HOLLYWOOD
AN YOUR D
PEAK
by Potatohead
Remember Columbus and his radical quest for
unknown territory? Well, he didn't just wake up
one day in 1492 and say "Let's go discover the
new world." It all started with proper planning.
He got a call from Queen Isabella, who hooked
him up with a trio of yachts (Nina, Pinta, Santa
Maria). Stoked on his new cruisers, Chris drew
up a map, shanghaied a posse of sailors, grab-
bed some grub, some herbs and a few gold coins
and cut out. Enough history for now-but the
story of ol' Chris illustrates a point: proper plan-
ning is the best way to get the most mileage out
of your skate day.
Now, you already know your world is round, but
before you hop on your Ninja, get in your Pinto
or fire up the Catalina and tear out looking for
new skate worlds, you should take an extra mo-
ment to map out your route. Even if the area you
live in isn't a haven for schools, pools, ditches,
ramps or even hills, you can conquer more ter-
rain in a day's light if you know where you're
going beforehand. Here's how to do it:
Everyone knows at least 7 or 11 spots (includ-
ing the parking lot at 7-11). What you do is get
all your bros together and make a list of every
curb, parking lot, street, driveway, hill, ditch,
ramp, pool and hotel lobby in the area. Get a
street map of your county, tag all those spots with
a marker, and you're ready to start pickin' and
choosin'. Try to map out a fairly circular route that
will bring you back to where you started. Simply
eliminate the lame spots and those that aren't on
the direct route. It's efficiency in action, dude! You
may get so well organized that you start to feel
like an adult, but don't let it get you down.
So now you have the killer map, but how are
you going to get to all the choice slabs? Getting
a ride in a car is by far the best solution. If you
have one, get going. If not, you'll have to apply
yourself a little harder. Try to bum a ride from
anyone you possibly can; your parents, your
girl(or boy)friend, your grandma, the milkman-
whoever is willing. If your powers of persuasion
fail you, it's time to look elswhere for transporta-
tion. The bus is cheap and there are usually
weirdos to look at. If you're broke, just strap your
board to the back of your old ten-speed. If you're
really broke and you sold your ten-speed to buy
a new deck, just start pushing bro! In some
cities (San Francisco for example), the best
skating is on the streets between the actual
"spots." After all, that is why we call it street
skating, isn't it?
NOW WRITE
THIS DOWNV
AND DONT
TEI ANY
BODY!!
UNDERSTAND
DA
If you've got the hot-rod rollin', you'll be able
to take along the full equipment set up: street and
vert skates or a backup in case of breakage,
H₂O by the jug, a good pair of gloves, a map of
the area, tools for fast repairs, a broom, extra
parts (kingpins, nuts, bolts, baseplates), a towel
and shorts (in case one of those pools is full). If
you're busing it, a small backpack with pads,
hardware and tools will be cool, and your hip
pouch with a skate wrench will probably suffice
if you're going to be on your plank the whole time.
In any case, don't forget that extra twenty cents
to call mom so she can bail you out of jail.
Got all that info memorized? Good deal. Now
let's look at an example: a well-planned day for
a serious skater in the Southern California area,
Venice to be exact. You wake up at 8:30 a.m. and
head to the beach to hook up with the boys. You
break out the map and decide to work your way
out to Upland skatepark (some 60 miles inland).
Not too far away from the beach is a school that
has a cool bank with a curbstone (good for at least
an hour), then you're off to a mini-ramp nearby.
After the ramp, it's up Sunset Boulevard to the
school yards that bred the skaters of the past and
present. Paul Revere, Kenter, give 'em each an
hour, then it's off to Bronson Canyon (where the
cheesy joust scene in Thrashin' was shot) for a
little ditch audition in the hills of Hollywood. If your
start was early enough, you could have about five
spots under your velcro by 1 p.m. Lunchtime!
O.K. Grab a quick bite at the Sunset Grill.
Check out the meat, check out a few guitars at
Illustration by Ancell
Waldo's, then head off to Orange County for a
quick Sadlands-Euclid U-Flower Street session.
Then sail up the 57 freeway to the 10 toward
Cucamonga with a brief stop at 6th Street ditch,
Foothill ditch, and the Egg Bowl (with Salba and
Micke's O.K.). Next, shred Pipeline skatepark,
then shoot out to Etiwanda (a ditch within a ditch)
for a sunset soul session. Or choose Etiwanda
first then hit the park for a night session. So we
covered about 75 miles and 10 skatespots in one
direction. If that wasn't enough, we could throw
in a quick 40 m.p.h. run down the end of Mt. Baldy
road above Upland skatepark. And if you're hard-
core, you can raid one of many parking structures
in L.A. county for a midnight to 3 a.m. session.
Always keep in mind that you want to visit as
many spots as possible. If, at the end of the day,
you've skated a street, a ditch, a ramp and maybe
a pool...well, you've just fulfilled every skater's
dream. So stop dreamin' and start rippin'.
KILLER DITCH
CAMINO
E