First Session of '08

It's still February, but the weather was so Spring-like here in Utah county today that I had to take advantage of it and break my old self in for the upcoming season.

Over the winter I'd been pretty good at exercising each week (at least compared to what I've done in the past, which was basically nothing): basic light weight lifting 2 or 3 times per, and some casual practice on the balance board. I thought this would help me at least maintain the level of ability I ended last Fall with. Not that I was in any great shape as the season ended, but I had progressed in endurance and strength over the summer, and for having just picked up skating again after 15 years I thought I was doing alright.

Looks like once you're over 30 staying in shape over the winter is as Sisyphean challenge. U skated for about 20 minutes, and though my bsic balance was alright, my coordination was weak: doing anything beyond pushing was like I was learning the whole game over again. And dizzy like I was drunk.

But I did feel like I was starting to pick up a bit toward the end, just as, luck would have it, my endurance began to wane.

But for being the end of February and technically still Winter in Utah, I can't say I was disappointed with the session. It was fun, and as I was driving home I looked at nearly every parking lot and wanted to stop for more.

Decks Decks Decks

I don't think I blogged about how my Almost Mullen Uber deck cracked at the nose about 30 days into use. I'd been skating about 5x a week and not for more than an hour at a time. Plus I myself am uberlight, and I don't skate uberhard (OK, enough "uber"s).

Anyway, after a couple of weeks I noticed the deck lost a significant amount of pop. I'm not being whiny, but my ollies were terrible unless I aimed and precisely snapped the tail at just the right position and angle.

After practicing (switch-stance) ollie to manual off a little platform (no more than 12 inches) the nose just cracked and was suddenly useless. So I sent the deck back to Almost, and voila! They sent me a brand new one about 7 days later. I was concerned they wouldn't because I hadn't sent in the little warranty card, but I did send a check to cover shipping to make their decision less painful.

Well, because I hadn't really expected them to replace it on that technicality, I had immediately ordered a deck from Black Hole Boards as a replacement. But the shipment was delayed, and as the summer days sped past I found myself itching to skate. Our local shop was having a sale on decks that week, so on an impulse I picked up a Vallely Element deck for under 30 bucks with grippy. I mounted it up, thinking I would skate it for a couple months and have the extra BHB Element in case I needed it.

Surprise, surpise, the Vallely deck lasted all through the autumn, and though the BHB Element came, and the replacement Mullen came I saw no reason to change out.

So, yeah, I have 2 brand spankin' new decks to dig into when the snow thaws. If it ever does. It feels really weird to have more decks than I need; in fact, it feels a bit constrictive, as I don't have the anticipation or excitement of choosing a new one when the current wears out.

Oh well, at least I'll be well-stocked and free from deck expenditures for 2008.

Modern Marvel: My Vew-Do Balance Board

You can see me here on my new Vew-Do Balance Board. My kind parents bought this for me for Christmas. My folks have always been supportive of skating, going back to my offsetting the cost of my first board at age 11, through to letting my brother build a mini half-pipe in their back yard when he was 16. And though my mother was somewhat concerned that I would hurt myself when I announced I was getting back into skating at 31, both mom and dad thought taking it on would do me good.

But I guessed I might lose whatever skating edge I'd been re-sharpening over the summer if I just atrophied over the winter, and so when I heard about the Vew-Do I was intriguiged.

The Vew-Do apparently came out in 1990--right before I quit skating, it seems, and was marketed to both skaters and general sports-playing-jock-types. I think I remember seeing it way back when, but it looked dopey, and of course the price is akin to a complete board, so that, to a 15-year-old, was itself prohibitive. But not so now. The folks were looking to buy me something different for Christmas, and this fit the bill.

So here it is, the Vew-Do SK8 model in all it's indoor fun-ness. As you can see from the photos, the board is just like a normal skate deck except instead of trucks/wheels it's got a heavy-duty plastic beam on the bottom that fits into a groove on the "rock"--a large, wooden mono-wheel support. One balances one's self by centering one's weight above the "rock", and then shifting weight from foot to foot to change the position of the board.

It's both more challenging and enlivening than I thought it would be, and I find myself hopping on it two or three times a day just to give it another go. Each time I do I find that my balance is a little more sure, and the experience of riding the Vew-Do is yet more enjoyable.

Next up: tricks on the Vew-Do. Apparently one can do ollies, kickflips, shuvits, and more. Best thing about it is now I can rationalize making a post here during the winter months (one that's not along the lines of, "It sucks that I can't skate.")

Waiting, Not Skating

I had a really good session the other night. In Utah County the evening was very cool, and though at first it seemed too cold, after a few minutes I warmed right up and the air was most refreshing.

Not much happening in terms of tricks, but good ollies, manuals, on and off of short platforms, all in my favorite parking lot.

And now it is snowing; not necessarily too cold, but certainly too wet and slick for any skating, which leaves me in the unenviable position of waiting for the Spring.

P.S. For those of you snowboarders who are instead rejoicing, yeah, I snowboarded for about 15 years, but it's just too much money and time for an old man like me. In a year or two when my son is older, then winters might seem a little riper and brighter...

Too Busy To Skate

It sounds ridiculous, but I've been way too busy to skate at nights. Barely have time to eat dinner, play with the boy, and get 7 hours of sleep.

End of the Summer

So the Summer is at an end, and I've not been posting updates on this 'blog simply because there haven't been a lot updates to make. My progression has been a bit sluggish--flip tricks are still very very hard for me to land at anything close to full-speed.

I do, however, recognize my improvements most when I don't skate for a few days--after a few days away everything seems harder, and all my attempts seem weaker. So I worry a bit about what will happen over the Winter; will I be back at square 1 in the Spring?

New Deck: Almost Uber Light - Mullen

My new deck finally arrived yesterday (I swear UPS is slower than USPS) and I laid on the grippy, changed out my bearings, replaced my trucks' kingpins, and put it all together.

Before

After

I took it out skating last night, and was immediately impressed by how high this thing pops. It's like spaceman ollies!

The concave feels very deep, which I'm not quite used to. In fact, I fell a couple of times because my feet were so "glued" in place by it.

As advertised, it does seem to flip faster, and though I'm still having a hard time with kickflips in general, heelflips seem to be easier to initiate (though harder to control, as the board flips at least another half-flip from the same amount of effort).