Photos and video courtesy of Tony Archibeque Jr., words by Aaron Gates
Left to right: Andrew Lazaruk (Macneil), Greg Rooke, Ryan Hiebert, Aaron Gates, John Hussey, Tony Archibeque Jr., Tom Kalmanidis (Sidewall/Hoffman), Mat Ridgeway, Shamus Kelliher, Ras Graveson, Kurt Murseli, Donald Delp, Dalton Holt (Stranger), Matt Desson (1664/S&M).
‘Don’s in jail and we got in a fight with bikers!’ This was Tony’s summary of the trip on day two, shouted out of a car window at a couple of friends. It certainly captures the two most prominent events during our three day weekend in Oregon. Take 15 people from Washington, BC, Connecticut and Massachusetts to Portland for a few days and things are bound to happen.
Donald Delp came on the trip with 11 dollars, 8 of which were spent at the first night’s buffet. He killed it all weekend, and then he got bored at Burnside and decided to put some unsolicited art on a wall at 9 a.m. A police officer greeted us down through the monster bite, ‘Do you guys know Don… Donald Delp… he’s got some things he needs to take care of.’ So Don went to jail for the day and experienced life on the other side. Once out, he continued to shred and was in good spirits despite having his shoelaces taken away only hours earlier.
After our Burnside session, a couple of locals (one of them was reportedly Ben ‘Twin Fin’ McEwen) followed us to Starbucks and spat on Desson. A few punches were thrown before Kurt Murseli decided to break up the fight by putting both of the other guys in a headlock at the same time. ‘Come back to the park alone’ was their parting offer to someone in the group (I don’t know who, there were 15 of us). None of us are that invested in fighting about a skatepark.
The rest of the trip was a tour of parks. We were in Oregon, so that was perfect. We rode one street spot, the school beside Glenhaven skatepark, and Desson slayed the manliest rail I’ve ever seen done in person. Three sets of eight stairs with a large bush beside it that he kept disappearing into. West Linn, Glenhaven, Tigard, Burnside, Battleground, Vancouver and Seaside in two days, then a beach fire on the Oregon Coast. We didn’t even ride the last day. The ghetto mansion drove back to Vancouver in time for work on Monday and we took a leisurely drive up the Oregon and Washington coasts. We ate seafood, Dolphin bought a pirate kite and most of us old guys were too sore to move anyways.
Andrew Lazaruk looping the cradle in Battleground, WA.
Lazerdick and a classic downside table at Burnside.
I'm sure this has been done a thousand times, but Andrew makes it look really good....
The debate around this rail centered around the probability of anyone having done it before. One one hand, it's at a school right next to one of the most popular public skateparks in Oregon, on the other hand, it's a monster. Either way, Matt Desson got it done.
Shamus Kelliher in West Linn, Or.
West Linn is a place for tables. Andrew Lazaruk clicks one before noon in Oregon.
Tom Kalmanidis in the giant industrial area that is Kent, WA.
There's nothing more classic than riding curb cuts. Shamus Kelliher in Seattle.
It wouldn't be a Seattle street session without a trip to the most overexposed wallride in the northwest.
Greg Rooke brings something new to the Garfield wallride.
