River Rat

Last night was #SPT that is Skate Park thrusday,, the one night of the week that the boy and I can get to sk8 due to all the Karate that he has.

It was a cold day in the park even with the heat cranked,, so it took a while to get warmed up..

And as I have mentioned it is a small park lines need to be worked on and 

the flow is a learned thing... I try to stay positive about all kinds of things and people that are there riding and trying to have a good time... For the most part it is populated by 99% Sk8boards.. from time to time some scooter show up and on a rare occasion like last night a Inline Skater..

I did not know that they still existed but they do,, and when talking about lines and flow these things are lost on a ride like this,,, dude was all over the place and not paying any attention to the 

rotation of people dropping in.. 

At one point in time he dropped on the kid as he was wrapping up his run and the boy almost went Apeshit, had to talk him down and explain that the inline fad wont last very long...

A video posted by Devin Curran (@curranski) on Feb 26, 2015 at 4:43pm PST

Need to figure out how to get the boy to pop higher,, well at lest now he is not hanging up to face plant.. I think that it is time for a new board to stoke the fire.. 

#curren

#flip..

In other new his big sister is coming home today so the food providers can go out and shake their asses off at the Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.. 

These guys put on a great show and this one is going to be at the Cavalier a spot that we have never been to and will next month host the Supersuckers..

So the old people that live here will have a late night trying to keep up with the young people of the world as the Boys from Point make us shimmy and shake..

Krooked has a new video part coming out later today,,

this one here is a shot clip about the man at the wheel of the company

the Gonz,,

This is the guy who I idolized as a youth,, he is creative and inventive,, and 

not slowing down as he gets older,,

Makes me want to skate and travel..

Well time for the friday grind,, hoping that if my head is clear tomorrow some outside riding will be had..

Cru Isn't You

What happens when you take a cycling deprived junkie and insert an indoor 

BMX track at the end of February? 

That said head case will ride around in circles for a few hours until the

skin is gone from his hands.. 

I rode the Single Speed down the snowmobile trail to Toads Cove indoor BMX arena for a 

drop in,,,bring what ever bike and ride night..

I had no idea what to expect never being on a true BMX track.

Most people were showing up with Phat bikes and dirt jumpers, maybe one other single 29er there along with mine. 

After the first time around getting a lay of the land I got a feel for what to do and what not to do..

I spent the next ninety minutes trying to balance the two of those ,,, going fast but not ending up on my face..  By the time i was done their was little flesh left on my hands,, and little juice left in my legs.. and I still needed to ride home. 

Safe to say it was fun and got me even more excited for when the dirt comes back to my life. 

And after going around and around I don't have to worry about doing intervals tonight as I am pretty sure that I got that done last night.. 

The Pedal home was a bit of a Fade to Black,, but not as awesome as this Guy...

Next up for the old guy in transition is a thursday night 

sk8 session,, just need to get through 16 hours of work first..

It is the little things that keep me moving..

These Guys are Just Fat Bike Tires 

one of the best Rock Bands of my Time,,

Here is a short clip of me 

going around in circles... 

Now back to the life of being a Fix Guy.. 

The Great Indoors

With only one week left in the month of February it is time for me to 

layout some plans for March.. My goal is for it to come in like a Lion and carry on the whole month trough.  According to Strava I am dead,, no action for the month so far,,

all the indoor riding is not very exciting.. As of now i am 

planning on going to the BMX track tuesday night and paying the fifteen dollars and riding around in circles over the jumps and through the berms..

It sounds like a good time getting to ride some dirt and see something new,,, even if I am dressed in stretchy clothes and looking like a dork..

But that is tomorrow and  I still need to get through today and this evening tempo session 

on the rollers.

My old man body is tired,, and sore,, four long sessions in a row sk8ing with the boy at the indoor play place,, can leave someone my age crippled.

The boy was lighting it up and really pushing him self which was great to see..

And at times he was more motivated than normal,, and took great pride

in helping out with the weekend goal of getting some of the holes repaired.

I got tired of asking when,,were they going to get fixed and just decided to do it my self. 

This was the first project and i'll be damned if it took more time than I expected,, you would

think that just cutting a few sheets of Masonite would be no big deal,, but sweet merciful crap..

