Do you find it hard to find the right skate spot?
There are many, but many factors make the site right for you!
Is it a pay site?
Is there vert / street / freestyle / bowl / jump?
A good place to find out is at Perth's own Head Quarters located in Leederville.
"Is there a place where I can find all I need in a skate park, I asked?"
"Here is such a place" they replied.
But, I did have reservations about the lack of pad hire and membership. Surely these were essential things at a skate park.
So, I decided to try find another park with the right combination.
I got on the train and rode into the city. I thought about having a skate here but I know by now that all the good spots have been prohibited, disabled for smooth usage or wrecked by over usage. So instead on looking for the form of a skate park, I decided to look for the colours of one. The graffiti trails lead me to "City Farm".
It was Sunday and City Farm is all locked up and nobody is there.
I was just about to leave when a chicken spoke up and asked;
"Hello, can I help you?"
I was pretty surprised but I told it I was looking for a skate park with the right attitude and facilities.
"Oh, I'm sorry" it said, "I don't get out much, so I can't really help you on that score….you will have to ask the duck over by the bath tub, those ducks get about all over the place". So I called out to one of the ducks, who flew over to see if it could help. When I told it what I wanted, it told me that skate parks were not the sort of thing it knew about at all. I described what they typically looked like and when I said they were often made with concrete…it gave the duck an idea.
"Why not ask a moth?"
Moths, the duck said, were masters of camouflage and sought grey concrete so to stay concealed. Crete is a bit dry so moths also needed a drink now and then. Usually they could be found at car yards where cleaners squirt water about all over the place. This I knew to be a fact, because I am a car cleaner my self, so I decided to head into work even though it was my day off. I caught the 21 bus into Morley and got off near my work.
When I arrived at my work place, I saw on of the moths sitting on a rock ledge.
"What are you doing here today Mike?" It asked.
"Never mind that" I replied "Do you know where a skate park around here is?"
It shook its little head and said "You should have stayed on the bus and got off at the Aquatic Centre. But it's not too bad. If you keep going down Broun Ave you will pass the Aquatic Centre and eventually reach a park with soccer fields. It's on the right before you go over the highway on a bridge".
I thanked the moth and headed off. Soon I arrived at the park. Bayswater Skate Park is not to close to Bayswater suburb at all but it's worth the trip. It's a free to skate facility, with nice grassy banks to sit on. There is no membership or pad hire either, but you don't really expect that at a public site. So it was that I had a good skate with out feeling ripped off by a system that no longer cared or was falling into anarchy.
Not many people skate with pads here, but with Beyond Skate not far away, that's a personal discission that the individual can make. Helmets can not only save your brains, but they also shield you from the duck shit! Knee pads deter moths from making their homes on 'crete dusted knees and elbows. A bit of consideration keeps everyone happy.
And that's the happy ending.
By Mike
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