Skateboarding is an inherently risky activity. Make no mistake about it. The more you skate, the greater your chances of eventually getting injured. What I can do without is the added risk involved when a facility that you pay to skate in does not sweep frequently enough, especially in the case of a wooden bowl. I know what you’re going to say, plenty of other people skate there without managing to blame their mishaps on dusty conditions. Truth is, I saw three different people eat it that night in the back bowl due to slippery masonite, but none of them were seriously injured. Fact of the matter is, my injury was 100% preventable. Believe me, I eat it all the time there without complaint, but this particular injury was caused by a dusty bowl. Maintenance will likely say “But we clean and sweep the bowl X times a month/week,” to which I reply “Not good enough. You need to increase the frequency.” Rant over. What’s the prognosis? No torn tendons or ligaments thankfully, just a lot of inflammation, fluid and a nasty contusion. Yes, I had knee pads on, thankfully, as I haven’t been wearing them there lately. 187’s with the heavy duty cap, but it felt like I was wearing socks wrapped around my knee. I used to swear by these pads, but last night I was swearing at them.
59 comments
Mac
In addition to sweeping and mopping more (thanks for addressing this, Garric), I think DoS should celebrate the 10 year anniversary by adding vert and pool coping to the deep end of the bowl. Just a thought…
egbert
Older skaters complain? I find that hard to believe.
Garric
Who knows maybe I am incorrect about who you are and if so I am sorry! Maybe it’s the nine years of people bitching about prices and how Skateboarding owes them something and how they shouldn’t have to pay. By the way I am NOT trying to typecast all older skaters as rude. Sadly there are some that are really bitter and just complain about everything.
I just wish people would understand were just trying to give Skateboarders a place to skate. Were not trying to make money were just trying to cover our costs. If we were trying to make a profit
we would have closed years ago. As I said before I’ll make a point to make sure the bowl is on point.
kilwag
Fair enough. Thanks Garric.
I can’t believe it’s been 9 years, I mean, I believe you, I’m just saying it doesn’t seem that old, but it is. Are you guys planning anything for the 10 year anniversary?
Garric
There is no need to say thanks, that’s what I am suppose to do. Like I said, I couldn’t agree more, sometimes some of the employees forget to “clean the bowl.” But to be honest the Dept isn’t a country club it’s a skate park. I know who you are and when you come and check in you bitch about the price and talk about how you shouldn’t have to pay in the first place, because you’ve been skating for so long.
In fact, I bet you spend more money at Stumptown or Subway each month then you do at Dept. You get what you pay for is all I am trying to say. I doubt you paided anymore than five dollars last Monday night. You may end up spending $10 or $15 a month here. You also make the bowl sound like it’s a giant piece of shit or something?
By the way my point with Dreamland is, in a way we all pay to skate there, we all pay taxes right? Dreamland does a great job but they’ve made mistakes too. Are you going to call them out and make them sounds like idiots on your website? Of course not!
Believe it or not, I clean the whole bowl everyday that I work. Behind the seats, all of the edges and inside the bowl, I take out the garbage as well. Everyone is suppose to clean that as well but I know it gets looked over a lot and I end up doing it. I guess I just
don’t like your attitude. If you were nice and didn’t complain about paying I guess I would feel bad about your situation.
The Dept always goes the extra mile for their customers. Were else can you pay less then the suggested price? And we haven’t raised our prices in nine years! We always cut people a break on price and let people stay over on their time. If a kid can’t afford a
helmet we’ll give him a free one. Were only rude when people talk shit and are rude to us from the get go.
I will also make sure to go out of my way to insure the bowl gets a little more attention. The guys that works on Wednesday and on Thursday mops the bowl but I’ll make sure to do it as well. Sorry if am coming kind of rude, I am just sick of the older guys complaining about price and the condition of the ramps. There hasn’t been a hole in the bowl in almost three years.
kilwag
Garric, you obviously don’t know who I am at all. I’ve never once bitched about having to pay. One time a guy wanted me to pay if I brought my board in while my (then) 3 year old skated at the kids session, I politely decided to leave my board out, since I was just there to teach my son. I think you are confusing me with someone else. If I pay more, should I expect a cleaner bowl? I mean, how do you guys make the bowl cleaner for people who go there more often?
Go reread my post and comments, at no place do I imply the bowl is shitty, just dirty. I usually enjoy skating at the Department, but your hostility makes me feel unwelcome.
If you want to email me directly, we can talk further without airing out our dirty laundry. Your employer might appreciate that too.
