This thing is waxed! I want to try ollieing up onto it and grinding up it, and then I’ll just drop off the other side into the lot.
Updated Wishlist Page
I hadn’t updated that page in about a year, and I’d accomplished about half of the old listing. Some of the tricks on that page are already works-in-progress. Some are just dim hopes for the future. Here’s the link!
Still have never done a boardslide on a rail. As I kid I kind a few, but it was a concrete, low rail (and I broke my wrist at that spot). This looks doable. It’s at a residence on a side-street.
Skate update
This has been a good week of skating. Any time this is the case, I have to admit it has been a bad week in the old domestic wife-life. Skating is only one of my extra-curricular activities that doesn’t bring in money, yet like all my extra-curricular activities it is healthy and gets me very excited about life in general. One of the biggest challenges for this adult relearning to skate, is dealing with the reality of having lots of potential to earn more money and have a more comfortable home life while having an awesome wife whose patience with the current situation has run short.
For every time I mentally repeat, “I must learn to consistently land tre flips” I hear at home, “When are you going to sell your screenplay?”
The sessions
This last week I got in 3 sessions. Two were at Bank of America, and one was at an undisclosed location east of Koreatown. I was alone.
Duration: 75 minutes, each time.
In each session I completed a Practice Set 3.0. They weren’t easy. The no-comply impossible and the fakie heelflips were troublesome. On one of the nights, the tre flip was like, “what the fuck?”.
However, on another night, I landed 5 tre flips easily, and almost landed another 15. Tre flips continue to be my total nemesis. It was very frustrating to have such a strong Tre night, and then the following night struggle for 30 minutes (half the session!) to land two of the shittiest tres in the world.
Across the street from that rail picture. I’m thinking ollie to tree ride, frontside air off. I’d need to use my board with the big soft cruiser wheels.
Something old, something new
The old thing is that I’ve once again began to practice Tre Flips using the very Talent Code (book) influenced Tre Component Practice. Cuz I’ve been struggling. It totally helps, both with the practical baby-steps, but also with the patience and sense of value. So this way, “makes” come more regularly, but even if they don’t, I feel satisfied knowing that I’ve successfully accomplished an aspect of the multi-faceted trick.
The new thing is that I’ve been practicing kickflipping for more control and height. Each time I skate I’ve been setting my 8″ deck with cruiser wheels on its side and attempting to kickflip it at least 10 times. I’ve done this for maybe 6 sessions. The first night I tried like 50 times and landed only one. Last night I landed my second attempt, and almost landed 3 or 4 of the other 9. Progress!
Bondo
I’m not taking credit for someone putting bondo on my favorite skate spot. There were some cracks and gouges in the otherwise perfect old-man skate spot. 11.5 foot long manual pad with a waxed low curb, perfect for safe, fun learning. Allegedly, and apparently someone took the game to a whole new level by filling in those cracks with bondo. Looks like this person might need to return to touch up a couple areas.
Allegedly, someone put bondo on the cracks in this manual pad.
Pipe Dream
There’s a 17 foot ledge over a gap, which starts mellow and then would end up being like a 5 foot drop off to land. Perfect for a regular-footed guy to land a frontside 50-50 grind. Long. It’s made more difficult by the fence in front of it, which constricts knee-bending action. At the moment it is a far-off pipe dream to make this trick. I’m not even that great at grinding the 11.5 foot low manual pad. All the same, I’m thinking about it and will work my way up to it. Here’s the picture:
17 foot grind over dirt gap to drop off. Would have to ollie the curb at the top to start (next to the barely visible black bag). Would have to be done in the day when the lot is closed and the fence gate at the top is closed. I saw kids trying it once. It was newly waxed!
Relearning to Skateboard 