Like the NYC Invite itself, our plans for the event seemed to come together at the last minute. That’s not really true, as I’d find out later, but it’s how it seemed at the time. But this story doesn’t start in New York. It starts in Newark.

Tim Franken is from Belleville, NJ, but he’s lived in San Diego for a minute. Belleville is a small town and Tim told me the two houses his family has lived in are just a few blocks from each other. We were only about 20 minutes from the airport. Despite proximity to burnt out husks of industry and the most crooked highways you’ve ever seen, this hometown was quiet and with a distinct air of North East flavor. As good a place to call home as you can ask for.

Friday night was mostly a late arrival in Newark and hanging out. Laughs. Kicking it with Dan the Seth Rogan lookalike. Knowing that there was no way to predict what would be waiting at Coleman Skatepark when we arrived. But we did know that Saturday wasn’t just the NYC Invite, it was also Tim’s 25th birthday. Nice coincidence. When I woke up I was informed a hotel on Wall Street had been booked for the night and we were going to catch the train into the city. With no idea how secure any gear I couldn’t carry on my back would be at the event, it was time to pack light.

At the Newark train station we started running into bladers. We started multiplying. I got the shot: Blades on a train.

When we got off the train, we were at Ground Zero — the World Trade Center. I’ve been to NYC four or five or six times, something like that. This was my first time at the WTC site. No time to think though because our mob of ten quickly strapped up and started out for the Williamsburg Bridge. The construction workers looked on and one commented to another that “it’d be a good way to get around, no doubt about it.”