It's been a really busy week with school ending for my daughter and a few summer parties to attend. I have been trying to skate every 2 or 3 days but sometimes it just does not work out. Having Fridays off is a wonderful thing. I went to the Autumn Bowl for a session and decided I was just going to keep it relaxed and not get mad if I couldn't hit any tricks. I took a few runs in the bowl and there were 3 other people there. This one guy came up to me and said "Are you Joe" I said "Yea, have we met before?" He said that we had not but he followed this blog but stopped looking after I quit posting for over a year.

I guess a lot of people get back into skated and are excited for a little while but then they realize how hard it is to get to places and heal from injuries. I battle with these things constantly. I feel a little lazy and just say to myself that I will go another day. But these are the days that I push myself to skate because once I get there everything is clear about why I am there. It is something I enjoy and if I can win the battle with laziness, I am going to have a great time skating. Granted it would be nice to walk out my door and have a pool and a vert rap sitting there but I can not complain. The Autumn Bowl is such a great resource for me with out it I would not be able to skate much at all

After a few bowl runs, I went back to the Mini Ramp and just tried to relax and hit some 50-50s. It is coming to me better and better but I am still struggling a bit. I am now able to aim at the coping in the proper way so that if I go to high on one try, I can correct it on the next one. I am burning the feeling into my muscle memory. One day soon I hope they are second nature. 06.25.06

I went for an early session at the Autumn Bowl and I was surprised to find about 6 kids skating. Usually there is no one there if I arrive early enough. I decided to hit the bowl for a while since I have been spending so much time on the Mini Ramp. I don't want to lose my meager carving skills. I got some really nice backside grinds and the kids even hooted for me. I think they were amazed to see me skate, let alone get any grinds...

After a few more grinds, I went back to the Mini Ramp and worked the 50-50s yet again. I can really get on the coping well now, but keeping my balance while on the coping is still pretty sketchy. I just try to relax and have fun and not worry about time tables for learning tricks or any specific goals. I know it will come eventually but the idea of learning an air still seems very far in thew distance.

A guy I met at Tribeca before named Duncan showed up with his son and skated the Mini Ramp with me. It is cool to see dads doing something as great as skateboarding with their sons. In it's purest form, competition does not exist in skateboarding. It is about each skater progressing individually. I have actually seen more people cheer for a person dropping in for the first time than someone pulling a frontside air because every skater remembers that day - and what a huge step it was for their skating...

I am on Summer Fridays at work (which mean I don't work on Fridays)! This is great because I can go skate in the day on Friday and hit it again early on Sunday.

I just went to the Autumn Bowl for a short session and it was great. I am getting more comfortable with the 50-50s, and my ratio of hits to misses is slowly increasing. I am still trying to do Rock to Fakies but I think I want to try and find a smaller ramp to get the feeling down. I don't know though, in the old days there were no mini ramps. Tricks were learned the hard way with a lot of pain and suffering!

Today was Go Skate Boarding Day! so I decided to do my part as a skateboarder and ride to work and promote the act of skateboarding. It's not a sport to me folks.

It turns out this is really a propaganda event for the International Association of Skateboard Companies. I guess that is not a bad thing because the better the skate companies do, the more parks get built and the more terrain I have to skate. So what the hell, I grabbed the Alva and skated to the bus to go to work.

I really didn't actually skate all the way to work after all. I skated to the bus, which took me to the subway, and then from there I skated to work. I was amazed how much time I saved. The normal 15 minute walk from the subway only took about 5 minutes and was a nice mellow cruise down St. Nicholas.

On the way home there is a steep hill down 140th Street. I decided to avoid bombing this hill because I had no helmet and not much experience dodging New York City traffic with a skateboard going 35 miles an hour. Besides how would I stop! When I got off the Subway and instead of taking the bus across central park I skated through Central Park at 86th Street, This was awesome! There is a nice hill that you can cruise at a decent speed. The rough sidewalk helped to keep my speed in check and I actually beat the bus across the park. It was a cool way to get to and from work and I think I will do it more often.

Carpool in this!

I cruised over to the Autumn Bowl for an after work session. I am trying to skate every few days to get better but the old back starts to ache very quickly. It seems that when I first start skating it hurts right away but after my first break, I sit up straight and drink some water and relax it seems to be fine. I guess my back is like my old '72 Satellite Sebring I had as a teenager - it just need to get warmed up...

I was there by myself at first and just skated the mini ramp for a while. After a short time, 4 amazing shredders showed up and did the craziest tricks on the mini. It was amazing to see these guys skate. they were doing all kind of lip tricks and skated with such confidence. The cool thing was is that they were older guys, maybe late 20's. The were very cool and asked me about my board. A very nice mellow day...

I watched awhile after getting just a few 50-50s and headed home.

