Monday, March 10, 2014

Attleboro Session!

 Saturday the temps were in the upper 40s, first nice day in a while, and the plan was hatched for a session at Attleboro. I fired up the Torquise Tortoise, picked up Doug and Thomas, and we headed to the ramp. Session in full swing, tons of people, and when the sun was out it was warm and t-shirt weather. 30 minutes later, clouds rolled in, and the hoodies were put back on. We joked that summer had come and gone. It was a joke, right? Attleboro is the spot. Below, Doug blasts FSA.
 F-side grindage, from top to bottom: Pete Stroke, Big Tim Mugging, and Thomas.


Doug takes the plunge and rolls in. Haven't had a major snow in weeks, but the swamp remains iced over and snowy. I'm not skating yet, but when it's cold the ramp hardens up and gets fast.

Big Tim blasted some frontside airs, and his last one was huge but not a make. This is the result. Bandaids, sticky sheets, and a scab that will likely last a few months with a scar that will continue to get peeled off. Dues have been paid.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Life in the Dick, Part 5

More life in the Dick... where to begin? There have been about 5 days where the weather has gotten above freezing since I got back from AZ and Seattle. Having a broken arm means I sat around a lot, looked for work, watched TV, and my new thing: getting my record collection entered on Discogs. Got most of my LPs, and a few of my 7"s. Nice to know what I've got, and how many. Two days ago it was 34 degreesout, and it had been dry for a few days so the roads were clear, so I took the CB160 out for a spin. Today, same deal, but I took the CB350F out for a spin. I tuned them both up in the fall, and they both ran killer (although the 350F's battery needed some help turning the bike over). Hopefully we've turned a corner and it will start getting warmer -- although it's supposed to snow tomorrow.

So I knew the Apache would have some project type stuff for me. This is what it looks like under 2 feet of snow, and since it is a manual, I wasn't driving it much with my broken arm. I can drive it now, however, and rolled it to Attleboro yesterday for a skate session (I watched). More on that tomorrow. I bought a vintage suicide knob reight before I broke my arm -- it actually arrived on my birthday, the day I did it, and I installed it that day. Manual steering can be a bitch, especially with a healing arm, but this thing helps.

One of the other projects was sorting out the heater. The ducts were all held together with -- wait for it -- duct tape. All of the heater cables were frozen. The part above, which directs heat to either defrost or regular heat, had a shit ton of stuff in it: two pencils, a corkscrew, a .22 shell, a pen, a cracker jack prize, a fish hook, random screws and clips, a fuse, a paint can opener, all sorts of shit. I pulled it out, replaced all of the cables, lubed up the box, and replaced the ducts. One of the things about working on old stuff like this is that it's all pretty easy. Heater cranks now. Turn signals this month...
 Did you watch the Olympics? I did a little, when it was on and I was in front of the TV. I'm on the USA Official Drinking Team.
 Meg and I went down to Mattapoisett to visit friends for her birthday. Great time, and we visited the NEd's Point Light House, where we got engaged and married.
 Meggers got me some pie baking accessories, so I made a cherry pie. That thing was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. I aim for edible.
 Arizonan at the hospital.
Vans and Dropout came through with the goods. Thanks guys! I'll be back on board in a month, I  hope...

Went down to NYC to see the Loud Ones play again, and to visit friends. Hung out a Ryan's crib, met his awesome wife Sheena, and saw Joe Newton. Saw Ben Sabiers too at the show. Great to hang out with old Seattle friends. Thanks for putting us up Ryan and Sheena!
 This one is for Dixon.
 Huge is dudes from Underdog, and they were great. Agent Orange, Loud Ones, Jim Carrol, and Pagans covers. Killer set! Below, the Loud Ones rocked as usual.
 Spent some time walking around. Our friend told us if we head toward the Village we might see frozen puke. Guess what? We saw frozen puke. And a syringe for good measure.


 NYC was a blast, great food, killer times, saw the new Rough Trade record store and pulled a few records (as well as from Other Music). We'll be back!