Garric
Well I am sorry to hear about your knee! That really sucks, I’ve had two knee surgeries myself so I know where your coming from. I actually work at The Dept and I can tell you that I spent twenty mintues sweeping the bowl Monday morning, I actually filled the whole dust pan because it was so dirty. I do agree with you that most guys do a pretty shitty job working there.
But I am a little bummed to see this post and I feel your making a little too big of a deal out of the situation. I am 27 years and and believe it or not I know how to sweep a bowl. Given Monday was really busy it was the kids last day of holiday break before going back to school. It doesn’t take long for the park to become dirty again. And I am pretty sure everyone would get bummed if I made them stop skating so I could re-sweep the bowl. And last time I checked don’t our taxes dollars pay for outdoor parks? And I am pretty sure Dreamland messed up the tranny in the bowl at Pier Park right? Actually I know I am right before Sage told me they messed it up! Have may people have been thrown to flat there? No offense, but The Dept does a pretty good job! We’ve been here for 9 years now so we must be doing something right! Like I said you have a point sometimes the bowl is dirty. But it couldn’t have been that bad Monday night because I know that I cleaned it in the morning. Sorry to say it but I think you should be pointing the finger on yourself for your knee injury not the Dept.
kilwag
Garric, I’m glad you swept that morning, thanks. I though about pretty hard before posting, because I knew some people would say it was my skill level and no the conditions. Still, I stand by what I wrote, that back bowl does not receive enough attention. Besides the bowl proper, every corner of that back room, especially behind the chairs, is filled with dust and dirt. All that stuff eventually ends up in the bowl. Sweeping obviously isn’t enough. There’s mopping and cleaning the surrounding area as well. Whatever your maintenance schedule is (What is it, by the way?) the back bowl needs to be addressed more fully. I’m not sure how you thought Dreamland and Pier Park were relevant to the conversation. When I go to a public park, I expect to have to clean it out myself, and I’m unaware of any tranny at Pier that is inherently dangerous.. unless you can’t the fact that it’s 12 feet deep!
jakeandannoy
Randy; Bottom line, I think most reasonable people understand when you have to drive, then pay to skate, you remember your money and forget to bring a mop 9x’s out of 10. Heal well, and fuck dat shit.
Talentlessquitter: I’m sure I got a lot wrong in my rant.
Its a rant. And I often get things wrong, “pobody’s nerfect”, right? right?
Ahh…but I’m aware it happened in Amsterdam, bound for Detroit.
I also had in mind the Newark incident this week and meant that it’s us in the context of airline companies,airports…um,their employees and lack of diligence should be held accountable before we blame the entities who set the security measures those employee’s and companies are playing fast and loose with.
The thing is, I don’t want to live in an America that assures another terrorist attack is impossible. Because not only is that a false promise, but the liberties, freedom and strength we would have to trade to pursue that goal would make us a pathetic country. I love America, it’s the people I have my doubts about.
houseofneil
Maybe Grow Up! doesn’t realize that it wasn’t a public skatepark, but a private one where you got injured. In a public park you take your own risks obviously, but if I’m paying to skate, that shit better be in skateable condition. There’s no excuse for that shit.
coochmon
Same thing up here in the northeast at Rye Airfield’s indoor skatelite and concrete bowls. We just grab the mop ourselves and ditch the Powell SPF’s for Rainskates 95 or 98’s. Can’t count on the teenagers working there – they aren’t too attentive to the dust.
Good luck getting better.
Talentlessquitter
Hehe,didn’t get it at first…Looked at the picture;’hm,nothing wrong here’…read the print,back to the picture;’nice socks,no dust on ’em…maybe that left kn…whoooOOOO!’
I was wondering what hardness wheel you had but it doesn’t matter,I guess.A little bit of sand on wood is enough to make my shoes slide…
I hurt my knee once,not funny.Get well man.
Guess you spend more time behind the computer now,seeing the number of posts.
JAKE;got one thing wrong there in your big rant.The guys at Schiphol (Amsterdam) airport slipped and I was ashamed of our little country.
I heard that shit that doesn’t make the news;Security used a lot of underqualified ‘staff’.New guys with only two weeks of basic training.
It’s about money again,man.
Meanwhile the headlines have turned to the freezing weather conditions over here.
Detroit Steamer
When I saw that photo it reminded me of your pineapple sized knee from the bowl at New Lennox. Sorry about the bum kickstand.
kilwag
Thing is, I rarely wear my knee pads, and even when I do, I try run out whenever I can. These pads are in really good condition actually. I’ve had a couple pairs that I’ve been going back and forth between. I’ve heard about that arnica.
hass
Listen to what Mo said. The foam in knee pads, no matter the brand, compresses overtime and no longer absorbs energy. You’ve been riding those 187s for what, 3 years now? They are done doing their job.
