Dropping N

Thursdays afternoons have been a blast lately as the boy and I have been able to make it to the indoor after work and school.. 

It has worked out that Thursday is the day being the only night of the week that he does not have karate and the only day that we can be in the car heading there by four o'clock.

Yesterday he was extra motivated due to the fact that his first issue of Thrasher Mag had shown up in the mail.

This was one of his christmas gifts that yielded him a tshirt and some pages of sk8 inspiration. 

Now I don't want to sound like the old stick up the ass guy that is always writing to Bike Mag and complaining about words used and the content of the magazine. But I do have to say that twenty five years later reading the mag again the content sure has changed. 

I think that a lot of it is that the world has changed and for the most part there is nothing in the pages that is going to be some kind of crazy corruption to a young mind, but it for a moment made me feel like an old man. 

Regardless of all of that the session at the park was super good,,, I was rocking some new bearings that were smooth and fast which was nice for a change.

All the Pro kids were there throwing down and raising the stoke level..

New lines and tricks were being thrown down the old man body bounced more than went thud,,

and the boy was letting it loose,, trying some new stuff and getting 

cheers from all in the building.

As Stevil has mentioned a few times at this age it is tough to not be in pain all the 

time as us middle lifers get back on four wheels and try to keep up with the rad ones.

It is all about keeping the fire glowing and the passion flowing..

After scouring the internets I was able to find a new pair of TNT's for the boy..

Wanted the new ones but hard to find in his size... This has to be one of the best shoes that I have skated in all the way back to my youth,,  My better half shutters at how many pairs of shoes me and the boy are going through.. Skate and Destroy!! 

My goal for this weekend is to get out and ride in the woods,, I will be pedaling in solidarity for all my brothers up in the 612... They will be Ice Racing tomorrow then racing the City of the Lakes Loppet on Saturday. The numbers for the loppet race will be huge as the Twin Cities is drunk on all things Fat Bike. 

For me it will be the Blackbuck and some two inch tires,,which with the snow pack being what it is here should be fine. 

One for the weekend!

Hang Around a While

Cleaning bikes in winter is one of my least favorite things to do.. I don't mind making them all sloppy gross it is just the aftermath in the garage that brings me down. As of now one of the two bikes that I have been riding is cleanish.

My main goal,,when cleaning this time of year  is to get all the salt and crap off and make sure that things are rolling about and clean.

The Blackbuck took a beating on Sunday as the crushed gravel trails were a mix of frozen dirt,,, soft dirt,, wet dirt,,, and snow..

All the water that spit up on me and the frame froze in the 32degree air.

After letting the ice thaw while hanging in the stand I got after it with my doctor Browners cleaning spray. Wiping down and polishing making the bits and pieces shine takes time but oh so worth it.

I spent some time on the phone with Mr Slate the owner of WTB and Of Spirit "Blackbuck".
It was good to catch up we have not chatted since November,,
The conversation started with healing as we are both coming back from injury,, and how
when you can't do what you want to it can take you to some dark places..
Then we talked about single speed riding and the why and how it can really break up
the mundane of everyday riding and add new challenges and new opportunity's  line and ride selection.
And we finished up with the power of steel and 

how when used properly can make for one real enjoyable bike riding experience.
I don't have as many miles on my Blackbuck as I would like due to my untimely fall,, but I have to say that all the miles that I do have in have been quality through and though.
This is my sixth steel single speed bike not counting my cross, and each and everyone had their own personalty.  So far what I am feeling from this one is that it is an all day machine,, as happy with going out exploring and it is pinning down some crazy single track.
I think back to the weekend that I broke it in up at SSUSA... from the first pedal stroke to the last all the bike did was want to go... I just had to tell it where and how fast.
Long and short pretty stoked on the ride of the bike.
And seeing as it is buy far the most affordable one yet that makes the smile grow even bigger..
Mark was not messing around when he designed this rig.
If you are looking for a snappy ride this is the one for you..

Ok back to the torture chamber for a some more circles to no where... Weather man said that it was going to be 40+ out today and he lied,,, so Inside it is and dreaming about

summer..  

Looking out the Ear Hole

The monday morning stiffie is in full effect this AM..

