Skate Log: #9, Back to Volcom

Love that peanut bowl, and board control is definitely coming back. Spent the weekend building a 1/4 pipe, should be able to finish it all up this afternoon and have a little something to session at home. Did a couple grinds in the combi-bowl and just dropping way better flow in the peanut. Funny thing, found this vid out on youTube and it's me running the camera and providing commentary:

Skate Log: #7, Back to Volcom

After a few sessions of flailing around Etnies looking for a good line, I headed back to Volcomm to session the kidney, and had a pretty solid session. Not sure if it was the time off (almost a week since I rode), or just easier terrain, but all the stuff that seems so sketchy at Etnies just flows better here--more on top of grinds, clean axel stalls (as it should be), 50-50s, etc. Added in pivot and pivot to tail, and close to getting f-side grind to tail back. Rock-n-roll is still fail though, very annoying, just a fat mental block. Forgot a knee sleeve, but rode anyway and all feels good a day later. Finally putting things together in back-to-back fashion, stall, grind, grind, carve, 50-50, b-side d, rock2fakie, fakieD etc. w00t. Etnies tomorrow again, see if I can't grind that bowl and get some flow on.

Skate Log: #6, Etnies, round 3

Feeling good and back for more. Finally finding some lines tonight in the flow course, and working the combi-bowl a bit more, f-side grinds in the shallow. Still can't seem to stick a stall or a 50-50, and didn't skate the skull bowl, as it was in full session with GvR practice. Definitely need new knee pads, these old ones are pretty blown out. I'll hook that up this weekend. Looks like any skating will be at Costa Mesa, as the contest will run all weekend here.

Skate Log: #5, Etnies, round 2

Just 2 days since my last session, but I'm feeling good, and more than that, my knees aren't feeling bad. My first trip here wasn't all that productive, but I'm up for the challenge this terrain provides. Well, well, look who's here, Lester Kasai! Never really knew him all that well, and I wasn't really sure what to say to him, so I let that go, and just rode. Afternoon sun-gouge is a factor here, and will be until the time change, I think, but that will come soon. Traffic not really a factor, and it's only 10 miles anyway. Still looking for the lines here, and I do not seem to have much flow tonight, can't really even stick an axle stall. Still, I tried the combi-bowl out, and if nothing else it's fun to ride...

Skate Log: #4, Now we're getting somewhere

Saturday afternoon, weather cooling, kids at a party, I've got time to stretch and prepare, and skate as long as I want. The park is semi-busy, and there appear to be a few old-timers like myself. I've picked up a good line from watching the locals, and now I'm getting some good speed in the kidney and ripping around the bowl. Nice! b-side D, continuous motion, 50-50s wall-to wall. Lien-to-tail laugh er, but I rode it in. Hit the big bowl, f-side grind on the face wall, posed a f-side air, maybe that will be a while coming...

Knees: still good! Slams: 1 minor one.

Trick List: Axle-stall, b-side 50-50, f-side grind, rock-2-fakie, fakie disaster, b-side disaster (smooth!), lien-2-tail.

Skate Log: #3, Stay with it!

Couldn't quite drag myself out after work during this past week, my lack of confidence combined with my aversion to traffic keeping me on the sidelines. I packed the family up and drug them all along today, hoping Max might get fired up with a trip to the park. He's not quite ready, and we stayed less than an hour, but we'll see how he progresses. For myself, things came a little easier this time, I only added 1 more trick back this week, but I felt much more comfortable riding and dropped in on the big bowl this time, carving the corners and hitting the face wall.

Knees feeling good and no slams!

Trick List: Axle-stall, b-side 50-50, f-side grind, rock-2-fakie, fakie disaster, b-side distaster (ske-etch-y!).

Skate Log: #2, Etnies

I've got the bug back, checking websites and youTube for info, and I gave theEtnies Lake Forest park a try today. Wow, now this feels like a skatepark, like something I haven't seen since the old Pipeline in Upland. I'm a little out of my element here, having left my ollies back in the 90's, but the Skull bowl with it's coping and tile is calling, strong enough to brave the 5pm traffic and see what's what. Can't really say I tore it up, and this park lacks a mini-ramp style section, but watching people speed around the flow park shows me where I need to get back to--speed! The biggest thing for me now is to be patient and keep building back my confidence.

Skate Log: #1, Back on Board!

After viewing the Vans ProTec pool party again, and seeing former friends still getting after it, I realized I needed to get back out there. Opportunity knocked in the form of an afternoon off after a training class got out early. I had been thinking about the Costa Mesa skatepark for a year or so after spotting it while driving by, so I decided it was now or never. I hadn't ridden in at least 3 years, maybe 4, but after a summer of biking to work I felt like I was in good enough shape to give it a shot.

The temperature was 90+, and the park was mostly deserted, as the police were ticketing people without pads as I arrived. I rode for about an hour, until the heat was just too much. The verdict: no slams, and I just stuck to the small kidney bowl, as the larger combi-bowl just looked a little too deep today. Overall, not bad for my first session, and one of the locals even asked me for some tips on doing frontside grinds.

Tricks: Axle-stall, b-side 50-50, f-side grind, rock-2-fakie, fakie d.

Update: knees feel good next day!