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Colorado California Oregon, the "Breakdown tour"
This is a living page, it's just passed out right now

Some Breakdown tour footage in Windows Media format.
Here's a clip from Sedway's miniramp, the Haggins ramp in Truckee, and Mark's pool in Tahoe, this was after the van broke down on the way back to Colorado, we decided to drive back to Tahoe area while the van wasn't being completely fixed, glad we went back.
Next is this clip from the Humbler in Denver and the Antipool.  Skating is Jerry and Science at the Humbler and Jason and Chet at the pool.  

By all means, drive across country with a questionable fuel pump.
Colorado bound, all sketchy and shit  7/16/03
Well I've been trying to get on my way to Colorado for about a month now, well today I'm leaving!  My van keeps cutting out, it's fuel pump related, I think there's a short in the wiring.  Seems everytime I start go to Colorado, something happens to stop me from going, or put it off.  Well, at this point I don't give a shit, I'm going for it, If the van breaks down I'll be pissed, but I'm gonna make it to Colorado, then off to Northern California for a few days and back.  Somebody go to the farm and get some shit done while I'm gone, it'll make you a better skateboard citizen.  See you from the road (while your passing my broke down van, ha ha).

Here's a picture from last summer when I was in Colorado, yes, that's a 3 girl to 2 guy ratio.  Molly from Portland, Hudson from Denver, and Ashly from, well, I'm not sure but she lives in Colorado.  We all packed in the vehicle and rode the Grindline park in Trinidad Colorado.  Oh yeah, that's Science in there as well.

This aint no Colorado or bust situation, it's Colorado period
I will not be denied!  Stuck on the side of the road in Missouri, I made it 465 miles and now I think my fuel pump is gone forever.  102 miles to Concordia,7:30am 7/17/03.  We'll fuck me!

7/18/03 after repairs to the van I drove about 385 miles and got gas in Junction City Kansas, when I went to turn on the van it would not go.  Should have had the fuel pump replaced.  Got a hotel room, got the fuel pump replaced the next morning and I drove my ass right out of Kansas, (I'm not in Kansas anymore).  Drove to Denver just in time for traffic, checked out a party and some bands (metal, country metal, and hardcore), with my friends Jerry (www.negativeion.com) and Beaz Lovelace.  My attitude has been adjusted properly!

7/19/03 Today it's off to Boulder and Bruce Adams compound.  Check it out on www.skatecolorado.com there's a contest today, more like a party, I just seem to have good timing, and a good fuel pump now!

7/20/03 Well the party was last night at the SkateColorado compound.  What a blast, Bruce Adams has a fine thing going on out in Colorado, one word,oververt with pool coping!  pic your favorite word, whatever, this place is Radical.  Bruce is originally from the DC area where I grew up, he skated the same parks I did when I was a kid (check the Late 70's DC area Parks links), so I was really cool seeing what he has to offer the skateboard world.  Beaz is a Skate Tyrant, he held up the heckling to extreme amounts.

Sunday morning after the party, sun beating down, some people cleaning up, some skating, some just waiting for something else to happen.  Thanks Cam Dowse for putting on the contest and thanks to Bruce Adams for being "The Bruce" of Colorado.

7/23/03  Well the van's new fuel pump went out again, this time I wasn't alone, Jerry got to experience the break down as well. The way I look at it, it was an opportunity to get some much needed sleep and get a better gas mileage car to go to Fresno in.  We skated skated in Lake Tahoe at Marks backyard pool, drove down to Strawberry lodge and didn't skate, it's a fun pool but we were saving it all for the previously mentioned pool.  After we had acquired a rental car, we hit a crazy pool close by that n-men Randy Katen clued us in on.  Then we headed to Fresno and the Vagabond pool, that is a killer pool, fuck yeah.  Today it's back to Sacramento area to get back in the van, we'll hit that gnarly pool for a second just to get a little footage, then it's off Oregon en route to Colorado via Idaho, you do the math, I'll give you the answers later.  Hey, thanks to Shawn from Poolrider for directions to a spot we didn't get the time to hit, that's a mission for next time.  I needed directions to the Vagabond and had to shake the HBD off of Dave Reul to get a phone number of somebody that could give directions, thanks to Tony Farmer and his directions, Jerry and I were able to skate the Vagabond.  Don Fisher was in on this Cell phone, Email direction deal as well.  Too many to thank, wish we could have skated together.  Now that I've come to your neck of the woods, please come on out and visit Skatopia!