When done it was not perfect but with what I was working with it was so much better.. 

It was James approved.. 

Friday night we met a young kid who was learning some new moves and skating pretty good but riding on an old ratty deck,, 

I told him that next time I saw him I would throw him a deck i had laying around,, he just had to stop pushing Mongo and get his feet right.

Well we bumped into him on Saturday morning and I think that he was a happy boy with my hand me down.. 

I had to twist the boys arm to skate on sunday, He was tired and only wanted to stay in the house and play with his Legos... I needed to do something it was negative some dumb ass degrees out and 

I have cabin fever..

I had enough time to replace another sheet that had a nasty hole in it and we got to listen to the RUN DMC that downloaded the other night,, and when it was done we ended up skating 

for another three hours... I am seeing some great progress in the boy and 

that is what this is all about,, I would not change it for the world..

I am a lucky dad to get to spend so much time with my Son..

Now

off to work to start a new week,,

Yea!!

Shackle me Knot

It is flashback friday Right? I found this while flipping through pictures on my phone, the other day... this is a five days after my accident and was the first time that I was allowed to take a shower,,  still shattered and beaten,, and to this day when I see these images it just makes me mad.... But I am not sure what I am mad at... At times time I think that i am mad at cycling,,, my love,, my passion,, the one thing that would get me out of bed day in and day out.. Other times I think that the anger is directed at my self for getting my self into the situation. Other times I think that i am just mad and can't control it... It has been a tough winter,, I still love the bike and riding the bike but at times I am just not in love and  I keep waiting for that spark that will light the fire and make me burn for the revolution again.. 

Last night was a Hey Lets go skate Thursday...

I had some new shoes to break in and the boy was going to be rolling on some new bearings.

On the way to the Park we picked up one of the local pro kids 

who was heading out for a birthday skate session,, oh to twenty three again,,, wait not sure if 

I want that,,, I was sooo young and dumb in my early twenty's

Regardless it was a solid 

thrash session of ripping and grinding..  

The young Rocket continues to impress me with his learning and growing into the 

sport of Sk8 Toy riding.. 

The TenyearOld was flying last night and was really starting to move across the lip of ramps,,

I think the new bearing that he installed were making a huge difference..

The new sk8 slippers for me were real real nice,, my loving wife continues to shake her head 

on how many shoes the young one and I have skated through in the last year but as I say it is the cost of doing business.. 

This is going to be a no travel weekend for us,, I am hoping to get outside and ride a bike,, we'll see how the weather shapes up,, looks as if tomorrow I may have a window to ride..

Their is a fat bike race up at Holzinger but with out a fat bike and not wanting to spend twenty five dollars to race I will probably avoid that.  For ten bucks less

on this coming Tuesday the local indoor BMX track is letting people bring in their bikes and rip 

the dirt track for three hours..  It sounds very tempting and would be nice to get to see the inside in person. We may just have to take the Blackbuck for a spin and fly a few jumps there..  

But for now I don't want to grow up and don't plan on it anytime soon..

Short Sighted

I have been feeling really trapped lately due to being indoors more than I have ever been in my adult life.. Some of it is by design and the rest is because of environment. 

I have to say that I have been missing the commuting to work,, at least then I was out in the elements and moving,, I can say I don't miss having to have six layers on just to get to and from work.

I miss skiing and as of a few weeks ago I could have gotten my skis out and tried to find some snow but with the lack of snowpack this year it has been tough.

Again miles are getting done and the work is their just being done in one place.

More miles in one place have been adding up this year than ever before,, I am hoping that i can get out on saturday and turn the pedals. 

Last night was not exception down in the chamber of solitude.. 

But I got to watch this and really enjoyed it. 

Spring is coming and when I close my eyes I can see visions if single track and spinning wheels. Even while spinning and going no where it helps to dream ,,,,,, anything to help dream of warmer days..

All 2gether Now

It had been real real cold out the past week or so.. Not as bad as last year but not good for going outside and riding bikes. So far this month I have not been outside to ride,, which is something that I am not proud of but it is what it is the indoor miles are getting done and after looking at my mileage totals for the year I am happy with that.

