Old Guy Field Trip

The session in one word... EPIC! 3 members of Team Geritol and ALL of the Concretins converged on Ollie's Skatepark on Sunday... and madness ensued. I was so stoked that everyone made it and the energy from the old dudes filled the warehouse. I started with a few walls on the micro, but no warm up was necessary. Our enthusiasm pushed us all to the bowl and the 6' for almost the entire 5 hour session. Team Geritol took to the plywood with ease and the Concretins were immediately ripping. Warm up runs were at the high level of our last visit, and each run got better and faster. Just watching was amazing. But then to drop in for a speed run with your bros cheering you on... faster and faster until the fear of the slam overcomes the thrill of speed! GNAR!

I'd love to regurgitate all the gnarage here, but you really had to be there. Only the above still photo was worth posting. I have some video footage of the 6' mini, but PhotoBucket is bein' bitchy and won't upload it(I'll keep trying)... (huh? does that mean...) YEA, THAT'S RIGHT PUNK ASS! I DID already capture and edit the footage. Startin' the year off right... Video shot, video captured and edited. Really is much easier that way. Guess I really need to finish last years footage, huh? Considering the premiere party is next week...

Gave up on PhotoBucket for the video... went with YouTube... join the revolution right? My apologies to those of you with dial up... Oh, and I forgot to give props for the music. SkateMaster Tate and the Concrete Crew - Justice to the Bass.

Go West Old Man.

10 people. 1 week. 3 resorts. 3 FEET of fresh POW. One hella vacation. Utah rules and that's all I got to say.

ROADTRIP!!

Time to kick the groundhog in the arse and tell the weatherman to bugger off. We're going to Ollie's! Sunday, February 25th. I'm in. OMP is in. EB is in (yea, right). Jim, Jeff and Elvis of TeamGeritol are all in. I am certainly diggin' the indoor mini sessions at Mofo's and Phil's, but I need some round wall! What's your excuse for not going? Trick question! There is no excuse. Get to it punk. And hey, I need a ride.

You are not ready.

You MIGHT be ready.

Perhaps you should just start here.

Valentine's Day Reality Check

How much do you love your significant other?



Alice, I love you. THIS much. I hope you're by my side, when I'm writing the last page of the story of my life.

Heat Wave!

It reached a blistering 38 degrees today! Woo hoo! Skidzilla and I bundled up and hit the 'crete. I've been itchin' to put the new deck and new wheels on some 'crete tranny so with today being forecast as the warmest day of the week (without rain), today was the day. It wasn't 'til the afternoon, so the park looked crowded, but for some idiot reason, everyone was standing or sitting around leaving the bowls relatively empty. Cool by me!

It was still cold enough that your eyes watered on speed runs. And with the new RainSkates Tsunami wheels, I was definitely speeding. I can't wait to see how these bad boys roll when they're not ice cubes. OMP was right, these rock! I also felt the "largeness" of the new deck on the 'crete more than the minis, doesn't make much sense, but it was there. I was able to finally get a nice smooth grind in the bowl, along with a great backside disaster, though it was in the 4'. Still a make! Skidzilla was on point with his standard marathon runs, even in the frigid temps. He worked on the 5-0s and did not hesitate with the frontside grinds. Sometimes he grinds 'em and rolls 'em back in, and sometimes he'll come to a complete stop, and just lean back and drop in like it's nuthin'. But I believe if we check his shorts, we'd find evidence that it DOES bother him just a bit. Gnar has it's consequences. I just hope Sharon makes him wash those BVDs.

I believe the lil' bugger of a groundhog shnookered us, as it doesn't appear winter is going away anytime soon. I guess I'll have to settle for some wood tranny, or perhaps some snow carvin' for my next session. Are you in?
Skidzilla - FS Gnar

5-0 grindin'... or is it just a pivot... guess you shoulda been there.

More FS Gnar - lean back and go back in ya bugger!

Do not fear the DeathBox Nikoli, for it cannot harm you.

My backside looks gooood, dunnit?

Still riding after all these years...

13 years ago. That's how long it's been since I've been on a snowboard. Even back then, I had only ridden about 5 or 6 times. So when Mofo threw out the invite to borrow some gear and hit the slopes, I was the first one to jump in. And of course, EB was the first one to bail out completely (AS IF we really expected him to join us). So, Mofo and I headed out Wednesday afternoon... We even got an official welcome from the Orange County Police Department, he was pleasant, made sure we understood the speed limit, and sent us on our way, but asked that we slow it down a bit. (Almost a really expensive ski trip.)

We hooked up with Kyle's friend Paul, (no relation to OMP) who can really ride, but has severe ADD. (read: He's kerazee!) A bit irritating that he flew past us on the highway not 1 mile away from our welcome stop. Guess they weren't as glad to see him. He and his bud Alex also brought beer, so auto-cool points.

So we hit the slopes and Mofo gave me a few pointers. He was immediately cruising comfortably. The first 2 runs were a bit dodgy for me. Wrist guards were a damn good idea. Third run, I remembered/figured out that your hands gotta be out, and as soon as I "T'd" up my body, I was carving like an SOB. I'm BACK! I was so stoked. I couldn't believe how easily it came back. I never did hit any air, but I never did "back in the day" either. I'm strictly a carving machine on snow.

