It is that time of year again, the second round of World Round Up Online Showdown has officially been announced along with another season of virtual distance races through the IDSA. So, I went from no big skate goals to two very different competitions. One a contest in which you have to learn a specific routine and the other a series of races (both long and short) in which the goal is just to go go go.

Last year I was able to use the distance skating as a way to refresh my skateboarding after getting so trick specific for the freestyle contest. I plan on doing the same thing this year, and I'm looking forward to both very much.

Of course, this year I will be riding a more normal (for freestyle) board in the WRU. After much consideration, I've decided to ride a single kick freestyle board. For what I want to do in my run this year, I think that is the right set up. Currently, the board I'm riding is a Mode Mike Rogers single kick. I've considered a couple other deck choices, but I'm holding off on getting anything new until I really get used to a single kick and get a feeling for what I might like different. I may just stick with the Mike Rogers. Honestly, I don't know.

Last year's run, on the longboard, was very slow and methodical. That was dictated by both the size of the board and the desire to have a completely clean run. While I want to have a clean run again this year (I won't settle for step offs when I can film the run as many times as I'd like), I'm choosing a much smaller board so I can do more with it during the run. And I've gone single kick because I want a very 80s influence to the run. That isn't to say I'm only going to do traditional 80s freestyle...well, I have to keep some things under my hat until I produce the video.

I've found a couple musical options that I think will suit what I'm trying to do. I just have to fix the routine to one of the songs, but that will take some time and experimentation. 

The runs are only one minute this year. I knew that was going to upset some of the pros. I even got into a discussion online with Lillis about it. Normally, I don't comment on anything that could end of being a debate. It is a waste of time to debate people on Facebook. Nobody is going to change their minds (neither of us did, by the way).

Here is the deal (as I keep the debate going):

Online video viewers have a 60 second attention span. This isn't my opinion. This is just the way it is with online content. Why? Because you can click away at any moment, and we are trained well to click away at the first sign of boredom. I know this not just because I clicked on a website describing it, but because I am one of those people that will click away if I don't see what interests me.

And I know my run was boring last year. I know because I can't make it through my own run. I get bored at my own skating. I get bored by most people's skating. In-person skating is a totally different animal. I can watch another person, in-person, skate for minutes at a time. When in-person I can see the effort. I can better see the concentration they're putting into the skating. I can feel the run.

On video I can't see it the same way.

And I commented that, "Unless you're a really amazing skater who is ticking off all the proverbial boxes and I'm absolutely enamored with your skills, I get about a minute into your run and skip ahead when watching YouTube or Instagram videos. . ."

I think the pros, because of their advanced skills, think they tick all of those boxes precisely because of those skills. The truth is, most do not. We all have what we're into and, honestly, if you veer off what I'm into, I'm trained to scroll down. I might even click the heart because I know you're proud of what you've accomplished, but I will still scroll down before I see you finish your 15 second clip. I've wondered if my clicking of the Insta-heart is disingenuous or not if I don't watch the full clip, and I guess it kind of is, but it really is just a white lie. I do like the effort put in. I do like being proud of what you've accomplished. It is just that what you have accomplished isn't my cup of tea. I still like that you've accomplished what is your cup of tea.

​The World Round Up organizers understand that to both keep the shows short and keep people's attention, they have to keep the runs short. For me, I'm good with that because I understand online content and the dwindling attention span. That isn't to say I don't understand the complaints. I recently told my son that I consider a large sign of a person's intelligence to be how well they can understand both sides of an argument. And I understand both sides of this one. They believe the 1 minute run won't allow for them to build a traditionally complete routine showing progression between various elements and building between tricks with footwork. And they're right. That's why, as I suggested, you can't think of it as a traditional freestyle run.

Me? I'm looking it as a video part done in one camera shot in one space. I'm looking at it as a 1 minute homage to what I love about skateboarding and its history as I see it. I have one minute so I have to pick out only what I love the most and combine it with what the judges are looking for. Will I leave a lot out? Yes. Does that matter? Not really. One minute is not a true reflection on who I am after skating for 40 years. It can be a one minute glimpse at what I love about skating, and that is exactly what I plan to do. A 1 minute glimpse into what I love about skateboarding.

