Year-round, people trickle into Northern California to skate-
board. Most of these skateboard enthusiasts are attracted to
San Francisco. Perhaps, they are fured by the opportunity to
find their pot of gold, in this case skateboard stardom. If this is
the true intention for their journey, then SF may be the right
destination. However, some of these travellers have a more gen
uine interest in skateboarding, but they are unaware of the vari
ety of skate spots in Northern California. Unfortunately, they are
only informed about SF and overlook the East Bay. They do not
realize that the Golden Gate leads to more than San
Francisco. This is not saying that SF does not have a lot to offer,
but a lot of travellers are not getting the biggest bang for their
buck Perhaps, the best way to illustrate my point is by com
paring and contrasting the East Bay with San Francisco
If you are interested in skateparks, the East Bay definitely
has more to offer. San Francisco has only one public park,
and by the time you read this article, this park will probably
be nonexistent. On the other hand, there are several parks to
explore within the 510 area code. If you are looking for a mel-
low cement park, then Bericia is an excellent place to note on
your agenda. It consists of several hips with ample boosting
potential. In addition to having a hassle-free session, it costs
zero dollars. The other two parks are also free of charge. San
Leandro is a wooden park with several obstacles and is easily
accessible by public transportation. The third park is located in
Pleasanton. It is all cement, and it consists of hips and ledges
If skateparks do not interest you, then you do not need to worry.
There is a huge variety of terrain to be had in the East Bay
If you like parking your car and just cruising around,
Oakland is the place to go. The "home of the rock" is similar
to San Francisco since it has a city atmosphere, but it is dif
ferent because there is not as much pedestrian traffic. Or, it
you are a paranoid person who does not trust city folk, then
check out the East Bay suburbs. Deep in the East Bay, you
can find Walnut Creek and Concord. There are numerous
ledges to skate here. You can find them in all shapes and
sizes and, if you're lucky, you might find Doug Saenz and be
privileged enough to skate with him.
In conclusion, I would advise you not to believe the hype.
You should try to avoid tunnelvision and instead widen your
scope and look to the periphery, because it would be a pity to
travel all the way to Northern California and visit only one city.
Brian Chung
70
CEL
Sequence The Ter-
rys stopped running
to Jack London
Square in 1937 but
Mike York cores
nil about that while
he tailstides to
Takie a waterfront
fait Left In the
old Alcatel poot
smoothie Charles
sweeps it up That
page Berkeley
College major
Brian Chung nottie
backside tailstides
a friendly ledge
Previous spread
Seventh Street Pier
has many rails from
which to choose
Jerry Fisher found
one to call his own