyle? You know, the original Big Fat Mofo That Makes Us All Look Like Amateurs.

Except Brett.

Brett Fitzgerald, for those who don't know.
Nice guy.
Husband.
Dad.
Electrician.
Skater.
BASTARD!

You know, I'm having my worst day in a while and this guy is throwin stuff in the capsule that makes me puke. Way to rub it in, man! One run in particular sticks in my mind: Bonk in, FS ollie to Tail, BS ollie to Tail, various and sundry pivots and stalls out of various and sundry ollies (jaw dropping, I assure you), ollie to manual around the roll-in, manual in and BS ollie to nose blunt - which he did step off of, but come on! And, BTW, he's just back off a lay-off for a knee injury. Give a guy a break!

I left. No tricks, broken drawers, and a colon at full capacity - all of these things I've lived with before. But ladle on top a big dose of indignity and I'm done. Through. Alvedezen Kaput.

When I grow up I wanna skate like Kyle and wish I could skate like Brett.

Bon Voyage Nick and Alice!

THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDER!

Are you kidding me? What a day! I don't know that I can convey the stoke of the best Thunder experience ever (so far), but I'll try.
7:00am, we arrive. Gear included 2 fully loaded ThunderWagons, rolling cooler, and rolling duffel. This is the first year that we didn't have 40 pound backpacks too. Hunkered down and ready to enjoy the day, I head out to find Reed Yaden, a local tv personality, to do a on-air Anniversary Shout-Out. Success! (cheesy, but necessary as I got engaged at Thunder 3 years ago and Reed flew over the house in his helicopter for footage of the fiance. My on air stuff never goes as cool and smooth as I imagine. I'm a dork. I'm a much better cameraman.)

Soon after, Werkin' Kyle rolled in and we were hittin' the skatepark. I was padless (but always cover your lead elbow) and Kyle was a really bad influence and kept pressuring me into padless 6' 50-50s and a BS Air. Pulled 'em without injury and only a bit of sketch. (Gotta chill as I have 3 parks to hit in Tucson next week.) He was rippin' the capsule as usual, lookin' stylish in his shades the whole time. A fun, though short, session was had. I convinced him to join us for a short while, including a visit to a neighboring camp housing Tom - a friend and Corydon skateshop owner. We talked, we drank,('cept for "my body is a temple" Kyle), we b-s'd the time away. Eventually the 2nd crew rolled in that included all the other Hoosiers for our group. My super cool brother hooked me up with a BRIDGE PASS! (For the 2nd Street bridge-a very limited access area. They wouldn't let me ALL the way on the bridge, more to a lack of my creative prowess in explaining my connection to the National Guard and their equipment than to a limited pass. But I understand the security for such an area. Maybe next year. I got some FANTASTIC Lil' Tony photos and footage. Which of course led to me telling the LT story - always fun to me. The bridge guards were super cool and gracious, and even encouraged the patent and marketing on the street grip. (Workin' on it.) Thank you so much volunteers! (Hopefully we have new Concretin fans now, as I explained that too.) I do wish I had known the cannons were shooting so soon, as soon as we walked off the bridge, they fired. Damn, that would have been some cool footage. Oh well. Maybe next year.

We were able to convince Kyle to stick around long enough to witness the Blue Angels air show, SO COOL. The rest of the air show didn't seem as impressive as years past, but it IS hard to top the Angels. (Oh, and a big Piss Off to those protesting the military aircraft in the show. You have right to voice your opinion and I have the same right. You suck. The air show is patriotic, and an appropriate salute to all of our troops, past and present, those lost and those still fighting.) I hope to have some decent footage, but it's VERY difficult to capture planes flying at 400+ mph on film. At the very least I got some great audio of that awesome sound of a fighter jet screaming through the sky.

We passed the rest of the day with chillin' and games. About an hour before Thunder we circled the wagons(tents) a bit tighter to prevent the lame ass people who show up and try to get a good spot to watch the fireworks about 12 hours too late from stumbling through our camp. You people SUCK. Losers. We only had one group cop a squat on our collapsed tent(so people behind could see the bridge better), my bro kinda gave them the ok, but YOU PEOPLE SUCK! But, I've calmed down a bit about those people (who SUCK) over the years, and I try to focus on the event and the kerayzee good day we've had. I'll never set up with ANY space between the tents again. A fully enclosed circle will be our compound next year.