If you follow my Instagram account you'll know that Covid ended my skate everyday quest at day 71. You'll also know that I didn't test positive for Coronavirus, but it was the side effects of the second dose of vaccine that caused me to stay in bed for a couple days. I had a fever over 100 degrees, chills, headaches (which plagued me for almost two full weeks), and extreme fatigue which kept me off a skateboard and kept me from working out for a couple days.

Here's the thing about that:

I'm glad I didn't succeed. In truth, making sure I step foot on a skateboard everyday was getting a little old, and since we were only one fifth of the way through the year, I knew it was going to get annoying by mid-year.

As a nearly 50 year old man, my life is full of responsibilities. Those responsibilities supersede skateboarding. Besides a full time job, I have a family that takes priority. Some days skateboarding is exactly what I need if I'm stressed. Other days I might just need to spend that time with my wife sans skateboard. If I made my living off of skateboarding it would be a different story, but I don't. So, turning skating into an obligation added a little hint of stress that I didn't need to add. Skating is most definitely my release from stress not a stressor.

I've gone a bit the other direction these days. I've stopped posting freestyle clips entirely for a minute. I'm just sharing a few photos (with a curb clip or two) right now. There is a specific reason for that. That reason is that I am currently in practice mode. I have a funny feeling that the WRU (now that word is it will be online again this year) is going to be much more competitive, and I want to improve on my 5th place finish. That means practicing the same tricks over and over again. Yesterday I did fakie 180 caspers for thirty minutes straight. It destroyed my shoes and got frustrating, but by the end of the session I was working that trick into footwork in a way I couldn't going into the session. 

It is amazing how doing something stressful can make you feel less stressed, isn't it?! Lifting weights does the same thing for me. It puts this stress on my body that seems to relieve the previous stresses after the act is over. Anyway, I feel this post is starting to ramble so I'll call it a day.

I've now had the opportunity to shop at both Snow Skateshop and The Springdale Groove. I made purchases at both locations, and i enjoyed the experiences. I thought I'd give my thoughts on both shops and give a little information on why I've chosen to shop at one over the other.

I purchased an Ishod Real complete with Tensors and F4 97a wheels on my visit to Snow. The service was friendly, and the stock was a pretty decent selection for decks, trucks, and wheels. I actually went in wanting to only buy a deck and trucks, but ended up getting a fresh, new complete.

Snow followed me on Instagram after I purchased my complete there (I tagged them in my first post skating the new board), but they have unfollowed me at some point. I can only suppose they weren't interested in me or my skating. That was a little disappointing. 

I went to The Groove after driving to Snow on a Sunday afternoon and finding them to be closed. I decided to drive the extra 25 minutes into Springdale and check out our other local shop because I don't get many afternoons clear and free to go to skateshops and I really was interested in picking up a set of wheels a touch harder than the 97a F4.

I walked into The Groove and was immediately greeted by someone that handed me a Bones patch and asked if I wanted it. "Sure," I said as I started looking around the store. It had a cool mixture of products. A Dogtown Bigfoot hanging next to an Andy Anderson caught my attention so I went over to check them both out. I really dig AA after last year's WRU. Those of you that watched the broadcast on Braille may recall that AA and Mike Osterman did the commentary while I skated. I still think that is pretty cool.

Anyway, back to The Groove. After a little browsing, I asked about 56mm wheel choices and they pointed out what they had. I chose some 99a STF (I'd been interested in trying them as well as the F4). I made my purchase, and after a little small talk, I left.

I went back again to The Groove as I drove back from visiting my kiddo in Memphis a couple Sundays ago. I had been pondering this year's World Round Up. If you follow this blog you know I decided to enter last year and to ride a longboard in it. I took 5th place in Master's am riding a 40 inch Globe longboard. I was the only person in the entire competition riding a longboard, but I think I could have done better were I riding a more traditionally sized skateboard. There were so many tricks that didn't translate well from freestyle board to longboard. For instance, a rolling fingerflip doesn't really work on a longboard. I'd have to have an arm twice as long as mine just to feel comfortable. Instead of rolling fingerflips, I do rolling no comply fingerflips on a longboard, but I didn't want to get too longboard dance oriented. I wanted the run to stay pretty traditional freestyle focused. My next year run will be very different, but I'll tell about that in another post.

