A large proportion of my weekend skating time is taken up by organising, picking people up and driving out to skateparks in far-flung suburbs. It can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a massive pain in the ass. Sorry, arse. I prefer ass. Anyway, today was such a lovely day and I didn't even want to think about all that stuff. So I went to Fitzroy bowl.
It's a famous place that has always been just down the road from where I live, in a sweet park. But I hardly go there, and neither does anyone else I know. It's something to do with the 'bowly' vibe, which seems to involve a lot of drinking and yelling and living up to the obnoxious perception a lot of people have of skaters. But today we went there and it was just wonderful.
Dave has been skating there a bit lately and has been working on some very pleasurable lines. One of the locals - Paddy - was also there, skating the bowl in a way that was actually quite remarkable and beautiful. He told me a few tricks to the place and it helped me to enjoy it more too. At one point, all of us were skating around in a big circle, taking turns flying out of the bowl, laughing maniacally, even Sam. I should've taken a photo of Sam skating, actually, but I was too busy skating myself.
Here's Riley doing a lovely frontside grind. It was such a nice vibe. Nice to be in the middle of everything for a change, rather than out somewhere weird and unfamiliar. Nice to be around other people hanging out in the park, enjoying the sunshine. It was nice that Tess could run around and do her own thing, even if she insisted on barking at people when they were in the middle of tricks. And noone was drunk or yelling stuff. It was cool!
