In case you forgot like I did.

It may not be environmentally friendly, but it sure looks fun. Thanks to Brian Baade’s nameless friend Brian Forwood for the photo.

You’re looking at massive portable and reconfigurable concrete bowl made by Spohn Ranch. In much the same way that you’ve seen Tony Hawk’s metal framed vert ramp carted along in pieces to assorted demos and Boom Boom Huck Jams, except it’s concrete, and more complex. It’s a pretty amazing from a technical standpoint, something that heavy than can be set up, then torn down and transported on regular roadways, to be set up again in a different configuration. The current incarnation is still in beta. As it is now, the waterfall and intermediary walls are poured in place on each stop, but plans are to get those fabricated and surfaced for reuse as well. The rough sketch for the bowl (shallow 7′ 6″ , deep 12′) was conceived by Chris Miller before being worked over in CAD to engineer it. The individual sections are laser cut, with 3/16″ of steel between every other section. It’s supposed to be precise enough to not feel the seem on rollover. A CNC cut floor template helps everything fit together. The coping is modular as well. The goal over the next 5 years or so is to build a giant library of sections to…

Last week at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton. They took it down the next day but encouraged skateboarder employees to ride it while it was up.

It’s a big weekend for Burnside. Saturday is a jam packed day of skating, raffles, contests, tacos, after parties and other fundraising activities. Sunday is a chance to lend some elbow grease with a work party. Check out the full flyers after the jump.

Southern Oregon action in Medford this Saturday with food, music, raffles and skating. That doens’t sound fun at all… Proceeds going to the Medford skate park.

Benefit for Skaters for Portland Skateparks this Saturday, June 11th a 8pm. Where? Plan B, located at 1305 Southeast 8th Avenue in Portland, Oregon.

My first summer on a skateboard was spent on a yellow plastic banana board with red urethane wheels. Soon after figuring out how to roll down the driveway and make a turn onto the sidewalk, the second order of business was drawing obstacle courses and imaginary hazards with chalk on the driveway. In the late 70’s the idea of the skateboard pinball course was commercialized as the facilites known as Skate-Ball, which seemed like an idea that was kind of silly, though I’m sure fun, but it doesn’t live up to the full potential of the concept. Enter this crazy ramp funded by Moutain Dew in New Zealand. (?) It cost about 500k (New Zealand) and has computerized sensors and software to activate the lights and notes and somehow, the scoring. The whole thing was used for an invite only contest last Saturday but will be open to the public for three weeks afterwards. Massive waste of money? You bet, but If i lived anywhere near that I’d be in line to ride it. Videos after the jump. If you’re still in the mood for more skateboarding obstacle course action, check out this old 2008 post on the Japanese game…

The guys over at Skatehouse Media and Wheelbase Mag have really upped their game when it comes to capturing downhill race coverage. Who would have thought throwing a helicopter into the mix (when not dropping into a mega ramp) would be useful, but for downhill it really is nice. While I was waiting for the video from Maryhill (still above top) to make the final cut, the crew went to another event in Colorado called the Buffalo Bill Downhill. Unfortunately, the helicopter crashed! But fortunately nobody was seriously injured and the whole thing was caught on video and in stills. The two photos in the bottom are credited to Marcus Bandy at Wheelbase. The one on the right is from a preview of the race, while the one on the left is an amazing shot of the helicopter as it is hitting the ground.. After the jump, catch video coverage of the crash and Maryhill footage with absolutely no (helicopter) crashes.

Skatepark of Baltimore is celebrating six years of working towards a public concrete skatepark in Baltimore by means of a benefit concert with skate-rock bands March 26th 2011, 8pm till 11:30pm at Ruintown 2980 Falls Rd. 21211, 8$ cover, 18 and up, BYOB. Mini-ramp Jam, Bands: McRad, Pfisters, the Trowels, Seasons, Shred Crust and the Tics. What else is going in Baltimore? Well, the good news is that infamous Baltimore bully/police officer Joey Williams is still fired after losing an appeal. More SOB in the news after the jump