I have recently decided to ride a Sam/Bryce handmade Life Skateboard in the WRU this year. I really like both guys (we've been online friends for many years now) and if this year's contest gets similar coverage it might give them some decent exposure for their brand. I also decided I wanted a slightly smaller/harder wheel for this Life deck. On my second trip to The Groove I found a set of 54mm 101a OJs that have now been installed on my Life deck, I'm ready for this year's WRU. 

The next post will talk about beginning my process of getting ready for the World Round Up Online Showdown. I hear it is virtual again this year so I am going to start planning my run and making sure I have all my tricks ready.

Everyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I'm really into working out. I do resistance training at least 5 days a week and a bunch of mobility work etc...

I don't generally discuss that stuff on here much since this is, after all, a skateboard blog. However, I just realized something this morning that I wanted to mention. I've been trying to figure out why I don't squat well. After getting some bad internet advice, I have been trying to squat with feet and knees as straight out from my body as possible. This week I realized why I've been having knee pain issues and why I can't squat even a 90 degree angle.

After searching and searching for answers, I found some interesting videos that exposed the bad (possibly damaging) advice I had gotten. My body, my hip joint to be more precise, is built so that I need to turn my knees outward when I squat. We are all different so how in the world could we all squat the same. I'll save you all the conversation on why this is since I am not an expert and will probably, when doing this from memory, get terms incorrect and look like a fool.

This revelation also made me think about skateboarding. For instance, I've wanted to do boneless to nose blunt forever, but have never been able to twist my body into the correct position to do it. I started thinking about knee and hip positions on that trick and realized that, unless I am able to make some kind of changes to the trick, my body's mechanics may keep me from doing them. And, in fact, that may be the case in a variety of tricks that require me to squat low on the board (gray slides come to mind). So, now I wait for the sun to come out, temperatures to rise, and the snow to melt so I can start experimenting with tricks that require me to squat low and how I can adapt them to my body mechanics.

It his hard to improve when you have no room to roll. Last week we had days of ice which, yesterday, were replaced with hours and hours of snowfall. The temperatures are about 15 degrees below freezing, and that means not much skate time or space. I'm forced into the garage, and my sessions are forced to be very short. 

As some of you know from my Instagram feed, I am attempting to skate everyday in 2021. Of course, rain and snow makes it difficult to get out and session. So, I've been stepping into the garage, getting a quick clip and calling it a day during these sub-freezing, icy, and snowy days.

Being unable to get out of the house does have a few benefits:

I have more workout time. I have gotten into mobility work in addition to resistance training and stretching, and being at home has given me extra time to move. I've really focused on fixing issues from hip to toes. However, while I'm making sure to get my workouts in, being stuck at home makes for a lot of bad eating temptations so I'm probably adding a couple pounds of fat during this hibernation. Being at home also allows for rest/recovery. Skating everyday on top of working out means the body needs to rest (especially a middle-age body). Mid-afternoons spent relaxing is a change from my usual work routine when I'm on my feet for hours on end.

Catching up on skate videos is another perk. For the first time in a long time (years) I'm even checking in on modern skateboarding. Normally, I am a creature of nostalgia. I have a fondness for the fun of simple tricks. A boneless on a bank, freestyle footwork, and simple grinds on curbs are the basis of my skateboarding. However, I'm watching some of this technical stuff and I'm thinking about giving some of it a shot.

I also have time to work on balance and skate without wheels. I'm working on wheelies on the softruck board and I'm watching videos of tricks I have seen for years but never done and working out the mechanics of those tricks. Slowing down Youtube is a great way to look at the mechanics of a trick and see exactly what is happening. That is exactly how I learned street plants. I never did them as a kid so, when I decided I wanted to do them, I put a Youtube video on .25 speed, watched the movements, and practiced on carpet.

Stay safe in this cold weather!

The train wreck that was 2020 is finally over, and a new year has finally begun. Unfortunately, up here in  Northwest Arkansas, the new year has been ushered in with snow and freezing temps which has put me in the garage for any skating for the first couple days of the year. The sun is out this morning so hopefully I'll get a little time in at my normal spot today. But, before I go skating, I wanted to touch on the past year and the year to come.

Last year, purely from a skateboarding perspective, was pretty great for me. I got fifth in the World Round-Up Online Showdown, and I improved my trick skating and my footwork quite a bit.

I also, admittedly, got a little bored with freestyle and the lack of turning involved. As most of you know, freestyle skaters are known for riding tight trucks, and I have been guilty of the same. I've spent time trying to figure out how to get my trucks tighter without cranking down on the kingpin nut. I've bought tons of different bushings looking for the tightest possible combination.