So it is cold and we did not want to be cooped up in the house over the weekend so we made a last minute trip east to do some skateboarding and to go see the Pip at college. 

The family truckster was loaded down and we fought the wind as we drove to the burbs of Milwaukee to the Cream City Sk8 park. 

Again another new spot for me and the boy and I knew that it was going to be good when we walked in and Dinosaur Jr was blasting through the speakers.

The layout was a mix between the 3rd Lair and Familia,, Lots of ledges and cement curbheads to grind and slide. 

I think at first the boy was a little overwhelmed due to the lack of transition to skate and he is still working on his Ollie's and street like tricks. 

As the temps heated up and the crowed swelled the tricks and lines got better and better. 

  

A video posted by Devin Curran (@curranski) on Feb 14, 2015 at 11:33am PST

After a solid three hour session Mama Bear picked us up and we headed north this time to go and 

hang out with the Pip.

We got checked into the sleeping spot and Sophia met up with us in time to head to the pool,, the kids shot hoops in the swimming hole while mom and I got to hang out in the hot tub and crack a few beers.. I was nice to have the Family all back together. 

Like the good parents that we are we took the kids out on the sleepy one horse town that Ripon is and tasted the local food. 

At  times it was like James did not even know that we were there he was so excited to have is sister 

near by spending to spend valentines day with. 

Dinner was good and it was nice to have our Sober Driver with us,, not that she was needed but 

always a perk. 

Kids hit the pool again and my eyelids were getting heavy sleep would come all too soon. 

Sunday was again Cold and we jumped in the Rav and drove to a neighboring town so we could take

the oldest shopping at Target,, the kid was in desperate need of clothes.

We dropped he back off at school and she showed us her dorm room which I tried to take a picture of but it is so damn small that I could not even put it in to perspective. 

 I am sure that some inmates have more living space then this kid does. 

It better be a good education because the living conditions are tough,,,, not sure what I am paying for. 

After driving home their was still enough day left to get to the local indoor and kill some time. 

Again it was a typical sunday being only me and the boy there,, and this was nice after the day before being out of his element.

We worked on some new moves and rocked out to good music 

Watching the boy work on tricks and then make them work is enough to put a smile on this old mans face..

After a solid weekend once again it has left me feeling sore and old,, but I would not give it up for anything. 

A video posted by Devin Curran (@curranski) on Feb 15, 2015 at 12:53pm PST

Jack Boots

I keep getting emails from USA cycling telling me to 

come back or to get my license renewed now or commit to your goals and 

save money now. 

I want to reply but stop short of doing this... After some ten plus years of buy and renewing I stopped last year.. I could not justify the onehunderedandfifty dollars for a small piece of paper.

Last year the Minnesota series dropped its USA sanctioning allowing you to now race the elite division with out a license and for the younger ones not have to get a one day. 

Now I don't have any major beefs with USA cycling but the question always comes up 

what is it that they are doing for you and why are the cost of the License so much.

Last year saw the first major increase in  the cat 1 mountain bike license going from 50-60 dollars up to 75.. The Pro went from 150 to 175,, now this is where I had in issue. They called this an 

international license and for a guy like me who was never going to leave the country to race I was confused why I need to spend so much. Then came the separation with the Minnesota series and 

knowledge that I probably would not race a single WORS race, so the decision was not that hard. 

What I could not do last spring was race a road race which I was ok with and then come fall other than a Bandit cross race with out a one day could not race cross... Again none of these bothered me that much and after the disaster in Texas for nationals I can see more and more cross races stepping back from USA cycling... 

Why this rant?? Not really sure other than my inbox filling up with reminders.. The words of my old coach ring in my ears,,, " once you don't buy your license you better find a new passion".

For once I proved him wrong,, the passion is still there and the drive to compete and go fast is not gone,, I don't need a small slip of paper the stoke the fire..

Badges we don't need no Stinking Badges.. 

Now as awesome goes I was watching the boy last night try some new moves 

and he was hitting the deck hard but he kept getting up and trying and trying.

Get up move and make it happen it is Friday and no one can take that away from you..

Party On..

