We all love it when a plan comes together. 

This plan went to absolute shit! 

Originally we were mapped out to make it on bikes through all five boroughs of New York, skating parks along the way. Magical stuff. The weather had other plans for us biking hopefuls. It was absolutely pissing down in New York and Nora’s flight got canceled, setting us back a day on what was going to be a four day trip. Not the best start. 

It is all about how you recover, right? Well, we recovered with smiles, alcoholic Kombucha and the likes in hand. A couple boroughs weren’t gonna make the schedule but we were gonna ride bikes, skate some parks and burn the candle at both ends no matter what the universe could throw at us. So we jumped on our bikes (supplied by the legends over at Fairdale) and got on our way…

 Our first Air BNB smelt like cat piss and the neighbors were having a 4AM rager but our hopes were still high on blue skies and slappy days. We woke to more rain. This ended up being the theme of our trip. It is nice to be humbled a little when you have a crew like ours cause it reminds you that no matter what, all you need is friends and a good attitude - fuck a plan.

We had a whole day without our hero Nora. We didn’t really want to start trekking through the boroughs yet cause we thought we might still be able to pull them all off once she got there so we took a ferry over to New Jersey to check out a mini ramp with an epic view of the city. Jack hit the high ropes and walked away with this FS Grind (below).

Jiro/ Jill - what’s the difference? Mr Platt came to save the day and replace Mrs Perkins’ who got left in a puddle on the runway in Salt Lake City. So long as there is a JP on the trip, I’m a happy button clicker. Kids got skills on a Fairdale too. And no, that’s not the Harbour Bridge in the backgrounds, we were in rainy Queens, Astoria. 

From the onset of this trip I said ‘we’ve just gotta get Jack in the air.’ He provided and Nora just rolled right through the gap in the middle. 

A Backside Tailside is like the finest of grapes squeezed into a skateboarding trick. This particular grape was grown in the Bronx, ripened amongst some graffiti and paired with the NYC Subway, a bmx, some projects and served by our sommelier - Nora. 

Andy Kessler Memorial Park in the Riverside Park of upper Manhattan is equipped with a 13 foot bowl. Yep, all 13 feet of terror. Time to fill this thing with water and add a diving board.

Get your hands on Issue 72, the Nora Vasconcellos Guest Editor Edition, here.