Despite the country music theme (luckily, you could rarely hear the tunes over the blast of thousands of pounds of fireworks going off), the show was insane! It always is. It NEVER dissappoints. It's always worth the "hassle" of campin' and dealing with people who suck. I shot some footage, but you can't get the full effect on film, but hopefully the BOOM of Thunder transfers well. A great close to an already killer day. If you watched it on tv, you didn't see it.

Now, for the exit... the people who didn't suck during the day, now mix with the people who do suck, and they all suck even more. And yes, I absolutely CAN say everyone else sucks, because were responsible and courteous spectators all day and our camp was trash free when we left it, just like we found it. It seems everyone else just dropped their trash where they stood. We packed up the ThunderWagons relatively quickly and easily and headed to the car with the "gear trailer", in the $25 "not-far" lot. That lot was ideal for the load in, but a nightmare for the exit. It took that vehicle 2 hours to get home. (1.5 of that was going only about 5 miles - because the cops stopped the street traffic to unload several entire lots ahead of them at several points along River Road. A truly asinine and non-productive traffic idea. Ya gotta stagger the traffic bright boys!) Also idiotic was the closing of I-65 to anyone except city buses, for a meer 15,000 bus riders, out of 800,000 attendees. DUH! So all of the people who would have been on the highway and rollin' out sans intersection after intersection, were left to navigate intersection after intersection. (Keep the northbound side closed and put the buses there - northbound traffic was already being diverted on the south side of the city all evening and this wouldn't add any ill effects!)

But more than half our crew walked out after loading up the gear trailer to a waiting van about 15-18 blocks away. Why that far? Because it's not really that far (especially without gear) and the commute out is shorter. Though due to the above "dumbassity" it took 45 minutes to get home a short 5 miles away - compared to 12 minutes when I-65 was open 3 years ago. (Last year was easy because the bad weather kept everyone home to begin with. Wusses.) But the intersection cops along our route were adequate and properly staggered the flow. (Well done Coppers.) Anyway, we were zombies once we made it home, and we waited for the gear trailer to arrive. They made it an hour later. We got everything unloaded, said our good byes and thank yous all around. Sans the city screwing up the better traffic plan of years past, this was hands down the BEST Thunder ever. Next year, it will be difficult to top this. I hope to keep this stoke rolling through the next week during our anniversary trip to Tucson, Arizona.

Thanks to everyone of our camp and crew. Bro Brian and the girls, Brianna, Ashley, Emily*, Auburn, Mom, Bro Denis, Adam's family, and all the Hoosiers, Kirk, Lucy, Jenny*, Luke*, and Taylor*. (*Thunder virgins) Let's do it again next year! And special thanks to my favorite Hoosier of all time, Alice. Happy Anniversary and thanks for putting up with my "other" obsession. (I'm not obsessed, just creatively appreciative.)

Easter Schmeaster Session

Easter for the non-religious is simply the official arrival of Spring. I wish no ill-will on those for whom it holds heavy significance, to each his/her own, but please don't be offended if I don't go to church today. For me it's a family holiday and I did spend a few hours with the fam, to remind me what's important and to keep life in perspective. Yea, I still dressed up a bit, but it's good advice to never be the worst dressed person, no matter where you're going. But what better way to welcome Spring and start a "reality check" day than with a skate session.