Come on now not talking about morning wood,, It is that full body tightness that 

comes from throwing you sack of bones around all weekend long. 

Top that off with the inability to sleep last night and that leaves this old 

man tired and sore.

But what this does mean is that it was a good weekend of 

stuff...

And it was needed after a tough friday of broken things. 

I had two repairs that just did not want to be fixed and the sucked the life and hours out of my day, and at this time I don't think that either is fixed yet due to bad parts sent from the manufacture. 

Anyway we ended up at dinner the Three that live here and after the first beer was down and 

the urge to kill was lowered the Rocket Boy asked "when are we going to Sk8 this weekend"?

He was still all fired up from the night before and wanted some more glory.

Mom proposed for us to head to the 612 and ride at the 3rd Lair.

So that we did.

We got there and the place was empty,, like I had never seen before.

The boy found a bunch of other young ones to ride with and the session was

on.

Two and a half hours later tired ,, sweaty.. and hungry we walked away with new trick and stories to 

tell at the local park here at home. 

Home 

that is where the next stop of the loaded weekend was.  We hit up the local indoor yet again and 

again for us the park as empty as it normally is on a sunday.

Both of us tired and worked from previous sessions but still eager to work on new and old tricks.

The old guy here finally got him self to front side 50/50 on the mini which then turned into a

front smith and Rocket just kept pushing it up and up to the coping again and again. 

The two of us can't wait for outside skateboarding to come back. 

I topped off the day with a quick but good ride out on the Blackbuck,, temp was around 32 so on the edge of tolerable. I pushed the summer like gear up the paved road then down through the quarry and pretended to be a Phat biker as I floated above the snow on my WTB 9line tires. 

It is easy for me to say that by the time I was done and working on making dinner 

I was good and cooked from all the movement.

So it is funny that I could not sleep.

Oh well I'll have to catch up on that sleep as my day goes on..   

Step Off

A solid session at the Indoor last night was just what I needed and a great break from 

the inside torture chamber and riding rollers. 

It was good,, I stayed up right while dialing in some tricks that I have been working on along with learning some new moves,, but it was the boy who was on fire. 

I am not sure if it was the Dew or the cheers from all the guys on the 

deck but he was pushing it. 

He started off the night working on some flat land and managed to learn 

some backside 180 ollies then took him self to the 

mini and started working on his 50-50 stalls. 

After the first two were close he nailed on and the smile across his face was crazy. 

This guy here explains how to do the trick but I can't understand a thing that he says.. 

Regardless as the evening went on the Rocket was able to 

grind a few and even had a few good diggers off the lip.

He was on fire so much he took him self to the 5 footer and rode with the big dogs.. 

Here is a clip of the big dogs from their trip to Creme City..

It is great that he has guys like this to look up to as 

they skate in ways that this old guy just can't yet..

I am working on it but at the same time as I still heal I need

to remember that I need to be able to walk the next day..

And I need to be able to hide in the basement and try to 

ride like this guy..

As this Friday rolls on time to drink more and more coffee...

I have a tough fix today,, a Evap Compressor and Heat Exchanger all

going into an under the counter Sub Zero..

By Far the toughest thing that I will

do all Spring.

#fuckyeafriday

Bring on the weekend.

#Sk8orDie

Fist full of Nada

I don't have much in the way of words today that will 

mean much of anything so I give you 

this. 

Something old some thing Gnarly

Something Loud

And something for the rest of us..

Keys in my hand

I hate watching weekends go by so fast but they always seem to fly by.

I really enjoyed my self this weekend starting off 

with a Friday afternoon session with 

the boy at the indoor

then straight into 

What can you make for dinner with these three ingredients. 

And all I did was win.

After getting all jazzed up saturday morning with this new coffee contraption 

I was off to the Garage workshop to get 

bikes ready for some riding.

Got the New Time pedals installed on the Nature Boy and fiddled 

with my old set of race blade fenders making it so I would not get all muddy with road slime.

Bike was set supersuit was on and out the door I went. 

Now I know that no one cares that you singlespeed and nor do I 

so  the fact that I was out riding on one really means nothing to you just me. 

But I really find that this time of the year it is such a good way to squeeze in every inch of 

work that you can into a ride. 