But the lack of turning got boring. Skating is, essentially (for me anyway),rolling and turning on a skateboard, and I was missing the leaning, turning, pumping I had enjoyed for so long. So, I decided to change my freestyle into something much less. . .well, much less freestyle. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've left traditional freestyle behind. I've loosed my trucks and opted for soft wheels. I'm turning and gliding more than tictacking. I'm even moving to different non-skate exercises to try and improve my turning, gliding balance. The last ten minutes of every off the board workout has been dedicated to ballet/barre exercises, and I've incorporated a ton of yoga into my daily routine. 

Where will all this lead? I'm not really sure. I know I'm moving in a very "87 Dreams of a Lifetime" direction. I'm practicing backwards pumping. I'm doing dancer pose (the yoga pose) while carving a turn. I've realized that a flamingo is just a back scale from gymnastics on a skateboard. I'm tying things together. However, I don't think losing surf and skate style is the way to do it. Gesmer, in "87 Dreams of a Lifetime" left behind traditional skateboard style and surf style and moved so far into figure skating and ballet that it wasn't relatable to the people that were watching it...

...I'm rambling. There is a method to my madness these days, but no clear defined ending point. I know what I don't want to do, but I'm not sure what I'm looking to accomplish. We shall see where 2021 leads.

Two thing I'm doing this year are everyday challenges. I'm skating (and posting a clip/picture) every single day in 2021. I'm also posting something similar from a workout perspective. I will do some form of exercise everyday for the year and post a clip or pic of it everyday.

I teased on my Instagram feed a new post about what skateboard I own is the most fun skateboard. As it is now 31 degrees (F) raining (with a guarantee the rain will soon turn into snow), this seems the perfect time to sit down and write that post.

I have been guilty of trying to make one skateboard a do-it-all too many times. I want a board that I can freestyle on, dance with, curb skate, park skate, ditch skate...and that perfect board has seems to not be a real thing. Freestyle footwork and flip tricks are easiest on a freestyle sized board. Curb skating on a bigger board, but not as big as a ditch pumper and on and on.

This never really works out perfectly. My curb board can be used for freestyle or ditch skating but it isn't super efficient at either. In fact, take it to a ditch, decide to do a long speed run and I'll end up disappointed and wishing I'd brought a more speed run specific board. The wheelbase doesn't allow for really deep, fun pumping.

Of course, there are boards that go in-between disciplines well. For instance, my cruiser, slalom, ditch pumping favorite has a 17.5" wheelbase, 85mm Gunmetal trucks, and some big, fat slalom wheels. It pumps on flat, moves through a ditch like butter, swerves cones, turns on a dime, and (if ridden backwards) is excellent for long arcing g-turns. That is a lot for one board so it ranks very high on the most fun list.

But what if I had to give up all other boards and have one skateboard?

My 8" and 8.75" popsicles don't really even rank more than a mention and maybe a sentence or two on a most fun list. Honestly, neither does my freestyle setup. But am I not a freestyler?! 

Freestyle is very enjoyable (notice I didn't use the word fun). Street skating and curb bashing are fun, but those things aren't really what my skateboarding is about anymore. I rarely grind my trucks against a curb these days. That is heresy to most of the people I know, but it is true. Grinding curbs gets boring. There. I said it.

My drop through longboard also doesn't get much consideration. It does one thing. Moves in the direction you want to go with efficiency. It is great exercise and is fun, but you sure don't want to carve a ditch with it.

If I needed to go down to one skateboard for the rest of my life (the horror!!!) I'd have to let the curb bashers and ollie popping boards go.

Getting rid of a good slalom/ditch/pumper would hurt me much worse (as it lists as second most fun) and go with a hybrid longboard.

​As I mentioned to Eric Sanders the other day, wheelies are more fun on longboards. That comment made me think, ditches are generally more fun on a longer board. Cruising, for me, is more fun on a longer board. Freestyle? A hybrid form of dance and freestyle is very enjoyable on a longboard. So here it is folks. My most enjoyable board has a kick nose, a kicktail, traditional kingpin trucks (that turn), soft wheels, built-in bearings, and a long wheelbase. It can go to a ditch and pump. It could skate a curb if I wanted. It can do walk the dogs and then cross-step and Peter Pan. It is amazing for wheelies. It is the hybrid longboard. The crazy thing about that? It is literally one of the most difficult board shapes to find!

