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GALLERY
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| Another Saturday trip to Ozark to skate the COM steel vert ramp....up early at 8am, I met up with Mark Eddings and John Waight at the usual meeting spot. Others said they were going to be there, but
dropped out at the last minute for whatever reasons. Maybe it was because the forecast called for isolated thunder storms, but we decided to take the gamble...and the payoff was huge! Waight
offered to drive his truck since it was just Eddings and me along for the ride. Of course, Eddings made the trip fly by again with his constant conversation across a broad range of topics (haha).
We showed up around 10:30 and the skating got underway. John Waight had not skated in the past months or more due to injury, so he was a bit apprehensive at first.
However, Waight took right to it like he hadn't missed a day...once a skater, always a skater. (haha) After just a few runs, he was right back to his coping screaming grinds...stoked!!!
Sig was "on" from the start. You could definitely tell he has been skating his ramp a lot more lately. Eddings and I were working on picking right back up
from where we left off last time. Around 1 PM, we took a break for lunch and much needed rest. To take a break from the hot dogs we seem to always have at COM sessions, we
ordered a bunch of pizzas and dug in with some cold beers. Shortly after lunch, a crew of Ozark and Dothan locals showed up. Although mostly street skaters, they all took
their turns trying out the vert ramp. Surprisingly just about all of them dropped in even if they couldn't do much more. Of the crew, there were a few standouts.
Steven spent his time doing crazy flip tricks just below vert...lots of board control. Their mini-ramp champ, Sam, finally got his nerve to drop in and took right to the ramp.
He pulled small rock-fakies, rock and rolls and even fakie disasters. The ripper of the bunch though was an older guy named Wes. He had very obviously skated vert in the past.
He was pulling a lot of tricks. He was pretty sketchy, but probably from not skating a vert ramp in years. If he would start skating with Sig out there, no telling what he
could do! The local street guys didn't stay too long, but it was cool talking to them and watching them get stoked off us old guys skating. After they all left, Eddings, Waight,
Sig and I enjoyed the late afternoon "wind down" session. The sun, the ramp and constant skating was wearing everyone down. I had taken a long break to take pictures
while the sun passed by a little bit, but the other 3 skated on and on. By around 4 PM, Sig and Waight were the first to pad down. Eddings skated a bit more as he tried
to improve his grinds. In his words, he was having an off day and wanted to work on some basics. Not much longer though, even Eddings was done. I padded back up and took the
opportunity to work on my goal for the day...to land backside airs. I tried over and over and over and over..drop in, high kick turn on the face wall, back over, pop, turn, bail...
I was getting sooooo close it was frustrating!!! NOTHING was holding me back but some crazy fear. Sig and Waight were cheering me on with every try. I had several where
I put it back to the wall, feet on, riding....even heared Sig and Waight cheering...and then I would just drop into a knee slide for no good reason. I must have tried
50 times at least....that's bail and right back up the ladder to try again! I was so close, but finally, my body just would not give any more. I had to give in and try
another day. I was PISSED! Thanks to Sig, Eddings and Waight for the pep talk to not let it get to me. I will get them...I promise! What's funny...after all those tries and
bails, it wasn't till padding down that I noticed where the bottom of the pads hit my shin had rubbed so much it had burned off the skin and hair and I had never felt it...like carpet burns
when having sex (haha). After I was done, we all just kinda of chilled around on the vert ramp, shooting the shit and recapping the day. Finally, at 5:30, we packed up
John's truck, said our good-byes, and headed back home. Somehow, I think Eddings had even more energy on the way home...another 2 hr non-stop conversation. (haha) Oh and as
for the rain, we finally hit the wet stuff right as we got close home. At a bit after 7:30, we got back to our meeting spot, said quick byes, and quickly jumped into our cars in the rain.
I was home by a little after 8 PM, took an immediate hot shower, ate, and collapsed into bed not long after. Another fantastic day at the COM ramp had come to a close. Can't
wait for the next one !!! |
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True vert...what a beautiful sight to behold!
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The special guests for the whole day....TONS of bugs!
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The sessions gets underway....Eddings, Waight and Siegfried
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This is NOT a bail! Sig gets flappy on the edge and pulls it!!!
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John Waight gets his skate legs back
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Eddings grinds as Waight looks on
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View down the coping of Waight coming out of a grind
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Roy and Sig in deep conversation
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The pizza arrives!!!!
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Lunch time...Sig digs in
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The whole crew chillin for lunch
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A rare moment...Waight enjoys a beer with his pizza
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Great minds think alike...Waight and Eddings
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A boy and his ramp....Sig gets back to it
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Sig floats a frontside air
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Waight getting into a frontside grind
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What's this?!?! Sig learning backside ollies
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A BIG crew of locals shows up
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Wes rocks to fakie
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Sam gets use to the ramp as the others watch
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Wes pops a big fakie ollie
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Steven kickflips to fakie at the line of de-trick-erfication (ie. Sig's rule that all tricks must be above that line)
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Big session crew taking a break
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Eddings grinds to tail
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Another fakie ollie from Wes
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Waight grinds the rust off...in more ways than one (haha)
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Tail grabbing a fakie ollie from Wes
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Sam finally drops in and follows with a rock to fakie
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Waight shows Eddings his noise making skills
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The session comes to a close
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The only shot of Solomon...post-session...yep, that's all from knee slides and pad friction
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