Andy just sent me the dreamcatcher teeshirt from the New Zealand trip, that one time when I smashed my collar bone into painful fragments. Remember? It was around 2005 and the trip was with P-Stone, O’Meally, Mumford, Shane Cross, Duffy, Chet, Strubing & Mendizibal. Mumford had recently quit Zero and was attempting to make some waves with his Legacy brand under the Dwindle umbrella. Hence Duffy, Strubing and Shane.
Staring into the empty eye-sockets of that longhorn skull the dreamcatcher prompted me to search through an old hard drive.
Photos emerged featuring P-Stone rocking hair like he’d lost a bet.
Still smiling, still stoked.
Mendizibal blazed the pipe at New Lynn. This park is rad. Legend has it the plans were sent from the states in inches and the local contractors read them as centimeters. Full Spinal Tap Stonehenge shit. Amazing. If you watch Riding the Long White Cloud you can hear me say the same thing in real voice words.
Rhyss let us crash at his house and showed us around Auckland. He looks a bit shifty here but he’s a good lad, Rhyss. Hope you’re doing well, mate.
At the time of the trip Andy Henry was working as a post-grad in some neuroscience department of NYU. He joined in on the trip just because. Smart dude old Andy. Intelligent. Erudite.
If Andy hadn’t come on the trip then nobody would have put Petrol in the Diesel tank. This made him feel less smart. It made him question the value of all that time reading dumb science books.
Siphon skills remedied that. Andy drained that tank into a pair of 10-Gallon containers while Pat smoked cigs within spitting range. 
At this other old bowl thing I can’t remember the name of Chet screeched through a few of his classic signature backside bluntslides while O’Meally lurked in the bushes.
The trusty Mountain Co-op hammock strung up behind Rhyss’s place.
Rowdy Roddy Piper?
Justin erupted from the volcano like a hot blast of lava fire.
What’s your secret, Justin?
It’s simple.
What’s your secret, Chet?
Other stuff happened and then I got broke off. Tried a dumb trick on an 8 foot high concrete vert ramp. In Riding the Long White Cloud Rick does multiple Miller Flips on the same ramp. When we realized my collar bone was shattered Duffy assured me it would be fine. “I’ve broken my collar bone like 20 times or something” he said. Very reassuring. Thanks for that, Pat. In due course the fragments fused and the pain subsided.
Good to see this article, always a good time reading these posts. The ol’ collar bone, ugh! I know this is from an older trip, but still hurts to think about. Just did some ribs on a mini ramp after skating Channel Street for 5 days unscathed. Figures, get all Riley on the mini ramp and end up doing a banana peeler to broken ribs. Bollocks! Just checked that new board on Zero you have..Good specs mate! Like that size board a lot. Cheers!
Rattray, New Lynn bowl has since had a semi-upgrade. Come back and give it a classic riverdance. Cheers.