19 April 2005
Community Skatepark
I have been dying to go skating at The Gap skate bowl. So today I dragged my non-skatey friend down on the $15 housemate's skateboard, along with my $15 skateboard. The community skate bowl is covered in quality grafitti from the local youth, demonstrating how popular the place is. I was keen to go there early while the kids were all still in school. (So much for bringing us together!)
This skate park is quite advanced with a double inground bowl type arrangement. No little ramps for beginners here. My friend and I barely had enough co-ordination to skate in a straight line, let alone drop in. Yet with no small challenges to conquer, we only had the big drop to contend with. I reckon it was about a 1.2m swell, with no onshore breezes. Tough. Having smashed my arse back in '87 on the Jindalle half pipe, I was quite weary of the dangers that lay ahead. My friend, whose arse had not known such peril, thought it was worth a go. No sooner had he rolled over the edge, his whole body had smashed into the concrete, sideways. This certainly was no place for beginners. As I fussed over his meowing body, some other kids rocked up to the death pit. These kids were about 25 years old and they knew how to skate. We tried to play cool and kept skating back and forth on the flats. But some-how the cracks in our professional skater armour were beginning to show. Maybe it was the crab claw appearance of my friends swollen wrist. Maybe it was all the knee and wrist and elbow pads I was wearing. Whatever, it was time for us to go, and let the big boys play.
This place sorts out the men from the boys. I told my friend he had much bigger testicles than me. It was the least I could say to cheer him up. He told me that I don't even have testicles. I am not sure if he was refering to my anatomy or my courage. Either way, my lack of testosterone means I am not hurting today like he is. My caution however keeps me fit for tomorrow, when I will go back there, and become one with the curvatures of the bowl of death.
For details on the Walter Bridge skatepark :
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:STANDARD:780036341:pc=PC_932
Here is also a link to another skateboarding story from a lass in Melbourne:
http://tomsprincess182.blogspot.com/2005/02/skateboarding-injury.html
This skate park is quite advanced with a double inground bowl type arrangement. No little ramps for beginners here. My friend and I barely had enough co-ordination to skate in a straight line, let alone drop in. Yet with no small challenges to conquer, we only had the big drop to contend with. I reckon it was about a 1.2m swell, with no onshore breezes. Tough. Having smashed my arse back in '87 on the Jindalle half pipe, I was quite weary of the dangers that lay ahead. My friend, whose arse had not known such peril, thought it was worth a go. No sooner had he rolled over the edge, his whole body had smashed into the concrete, sideways. This certainly was no place for beginners. As I fussed over his meowing body, some other kids rocked up to the death pit. These kids were about 25 years old and they knew how to skate. We tried to play cool and kept skating back and forth on the flats. But some-how the cracks in our professional skater armour were beginning to show. Maybe it was the crab claw appearance of my friends swollen wrist. Maybe it was all the knee and wrist and elbow pads I was wearing. Whatever, it was time for us to go, and let the big boys play.
This place sorts out the men from the boys. I told my friend he had much bigger testicles than me. It was the least I could say to cheer him up. He told me that I don't even have testicles. I am not sure if he was refering to my anatomy or my courage. Either way, my lack of testosterone means I am not hurting today like he is. My caution however keeps me fit for tomorrow, when I will go back there, and become one with the curvatures of the bowl of death.
For details on the Walter Bridge skatepark :
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:STANDARD:780036341:pc=PC_932
Here is also a link to another skateboarding story from a lass in Melbourne:
http://tomsprincess182.blogspot.com/2005/02/skateboarding-injury.html
