I spend a lot of time obesssing about my skateboard setups. A lot of older skaters do this. It’s insane.

I’m so tired of it. Honestly, it is exhausting. Freestyle enthusiasts (like me) are really bad about it, only outdone by the slalom skaters.

During the pandemic months of 2020 and 2021 I avoided my normal freestyle practice spot at the public library because there were still a lot of people around. Even outside I didn’t want to breath anyone’s pathogens. So instead I went to the the other side of city hall and rode bigger boards, mixing in some freestyle with “street skating” (my version of it, anyway).

I’m now quite used to my larger boards. I rode two in particular. A standard 8.25" wide popsicle shaped board and an 9" wide pointy nosed pool shape.

My skating changed a lot during those months of isolation. Rather than always preparing for contests I was simply doing what as fun and felt good. I discovered that I have very little desire to ever do a flip trick again. I’ve done them for years. I have nothing to prove.

What interests me now is flow and movement. Smooth transitions between maneuvers. The tiny details. Moving fast and smoothly. For this, the bigger board are just a lot better.

It looks like my days of riding the pool board are drawing to a close. My current one is pretty beat up. I have one fresh one, and that’s it.

So I think that a standard 8.25 or 8.75 pops will be my board of choice going forward. This will, I think, simplify things.