S.E.D.J. Day 22 - South London Street Skating Eutopia.

I don't see myself as a worrier.  I'm generally pretty good at figuring out the stuff that is out of my control and letting fate or the universe or whatever, sort things out.  Planning where to skate over the last three weeks has affected my sleep, being able to squeeze in the lunch-time skates has definitely affected my heart rate and blood pressure.  Now that I'm only 9 nine days away from the end of Skate Every Day in January I was starting to get a bit obsessive. As with many things in life, sometimes things just happen for a reason. Like today.

We had no real plan other than meet up at Elephant and Castle and go find some street spots. On my ride to E&C the sky looked a little dark and for a split second I thought rain was going to stop play but that feeling passed.  As soon as I hooked up with Adam, Ivan, Jamie, Alex and Martyn, any stress-head tendencies disappeared and all I had to worry about was staying on my board, shooting some crappy photos, missing Alex's make on his blunt-slide transfer to grind while on filming duty and laughing a lot.

Martyn going high at E&C wall.

Ivan got the grind, but preferred this shot.

This was the second time Alex made this bluntslide-transfer to 5-0 down the corner.

Refreshment break.

I don't really know what to say about this shot.

Johners' frontside bluntslide transfer close-up.

Alex Wallies over.

Work continues on Jamie's Planking Documentary.

Johners styling out his Front-Rock pop-out.

A blurry compact digital shot of Martyn's Front board.

You don't need a blow by blow account of what happened.  It's getting late, I'm completely done-in and writing this is sapping the very last remnants of energy from my brain.  Let's just say that Day 22 raised the bar.  Skating a real street spot that was so much more fun than it originally suggested and doing it with some of the best people out there.

Day 23 is going back to Stockwell.  It's an after work visit this time, from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. If you are around I'll hopefully see you there.

[LIALC]

S.E.D.J. Day 11 - More Playstation Fun Times

Those who know me know that I'm a bit of a cycling fanatic too. Last night I was talking to Jotham about some of his physical repercussions from Sunday's skate, and it got me thinking.

In cycling the ultimate endurance races are the Grand Tours, the biggest and longest of which is the three week long Tour de France, which this year will cover 2,161 miles.  In the world of professional cycle racing they say that your legs and general physicality change once you've completed your first tour de France.  It's like you can't train for it, you just have to do it and having done it once your body will kind of know what to expect and will be somehow battle hardened from having done it once before.

Could this S.E.D.J. thing be my Tour de France.  Now I'm not doing the skateboarding equivalent of cycling 130 miles a day, but I'm doing over four weeks and those guys get two days off.  What I was thinking about was how skating Every Day In January is going to have an effect on my body, my fitness and leave me changed at the end off it. Going on a trip and skating every day in a week will hopefully seem like a walk in the park.

Or will I be so wrecked that I can't skate in February?  I think I prefer the version where I'm this new kind of battle hardened skateboarder who now has the ability to take on anything.  Unfortunately the way things are going there's a danger that my skating on the 31st could resemble an avant garde modern dance performance based on the last days if the Siege of Leningrad.

Day 11 was as you probably know a London Winter staple, the Wednesday Night session at Playstation/Bay66.  When I first started going to these the sessions I would mainly be concentrated on the Midi and the Vert.  I'd be padded up and helmeted for at least half the session trying to learn airs on the vert, or trying to get involved with the sessions that used to be going off on the Midi.

Kev and Alan ready for battle.

Ivan and Johners refusing to be photographed.

Kev Firth, Matt, Jim, Alan, Neal K and Jotham were all also in attendance with most of them getting involved with the mini-ramp session and having a proper laugh for the whole time.  So that was Day 11, one of the most fun sessions so far, even though my legs were starting to show a little fatigue.

This is actually Ivan bashing his nose on thee way back down.

Kev Smithing.

Johners still being camera shy.

Ivan turning up the heat.

I knew I should have worn my white Tee.

A photo of Kev having just let go of a melon. #instamaticskatephotography

Ha! Got him.

Day 12 is a lunch-time session at Stockwell from 1:15pm. Same as usual, if you feel like a half hour skate at lunch, come down to the beach.

[LIALC]