My feet have been bruised. My ankle has been sore. My legs, last Friday afternoon, were aching. Because of a new, more physically taxing schedule at work combined with my inability to make myself rest, I have worn myself out. I needed a break, but I just can't seem to allow myself to rest. Since The World Round Up Online Showdown, I have become driven to improve in any way that I can. I can't justify a week off. I keep thinking how much work my tricks need.

However, add in that it has been raining this entire week, and I knew it would have been the perfect opportunity to rest. But I didn't want to rest completely.

I know that sounds ridiculous. I mean, I'm in my late 40's, but I keep thinking that I don't want to be a mediocre freestyler. I feel like I finally figured out the type of skateboarding that I could excel at and I want to reach a point of excellence before I'm too old to recognize the dream. No, I don't think I'll become a 50 year old Rodney. I just know I can be much better than I am and I want to know my true potential whether I'm nearly 50, over 50, or 100 years old.

So, I invested in a new tool (toy) to help me improve.

Softrucks.

Yes, I bought those rubber truck/wheel replacements and I've been using them all week. I am aware of all the flak given to these things online. You aren't rolling. You aren't really skateboarding. I actually agree! I don't think using softrucks is skateboarding. It isn't. It is practicing skateboard tricks on a skateboard like training device. I get it.

However, I have also greatly improved my kickflips this week. While it is pouring down rain, I'm in my garage doing (old school) kickflip after kickflip. And when I get on a board that actually rolls, my kickflips are very much improved.

And I got my break. Running to the garage for an hour a day to practice kickflips (and fingerflips) isn't like going for an hour to two hour long skate session. I'm giving my body some rest and I'm improving my skating at the same time. I think this new tool (toy) is going to be very helpful over this winter when the sun is down early and the conditions are cold and wet.

So, here comes the actual rant. This is a post from a "friend" on Instagram about my foray into softrucks:

I know that I can be (usually silently) judgmental. Sometimes I will speak my mind, especially here on my blog, about things in skateboarding that get on my nerves. I ranted not too long ago about someone that posts non-skating skate clips almost exclusively. I have actually had mixed emotions about that post because, quite honestly, if you're having fun on our favorite wooden toy, then good for you. My opinion, at the end of the day, shouldn't interfere with your enjoyment of a skateboard. 

However, I am going to rant about this comment, "I gave you a long leash..."

The "long leash" comment set me off.

I'm not your dog. You don't have me on a leash.

Let me repeat. I'm not your dog. You don't have me on a leash.

​You are not the master of all things skateboarding with the ability to come to my feed and denigrate me.  I responded exactly how I felt to someone "giving me a long leash." My reply has gotten me, apparently, blocked across Facebook and Instagram. No conversation back and forth, just a block (although, I admit I unfollowed this person).

I am not sad not to be a Facebook acquaintance with this person anymore. I am not upset to have one less Instagram follower. I'm glad he's gone. 

​"Look back to mid 70's freestyle-they would push to get speed up, feet would touch the ground on occasion. For the purist I guess feet must never touch the ground-kinda like that kids game of hot lava. "

-Eric Sanders

So, last week's post initially started off with me thinking about no comply tricks in freestyle and how a lot of people (some of whom I really respect) don't think they belong. I, on the other hand, love doing no comply tricks. They are a big part of both my street skating and longboarding past and, put together with the freestyle footwork that I enjoy, I believe they round out (for better or worse) who I am as a freestyle skater. I didn't think they were that big of a part until I started doing them again and now it seems that they are. In fact, I remember telling Bob Loftin that I wouldn't put a no comply trick in a freestyle line. Now, I do it all the time.

The upshot of all this writing is, I'm going to continue doing no comply tricks AND I've decided to start messing with some ollie based tricks as well. Primarily I'm doing some 1/2 cabs and some 180 ollies into endovers which I think looks kind of cool and adds a little more variety to my skating. I may mess around with some kickflips etc...but honestly they don't feel right on a tiny board (despite originally being done on a tiny board).

Now to my rants!

1. a half cab or "full cab" is ollie based. A caballerial is a fakie 360 ollie. No ollie? Then it is a fakie pivot or fakie kickturn. The whole world seems to have forgotten the ollie part of a caballerial.

