[PhilDawson8270]

So, I got my board!

And I have been rolling around the garden, but I need somewhere else to learn to roll about a bit more. I tried Toys 'r' Us car park this morning, but wasn't very smooth, and couldn't roll very far between pushes.

I was thinking about having a skate around Sankey Valley Park after lunch, are there any good quite spots for beginners around Warrington? Any hidden little gems?

[Fozzz]

Warrington is lame to skate, but I know a few ok-ish spots

The stair sets by the market are pretty cool; don't know if there's any sort of security issues, but the 1 - 9 set is a good place to learn sets
Viki park (Victoria Park) is alright, but everyone there is either elitist or a dick, plus the park is poorly laid out for beginners, so I'd stay clear for a while
I usually skate a small park in Birchwood - it's alright, it has a couple of quarter pipes in various sizes and a relatively smooth surface to play about on

[PhilDawson8270]

That's just over the hill at Birchwood Park isn't it?

I went school too many years ago at Birchwood High What's that area like for druggys and chavs now? I remember it being a haven for them lol.

When is Birchwood Skate Park quite? I imagine during school times?

[Fozzz]

I went to Birchwood High too! When I moved from Warrington I was glad to get away from the place, but every time I visit these days it's really nice; the kids tend to stay indoors more these days and the park is always empty on schooldays (well, the odd parent brings their kid on, but they're all very nice). It's also relatively quiet on the weekends, usually there's only ever myself (during summer) or my rollerblading friend there but you get the odd skater and a few BMXers occaisionally. A good place to chill.

The park is hidden away in forest park, but it's signposted and easy enough to find

[PhilDawson8270]

I may have come across you, from your site you're only a year younger than me! I worked with a guy from BCHS in your year too.

I'll probs head over there next week sometime. The car parks were busy when I went back out, so spent time trying to ollie in the garden, and now my legs ache! It's harder on the muscles than it looks!

[PhilDawson8270]

Interesting day! I spent the morning at Birchwood skatepark, landed a couple of ollies, but most of the time I seem to be pushing the board away from me.

Then after lunch, went down to Victoria Park to have a look, and it was empty so got the board out, and I know what you mean! It's far faster to move on than Birchwood and very unforgiving with balance. Found that going up and down ramps is far more difficult than it looks, though I did manage to go down one of the smaller ramps (the one in the middle that has a rail going over it)

So quite a fun day!!

[Fozzz]

Good stuff! Ollies tend to be tricky at first but after a while they'll come to you naturally! Viki Park is fun to ride around when it's empty, but the parks design encourages people to go fast; which usually leads to BMXers haring round the park

I learnt to rock fakie on the mini quarter at Birchwood, it's an excellent quarter for learning basic stall tricks. However, as I can suggest from my own experiences, be careful when transitioning to Viki Park; the coping tends to stick out a bit more, and my first rock fakie attempt sent me flying to the floor comewhat painfully. Never tried it there agin. Don't make the same mistake I did!

[PhilDawson8270]

I also encountered my first speed wobble!

I went down the hill near the play area at Forest Park, the one near the toilets, that's like a downhill S Bend.

Was quite unnerving when it started to wobble, but I managed to get to the bottom still on the board!

Not sure if you have seen it, but I posted a vid of an ollie attempt in the ollie thread.

[Fozzz]

Tried to watch your video but for some reason it won't let me

I know the hill you mean, back when I first began I fell off there many a time, it's a nice place to practice balance and speed downhill though; not many other spots around Birchwood really, was thinking of trekking to the Birchwood Centre when I move back home this summer and checking out the mini 3-4 sets out the back (near where all the cash machines are, on the way to the train station)

[PhilDawson8270]

I know where you mean, my fingerprint is on that triangle thing outside the doors to the centre lol!

Was down there again today, and I am getting better, The video SHOULD work now I hope, it works for me anyway!

Try this link
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=C7lK7poptNQ

Fitted my Bones Reds bearings that arrived too today, you'll have to give me a shout when you're back in Warrington, kind of surprising that you're in Preston, my other half is at Uni there.

This post has been edited by PhilDawson8270: 10 February 2010 - 05:17 PM

[Fozzz]

Small world, my fingerprint is on that thing as well! I'm 3 in from one of the corners, I forget which one

Nice to see the park again, decent looking ollie attempt there, you've got nice pop, you've just got to slide your front foot down the board a bit more when you're in the air to level it off (although I'm not the best at ollie advice).

The uni here has some great spots, they're only skateable at night though (I used to skate in the market carpark with a few Sk8uk regulars (well, ex regulars), that was good fun)

[PhilDawson8270]

So my front foot isn't sliding high enough?

That may explain why I can land them more often with less of a pop.