Slappy Da Face

I don't seem to be the only one in the world with a midlife Sk8 

crisis. 

Stevil over at All Hail The Black Market,, has been reliving the past and

embracing the present.

The Topic of many conversations have been about painted curbs and the 

perfection of the Slappy.

While all the skating here has either been in the Garage or one of the few indoor skate spots 

the boy and I are dreaming of 

the warmer days to come.. 

It is great to see the kids out and getting after it.. 

Speaking of kids 

this guy here got his start in the Middle West and then moved on to the land of milk and honey and 

now kills it for the Flip team.. 

I am dreaming about riding bikes and have been as 

much as I can,, the work that is getting done in the basement is only getting 

easier and easier,, but leaves me wanting more and more and again the 

trip to the desert can't get here fast enough.. 

Here is a clip from an old friend who is now in Europe and well when he was

here in the USA I chased and chased him never to catch him but making me faster in the process. 

Always makes me smile to see people killing with with Passion and doing something 

that they really want to do in life. 

I got a Text from the Boss yesterday to let me know that 

the Supersuckers will be playing a show next month in my neighborhood and I just 

may have to stay out past my bedtime and go and check it out.
It is always a Party On when Jay is involved..

BreaKing Dad

Monday morning starts with a dark walk through the house to check on the boy.

Take his temp and tell him to stay in bed,, He is not running a major fever but not well enough to send off to school so that means that I get to spend the day at home as dad.. 

That means recovering from the weekend in style. 

Got home friday to find a box on the front step,, which contains a new set up of Magura Brakes..

We'll call this on 3.0 and will be going on the carbon shifter bike,,as I get it ready for the 

desert. 

Been thinking that I would be fun to have the single speed down there instead but 

from my in-laws house to any of the trails their is some 5 plus miles of flat road followed by big hills,,, shifting sounds good.

The boy and I hit up the 3rd Lair Saturday morning since we were in the 612 to sell his old MTB..

The Saturday morning sessions is normally my favorite due to the lack of traffic 

but this was not one of those days. 

Their were not a ton of people but enough kids with their heads up their asses that it made the session a hard one..  Nothing like dropping into a line and having to bail or hit the breaks cuz some dumbass is not looking or paying any attention..

I did not have the best session but the boy seemed to and enjoyed his time riding the spine ramp.. 

I keep telling my self that I wish I had not taken close to twenty years off of riding my Sk8 

toy.. The past year has been a series of ups and downs as I relearn old tricks and start to learn new ones.  I also know that I probably would have never jumped back on the board if it was not of the Boy..

What this has been doing to our relationship is  unreal,,, the time we get to spend together and the experiences are worth all the aches and pains cuts and bruises.. 

With that said we 

were back to the Indoor sunday for redo redemption session that was about as good as it can get in our small little park.

Still working on tricks still landing on my ass,, but smiling.. all the time. 

Freeze Up coming

As the work week winds down,, or with in the next ten hours or so ,, the boy and I have

to finish our plans to take him to the next level. 

We have been planning for a while now to sell his MTB from last year and build him up something 

new.

The joke on the boy for the last few years is du you ever shift that bike and the answer is normally no.

He'll leave the start line and return with the bike still in the middle rig and 

half the way up the cassette.. And he always states that he was able to ride every thing up 

hill as long as their are no clogs on the trail.

So this being said we are working on building him up and new single speed for this coming season.

Working with the Boss AKA Hollywood we are getting him into a

 Surly 1x1 and will be building it up with new and recycled parts from the garage,, I may have to call in a few favors from some of my sponsors and try to track down some 26" wheels,, but 

when it is all said and done it should be a pretty sweet ride and it should raise the fun factor to a new level. 

So we are driving up and meeting a fella that wants his current bike for his two kids and we keep the cycle of young ones on wheels and having fun moving.

It mean that two of us get to stop out in 

Golden Valley and ride the the 3rd Lair for a few hours and try out some of the new moves

that we have been working on and maybe find a few new ones. 

I know that the Rocket will be excited as he had some new Vans show up yesterday.

I the course of six months he has skated through his last pair,, leaving mom wondering what she has gotten in two with the two of us blowing through gear... 