Mofo on the other hand, even though he hasn't ridden in 3 years, was on a mission. Constantly searching for a nice "roller" to launch from. I was a bit skeptical, I mean, I know he rips (you don't buy your own equipment-with spares, if ya can't ride), but it had been awhile right? I need not worry. We found a line with potential, and Mofo threatens a 360, but decides to test the waters with a tweaked out stylin' Stalefish! First try! Yep, I was reminded once again why we call him Mofo.

Snowboarding isn't like skateboarding. You can't "try" a trick, bail, get up and try again right away. You gotta get to the bottom of the hill, ride the lift for 5 minutes, get back to the line, dodge the lil' hacks, and THEN try again. (Or undo the bindings, HIKE back uphill 60 yards and try again, not fun.) All while it's 20 degrees.

Obviously he's stoked... "I can bust a 3 no problem." Ok. I'll watch. A bit over rotated, but he still didn't bail. Damn. If he wasn't such a cool person, my talent envy would require that I hate him. Next up, an IndyGrabStiffy (both legs straight as an arrow). And he finished up the launching with a perfect 360. Even saw a few 180s off the little bumps at the bottom. I found myself watching him a few times down the hill, when I really should have been watching my own line. Came close to eatin' it a couple of times. Dammit Mofo.

More Concretins MUST hit the slopes together sometime in the very near future. It is an absolute blast. With the right clothing, the cold won't even bother you(thanks again for the gear "rental" Mofo). Though at some point, I must have hit my head, or maybe it was just sooo cold, because I started hallucinating. I swear I saw a giant Twinkie on a snowboard.

Ow, my head... What the hell is THAT?


I told you Paul was kerazzeee!

Dreamin' - Warmer Days and Far Away Lands

As most of you know, I spent a year with the in-laws one week last July in McCall, Id. At the time Grindline was building a skatepark. One section was complete and they were cool enough to let skaters skate there whilst they worked.

You may recall that I posted great joy and speculated on the bountiful crop from the seeds of gnar that the park was planting at the time. The "Idaho Bowl" was the completed portion. So named as it was, indeed, shaped like the potato state. It was mostly cool, but the skinny little part on the north end of the bowl/state was more than a bit wonky.



The left-hand kidney was trussed up and ready to pour, but the completed bowl looks KILLER!








However, as the park was in very early development other than the Idaho bowl and the kidney bowl being trussed, I was ill-prepared for the likes of this when I came across it while surfin the net dreamin' of warmer days and far away lands:



Holy F'n Sheee-ite!

A HOLE! In Cradle!

With Coping on THE TOP!

Here's the expanded view showing a roll in.
I gotta get back there this year! I'll finagle a free place to stay for any Concretin who wants to join me.

I found these pics on Dan's Skate Page. Check it out an be envious of the following: His bad-ass fs air on his splash page, the ungodly amount of parks he has ridden (and photo'd and posted), his site in general, and the fact, that, based on the size of his site, he does nothing but skate.

Here's a final shot from a pro photographer Gary Ertter. It shows a righteous carve over the hole after the concrete was cleaned off the coping.



I gotta go as soon as the snow melts. Who's in? At the least the dreamin' about warmer days and far away lands part...

When I grow up I want actual video footage of me carving over a hole in a grindline park!

Winter Oasis

Holy frostbite Batman! It's c-c-c-cold! So what's a skater to do. No car, no internet skate forums, no X-games on tv, no new skate videos to watch, no parent willing to shell out a few bucks for a trip to the over crowded skatepark... Wait, that was 1989... This is 2007!! I'm old now. To Phil's!!

Phil is a mutual friend of the 'Cretins, connected from way back. He's also a FRO (ramp owner). (Technically, he owns 2, but one is naked-it needs resheetin.) He tossed out an invite quite some time ago to come skate his new ramp - in his garage. Well, FINALLY, after weeks of threatening to call him, we did. Skidzilla and I ventured into the wilderness that is Spencer county to skate, in SHORTS, in February. And it was good.

We had not skated in awhile. And this was a new ramp. We expected to struggle, and we did. But not long at all. The ramp is smooth and easy to ride. Getting used to the ramp was not a problem. Mofo wussed out (as he and Skid ran 7 miles in the cold today) and stayed home to take a nap. It would have been fun to watch him rip this ramp. OH WELL! Maybe next week? But Phi provided plenty of the obligatory ramp owner rippage. Lipslides and blunt-to-axle-stalls. Nice. Dave hit the 5-0, and frontside grinds and stalls nice and smooth WITHOUT the DP hangup style. "'Bout damn time." He even got a 270 stall. I was able to get a great BS nollie disaster, and BS disaster. Pivots are getting easier and easier too. Love that trick, as simple as it is.

So big props to Phil, and no offense to Mofo. As if my ramp envy wasn't bad enough already. But damn it was nice to skate when it's so brutally cold. The new deck and wheels still haven't touched 'crete though.

Skidzilla bustin' a BS 5-0

NikPivot

Our host FRO Phil - lipslidin' away

Well done Phil.