exp skate: Motherland Stomp Day 21

I left Santa Clara this morning in route to one of the greatest cities and greatest names in skateboarding from my childhood. SC was only about an hour from Joe Ho’s house and all was good.

By the way, thanks again Joe!! He put me up for 3 nights – great guy!! Last night we went to his friend’s house, the Beautiful Linda and had home made Taiwanese food. Great stuff!! It was great meeting you all, Reny, Tom, Christine and special thanks to Linda for welcoming me into her home for dinner!!

I got in to Santa Cruz just before 10am and stayed until 2pm! That is how rad this park is!! I didn’t want to leave! It is a Wormhout park but it is a good one! I believe that Peggy O designed it. It is not a super park and it is not a small park, it is probably the perfect size. This is the one with the full pipe shaped like a wave!! So cool! I have been drooling over this one for a long time and was so stoked to finally get to ride it!!

Calabro came here earlier this year but didn’t get to ride it cause it was raining. I was a little worried driving in because as soon as I got on 1 it got really cloudy. But thanks to the skate gods, it did not rain and I probably had one of the best sessions since Lincoln City. The flow with the full pipe is tight but not too tight and the walls are not 14’ tall either. It is a very able bowl for intermediate, experienced riders and pros. Most of the Worm parks seem to be made for Danny Way and Tony Hawk or something. This one was made for skaters.

The bowl had great flow and not too much flat bottom like most of the other worm parks that I have skated. Also, the poor is pretty good too. Louisville has a questionable poor, the vert is very wavy and the metal coping sucks. San Jose is a huge step up from Louisville but is so cookie cutter. Sac too. I must say that the SC park has none of those bad features. I don’t know if it is the vibe of the town, the history or just the design (maybe all three) but I am stoked on this park. I also really like the coping and the tile!!

The pool on the other hand is one of the raddest things I have skated on this trip! It is tight and big but not too big or too tight. I don’t want to say that it is forgiving because it is not! The shallow is over 5’ with 1’ of vert and the deep is probably 10 with 2’ of vert. I think that for my interest, this one works for me. Maybe because it is a peanut shape or there are no stairs or? But I felt like I could ride this thing. A couple locals were ripping everything there today and I enjoyed joining the sesh.

Thanks for a great sesh Rich!!

Some of the kids were shredding too and everyone there was really cool. Zero attitude and everyone there was about skateboarding and just skateboarding. Most of them were surfers too, so I had to geek out and ask all kinds of questions about all that. This one SC ripper guy Dave Friel showed and just shredded the bowl, it really got me going. I finally got some faster lines in there and was starting to go for it a little. I just wish I was with a group and just could go to 11 in there. Just have to remember, long drive home and many more parks to ride!!