This one was no different,,, quite roads and a hill and a half to wake up the 

soul. 

Still for what ever reason not riding with music in my ears just in my head. 

Not sure if or when this may change.. I have been riding with out ever since 

my digger at the shitwamogen. 

All said and done the fenders were not needed and if not the 

grumble in my gut probably would have kept on going. 

I felt so good to be out of the dungeon and pedaling and really getting somewhere.

Sunday was super mellow as I waited for the garage to dry out. 

I wanted to go back to the indoor but the boy

had other ideas..

So it was back to one-hitter-box working on smith grinds

and tail slides which just keep beating the crap out of me..  I better figure it 

out soon or just live in constant pain. 

All of this was followed up with a 

football game that left us wondering what if.

But that is that and it is over so back to more important things

like riding on Two and Four wheels. 

D-Boon is my Co-pilot

I love GOOD music and like to listen to it loud and get all pumped up and move around and jump and shout..  I can even handle a bit of hip hop... I am not talking about the classic ... The Bboys,, RUN DMC ,, Grand Master Flash etc.. 

Ok so the story goes the boy and I headed over to the inside Sk8 Park to squeeze in the last few hours of the day.. The place was ours for the most part,, so I hooked up my phone to the small fender speaker to crank out some old school punk rock to help with the skate session. 

About a half hour into the riding a few other guys show up,, now these are some of the rad youngster,, the switch-nollie-crooked-to-fakie...flipping..spinning.. variety.. Full on respect for their 

ability's,, even if they look at me as some weird old guy trying to relive his past.

Well the leader of the cool guy vaping crew unplugs my phone and in 

goes his and on comes some shitshow hip hop.

Nothing but Bitch Ass Nword Fbomb Nword bitch ass etc,,, and not just one 

song but over and over and over and over.

So much that the boy comes to me as says dad can we go I don't like the music,,

At this point they all head out to smoke a cig and take their crap with them so 

after a few moments of silence I get some music cranking again..

This time some Bad Religion,, No Control,,, This once again helps push out the bad and in with the good.

I cost 5 bucks a head every time me and the boy go and ride,, and this park is owned by the

guy who I used to work for at the bike shop,, where I was coined with the DarkHeart nickname

by one of ultra religious friends for listing to Jane's Addiction. 

While working at this bike shop we had strict restrictions of the music that could be played over the speaker system in the place. 

I am pretty sure that if  Mr Johnson knew of the music being played or ever stepped foot into the park his brain may explode.  

All that being said it was a good session,, I made some progress and even

tested gravity a few times and walked away to tell the story.

Both the boy and my self are looking forward to skating outside and exploring the parks down in the valley of the sun.

Sunshine is a good thing and being outofdoors is even better.

I need to get into the garage and start getting bikes set up for riding on pavement and dirt.

Yesterday a box from a French company 

showed and bikes need to be Prepped.

It has been a long time since I have been on Time Pedals I was religious 

about them for years and years,, my first big bike deal with the Wily Team 

we all got Time and smiles were had all around. 

So need to do some switching around and get out and do some riding today.

This old sk8 beaten body could use some pedal time.. 

And the whole time I will be rocking out to good tunes in my head.. 

Chicken Farm

Still trying to deal with this shoulder injury that I gave my self back in late October, and have since pissed it off a few times by tweaking it.

I probably should have gone to the doctor last calendar year while I had my deductible all maxed out. 

From everything that I have read it can take up to twelve weeks for a sprain of the A/C joint to heal and that is if you don't make it angry and if that is really what the issue is.. Again from all that I have read I am pretty sure that is what the issue is.  Lots of Ice and KT tape and Aleve seem to be helping..  Learning to crash on the sk8toy with out putting my arms out is also a big plus.

At times at my J-o-B the weird positions that I have to get into can be a big pain but I guess that is just part of the fun of work and getting old??

The one place I do find that my hurt wing does not feel that bad is while I am on the back
of one of my two wheeled joy machines.
Yes I have been riding indoors... Now that the oldest is back at school her room has been turned into a workout place where me and the wife have our bikes set up,, hers on a trainer and mine on the
rollers.
Do I want to be outside riding yes and I have been getting out when when I can,, yes I am the one
cyclist in the upper with out a Phat Bike.
But that is ok I sit and watch hours and hours of Skateboard videos so
I can come up with more funner ways to Thrash and maybe throw my self to the ground.