2. So, I keep seeing this person pop up on my Instagram and Facebook feeds (well, I did but I blocked him for now). He is an older skater apparently sponsored by a clothing company that promotes his stuff. The company (that shall not be named) is named after a word (misspelled) that means "a fierce or destructive attack." This company talks about how creative it is to stand on a skateboard and pass a hat through your legs or to balance a skateboard on your hands. At first I let it go, but the more I think about it the more I realized that this is an absolute mockery of people that have spent hours and hours truly learning to skateboard and be creative with it.

Me? I'm not an overly creative skateboarder. In fact, I'm not an overly creative chef (my profession) or writer.  I consider myself a craftsman more than an artist . I'm not making up a bunch of new tricks. I'm trying to master those that others have already done and put my own spin on them. So, there is a hint of creativity there but it isn't the primary point of what I do.

However, calling this "pass the hat around your leg" stuff creative belittles true skating creativity. In fact, it barely is skateboarding. Sometimes it isn't skateboarding at all. balancing a skateboard on your hand, letting it drop, and then standing on it could be done with anything. Anything. It is neither skateboarding nor creative. Sometimes skateboarding brings in people that are more worried about being seen than learning the art and craft of skateboarding. And when the moniker "freestyle" gets added to it, the name freestyle gets gets sullied too.

So, this week I have been thinking about the blurred line between flatground street and freestyle, and trying to find my definition of freestyle skateboarding. This is so I can figure out what exactly I want to do as a freestyle skater because I've been drawn into the world of no comply tricks lately, and if you ask a lot of freestyle skaters, they will say no complies don't belong in freestyle. They say that freestyle is about not touching the ground with your feet. I'm even told, until Mullen broke the mold, it was even frowned upon to push during a freestyle run. Speed was supposed to be gained by footwork.

Well, according to Wikipedia it is freestyle is: "technical flat ground skateboarding."

But I don't even agree with that. Flat ground skating sounds like street skating terminology. I am going to call freestyle 'a series of skateboard footwork and tricks designed to be aesthetic and dance-like.' So, as long as it is aesthetic, on a flat space, and dance-like is it freestyle?

Before I get too far in, let me get this out of the way:

I have entered one, and only one, freestyle contest and even that was virtual. I am not any kind of freestyle expert.  I started freestyle skating less than two years ago and, since I'm being honest about stuff, I really don't dig a lot of freestyle. It is sort of like my relationship with poetry. As a young teen I wanted to be a poet, but then I started really reading lots of different poetry and realized that a lot of it wasn't to my tastes.

So, just to get this straight. I'm not into a lot of freestyle stuff.

For instance:

Pogos? No thanks.
Long, drawn out rail to rail to rail to rail stationary stuff? Pass.
50/50 to casper to rail etcetera etcetera? Naw. I'll just be over here working on g-turns and stuff.

For me, skating is on the wheels of the board and, if you aren't on the wheels, you should be just about to be back on the wheels. In fact, I think doing too much stationary stuff is what turns people, including street skaters, off to freestyle. I know it is one of the things that turned me off to freestyle 30+ years ago. I could watch Natas ride walls or Primo stand on the side of the board. It wasn't even a contest. Natas ruled the day.

And since Natas ruled the day, street skating (particularly late 80s street skating) is a huge influence on me.

​So, then, how much off the wheels is too much off the wheels? If a rail walk to rail to casper to casper is too much time off the wheels, what about no comply fingerflips or, one that I'm doing a lot these days, 360 no complies? Isn't the whole point of freestyle to not take your foot off the board. Or is it something else and the foot thing is an outdated unwritten rule that needs to pass away? Isn't there a difference between stepping off on purpose and stepping off because you can't land the trick? Some say no comply tricks are an easy way out of doing a two foot on trick that might be more difficult. And I see the point. No comply fingerflips are very easy in comparison to rolling fingerflips. Same for the varial version of the trick.

But does freestyle have to be the more difficult trick? A no comply fingerflip doesn't really look like a rolling fingerflip. They are two different tricks. One is started crouched low on the board while you grab the nose. In the other you are standing upright and pop the board into your hand. It is really about which trick fits into the aesthetics of the run at that point, right?

It is all too much for me this week, and I really thought this would be an easy thing to write. At this point my thoughts (and this post) are so jumbled up. that I'll stop where I am. See you all next week.