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I have a Freshpark 3 foot quarter folding ramp I got cheap at a used sports equipment store, as well as a PVC practice rail for the inline skates. I almost never skate on them though, something about padding up to skate my driveway just takes all the fun out of it. By the time I drag either of them out, set them up, and blow off the driveway, I could have driven to either of the 2 local parks. Another ramp would not be yard art I could get away with storing in plain sight, though the idea is appealing.

That fear of getting home came from a hard learned lesson. I crashed my dirt bike one time, not far from this skate park actually, and had a really hard time making it home and that was kind of in the back of my mind the whole time. Probably won't do this again, but it was a fun ride down and back!

That's a great attitude especially with the old school boards. For some reason, I always think I will find my old FibreFlex Henry Hester board in a back closet at my mothers house every time I go visit her. All you could do is ride that board, there were really no tricks you could do on it, and it was so much fun! After at least the 100th time looking for it this past weekend, I really think its gone to the great skateboard graveyard, but I'd bet I'll look for it again next time, I must have missed it!

@@theaverageoldguy Haha, same! Always trying to peer into the cluttered back corner of my parents’ shed for any sight of my Powell Caballero Dragon or G&S Bill Tocco. I think I gave the blessing to sell them both at a garage sale but can’t remember for sure and love imagining that they’re still back there somewhere.

Sometimes I feel like Pinhead for sure!

It's an hour ride and beautiful country to ride in with some fast curvy roads. I realized later that I was sitting differently than normal to try and protect my sprained finger, and that's what hurt my back. By the time I got back home, I could barely move. That's what happens when you get old, little things like that take you out for a week!

My son and I love going to different skateparks and in fact have visited 3 different ones in the past week and had a great time at each one. For me there is less expectation up front at a new park, so everything is new and exciting. It can be disappointing to try and try at the same trick at the same park and not make it plus I just love the adventure of hitting a new park. I'll get these eventually (I hope!), its just the nature of skating to hit certain things that you struggle with, but that feeling when you finally do get it is great!

That's great advice and something I usually try to do. I have skated other parks recently doing other things, so maybe when I get back to this one again, I'll have it in my brain and knock it out!

If you start younger and keep at it, you'll have no trouble skating much better than I do at my age!

This is the smallest I have available other than a coping-less slant wall, and that one causes me no issues. I would love to have a small 2 foot wall with coping to practice on but this is it!

@@theaverageoldguy got ya, hmm well I guess get super comfortable dropping in and going up and down without hitting the coping. Practice rolling fakie back down and pivots lower on the ramp. Feel ya just not confident in riding backwards on a ramp. Should build up your skill sets and confidence to rocky fakie higher. Try and get your wheel to just touch the coping then roll back, don’t go beyond the coping, then eventually ya just roll keep doing that slightly harder and should feel natural to do a rocky fakie with out taking your foot off. Hope that helps there a ton of tutorials out there.

@@treehauschalet1628 Riding down fakie used to be a non-issue and I had the rock to fakies pretty dialed, but now my knee hurts so bad its hard to tuck that front foot in as it goes up the slope, and that's part of the issue with riding up and over. I have much less of a problem when I think of it as a kickturn because I don't have to tuck as much, but that lands me on the coping in sort of a 50/50 or feeble position. You are right on the skill though, I just need to practice more and get feeling better and better. It will come eventually I hope!

@@theaverageoldguy ah bummer if it is a pain issue or a scared of the pain thing. I got ya, I have horrible neck pain and only 46 you an inspiration tho, keep it up. 👍

I slam way too much and am really working on lessening those! I have an arthritic knee that hurts all the time and have tried various sleeve and compression devices and still haven't found one I like. My best feeling is when I skate in long pants in the winter and put the knee pad over the pants. For some reason that helps a lot.

@@theaverageoldguy Interesting. I presume you've put the compression sleeve on under the knee pad, right? That's how I've heard it works best, as it provides extra padding. I just bought a pair of the Old Bones Therapy compression sleeves; we'll see how they feel. I know they also make compression sleeves with springs and also with hinges. Perhaps one of those would work better?

Yea that is great advice and I'll try the run ups at the park in this video, I may be able to make it up! I know bending the knees more would help and I think to myself every session how well I did with the knee bends that day only to edit the video and realize it was nowhere near what I thought!

@@theaverageoldguy I was going to ask if they have any larger half pipes there. If so, it's good practice to learn how to pump and gain speed. It would be low impact, simply just pumping back and forth. This will teach you how to push into the ramp to gain speed on the way down, and go up the ramp without shaving off speed. The problem with the ramps in the video is that they're simply not high enough; you'll quickly hit the coping. Either way, you're looking great and will continue to get better; there's no rush!

