Sat here, the outside world passing me by,
I try to contemplate what we had done. It still doesn't compute
with my tiny baked bean like brain cell.
We had visited the majority of UK Skateparks,
37 in all, in just 11 days………….yes you read
that right 37 Skateparks in 11 days covering over 2,500 miles in
the process!
To top it all off someone else paid for
the whole experience. You can see now why I look back in disbelief.
In short this was one of the best journey's
I have ever been witness to; the people, the riding, the skating,
the feeling (the feeling that only 10 cans of Red Bull a day can
give you). Please…let me explain.
Me and good friend Dan Pratley have been
bouncing the idea of getting a publication and web site up and running,
that would cover the major UK Skateparks, for about 3 years in all
but were always halted by the lack of funding we could generate.
This was until we got up off our a** and made an application to
MIND and Millennium Awards. When they came back to us with a resounding
YES, please take this wedge of cash and go document, we were stoked
to say the least. To top it off a reputable energy drinks firm said
they would also support the road trip, so we could take 3 mates
along as well, we nearly wet ourselves.
So after many hours of face slapping for
a reality check we decided to call upon the services of Questy (fellow
Perv BMX team mate and the road trips funny man) At one point he
had an Esso garage assistant arranging the cigarette counter alphabetically
whilst pretending to be totally deaf because she was so embarrassed
by his line of questioning regarding top shelf publications - say
no more. Also along for the ride was Plymouth house mate's Twang
Sam and Dougal.
Sam is the owner of Twang Skateboard Company
and should be known as OBF (One Brave Female) Sam had the video
camera skills and has filmed a small snippet from each park we visited.
As well as having a cool name Dougal is
a top skater and has the driving endurance of a Le Mans racer. He
was roped into doing pretty much all the driving (some 2000 miles
worth!) and is now officially the best at 60 mph U turns over the
central reservation - period.
Then there is Cameraman Dan - plenty of
exposure and flashes. And Finally there's myself a stick boy who
invented a skatepark documenting system which requires a Tefal scientist
head to understand.