I had a similar type of knee injury in August on my set of 3 year old pads. I now swear by arnica and emu oil for reducing sprained joint swelling and bruising.
kilwag
Egbert says “I have those same socks.”
WINNER: Egbert!
Who knew the socks were going to get so much attention?
Jethro Skynard – Yeah Ditch Tech… I lost my deck that had Ditch Techs set up on them this fall, otherwise I would have made the switch! My employment situation dictates riding whatever I have laying around.
egbert
I have those same socks.
jakeandannoy
in all seriousness, ive skated DOS, never gone upstairs and skated the tranny. Looks way too slippery/slick and i like friction and noise when i grind,not the feeling of coasting silently on giant stick of butter. dont remember ever skating a wood bowl in my life. and i used to skate the encinitas YMCA facility alot in the 90’s.
never appealed to me and thanks to randy’s mishap, i will remain scared of all wood bowls. thanks alot randy, you just ruined my life.
Concretin Nik
People are dumb Kilwag… they’d be bitchin’ too if it were their knee… rant on my friend, rant on. Oh, and suck it up. Rub some ‘crete on it.
freezine
Thought this would be appropriate:
https://skateandannoy.com/2008/08/new-take-on-oldest-joke-in-the-book/
Grow Up!
Starting taking responsibility for your actions! Blaming a skate park for your bum knee because it wasn’t swept? Come on, shouldn’t everyone that skated the bowl that night be hurt then?
The next time I skate down the street and hit a pebble and fall down and hurt my wrist. Does that mean I should make a post about the city sweeper needs to do a better job? Some days you feel good on your board and other days you don’t and you may get hurt. It sounds like you being a ‘sore loser’ to me!
kilwag
I knew there would be a few “knee jerk” reactions to this post. I take responsibility for my actions. I should have refused to skate their until the bowl was clean, you’re right. The comparison to street skating and hitting a pebble makes no sense. I don’t have to pay anyone to skate down the street. If I (or you) pay to skate an indoor facility, it should be maintained. I shouldn’t have to maintain it myself unless that’s part of the program. People have actually been denied the the request to clean up that bowl themselves. “Oh no, you don’t need to, we sweep it ourselves.” I was actually having a good day that night, feeling comfortable. Fact of the matter, that back bowl needs to be maintained better. I thought I could highlight that issue in my post, and for the most part, people seem to agree. Not everyone is going to get hurt, not everyone takes the same lines, hits the same spots… How can anyone be against preventative maintenance? Hell, lets not ever sweep that bowl, or replace any surface or make any repairs… Skater Beware!
Also, from now on, abusive comments left with fake email addresses (youradouche@yahoo.com) will simply be deleted. At least Colin Walsh has the courage to stand behind his abuse.
Also, from now on,
kilwag
Yeah, show up for the 9-11 session, here’s how it goes…
“Excuse me fellas, you need to wait a half hour while I sweep and mop the bowl…”
kc
Hey thats my video!
That place took me out last year. Slipped out and bounced my forehead coming down, I think you were there Rich? First stitches I had in 42 years.
It’s really tough to make the call on cleaning up a bowl when you just want to get in there and skate.
Rich
Here’s some of video of some folks riding the bowl that bit Kilwag’.
Jethro Skynard
we have a local skatelite bowl that is not only dusty, but suffers from wax contamination from fruitbooters. Aside from asking managment to sweep and mop, we have resorted to using Bones Ditch Techs (RIP). They roll faster than most “soft” wheels, but grip better than SPF’s. Most of the local geezer squad carry a set in their bag ready to mount if the surface conditions are too greasy. Just a suggestion.
oms
the dust factor is a joke, but I still go there….slammed a couple of weeks ago after a slide, full on 5 Star bell ringer concussion with the helmet on no less. FWIW – for those who have not been there, the surface is straight birch ply and not masonite. When it was new / clean it was as grippy as you could ever want.
Get better soon man.
jakeandannoy
Looks like you got a breast implant in one knee…
No but could you imagine?
ssk
sucks
scum
i guess this proves that you really DO skateboard.
houseofneil
CWR–are you that big of a prick in real life or only on the internet? Colin Walsh doesn’t rule, i’d say he sucks.
Randy, heal up man, And I concur with the others on the paincheaters. Amazing amazing pads.