Thank you! This one has been a struggle for sure and hopefully I'll get it at some point.

I'll try to be out there!

I would love to take it to an easier quarter, but this is the best set I have around. I have a 3 foot wall at my regular park, but its a slant wall with no coping and its just not the same, I can get up and over that one pretty easily. I'll get the feel for it one day - I hope!

@@theaverageoldguy aight well i wish you godspeed on this venture of learning tricks man! Enjoy the ride

I totally understand that. Affecting your livelihood is one of the things I don't think is worth the risk skating, and totally respect backing off because of that. Hopefully you will be able to find a way to come back at some point and just enjoy the skating.

Yeah, I feel like I am jamming the front up onto the platform. Its funny because I can be going pretty slow and pump up enough to do a slash grind, its just escaping me getting the feeling to do it straight up the ramp. It will come, but man it has been a struggle!

@@theaverageoldguy I'm kind of going through the same struggle right now with learning to 50-50 on a ramp, except I used to be able to do it without thinking, but at age 54 it's hard to do much without thinking. I just recently confronted the fear of turning into a 50-50 on a quarter pipe, and finally got them back. For me, I learned to focus more on the steps of the trick as I'm doing them, and less on thinking I need an exit plan so I don't fall and die this attempt😉 But anyway, once you learn how to transfer your weight from in the ramp back to over the platform it'll start to open up mini ramp skating for you... you don't need as much speed as you think, it's all in the push up the transition.

Yes, definitely caught me by surprise, I thought sure just being in good shape would be enough, as you said hahaha on me. Glad you got back into it and enjoy it, I started from scratch on the inlines, but am back after a long layoff on the skateboard and just happy to skate!

By a "bunch" you mean 3 times right?? That's actually a very good idea and I'm going to try that next time I am out at that park. Maybe my knee will last for a few, running up is easier on my knee than running down!

You are so right and I always think I am bending my knees and pumping so hard - - until I see the video! Then I'm like, dang it, I look like an old man!!

@@theaverageoldguy Ya don't feel bad, I feel like I'm bending my knees and pumping as well but I'm not.😂 I'm stiff as a board, lol. When you first get to the skatepark and arent tired yet try and make a conscious effort to really bend your knees when you pump. See if that helps you get up the other side. Im having issues getting up the other side on miniramps as well.

You are so right, all that really counts is having some fun and even though it may not be like it was when I was a teenager, I still love it!

I always see the obstacles as so much bigger than I had in my head before I got there, and hardly ever end up doing what I had planned. That used to bug me, but now I just go with whatever is making me have the most fun at any given time.

Oh yea, I would spend an entire months pay as a teen on a new skateboard or surfboard and it always seemed so sweet. Now I can afford to do that and like you said, its just not the same. In the end the love of it is still there, and that's what keeps me going out.

I did come to grips early with the falling, but I have really enjoyed not falling as much recently, and I have also really enjoyed working on the fundamentals. I've made some really good progress on my backwards skating recently and love that feeling. That's great that you are working on balance exercises, I do a few things for balance every day and still have decent balance, just struggle with the mobility still. Its all a work in progress and just enjoying the journey is what its all about. Good luck on your new skates!!

You ain't kidding...37 years old and a shipyard worker....I've driven to the skatepark and was tbere for 5 minutes and drove off...just wasn't feeling. If I'm being frank I don't even care about tricks...i like the feeling...the excercise...how many miles can I skate today...no real destination just kick push kick push coast.

I have done that same thing, put pressure on myself for no reason and just didn't feel it, or I tried a whole session for something, skated great, but was still disappointed I didn't do what I had intended to do. I can't say I have cured that yet, but I have made huge strides!

I hear you on that. In the end, its all about having fun and if working to make progress takes the fun out, its time to back off. I am finding that I'm having more fun now so I want to skate more, and that in itself will make you a better skater in the long run.

You are right and I am pretty sure its a technique issue. Sometimes I can get up better than others, I just don't know what I did right on the good ones! I'd like to order a pair of those wings for myself!

@@theaverageoldguy tuck your hands under your armpits and flap your arms like chicken wings :) If nothing else your son will get a laugh.

I do both inline and skateboarding, and each has its own set of challenges for an old injured dude!

It didn't take me long to figure that one out either. For a long time I wore Bodyprox padded shorts, but they were hot and I switched to Rhip Clips clip in hip pads. They are so much more comfortable and easy to put in and out. There is no pad directly on the butt like the Bodyprox had, but I have learned (mostly) to fall to the side if I'm falling that way. It does make a difference in your confidence to have some protection!

That's what I have been working on lately, trying to improve my technique and working more on the basics. I was in a hurry originally to learn tricks and ignored basic skating skills and that has hurt me in the long run. I am going back to basics now, and working on those foundational skills is a lot of fun!

