Spot homage - Whitley Bay's 'Black Park'

Before Whitley Bay skatepark was built the spots down here on the coast were few and far between and most of them were shite to say the least. One spot that did get sessioned is the park near Rockliffe School in Whitley Bay. It has a large concrete hump/flatbank thing in the middle which you can hip or jump like a jumpbox or whatever. It also has a pretty decent curved wallride in the corner too.
With it being a kids play park there swings and a whole lot of other crap to avoid/use with the latest addition being a climbing frame and some large rocks which can be used for abubaccas if your still into that sort of thing. Legend has it that there used to be another hump where the see-saw used to beback in the day and Tom Dorneys brother did a 360 over it..
I think i started riding here about 13 or so years ago and still ride there now and again to this day. I first learnt barspins there and probably how to fakie. The spot is a good session spot as long as there are not a load of familys in there and there are plenty of lines to be had if you are being creative. Its situated on the seafront inbetween Whitley Bay town centre and Cullercoats, check it out if your in the area.

Xtremeties

For the second year running North Tyneside council has laid on an 'extreme' event imaginatively named Xperience. It was held on the last weekend in October to coincide with the annual Surf competition in Tynemouth, not a great time of year for the weather usually and not surprising it pissed down just like last year. The BMX side of things was taken care of Team Extreme and this year they brought their vert ramp and questionable 'street' course along for everyone to have a crack at and to do a few demos. Sure the course was a bit shit but it was OK for something different to ride for half an hour but it soon got pretty busy and the course was over run. If BMX wasn't your thing you could have watched the snowboarding big air or even some Mountain Boarders jumping a van when it wasn't pissing down. I think there was a circus tent or some shit and for some reason a beat boxing showcase. Down with the kids man. The best thing about it all is that I've won a session for 2 to go paddle boarding in a random competition, cant wait to take wor lass down to the sea and watch her try her hand at the zimmer frame of the water sports world.

Sunday Factory Session

There is this factory near Wallsend that has one of the best spots around hidden inside it. I first stumbled upon it while living near Hadrian Park Metro station many moons ago. Inside the factory yard there is a long bank to wall ride, a concrete hip and a few other bits and pieces. Part of the wall is curved and the end part has an elbow so you can wall ride to wall ride as well. The best thing about this spot is that once your inside you rarely get bothered by anyone, no security or nosey busy bodies questioning what your doing. Nice and quiet.
The wall used to be really shady in places and there was a battered old billboard sign in the way of one part. The brickwork was recently redone and the sign removed. The barb wire has been removed as well on that part of the wall so its easier just to jump over from the road side rather than crawl under the gate round the front.
Yesterday me, Joe, Marty and Sean headed up for a session. Joe brought his home made kicker ramp to make things a bit more interesting!

Joe pegs the wall out of the shady flat bank! Massive

Marty getting real on the wall ride

This spot is just in the nearby Burnside school, we got kicked out in seconds though..

Marty fakie to whopper

Marty lays it down flat with a little help from the kicker

Marty took it hard on the first attempt at this gap to wall but he got it done after a couple of tries

Optimus Prime barebacking a decepticon

The funniest thing since Tim Westwoods twitter craic has to be the comments underneath Dubstep tunes on Youtube. It seems to be the done thing to out 'filth' the next man and ting and express your pleasure in hearing the 'durtiest' tunes with the most outrageous statement possible. Some of them of comic gold! Heres a few of my favorites:

jeroine: "it's like optimus prime barebacking a decepticon while being high on a cocktail of crystal meth lsd and pure nitrous oxide"

tehweine: "This track is so filthy I killed my first born child with the spirit of the Lord"

UKhoboso: "He played this live a couple of days ago, it fucking melted my face"



Krats0killer: "10 skunks have shat on me tonight and I still don't feel as dirty as this "

tehweine: "i jsut put a dozzen eggs in the microwave!"