This is a real good one with some kickass skating in it with some of my favorite people to watch rip.

And while watching it I can say hey I have been there..

Funny their has been a lot of discussion about skateboarders who have become cyclist

mostly drummed up by this Guy.. 

But I guess it all rings true when you consider that both the Bicycle and the Sk8toy are nothing more 

than Freedom Machines..

As you individuals they were the key to adventure and a way to keep your self busy outside well after the sun went down. 

For me the bike came first a hand me down Schwinn that I loved then came my Stomper which is still in the garage which was at the height of the BMX craze of the 1980's.

But something happened in 84 a got a Veriflex and it was on,, I saw the Bones Brigade Video Show and all I wanted to do was ride my Board. 

Both have taken me all over the country exploring and having fun... just add a few wheels,, a couple dudes and something to jump on or over and watch out. 

And from here on out it will not end anytime soon.... Now If I could Just get this appendage to act like it should i'll be on the fast track to Awesomeness.. 

  

Tex-Mess

I spent yesterday morning watching the social media blow up..

It started off with a phone call from my 

kid who was on her way back from Texas and heading home to school.

She called to inform me that due to weather the Big Show on sunday had been 

canceled. 

I had no coffee in me and was coming down with some sort of virus 

so I could not really understand what she was getting at..

So I hopped on the interwebs and like I said things were blowing up.

Race was postponed then just canceled and the police were called in to help clear the park.

All day Saturday it rain and rain and the park took on a lot of moisture,,

it then proceeded to rain hard all night long.

The Park that the National Championships were being held at is from what I am told the crown jewel of  Austin park system.

Ok here is my 2 cents..

Did the promoters not speak of what cross is to the city before selecting the venue,,

did the Parks department not realize  what  would happen when thousands 

of cyclist showed up to ride and race and all their friends and family would tromp all over the park to get the best view of the event.

Was their a rain plan,, does it ever rain in Texas??

In my eyes this was poor planing across the board,, did no one look back to the races held here in Wisconsin when the same event was held and similar conditions were had?

Did Austin think that this would just be another music festival for dudes in skinny jeans and funky hats to hang out and take selfies?

I think that this just shows where cycling is in the USA, and for all those involved that look to the European model of the sport we are not even close. Had this been over the pond the crows would have been doubled in sized and the most epic day of racing would have been had.....because this is what cross is right?

So today Sundays races will be held and for those Pro's who could change their flights or hold off going back to their day jobs......which 95% of them have,,, again not europe..  The course has been modified and the tree root systems that were endangered are all now covered up and a National Champion will be crowned.

Lets hope that all other cities to host the National Championship event from here on out learn from this...

DONT MESS WITH TEXAS...

Now a Left Turning

I am not sure but I am pretty sure that I am not going to be able to top last Saturday..

The boy and I with the car all loaded up to the twin cities to hit two 

wonderful and totally different sk8parks.. 

I am going to put my best foot forward and see what happens.. 

More fresh wood did show up this week so I now have a back up to the fresh Foundation board from last week.. 

 And much like fresh rubber on my bike or a fresh pair of bibs everyday should be 

new wood day..

New is good and at time it is more important than anything else.

After my head slide in September I have been in need of 

a new lid as mine blew up like the Drill Sargent in Stripes..

And not to mention that Uvex has had to recall all their helmets in the US

and now I am back to the Company that has covered my 

head for so many years,,,

And if that was not was not enough bike stuff for this guy who is not on a comeback because he never left..

I found out today that MR. Ping is going to now AKA,, MR.. Time USA is going to take care of 

all my Pedal needs,, and even asked if the PIP would like to 

ride the Time.. 

I sent her a Text to tell her that she got her self a new hook,, and then told her that her and Teammate Ben did a good job racing the team relay today down in Austin during the CX nationals. 

Just the two of them,, pretty tough going up against teams of for,, but even better is that they got to see the course at race pace. 

Now that little shit gets to eat some good food and go to the Pro Party at the shop owned by the guy who once raced bikes then got banned for life because he did what everyone else did but just better. 