8/1/03  Well after skating Medford Oregon with Willy, then Klamath Falls with a new friend Steve Schooler Jerry and I started the drive from Oregon to Nevada and I-80, well there's a stretch of road from Lakeview OR, to Winnemucca NV that's about 170 miles with the only thing in between is Denio Junction NV, well we broke down going up hill almost at the summit of this big hill or mountain, crap  60 miles behind us, 60 miles in front of us are the closest phone, gas, cell phone reception, you get the picture.  AAA rocks, yes tripple A hooked me up so many times on this trip.  I still had 2 more breakdowns to go (I took a bus from my last break down (4 hours from Denver and am currently gonna party my ass off in Colorado till the FIX my van.  Anyway, After the Winnemucca attempt at fixing the ailing van it broke down after 50 miles, Jerry had lost all confidence in the vans ability to get down the road so he took a bus from Battle Mountain NV, I think we saw a Skatewave skatepark from the highway, our condolences to Battle Mountain.  The next day the van was worked on and I got on my way by 11AM, drove about 9 hours with the van conking out every once in a while, at which point I would jiggle the wires and get a few more miles down the road, I would have beat Jerry to Denver if I could have just kept the van (and the fuel pump) going.  (3 fuel pumps, getting a fourth one at the moment, 2 rental cars for 6 days, actually used 4 days, 3 hotel rooms, 3 pools skated, 2 lakes swam in, 2 parks skated, 3 cool mini ramps skated, looked at the Strawberry Lodge pool but didn't skate it, 1 bus ride, it's all fun when your on a skate trip from hell!

8/7/03 Still in Colorado from my bus ride from Rawlins Wyoming where my Van has sat at the Skyline Chevrolet dealer waiting for service, it's been a whole fucking week, but I'm cool with it because I'm still in Colorado, been skating incredible stuff while meeting new friends and seeing old one's.  

Cam Dowse FS air at Crested Butte.
Jerry, Hudson, and myself took a trip out to Crested Butte after the Fuel pumping situation was finnaly resolved, actual problem all along was the fucking wiring, un-fucking believable, but anyway, Crested Butte was a lot of fun.  We met up with our friend Cam, Science, and big Ed.  Also showing up were a couple of Grindline park builders taking a break from a Wyoming park they were building.

8/18/03 Finally, my trip is coming to an end, leaving Denver around 9 or 10am (Monday).  

I've gone even further insane.
August 21st, the trip has finally come to an end, though, not without further troubles.  Well, I left Denver as planned, was making great fucking time too.  Made it to about the place I had originally broke down at, Fulton, Missouri, ah, what a suck, at least it wasn't that damn fuel pump again, just the rotor button and distributor cap.  So what else would you expect me to do but get AAA plus to tow me as close as possible to St. Louis (got the full 100 miles), got a hotel room, had triple A tow the van (continuation of tow) from the motel to a dealership, then promptly rented a car and drove to Louisville.  What the fuck else would I do?  Well, Louisville was cool, skated, drank, slept, then drove back to pick up my van and continue home.  Fucking great, cruising, no air conditioning, stoked!  Illinois, State Trouper, that is, 74 in a 55 going into a fucking construction zone.  So I'm back in Ohio now.  Oh yeah, sorry to the bill collector that called me when I was trying to figure out where to get my car fixed, well maybe I'm not sorry, check this out:  Dude call's saying my bill is behind get my check book so he can do a check by phone thing, I heard that and I went off on the dude yelling that "I'm stuck in Missouri been broken down 6 or 7 times, spent over $1000 on fixing my van and it aint working, and you want me to get my check book"  he started saying I was being rude so I proceeded to yell something like "you cocksucker, eat a bag of dicks", I had totally lost my mind, "eat a bag of dicks", who came up with that one, it sounds so disgusting.  Ah, whatever, dude definitely caught me at a bad time.


The final tow (Monday night in Missouri.     Welcome to Illinois, evidently they don't like speeders.
Welcome to Ohio, glad to see this sign, even made it all the way to Dayton and my home, now to figure out how to pay for this fiasco.  The dude from my credit card can still eat a bag of dicks as well.