The day started bright and early at 6:30 am! I picked up Danny around 7:30, and then on to pick up Mark Eddings on the way. Lots of folks had dropped out at the last
minute, but we were on our way. By 8am, we were headed to Ozark, Alabama for the 3rd annual COM (Club Old Man) Birthday Bash Ramp Jam at the COM steel vert ramp! It was
suppose to happen a few weeks back in January in conjunction with Greg "Sig" Siegried's (owner of the COM ramp) birthday, but a sudden snow storm post-poned
it until this February Saturday. Turns out, that worked out to be a good thing. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day! It was sunny and 65 with not a cloud
in the sky! The ride went remarkably fast...I say reMARKably because...well, here's a tip...if you ever need a trip to go quickly, have Mark Eddings ride with you! (haha) He
talked non-stop the whole way and covered about the broadest array of topics you could imagine while randomly jumping from one to another. It was work just to keep up with his line
of conversation! Mark wins hands down for the quote of the day. While talking about music, Mark says "I like all types of music....even New Age....I'll listen to some
dolphins playing together and shit mixed in with a synthesizer." WHAT?!?!? But that's Eddings...(haha) In a quick 2 hours of Edding's stories around 10 am, we made it to Ozark and followed the signs to the party. Sig had just finished drying the morning dew from the ramp and taking a few warm up
runs as we pulled up. Perfect timing! We said some quick hellos, padded up and got down to business! Skating a vert ramps takes quite a little while to get use to if you
haven't skated one in a while and especially if you have been skating nothing but round walls. After a few pump runs from flat to get the feel for the ramp and adjust my trucks,
I dropped right in and got that out of the way. Eddings and Danny soon followed. Of course, Sig had been taking runs and making fun of us as we got use to his ramp. (haha) Not
even 4 or 5 warm up runs later, Parrish Green (Columbus,GA) and Ken Forsyth (Panama City, FL) pulled up. Looks like we had a great session brewing!
It actually worked out well
that not a lot of folks made it out....this was the PERFECT session size! We were all like kids in a candy store. Everyone was so stoked to be skating this perfect vert
ramp (24 feet wide, 10ft high with 1/2 foot vert...and smooth as a baby's bottom, steel layered!)...and Sig was stoked just to have some people to skate with! We were
all hooting and hollering and cheering each other on throughout the day. The air seemed electric at times with everyone stoking each other on. Mark and Danny were skating
the ramp just like the bowl back home....frontside airs....grinds...Mark's laybacks and more. I thoroughly surprised myself not only for not skating vert in so long, but for
even pulling off the tricks I was doing! It was like I was back in my old day's of vert skating! I have to even brag on myself and talk about one of my early "good runs"
before lunch....an axle stall (you could not do 50-50s on that coping...too rusty...trust me, Danny and I tried a LOT!) to a rock and roll on the next wall and into a rock-to-fakie
on the next wall and then to a fakie ollie (that I bailed at that point due to being dang tired out!). I was sooooo pumped after that!...and the day just got better still.
At this point, the sun was good and hot. We joked that we were skating in shifts...3 on, 3 off.(haha)
Around 1 pm, we took a much need break for lunch and rest. Sig
had grilled up some delicious hot dogs...but of course, a little Wickles on them made them fantastic! (we got Ken and Parrish hooked on the Wickles now) While resting, we
did the swag give away...Sig got wheels, Eddings got the DP decks, Danny got bearings, Ken got an Old Star hoody, and Parrish and I took popsicle decks. Round 2 of the session
started back up. It's funny, but it was almost like everyone was skating the ramp again fresh...like a whole new session, but the ramp felt like "home". Now, the big tricks and tries came
out. There was some definite ripping going down! Everyone was all into it, but the sun wasn't playing along. It had moved to just above coping level on the far wall, and it
was blinding to anyone skating that side. We decided to take another break and let the sun pass, but it was slow going. By this time, some folks were spent. Eddings and Sig
had called it a day, and Ken was trying to get in some photos and video. Danny, Parrish and I decided just to drop in from the far wall and do "one hit" tricks
on the "good" side. That meant trying a lot of harder stuff....which also meant a lot more bails...which lead to getting worn out fast! Young Danny was the last
man standing as he tried lien-to-tails and higher and higher frontside airs. Around 4:30, we were all done. We packed up, said our good-byes, thanked Sig for all the fun, food
and hospitality and got back on the road headed for home. Of course, Eddings kept the conversation going somewhat, but even he was worn out. Around 7pm, we made it back home....
