skatepark afternoon
Well actually, I went from about 4:30 to sundown but that is technically after noon. I met a fellow named Igor and two younger kids, two friends named Greg and Ryan. I even got trounced at table tennis by one of the park employees (shark!). I need to practice.
Ryan (the less experienced of the two friends) was trying to do a 50-50 on this grind box that went up and down a low fun box ramp. I’d been trying to do that same thing the past 4 visits and had only figured it out on my previous trip. I mentioned that he should try standing up on top of it, leaning in just a little more than usual. He took off down the incline, up the next and popped onto it, nailing the 50-50 clean as a whistle first try, up down and off. He and his friend were pretty stoked, as was I. That allowed me to ask the stocky, low-center-of-gravity Greg his thoughts on several other obstacles. (He was even doing frontside railslides on this flat bar rail that was horizontal and then kinked downward.) That junior high kid tore shit up while I was panting and pushing trying to duplicate his solid skills.
I’ve been trying to get my courage up to ollie straight to the downslope ledges. With Greg’s help and exemplary form I was nailing things in no time. I did about 7 new things while I was out at the park today, taking some of my railslides and 50-50’s to bigger transitions and higher rails/ledges. One of the keys was upping my speed threshold and trying to minimize the lanky, Gehner sketch factor during mounts and dismounts. Tightening the trucks helped alot.
I may not be a contender but my bones feel good to be back in the game. I even dropped into the pool today. Maybe I should get someone with a video camera out there to record my fast fading glory days before I disjoint myself. Don’t worry, I’m rocking the full padset as my discount insurance and I’m definitely NOT in huck myself mode. I got limits. Falling is to be avoided at my age. That doesn’t mean I can’t take reasonable chances or enjoy myself. Yes, I still like to ollie big drops and I still don’t bend my knees enough when I land.I think the fact that it was overcast until sunset pretty much made the day. It’s got me thinking about the Louisville skatepark. Maybe I’ll have to head out to the concrete Robb Field skatepark to see if any of my masonite park skills have improved things. I definitely have to wash the pads. Pheeeeyewww.
I also ran into my friend Daniel on the way home. We spent some time chatting. He had some great stories from the Jeff Phillips skatepark in Dallas and he even mentioned that he knew the rough coordinates of the giant DC skateramp that Danny Way set his world records on. He says accidentally spyed it in a warehouse district in downtown San Diego. He could not get over how unbelievably big it was. Maybe I’ll look for it when I get my muffler fixed. I also got to hear some new music he was working that was very nice. (Definitely got me excited to get started on my bootleg hexametaphosfate phone junkie remix.) Raaaaarrrr! The weekends do recharge me but I need to keep my momentum into my own projects. And personal hygiene… gotta get in the shower.
17 May 2003, 21:32 ::
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