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03/11/2002 Entry: "DIY Skating"
One day, a long time ago, I found a skate spot, hidden down a trail behind a large white building. It was a drainage ditch that featured a really fun little bank, that I knew would be even better with some additions. So, I set to work building it up with concrete and parking blocks. It took a lot of long summer days, hauling 50 lb. bags of concrete down the path, and using water from the little stream nearby to mix it. I remember coming home covered in cement dust that slowly hardened as I sweated. In the end, the spot was pretty gnarly, with the transition being uneven and rough, but it was a lot more fun than it used to be. Last December when I was home, I spent an hour one cold afternoon skating it, falling on the sandpaperish cement, and lamenting that the coping I had put in the cement was ripped out and nowhere to be seen.
But what I find so neat about it all is that this kid wrote about the bank, ("features a hidden quarter pipe"), and has skated it. Even though it's been almost 5 years since I built it, and I now live about 2500 miles away, it's good to know the spot's still being sessioned.
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