As long as you are staying active, that's all that matters!

Those are all great things and I try to do most of them every day. You are so right about the food, what you put into your body has a direct effect on aging and health and as you age lifting weights is crucial to maintaining muscle mass. Eating a mostly organic, low carb diet really helps keep inflammation down and tracking protein is really important as you age, it gets harder to get what you need than you realize. Most of my pain is from previous injuries (non skating related) and the knee, with bone on bone arthritis, just is what it is. It always hurts when I skate (or walk, run, or ride the bike) and there is not much relief for that, I just try to do the least amount of damage each time out. Your suggestions are great for someone of any age, and I encourage everyone to adopt those habits!

Thanks! It has been a fun journey and I hope to continue to make some progress.

At least on the inlines I have no past history, its all new so its not so bad. On the skateboard its much harder to ignore the "back in the day" rumbling around in my head and realize its all new again now. I imagine its the same thing for skaters who are coming back to inline from a past history, its hard to let go of what you had in the past and realize some of it may never come back.😪

Not that right knee, the more reps there the worse it gets. Its already bone on bone so pretty much everything makes it worse. Skateboard drop ins on the 4 foot wall at our local park are the worst, it has a quick transition at the bottom and wears it out in just a few drops. I lift weights for strength, but that's slow and its the quick power that I so lack. I tried short sprints years ago and could barely walk the next day after every session, one of the reasons I hate the run outs so bad!😁

@@theaverageoldguy I admire your gusto and determination to keep going hard even when it’s difficult and bloody unpleasant.

@@theaverageoldguy are you able to squat down and do a jump squat without any pain?

@@Steves_SkateXplosion I can squat down most of the way, but my right knee is not able to go all the way ie. my right heel can only get within about 6 inches of touching my butt (on a good day). Jumping up always hurts, its the quick motion of the jump that is so painful, and I can't bring that knee up in front of me on a jump. That's why I haven't been able to ollie in more than a decade, I can't slide that leg up the board and level out quick enough. All things considered, I have gotten more mileage out of that knee than I probably should have considering the damage it took in the initial accident and the abuse I have heaped on it since then, so I just have to deal with it as best I can now. It has given me the inspiration for a couple of new video ideas though, so hey there is a silver lining there😀

Thank you! It has definitely not been easy, but its a lot of fun and a great way to spend time with my son!

That explosive power is exactly what I was talking about, I have lost just about every bit I ever had. I still have relatively strong legs, but skating the transitions is so much about that explosive power and not just strength. At this point with my bad knee, I doubt I'll ever have much and I am trying to compensate some by learning better technique, but that's a slow learning curve too. I have recently started skating more for fun and surprisingly that is allowing me to actually improve my technique because I am able to skate longer without losing my legs since not trying more difficult things has dramatically lessened the number of slams I take per session. Good luck on your journey!

Thank You! Yes, the jumping was really wearing me down too and lingering for days, so I just decided to stop. I have pulled back a lot recently on the tricks and just mainly skate lines around the park now and that has allowed me to skate longer each session. I have so many fundamentals to work on still that I neglected in the beginning, and it has been so much fun to just skate and not worry about the tricks. I think being a better overall skater will allow me to bring some of the tricks back with less pain, and that is definitely progress to me.

That is really cool about the site being given world heritage status, hope you had a great time there! You are so right about never giving up, getting old is going to happen no matter what, but giving up is a choice.

Thanks!

I hate to hear that! I know that feeling all too well though, I am sore and in pain all the time and at this point in my life I can't do too much about it. I figure I might as well skate and have fun while I can and if it means slowing down some, that's what has to happen. Hopefully you find something that keeps you active!

@theaverageoldguy scuba diving's good for the soul. And being weightless means I'm not damaging myself any further. I can't remember who's quote it is, but it's great... You don't stop playing because you get old. You get old because you stop playing. 😉🍻

@@notbadsteve Thats awesome! I have been a scuba diver since 8th grade. Not sure if you are familiar with the North Carolina coast, but we have LOTS of shipwrecks here and I spent a good many years diving those when I lived on the coast. Upstate we have quarries, which are OK, but nothing like taking your own boat offshore and hitting the wrecks. Keep that going!!

@theaverageoldguy Fiji. Me and my wife spent 2 months in Fiji. The diving there seems like prehistoric times. Huge lush corals, crystal clear water, sharks galore, some mind blowing sites. And you hardly ever see another diver. I think its so remote, that you don't get holiday makers there. Oh not to mention some of the hugest waves on the planet. I never mastered surfing though. And in 2 months, I never met a person I didn't like. Beautiful souls.