Land of Lincoln

As Steve nursed his blisters after the monumental 440 mile skate across the state of Nebraska, we took to touring Lincoln by bicycle. First stop was Yai Yai's Pizza where Steve has worked for many years.

Vegan slices of Steve's creation.

Art at the local screen printing biz. all toys I used to play with as a kid.

Steve on the morning radio recapping Skate the State

Same guy that Steve works for owns Oso Burrito too!

Avo/cheesie melt wrap at Maggie's VEG

We rode out south of the city in search of.....

full pipes.....

let's take a closer look... not gonna be dry this week.

Steve made a full pie that we split one night.

Phil Burcher....owner of Precision Skate Shop and Skate the STATER had us over for dinner one night. Actually it was more his wonderful wife, Tara, who did the cooking and entertaining. We got a tour of the garden and she and the kids took a look through the FREE BOX. Phil got home from work and we skated the ramp for a bit, then sat down to a marvelous meal.

Everyone found something they could use.

Phil 5.0 grinds the ramp he made last year when he turned 50.

Chalk up another outstanding homecooked meal. Thanks TARA!

one of two identical cats that live with the BURCHER's

Temperatures started to rise over the next few days. Steve kept showing me around town as he still had a few recuperating days off work.  Steve's blister was still bad, but I did sneak in a brief skate break at one of the local Lincoln skateparks

Was psyched on the Freakbeat name, but walked in, and walked right back out.

We sat with Tara at her shop where Steve had an photo show

Open Harvest is where I did my shopping. GOOD DEL

Phil plays drums in the Evil Weiners!

Lincoln Farmer's Market

View of Lincoln from the State Capitol

 I felt privileged to have Steve as my tour guide. He's lived here for years and has the town dialed. Everyone knows him and we'd get stopped routinely on the streets as most everyone wanted to know how SKATE THE STATE went. As a result I was able to meet all sorts of local Lincoln personalities. It did make me miss my close connections in San Diego........
 
next up  - PECHA KUCHA, then trips to Omaha and Des Moines.....

Skate the STATE - day 3

Steve does some retooling as Cory looks on

Nebraska skater and York resident, Eric Eckert, was out of town on a skate trip to COLORADO, but offered up his house for everyone. We awoke to a clear but highly windy day. A group of skaters from Lincoln including Cory, Lucas, Trey, and Jordan, had linked up the night before and they were planning on skating the remaining 51 miles into Lincoln with the main group. With even more heads in the mix, it took awhile to get moving.

I was stoked to see a kiddie pool rolling down the street in the wind.

Publicity stunt for the local newspaper

51 long and windy miles to go...plus some hills!

Steve and Dave Nelson head out on the 1st leg - Jordan films

Cory and his fresh legs made good time

Steve heads out on another leg in the wind.

Arty shot of the day....Phil pulls for a pit stop.

Steve and Andrew at a pit stop in a farmer's front yard.

Back into the wind...fresh off a break.

Supporters started showing up 20 miles outside of town

Steve breaks into the CITY LIMIT.

Loads of Lincoln skaters and supports showed up at the Capitol to welcome them HOME.

Closing statement on the steps of the Capitol.

And so wraps up my three days on SKATE THE STATE.....
Mike Smith gets huge props for making it all happen. And thanks to all who lent a hand along the way!

article from skatehive.


steve's video from his perspective

some of steve's photos

Skate the STATE - day 2

We awoke in GRAND ISLAND to chilly and rainy morning. I slept good in the van, but the road warriors.....well I can't speak for them.... Few were up when I ventured into the house. Slowly breakfast was ingested and we made our way to the outskirts of town...

Steve was my only passenger... Poncho on and somewhat ready....

Phil and Steve... pancho brothers.

take off in the rain... leg 1 begins. 4 more to go before York.

Crossing the Platte River, the swallows were swarming.

Phil was pissed early on... already getting the double BIRD.

Steve loved getting choice roadkill shots

This was the only POLICE interference that I saw and he let us be after our explanation.

This qualifies as my arty shot for the day.

this is where the land began to toss in some hills

before noon the sun was out and the ponchos were off

Steve looking grizzly at a mid day rest stop

steve and I sessioned the curb in the background.

Steve joins HK on a NIGHT RANGER tune!

 This is a rare shot of HK in action....in the sticks.... small town NEBRASKA.....side of the road.....a little collaboration is always nice....p: hearnebraska.org

small town / BIG SILO curb skating....

Phil was so frazzled from a long day that we went straight to the brewsky.

Ended the night at one of few restaurants in YORK, NE.

 Not much on the menu for a vegan... steve wasn't a happy camper either.... I broke down and bought a container of hummus at the grocery store...
The thought on everyone's mind.... "Will we make Lincoln tomorrow night?"

Skate the STATE - day 1

THIS CLIP was one of the first I filmed once I linked up with Steve and the SkATE THE StATE gang. I drove from Topeka, through Lincoln, into Grand Island.....{former home of my sister} and then met up with the gang on the West side of GI. So the gang had already had 7 days of skating first starting in Scott's Bluff. So my day 1 is their day7. Their goal was to skate the length of the state from Scott's Bluff to Lincoln, some 440 miles in an effort to raise money for a Lincoln indoor skatepark called Bay 198.

Steve skates up to the rest stop

I can't recall when I saw Steve last? Was it when he moved out?

TRAIN shot of the gang at the first rest stop that I encountered/

I drove 10 miles west of Grand Island and met up with Steve, Phil, and Mike and the support staff of Angie, Andrew, & Amber. I was now support staff #4. They would skate 10-12 miles non stop and then rest up. At this point, after some relaxation and hydration, it was only one more leg into Grand Island. A group of local skaters were set up and poised to meet us in town and then skate with us to the skatepark for a session.

Taking off on the last leg of the day.....

Art shot of Steve framed in the steel bridge

The kids and the media await the Skate the STATERS

Mike and Steve roll in.....

One of my favorite shots of the trip!

Steve leads the gang to the skatepark

PHIL grinding the vert wall at the GRAND ISLAND demo. He skated 40 some miles and still put on a demo for the kids! Did I mention that he's entered his 5th decade on this planet. He's owned Precision Skate Shop for 25 years. We skated with the kids for close to an hour and then bowed out to eat.

A kind, local couple put us up for the night in GRAND ISLAND. That evening while decompressing we caught the local news that had a clip from the previous day. CLICK HERE  It was lights out after the news. Another long day awaited.......