What to do

Alas, it seems that our six year old is now infatuated with legos. I am, in general, ok with this, because he’s exercising his brain, coming up with new stuff to build. However, I want my skate buddy back!!

We had a few driveway sessions at the end of the summer which were miserable. They started off something like..”hey, how about we go skate?”…”Nooooooooooooo, I want to build a spaceship.” “How about we skate, and then build legos?”……”Nooooo, daddeeeeee…” “Ok, how about this…lets go skate, or there will be no legos”…”Daddy, are you serioius?”

I had to show that I was. We skated for about 30 min, and every time down the driveway I heard, “ok, i’m done, its hot.” or “can I go in now?” Clearly, this was not the way to keep him psyched about skating. After a cold drink..a beer for dad, and some cold juice for little man, we called it a session.

Since then, we have had some fun skate outings. Once, we went to the creek on a Sunday, and the place was overrun with kiddies. Owen found several playmates, and I spent more time helping kindergartners out of the 8′ section of the bowl, then on my own runs. I was glad to see him happy, in a skateboard related setting, even though the crowd seriously cramped my shredding (ha). Ok, I got plenty of runs in, but really now, the bowl is for skating and should not be used as a giant play pen.

We also had a session at p58, where he rode around in the deep end of the bowl on his rear end. We now refer to that as the “tushie session.” Again, I didn’t teach him anything new, he didn’t push his boundaries any…but he had fun.

Maybe that is all I should ask for.

Have I lost my guy...

...to these?

The Love bowl

Summer ’09 was all about the bowl. Dropping in and getting comfy at harsh creak, hitting p58, ydg in the spring, skate barn, and then there was Love. This thing was tight, surfaced with skate lite, and 4 and 5′ deep. It was hot, and the day was fun. After riding a bowl which was 8 and 12′, this was cake. Or was it? There wasn’t much of a landing strip, so if you were going to eat it, you better land on something with pads.

Anyway, here are a few shots:

I eventually feebled pool coping

Dropping in:

Strange feeling, the pool coping drop

The Session that wasn’t

I’m always trying to squeeze in a session. The best sessions are always the ones I discuss and arrange ahead of time, with my fam, so that i’m not disrupting the day. When I cram a session in there, without everyone being cool with it, I feel like a selfish goob. If the fam is somehow part of the session, thats the best. On this fine summer day, I attempted to finagle a session in g’boro, but it just never happened. Too much going on. Too much water in Pop’s pool (heh), and no way to head to the skate part downtown. A shame, since I hear they finally resurfaced the bowl, the half, and got rid of the graffiti…which i’ll actually miss.

We did however snap this nifty pic of everyone geared up pre-ride down 40. Light sabres are a must when embarking on any family road trip. Note, pads, boards and helmets were packed just in case.

The light sabre is an elegant weapon. Not clumsy or random like a blaster.

Owen and Dad

Rockin the ramps. Summer ’09.

10' wide quarter..there we go

Driveway sessions

Sometimes, all you need is a quick break. The driveway is the perfect getaway. Just hop on your board and skate. Sprinkle protective gear, music, and cold bevgs to your liking. A friend with a camera is always welcome.

2 points

Parks

I mentioned previously that parks are cool.  Some elaboration on that. In this area of NC, within 30-45 min drive of my house, there are many cool parks. I count around 6, and i’m sure i’m missing a few. Heck, within 10 min of my house there are two.

I know the most organic way to sk8, is to jump on your board, and go find a “spot”. A spot could be anything from a curb, to a metal post, to a railing and stairs. However, i’m way too un-skilled for that business. That type of skating requires that one can ollie (spontaneously hop) while rolling at breakneck speeds. Thats just not me.

Parks are fun because you can pad up, put on a helmet, and kind of do your own thing. Most parks usually have some sort of configuration of ramps, banks, bowls, and other obstacles. I’ve discovered i’m a bowl guy, because I can have fun without launching into the air, or without even approaching the lip.

More later…but this is a shot of my favorite park, Marsh Creek. Its public (free), its concrete, and its 10 min away.

Yes, we've ridden it with board.

Well now

So its been a while…about a year to be exact since I picked it up again. I’ve learned a few things…

• Like some sort of bizaar real life, much toned down, fight club, there are many old guys who skate (sk8).
• Those guys (us guys), are a serious lot; we like our skating, and we don’t necessarily poke fun at ourselves for being over 35 and riding a skateboard.
• Most old guy sk8rs are really, really nice.
• I was pretty naive to think the old guy sk8r was some sort of  meager population, in need of a voice…we are alive and well across the Web.
• The bowl is the way to go.
• Skate parks are addictive.
• My boy just needed a little success, and he too, has become somewhat sucked in to sk8ing.

Thats all I got for now.

Tic tac, Blender

I often wonder why I skateboard. Why would someone who last picked up a board in 1988, suddenly ask for one for his birthday in 2008? 

The short answer is because its fun. Having the additional perspective of a few extra years, I figure I’ll blog about it. Frankly, i’d be interested to hear what other, ahem, older skaters’ stories are. 

There is an actual story to the how and why. We were in Charlotte, in early spring ’08. It was sunny and crisp 60s, and me, the wife, my five year old, one year old, and my folks were all enjoying the weather. Suddenly my son appears, decked out in mork and mindy style rainbow pads, my dad’s hard hat, rolling across the driveway, into the grass. He proceeded to go again, and again, and again. 

He had unearthed my G&S Neil Blender, complete with indys, bullet 66s and schmitt stix rails. (I think it had german bearings). He was psyched.

I asked for a turn. After a brief lesson in sharing, I showed him my moves. He was amazed that I could mobilitate up the drive way slope, without pushing. I explained the concept of a tic tac, and he gave me some props. “Dad, you are good.” I proceeded to execute a small ollie, a nifty grind on my folks garage edge, and I topped it off by rolling all the way into the cull de sac.

You laugh, but I was having fun. I hadn’t ruptured anything. Almost exactly 20 yrs later, I was unretired from skating. To top it all off, I even found my old collection of Thrasher and Trasnworld. 

So, for my birthday, I got a new board. At the request of my wife and Mom, I also procured a helmet. My son got his first board for this birthday, two months later. And here we are.

Since 1988, certain things change, certain things are the same as ever. The same; Skateing is still fun, no matter where or what you are doing; Changes; board shape, post skate beer, general level of self awareness, the looks the neighbors give you.

I’m sure its different for all us old folk. Come share your stories, from young to old.