To have a good session it's not necessary to have an empty park... but it helps! From 8AM to 10AM it was, at most, 3.5 Concretins and 5 other people... 40,000 square feet of 'crete all for us! I called it, Dave needed 2 sessions to pull 50-50s in the bowl, and today he did it. Twice. Whatta bastad! He was super close to pulling about 8 of them, and his frustration was just as entertaining, 'cause he was laughin' and smiling at every bail-after the obligatory "P*$$!" shout. Now he's just about ready to grind all the corners of the snake run. Dave also played shutterbug and snapped a couple of excellent video worthy shots. (You're just gonna have to wait 'til I get broadband for pics to get uploaded regularly.) I hit some grinds on various 6' quarters and worked on my mini runs. My favorite trick - meloncholy - has been improving, and I dare say better than I've EVER done them. 2 or 3 more sessions and I'll be ready to launch over the pyramid. And Kyle is just a BFMFWMUAFLA! He ran 10 miles (!) yesterday (Dave did too BTW) and then he comes to the park (padless no less) and throws big fat FS airs in the 6', FS grinds on the bank ledge, tailslide on said ledge, and a new lil' 360 shuvit out of the bank. Maybe I should get me some froo froo Toy Machine socks... the source of his rippage? Perhaps. But my favorite moment of the session was when I was struggling to keep a 50-50 on the coping (don't ya hate that), and KidZilla sittin' on top says, "Do it Nick!" I made it, but it was sketchy 'cause I was laughin'!

Corydon Skate Nite

Started out with 3 groms hangin' around. Not too bad, but they don't yet understand that you should bring your own drinks, as well as somethin' for the host. Ramp moochers! :) "Hey! I resemble that remark!" (I brought g-rade!)

Pretty good session. Learned a new trick - simple nose pivot variation, but it's progress! Even got a run with several tricks without 3 setups between them. Not bad. We had a street session on the bank and box. I actually hit a couple of 50-50s and nose slides. He hit long 5-0s and manuals. Kyle was on as usual. (Again, imagine any mini run from Ban This.) But he showed me video evidence on why he's so freakin' good. He's had a ramp all his life! He was skating this good 15 years ago! I'm NOT kidding! I would have killed for a mini (with a SPINE!) when I was 17! BFMFWMUAFLA! I'm thinkin' the next dvd will have some very interesting "bonus features." :)

Reminder: THUNDER is coming...

Killer Session Tuesday

Well, instead of going to Athens on my day off this Tuesday I took a shorter trip and hit the Powell park just north of Columbus and skated the Team Pain built pool there. Had a BLAST. You guys are gonna love this place when we hit it on the OH roadtrip. Can't wait to take you all there. SOOO much fun. You all skating the park this Easter Sunday??

Sessions & Roadtrips 2006 - Day 1

What happens if you send several 30-something would-be pro skaters (hey, it's our blog-we would like to be pros) and leave them at a killer skatepark from 9:00am - 3:00pm... Some serious rippage goes down! And at least one of them ends up with a sun redened nose, and ridiculous tan "bars" on the forearms and calves. Ah, the pad tan, I had forgotten thee.

Wow, whatta session! Even had a late surprise visit from Elvis! (Team Geritol) He claimed unworthiness but he dropped in the fray and drew long lines, on a serious yacht of board, no problem. Much thanks to 'Vis for doing some filming of the Concretins. He should have some decent high definition footage with that Sony as well! And thanks for hookin' me up with large TG shirt. (They are valuable! I traded my Goon and TG XL shirts for a cable modem!)

Jon "don't call me BonJovi" rolled in from the Buckeye state ready to rip. As the last blokes to split, we took turns getting footage - as we were all skating so good, no one really took time to stop and film (as usual - but I'm not really complaining). He got some great shots and hopefully the stills we took develop into nice photos as well. I have a feeling he has the cover of the next DVD on that roll...

Hella thanks go out to Steve-O with the lame back... he came as full on Chef and grilled up a delicious lunch. Mega cheeseburgers, dogs, and hot links - the cardiologists friend, the heart attack on a plate. You'll be carvin' again soon Steve-O!

Out of the bank, Kyle and I were blasting over the saw horse! He NEVER missed an ollie. Never. From the first try to the last... much to his surprise, but damn! Never even close to hitting it or bailing. It took me a few warm up attempts, but I eventually got it easily, even threw down some boned melons. We did put it away for awhile after a grom (de)nutted himself. Ow. Backside airs and "the 50-50" in my run came very easily all day. As well as nollie disasters and switch drop-ins. The only thing I could have thrown in to complete my day skate-wise, was a doubles run, but OMP didn't make the trip. The nerve of some people having a life outside of the Concretins.

