people could handle. Unfortunately, in true street
style, many of the locals ignored the transitions and
opted to stand at the bottom of the ramps and t
push their way back and forth to the noseslide box."
Notable exceptions were Billy Tylaska, Tony Lauro,
former Life superstar Dennis Martin, and especially
the spectacular John Comer who redballed through
the course, flew high and still managed to get his
flippers in. The next time you hear someone talk
about how they can't skate because their griptape
sucks or their shoes feel funny, show them a picture
of John Comer. He skates so much better than you
despite having a prosthetic leg-my new hero.
Although the park is a good place to start, the
locals told us about tons of skate treasures in down-
town and around the city that we didn't get to see.
Make sure and ask around if you ever go to Dallas.
Fred told us
funny hump
stories until
we were pee-
ing our pants
with laughter.
That night we landed a place to sleep from a nice
guy named Roger whose talking bird scared the
crap out of me when it started going off early the
next morning. Thanks again Roger.
After a festive breakfast at the Waffle House,
we were off to the small town of College Station,
Texas, not because it's some great skate place, but
because I lived there for eight years and knew some
fun people to visit. We arrived at my friend JB's
house and were entertained for hours as he and my
other friend Fred told us funny hump stories until
we were peeing our pants with laughter.
While skateboarding might get you dates in
places like California, in small conservative towns
like College Station, skating is considered about as
cool as wetting your pants. Therefore it was not
surprising that the kids we skated with were the
46
same kids that skated when I lived there four
years ago. The only difference is that no one,
was wearing Vision Street Wear, and Owen,
the cute ten year old mascot of the skate
scene, was now a funny looking fourteen year
old cigarette smoker.
We sampled some of the old spots includ-
ing Church Banks, Bryan High, and the Texas
A&M Campus before Marcus broke his board.
Unfortunately, the local shop, The Factory,
had only one board and no griptape.
Nevertheless, with recycled grip, we contin
ued on to session the China Banks (named so
not because it resembles the SF spot but
because it's next to a Chinese restaurant)
Boo-yoal Billy Tylaska (above) flies over the big pyro-
mid at Phillip's. Austinite Chris Robison (left) kickflips
in the Guadalupe ditch while Texas' mentally disabled
sit across the street in rubber rooms. Car Bomb (oppo-
site top) rocks out for the punk rock nerds in Austin.
and the abandoned Wal-Mart where the locals
constructed miniature benches (much like
California's mini-picnic tables.) Although
College Station was kind of fun, I'm really
happy that I don't live there anymore.
Leaving my childhood friends behind, we
went to the state capitol, Austin. Okay, if you
don't already know, Austin's the new Seattle,
so it was chock full of freaks. If you're an angst
teen in Texas, Austin is the place for you, as
was evident by the packs of raggedy-looking
kids, many with skateboards, that roam the
downtown area.
After checking out local punk stars Car
Bomb, we made a few calls to the local shop,
Blondie's, before hitting the hay at the lovely
Michelle's, who, despite living in Austin, was
not very angst and actually quite friendly.
ROAD
TRIP
EATS
FREE 720z STEAK
TERBIG TEXAN MARILLO
With most of the street spots off-limits until
after business hours, we found ourselves at the
Guadalupe ditch, located across the street
from the Texas State Mental Hospital (where 1.
had coincidentally gone to see pinheads on a
high school psychology class field trip some
years earlier.) The ditch was smooth and had a
low wall at one end that we all recognized as
the one Salman Agah had tallslid in a Real ad.
We were soon joined by friendly locals Kenny
Wood and Chris Robison, who showed us some
lines before taking us to another spillway-the
Lizard Ditch.
While most ditches stopped being fun soon
after the hazard faded in popularity, the Lizard,
Ditch keeps the kids coming back with a spine
perfect for launching any and all of the latest
flippers. Later we went to the Best Banks which
featured the finest natural hip I have ever t
encountered. Like Dallas, Austin has a ton of
street spots that can be found if you have the
time. We didn't because the next morning we
left for Houston.
The home of Bushwick Bill, the Astrodome,
and the original huge metal ramps, Houston is
one hell of a large city with a long list of places
to ride skateboards. As luck would have it, the
legendary Skatepark of Houston is up for sale
and open only on the weekends, so we missed
skating one of the most long-lived skateparks
in the country. Someone with a rich dad should
go snatch that place up before some roller-
blader buys it and gives it a dumb name.
Fortunately, after a trip to the EZ-7 ditch, we
found our way to the new Southside Skatepark,
an Indoor park featuring a mini-ramp combo
restaurag
While Mom might suggest that you pack a cooler, unless you are into
changing the ice everyday you'll be facing a big tub of water with a few
chapped bananas floating around in it that you have to lug around.
If fast food is your thing, Subway's veggie and Taco Bell's bean burrito
will fill you up for cheap.
If it's your car, make sure the slobs you brought with you don't drop
fries and shit in the cracks of the seats.
Don't buy stinky foods like chili cheese Fritos and those alligator chips
unless you want the entire car to fight you.
If you've got a big day of driving ahead of you, avoid things that will
give you sewer butt. A big night of boozing will have the whole car
dropping bombs for hundreds of painful miles.
While the security of the Super Value Meal is reassuring, try out some
of the local dives for food and possible entertainment.
Set aside some money for the end of the trip so you can eat a nice
meal when it's the last day and you feel like crap.
The waitress at Restaurant in Post, Texas, had brown teeth from
drinking well water all her life. Kevin (above) just had a big old glass.