sore, tired, spent, but stoked on an incredible say of skating! Thanks again to Greg Siegfried for hosting the event. We will be back to that ramp much sooner than you think! |
|
|
this one got postponed due to snow
|
|
|
|
the second flier
|
|
|
|
All signs lead to the COM ramp!
|
|
|
|
the special t-shirt sign like always! (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Yes, you are now in the country!
|
|
|
|
The official Club Old Man training ground
|
|
|
|
the Beast awaits!
|
|
|
|
Eddings checks out the view from the top
|
|
|
|
Danny gets padded up
|
|
|
|
Sig promised Hawk was gonna be there!
|
|
|
|
That first step is a doozy!
|
|
|
|
Sig shows us his frontside grinds right away
|
|
|
|
Solomon high above the ground (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Another reason not to bail
|
|
|
|
Eddings getting into a grind (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Sig takes flight frontside
|
|
|
|
Danny hits a frontside grind
|
|
|
|
Sig rockin and rollin
|
|
|
|
Ken steps over into the abyss
|
|
|
|
Ken getting into a grind viewed from above
|
|
|
|
Eddings starts off early with a frontside tuck knee
|
|
|
|
Ken throws a DP elbow through his frontside grind
|
|
|
|
Parrish gets his grind on
|
|
|
|
The man and his ramp...Sig rules the roost (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Eddings tuck knee(photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Solomon axles up (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Parrish gets into a grind (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Eddings styles a nice frontside tuck knee air (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Solomon airs on the far wall (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Eddings in the air again
|
|
|
|
Parrish frontside cess slides (not a bail!)
|
|
|
|
Solomon rolls back in from a rock (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Parrish knocks the rust off coping
|
|
|
|
Eddings hucks an air viewed from above
|
|
|
|
Danny pops a frontside ollie right under coping
|
|
|
|
Lunch Break
|
|
|
|
Party Spread
|
|
|
|
Wickles...the unofficial sponsor!
|
|
|
|
Sig shows off his weiners
|
|
|
|
Eddings digs in
|
|
|
|
Danny is joined by friends for lunch
|
|
|
|
Skating, friends, dogs and cold beer...a little slice of Heaven!
|
|
|
|
Hanging out and letting lunch settle
|
|
|
|
FREE event t-shirts!
|
|
|
|
the official event graphic
|
|
|
|
LOTS of free swag thanks to Woody's Halfpipe, Southern Fried Skates and ArtofSkateboarding.com
|
|
|
|
Eddings laid back grind to tail
|
|
|
|
Another view of Eddings at the same moment (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Solomon dropping in
|
|
|
|
Danny boosting frontside
|
|
|
|
Eddings eyes his spot on coping
|
|
|
|
Frontside destruction from Parrish
|
|
|
|
Parrish pivots off the extension!
|
|
|
|
Sig makes the coping sing
|
|
|
|
Danny pops a nice ollie
|
|
|
|
Solomon coming in from an axle stall
|
|
|
|
Solomon rocks and rolls
|
|
|
|
Eddings always looking ahead
|
|
|
|
Just like the old days at Comp!...Solomon feeble grind to fakie!!! (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Another view...Solomon feeble grind to fakie
|
|
|
|
Danny frontside airing
|
|
|
|
Ken working up the wall to a grind
|
|
|
|
Solomon backside
|
|
|
|
Taking a break to let the sun pass by
|
|
|
|
Group photo before round 3 begins!
|
|
|
|
Parrish pivots out on the edge (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Danny hucks frontside (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Eddings tickles the coping (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Solomon backside on the big ramp (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Ramp dog Ace up close and in yo face! (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Danny gggrrrrrrinnnnddddsssss (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Solomon does the Egyptian pivot! (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Danny airs up close (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Solomon gettin up (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
|
|
Danny works on a lien-to-tail
|
|
|
|
Big frontside air from Danny as Sig snaps photos
|
|
|
|
Proper bailing from Solomon
|
|
|
|
Danny is done!
|
|
|
|
Ken and Mark call it a day
|
|
|
|
One last group photo of a bunch of old men (photo by Ken Forsyth)
|
|
Home