That doesn't cover half of what went down, but I'll let other Concretins post their take on the day and type their own details... I never heard our favorite question "Are you sponsored?" but we got many cool comments on the fact that we're "locals" yet we came prepared like roadtrippers (camp chairs, boom box[with 2 10inch speakers, amp, and 6 disc changer], shade, cooler, grill, saw horse obstacle, etc.). Thanks for making it out everyone! What an insane day!

Sessions & Roadtrips 2006

It begins... this Sunday. The first "official" Concretins full-on session. Cooler, grill, shade, tunes, cams, and of course, shreddin'. Skate with us, or come chill with the spectators. Participate or merely witness lip trick madness, speed lines, hip-hops, grinds, pipe lines, big ollies, and a new seriously rockin' hair style on Skidzilla's own mini-me, the Gibster!

Extreme Turns 4! + Birth of The Concretins

Friday, April 5th 2002 - Louisville Extreme Park Opened to the public! On the anniversary of this great event I ask for A Moment of Silence in Thanks to the Sentient Being (Dave Armstrong) for giving us such a gift. I don't know why we got it - and I don't care, but I'm gonna ride as often as I can. AND, I will be thankful everytime I do.



A Not So brief History of The Concretins (Skid-centric version)

The first time I saw the completed park was on Sunday, April 7, 2002. Brutha Steve and I went down to check it out. I immediately went and bought a set of pads, dug out some shitty X-Games Skateboard I bought from Target, sanded the logo off, and wrote EAT ME on the bottom in giant letters with a sharpie.

Steve and I returned to the park the very next day; the first time we skated the park was April 8, 2002. The Skidmore Curse (a combination of great looks, magnetic personality, unbridled natural ability, and huge amount of humility that keeps it all in check) caused just about everybody in the park to talk to us that day. Perhaps it was the fact that Steve showed up with a 1978 Logan Earth Ski with an enormous set of Kryptonics which blew everybody's mind, but mostly it was the Skidmore Curse.

We kept seeing a lot of the same people no matter what time we went. I remember thinking what a dumb-ass Kyle was when I saw him at the park at 6:00am one day. But, I rethought that one, as I, too, was at the park, and, as everyone knows, I'm a smart-ass - not a dumb-ass. Kyle and I spoke more often after we realized we shared such sickness for the concrete that we would go at six in the morning. So, then there were three.

Originally, Steve and I were vying for a position on The Husky Skate Team. Old guy skaters gravitate to each other at a park. Old, round guys seem to have a greater pull - it's some law of astrophysics. I was bigger then. Kyle was bigger then. Even Steve was bigger back then. There were several others who fit the mold of old, round and skating, but they went by the wayside. Just a passing phase for them, I suppose.

But, eventually, pounds were shed and we started seeing a lot more of Nick. The first time Steve saw him he said, "Hey that guy has the same tattoo on his leg as I have on my ass!" I dared Steve to go tell him. This dare was funnier then than it is now, because we assumed if you skated you were all punk and belligerent. Little did we know Nick was; a) skinny as a rail (it's so hard to tell under all those pads!), b) well on his way to being a Bon Jovi lovin puss, and c) still playing with dolls. I think Nick and Paul were already tight so, we got the bonus pack when we hit it off with Nick. Five down one to go.

At some point we started seeing Jon fairly often on the Sunday Sessions. He's a Buckeye crazy enough to drive untold sums of miles in the middle of nite to hit the park by 7 or 8 in the morning. Perhaps he felt obligated to talk to us because we Bogart the snake run, or like so many others before him he was allured by the Skidmore Curse that was now rubbing off on, and being conveyed by, the entire group. Either way, it's a blast get to see him when we do and I'm glad to call him part of the crew. With Jon The six-pack of Concretins was complete.

I would have to say the solidifying point of The Concretins, maybe more so than my own personal talents and magnetism, was the Ollie's trip. When we all hit that park together and skated for hours on end with the same fervor as a short Sunday session - that was our Full Metal Jacket. That was when Nick said, "We need a name for team" and not a single person said "What team?" The Concrete had set up for the Concretins.