Lots of high fives and selfies going on there. 

Friday means that it is the weekend and that means that beer is going to get to be drank

and that is more awesome than showing up to 

work on a monday.

So here is to all the races and skaters it is 

the day that we are all working for.,.

Stick me in a Vortex

As the new year continues to roll on and the temps continue to drop and make it feel like Siberia

I continue to hide in my secret dungeon and work like Rocky in the Fourth movie titled after his name. 

  

I have said it before and will again this is not a comeback.. It is the beginning of a new chapter. Or better yet the Beta testing is done and this is going to be DMC V.2. I have spent the better half of three months wallowing in self pity and followed by a dark grim cloud of self doubt. Much like Rocky I was knocked down and out and I am going to have to fight to get back to the machine that I once was.

 I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is beautiful,, it is full of Red Rocks and short sweet smelling green Cedar trees. 

The fam and I are twelve short weeks away from heading back to AZ for a bit of an attitude adjustment.  Call it a bit of a altitude adjustment. 

Sun,,, Fun,, Single Track,,, and Sk8board Wheels On Fire. 

I can't wait I dream about living back in the southwest especially when the weather is as 

nasty as it is now. 

People always just wait till the summer it is miserable and yes it can be,, but I get torn of what

weather I want hot and dry or hot and moist??

It is hard to say,, but I know that the  two things I love to Sk8 and shred Singletrack can be done in both places.. Grass is always greener on the other side right?

Well either way I know 

that it is coming and can't wait to see the boy one year later bust out his new Sk8 tricks.. 

As I said this morning on the FB

 This curb and all curbs and parking blocks anywhere near Mom and Dad's 

place don't stand a chance. 

Skate and Destroy!!

HaPpY FuNsTiCk

The New Year has come and gone,, and I could not be happier. 

Now in my old age it is no secret that I am not a big fan of the 

Holiday. I do love having the day off but don't need to stay up late to see fireworks and as resolutions go.... I think that is all just a bunch of horse plop.

As the work day ended I was able to slip out and grab the boy and 

head down to the skatepark only find out that it was closed due to the fact that it was new years eve. 

More Horse Plop.

So back to the house and shred the garage while listing to some old school punk rock.

The wife and kids watched movies about middle earth and I enjoying a documentary about 

Christian Hosoi,, if your are a fan and old like me you should watch.

I was sawing logs before the new year came dreaming about backside airs and single track.

As I woke up to find 2015 here it was nothing but breakfast and strong coffee and 

out the door on the Blackbuck.

Little to no snow was on the ground last week and the single speed was itching

to ride. 

By the time I made it to the Vista trail I was bummed to see that people have been riding on it and walking and running while the trail is soft.. Huge ruts from 4+inch tires and foot prints were all 

frozen into the ground. 

For me it just added to the traction of climbing ,, but that is beside the point trails

are not supposed to be used when wet or that soft.. 

Regardless it  was a great ride climbed the hill like it was summer and floated over the small sections of ice and snow that were hidden on the north sides of the trail. 

Flash-forward to saturday the young one and I 

drove up to the 612 to get some radness going in both the 3rd Lair and the Famila skateparks.

Both parks 

were pretty empty and the boy and I were having a blast.

I got my self some new wood and turned up the session to eleven. 

The lair allows scooters and I know that I have ranted about this before but these kids on

those scooters just have no clue about flow or who's turn it is!

After skating a month old board that looked twice its age I went out to the shop and 

scored some new wood and I have to say everyday should be new wood day.. 

The next stop was all the way downtown to the Family HQ skatepark.

This is a no nonsense park more street orientated and owned by Pro Skater 

Steve Nesser.

When we showed up their were maybe a dozen guys ripping around.

These guys all rip and were flying and flipping and sliding any and everything.

Not saying that the boy and I were out of our element but we 

were not riding at the same level as the crew there.

Needless to say everyone was super cool and encouraging of the young James.

After an hour and a half of shredding the place started to fill up

and he and I were tired and sat back and watched.

   Another solid day of ripping today at the local park it is safe to say that the

boy and I are good and tired.. 

We are only four days into the year and we all have been having a blast.

More to come,, Sure,, Changes,, maybe.. Smiles all

around You Know it!