So now just need to get through this friday and on to the fun at hand..

Back to the conversation the other day about covers..

Here is a fun one.. 

Sk8 Video Wednesday

So February has come in like  a Lion and has covered the 

ground around here with that white stuff,, making it feel more like winter than it has for months.

Yesterday it got people all freaking out as 1-4 inches was to fall in the afternoon.

This promoted the canceling of the kids Tuesday night karate class,, which 

meant we got to go get rad on the sk8 toys.

So I give you some

Wednesday Sk8 inspiration.   

This first one is from the company Run by the legend Mark the Gonz Gonzales.

In this one the guys kill the Potato Chip at the park in Arvada Co.. 

  

The Next one comes from the Flip team,, the boy has been riding a Flip board and loves it..

Here in the video not only do you get to see the boy's Idol Curren Cables but they 

go and skate AZ making a stop at the Park in Sedona.. The back drop here is stunning and the park is top notch,. we sit and wait for our trip to come.. 

In this last one from Foundation and Vans it shows the true creativity of skating and how anything and everything can be turned in to something to get rad on.

Watching these guys shred this letter F reminds me that I am old and I need to stick with 

what works for me..

And finally the boy and I spend a lot of time together in the car going to spots 

and listing to music,, he has been learning what it means to make 

a cover song and it is fun when he can not only pick out a cover 

but knows who did it first and then who does it better..

We listened to this one last night on the way back from the library.

Woodchucking

Packing all the details into a work week is enough to make a man grow old.

it seems to be a carnival ride of new and old issues just coming back around 

and making someone scratch their head. 

I tend to use my evenings away from work to decompress and get ready for what the next day brings. 

Last week was a good balance between riding in place on the rollers and 

getting to watch the kid grow with his Karate.

Throw in a skateboard session and now I fell like I am winning.

The only thing that would make the week better would be getting to ride my Blackbuck outside in the woods.

And that is what I did. 

Because this time of year overtime is off limits at work they chased me out the door 

early on friday.  This is ok with me because deep down I really don't want to be there I would 

rather be out in the sunshine,, which for once was shining on friday afternoon.

I headed out the door and made the decision to head up the quarry hill knowing that 

I may have to walk the really steep part due to snow and the 36x18 that I have been running.

After getting up and over the 30% grade it was like pedaling on a snow covered super highway.

I was smiling so dam big that my face started to hurt as I continued to pedal in my happy place.

The reason that I chose up the quarry was because I wanted to see what the Vista Trail was like.

As I started descending the trail was in great shape,, I was able to rail the trail as my  WTB tires hooked up in the snow... As I got closer and closer to the bottom of the trail the surface turned to ice,, ice and ice. It took all I had to keep the bike upright,, but I did and it was the perfect way to end the work week. 

 I followed that great ride up with another one on saturday morning,, this time knowing where the ice was and what I should and shouldn't be riding..  I climbed the Bliss of bliss road and dipped into the HPT trails, flowed as much as I could again not wanting to deal with and or crash on ice. 

I finished off with bombing down the quarry trail and again 

was nothing but smiles.. Almost felt like I knew what I was doing and that I had not spent too much time off the bike. 

Super Bowl Sunday,,, Would it be nice if the Packers were playing,,

yea sure ya betcha,, but I have to say not having any stake in the out come makes the 

day so much better.

The boy and I waited and waited for the park to open so we could 

go and work on some tricks and thrash for a few hours. 

We had the place to our selves not a soul showed up for the two plus hours that we rode. 

I spent the first part of the session cleaning or trying to clean the place up,.

Totally trashed,, crap everywhere and due to the fact that no one ever cleans the place the dust was starting to pile up.

The holes in the riding surface are starting to get out of hand if not 

taken care of soon,, they are only going to get worse.

This same hole took the boy out on thrusday night.. And this is one of many,, both half pipes 

have divots and holes and again they are not going to fix them selves. 

I do wish I had a magic money tree so I could open up

some kind of indoor outdoor park for kids and old guys to ride,, but i don't see that 

happening anytime soon.

This had been getting blasted through the home speakers a bunch lately and I have to say it is so Timeless.. so sit back and start your work week off with some good easy listing..