Skidzilla gets sentimental in 3, 2, 1:

I look forward to getting together at the park all week, every week. During the winter I pray for decent weather so we can skate. I love the park, but much more so when any combo of the group makes it out. (I watch other people skating and being pissed and I wonder if they are even having fun. Never a question with our group - it's always fun.) I wouldn't skate as much as I do without having met you guys, and I wouldn't be as good at it either. So, a big, fat cheers to all you schmucks. And, Happy Anniversary in a way.

Skidzilla
shop as usual and avoid panic buying

Summer foreshadow

Here we go SK8TRZ:
Get those bearings cleaned and pads washed up! I'm declaring a
5 MONTH SUMMER this year.

You guys make me sick! Able to skate more often than once a month!
I'd love to hit it multiple times a week...But noooooooo. I'm stuck here in Lexington with a puny worthless skatepark that's barely big enough to turn a 360 in!

Well the challenge is on! This year, OMP is making a concerted effort to skate "something" at least once a week. I wish it could be Louisville each time...but any rolling is better than no rolling.
Now, I figure that if I'm skating more...I will get better by default.
So, here it goes..I better see noticeable improvement by the end of September or, or, or, I don't know what...but it will be something a-kin to eating urethane! :-)
See you on the Crete!
OMP

Spring is here...

... And we're ready to rip! Saturday was just Steve and I but we still had a good session. I started trying, and actually landing some alley-oop backside airs. My regular airs were very comfy and I threw what I feel to be my biggest ever(after which I left the premises immediately). The alley-oops were comfy but well below coping, and while the "twist" of them feels cool, I was really only traveling about 6 inches backwards. Gotta start somewhere right? I convinced SkidS to try some couching-tiger-carves and homey squished somethin' in his back... Sorry Dude! He chilled so he'd be ready to skate on Sunday too, but to no avail. He was still laid out Sunday morning. (Which means I also have to wait to get vid cam footage from the previous week. Oh well.) Get well soon Stevie!

Sunday Sunday Sunday! There were rumors of an AnimalNate visit, yeah right. But I can't say I'd be there with a 1 month old, and a 2 year old... We'll find out eventually I guess. ;) I arrived early for a full-on session(all cam gear and boombox in tow). And I waited. And waited. Finally I got too lonely and started callin'. Others were on their way. Everyone skated great and half the fun was watchin' the roadtrippers from Columbus. They destroyed the coping in the snake run and bowl with insane angled smiths and smooth frontside 5-0s. I finally attempted the 50-50 in my run from the 4' to the 6' - and made it first try! - but no one seemed to notice. Bastards. I was sure to point it out though. I did make a few more with proper kudos. Paul and I hit some great doubles runs. One was perfect with me floating a big air and Paul carvin' kinda high, perfect right up to the point where I tried to carve and pump too hard beneath his 50-50 and slid out to flat bottom slam. But that wasn't as bad as having a whipper snapper drop in on us, I make it around her, and Paul drops a shoulder into her head! She walked away without injury and apologies all around. And apparently I was snakin' Dave 'cus he started askin' permission to go. Paul's backside airs were flyin' as well. He even commented on how comfy they're beginning to feel to him. Our hang time is actually long enough that we have time to have a thought midair, "Hey, this is a pretty good air! I rule!" or more often, "Oh shit!" The best "slam" was a "beat the rain" rushed doubles that Paul's board clipped my heel on the roll in, making him a bit late, he pumped to catch up and even told me to keep going, but I was scared of landin' on him so I bailed out of the bowl totally heels over head out of control. It was hilarious and OMP just kept cruisin'.

Rain clouds were looming and I scrambled to pack up everything quickly enough to load up and still get some runs in. Thanks to Skidzilla, I was able to do just that, and actually got the last run because everyone gave up as soon as it started. I brought all the cam gear and filmed MAYBE 2 minutes. If I really want to get footage, I gotta leave my board at home. I just can't stop skating long enough to film. And when I'm wasted enough to stop, so is everyone else... The best tricks are always thrown when you're skating with friends. Lookin' forward to SkateNite on Wednesday!