And when you skate that place maybe use softer wheels like a couple of others have said. Time to break out the 92a bullets from the 80s maybe.
kevin
i know how you feel , southpark skate park outside
montreal is the worst thing to happen to skateboarding.
we call it the dust bowl, drop in and do one kick turn.
your wheels are totaly covered in dirt.you pay to skate and then you gotta clean.that’s fucking retarted . that’swhat pushed me build my pearcamp in my garage.
time heals all wounds
get well soon
jakeandannoy
Sorry Dione. How ’bout when I wake up, before I play with little Jacob, I’ll say a little pray for yoooooou…
Drunk Andy
There’s always soft wheels too for grip but I want to go fast!
Good times.
dione warwick
you leave me out of this jake…
conahan
Is not sweeping like not wearing pads or a helmet? You kids will be able to skate a lot longer if you keep yourselves safe.
skaterhusseindave
Back in steel ramp days we often did a sugar mop…
skaterhusseindave
I’m sorry about your knee….. I’ll back Gene’s word on Pain Cheaters. Call Kevin Day. Dude makes the BEST KNEEPADS EVER. My other “older” friends and I almost always mop a certain vert ramp every time we skate it.
aarrgh
Last year in february i broke a finger by turning opposite way because of a dusty bowl… 5 weeks of gibs and 3 to get back the normal movement of the hand.. i wish you the best for your knee
Cory
Hell Kilwag, all the way over here on the other side of the country ramp maintenance is also an issue. Last night I went to a particular skate SPoT that i haven’t skated at in months. Now I know why. After skating so many concrete parks, it almost feels not even worth it to skate wood bowls if the damn things aren’t cleaned often enough. Rant on about it, maybe people well care a little more about there product/service.
Sheabones
two words: HOT MOP
Goob
CWR, you’re whining about whining again. And the thing with mopping/sweeping (which I’m all about) is that, some places, its only a (short) matter of time before the most slide-prone among us will be the first to go, anyway. So, not being a short (or nimble) skater like, you know, Way, Hawk, or Burnquist, I just avoid masonite unless its so ancient its not slippery, cuz one of the only things I CAN do is go fast and leverage turns and splat. And regarding knee pads, the last time my knee looked like that was after I’d put pads on in case I slipped on the wax streak on a mini that I’d just “ice-packed” on, without pads… and it was not until I banana-peeled on it again, with pads, that my knee blew right up. So, um, like AOF sed, “No more false security”.
Negative Ned
It’s a dusty for sure and the slippery surface is part of the challenge when skating that bowl. ColinWashRules is right-on with respect to taking matters into your own hands. Another option is not to skate there and let the “folks at the top” know why you are not skating there.
Another idea is to lobby the place to replace the wood structure with a concrete bowl. The Dreamland folks have the skills to fine tune the surface finish for an optimal indoor skating experience.
mo
Yeah it sucks that a park that charges to skate doesn’t keep it clean, but that’s not a good reason to get hurt. I mop the vert(ish) ramp at our pay-to-play everytime I skate it. Takes about 45 minutes but it’s worth it. Don’t be too proud, shy, or lazy to clean up. It’s self-preservation. Also, pads get packed out after a while. For best results replace occasionally. You can give your old ones to the kids at Pier who say “if I had pads….” Hope you heal quickly, and Happy New Year!
Estes' Ghost
That is what I did at Sleestock this year- banged the knee and it took forever to squat or step up a stair……..shit hurts. But now I’m ok and back rolling around- I tell ya- jumping off my board hurts the most. And ColinWalshRules has the best advice………LOL.
colinwalshrules
1.)stop complaining.
2.) sweep it yourself, im sure you know how to operate a broom.
3.)don’t be a pussy.
jakeandannoy
Andy; it was a write-in on the ballot, for Mark Conahan.
Sorry, caffeine forced my hand.
brk
um, i mean, what heath said.
brk
that park sucks for slipperiness. that’s part of the reason i rarely go there. the whole park needs to be mopped with diluted soda on a regular basis, not just swept.
heath
Ouch. That place needs to mop weekly. Sweeping should be much more frequently. Heal well, Kilwag.
THOR
I just went through that with my knee. Spent thanksgiving having the doc jam a needle in it and suck that shit out. Get well soon. I would like to blame my injury on the crew that built the Kelso park. They should of let Grindline build their own design not to design. Jeez.
BillyBonebrake
No catcher position for you! Get well soon.
Drunk Andy
Politics aside, mopping a slippery bowl with Coke (the drink 😉 helps. But everyone probably know that.
I bet jakeandannoy voted for Nader. Oops politics aside.
gene
Kilwag, heal well. And get some Pain Cheaters! They are as padded as ProDesigned, but don’t slip down as much. I found the expense to be worth it.
I’m not sure what happened to customer service in the private skate park industry, but sweeping/mopping/minimizing slickness is definitely an “area of improvement”…