Is my back the equivalent of a Satellite Sebring?

06.18.06

With the taste of fresh blood on my lips from the 50-50 completed, I decided it was time to hit the Autumn Bowl Mini-Ramp 2 days in a row. I usually don't do this because I get so sore skating, but I knew the only way to make the 50-50 stick was to go back and keep doing it.

I rose early again and went to the serene bowl again all alone. I actually like skating alone with no music sometimes, it gives me a chance to collect my thoughts and meditate away the small problems that life sometimes serves in large portions.

Back to the Autumn Bowl Mini Ramp I went, armored with every pad available to protect myself from impending doom. Within a few minutes, I was getting the 50-50s better than ever. and I even continued my run and got a few frontside and backside grinds. It felt really good to do this because you can't just do the trick and stop you have to do a run.

My next goal is to do Rock to Fakies. I tried a few but to no avail. I decided to quit while I was ahead and start working towards those next session.

I guess my near future goal is to be able to do a 50-50, a Rock to Fakie, and a Tail Stall all in one run. This sounds silly to most skaters because these are all very basic tricks but for a 41 year old, I have my work cut out for me...

A 50-50 that continues into a run with some frontside grinds - Hey, it's a start!

Today I woke up at 6:00am and bent into my task of nailing the elusive 50-50s. I got to the bowl and all was locked up. I slid open the corrugated gate and entered the bowl. There is an eerie silence there this early in the morning. It is a pure absence of sound that is so rare in the city of NYC. Walking in and flipping on the lights the perfect bowl was rimmed with folding chairs from last night's modern dance performance of "Seriously Heavy" by the Robbinschilds dance company. Unfortunately I missed all of the performances. My new life as a father leaves little time other than skating and the occasional drink with friends. Sorry Robbinschilds, I really wish I could have made it, I know how hard you worked on it...

I walked back to the ramp and started trying the nemesis 50-50s with Dylan's reiterated advice in my head. It took about 10 minutes and I was getting solid on the coping but then falling off.

I just kept trying and knew there was no turning back - I was going to land this trick!. My back ached but usually I sit awhile, drink some water and I am back in shape for a few more runs. Eventually it came to me. It is still a little shaky but I feel confident that I can get it more solid. I did several successfully so now it's just a matter of practice, practice, practice. I shot a bunch on my little Canon SD110 camera in video mode and left the bowl triumphantly in the solitude and quietness of the great bowl. At 41, I got my first real 50-50. I guess the old dog thing isn't true...

Finally - recapturing the 50-50...

Holy crow! I turned 41 today! I had a few friends over last night and my amazing wife made ribs and also got Popeye's Fried Chicken. At this rate I will never get down to a weight where I can do a frontside air! Gotta live though...

Another twin brother? This man's chicken is like crack to me...

The tide always seems to turn when I get down about skating. I was prepared for another day of frustration, but soon after I got to Autumn Bowl my old friend Dylan showed up. It was great to see him. We haven't skated in such a long time because he was hurt for a while and I got busy. It seems like we picked up right where we left off. Just a nice mellow Saturday early morning session.

We didn't skate the bowl because this dance troupe, Robbinschilds, was preparing for their performance "Seriously Heavy" that was taking place in the bowl next week. I wasn't too upset because I wanted to support their project plus I just needed to work on my ramp stuff. I will try to catch the show next week.

Dylan was great he pointed out what I was doing wrong and referencing an old post of mine he told me to point where I was going like a gun. This small hint helped me incredibly and I was able to stay locked onto the coping and eventually drop back in successfully. It's great to skate with guys like Dylan who is just there to skate and have a great time and doesn't care about much else.

Long time no see - A past pic of Dylan - Frontside Ollie

I hit the Autumn Bowl after work but I probably should not have. I keep trying these 50-50s with little or no luck. I will stay at it. I probably should not be skating anyway on Satan's holiday. I should be at home just rocking out to some Slayer. I will return soon, but today is the kind of day that makes me feel like an old geezer...

Kerry King of Slayer - My long lost twin?

I must be insane. At age 40 I decided to start a skateboard company. Nothing big mind you, just 50 decks pressed to my specifications by a great company called Madrid. They have been in the business for a very long time and make great quality boards. I am very excited about because I have been trying a long time to get people to make me decks but no one seemed to want to take my cash or deal with an old school shape.

I am more stoked about this than just about anything I have done in a long time. I guess I am an entrepreneur at heart. I'm having my good friend Tylor Durand do the graphics for the board. It will be similar to the size and shape Factory13 I am riding now. 10" by 30" with a 16" wheelbase. It will be very similar to the Explosion Model that Madrid currently makes but with much meaner graphics. Can't wait...seriously.

Popp Skates NYC new decks will be very similar to this - 1983 all over again!