08CJ09: "So filthy my unpregnant wife was forced into labor."



timotje25: "oh my fuxxxn god i jus shat all over the place like a small over excited dog"

Trujunglist23: "Feelin Dis Big Tym , Nyc Wun! "

platoon: "this is how i like it..sounds like that alien tearing and feasting on my puppydog in the garden last night. "

dubstepaholic: "iam actually going to go out and shit on a pensioner, this tune is hype!!!!!!!!"

Toprawmen: "This is the dub I like... the kind that makes you wanna rob a bank and punch a cop."

willjspencer: "oh my good god.. role me over n tickle my colon, this is DURT!!"

Lordgryn: "this filth made me vomit blood"

Just give up mate! You've got about as much rhythm as a bread stick

Fish Quay

Just some snaps I took while looking for a place to build a ghetto skatepark..

Death Kebab

I love kebabs. Doner, Chicken, Shish.. I love them all. Kebab wraps, kebab and chips, kebab skewers; they are all friends of mine. Just like any restaurant or eatery the quality and price varies from place to place. If you are sticking to the Doner the product isn't gonna change too much from place to place. Instead of being made in house its usually bought in from a wholesalers. The spiced spinning stick may not be the greatest quality meat in the world but it usually satisfies thousands of hungry party goers every weekend up and down the country.

I'll set the scene. Typical Friday night, few beers with the lads and before long my hunger gets the better of me. Being at a friends in Newcastle city centre a kebab house is never too far a way so without too much persuasion one of the lads is roped into picking up the scran.
The closest place to us was Mighty Bite which is located on Westgate Road right next to the Star Pub and the O2 Academy. A respectable establishment I thought..

I could hardly wait for the bait to arrive. I had ordered a chicken kebab with all the salad and garlic sauce, a safe bet at most places. Upon receiving my late night snack I was overjoyed with the smells and overall weight of it. "Sorted" I thought as I began to hungrily tuck in. As far as kebabs go it wasn't bad, a bit overly greasy but everything else seemed in order. That was until I got to the last few mouthfuls of chicken. I remember biting down and feeling something hard and then something else, I then pulled out 3 chicken ribs (I think) the longest being about 2 inches long!

Those 3 things in the middle are bones. Looks like a prehistoric Adidas logo doesn't it?!

Now any normal person would probably stop eating after this grim discovery but I used the logic that all the bones must be gone so I carried on. Luckily I was right, no more bones were to be found. However there was one last surprise for me lurking at the bottom of my meal. On the last mouthful I bit into what can only be described as connective tissue or some other piece of meat that shouldn't be in a chicken kebab, especially since they are usually made with chicken breast!

Can you tell what it is yet?!

I hope you've already had your tea!

I know I should have took it back and kicked off but I had demolished the lot and it wasnt me who bought the damn thing.. I know one thing though I won't be going back!

Sick as in Sick

The lack of camera in my life is the main reason for the lack of posts of late, my dire financial situation means I can't afford to buy one either! This is shit. My trusty phone does the job for some things but its no good for capturing fast bicycle maneuvers. Anyway I'm laid up with the flu at the moment so I may as well try and sling a post together.
We were all out partying a few weeks back at the Habit outdoor party at the Tyne and everyone was getting loose. Wally in particular was mortal and somehow managed to fall flat on his dish splitting his nose and head. Think his nose is broke too. In typical Wally fashion he refrained from going to A&E that night or even the next day, instead getting pissed up again at a BBQ. This left him with a lovely scab on his wonky nose.

Oh dear

If he's not cracking his face he's cracking the concrete!

Wally is moving to London this month to start a job with British Airways as an engineer. Congratulations mate! No doubt he will be tearing up the bars and clubs every weekend in the big smoke..

Here's a few things I've found interesting lately..

Keiichi Iwasaki

Keiichi Iwasaki is a Japanese man who went for a bike ride 7 years ago to the end of his town and enjoyed it so much he decided to carry on going with the equivalent of £1 in his pocket. Since then he has travelled halfway around the world with his only income coming from performing street magic to the people he meets. He has been robbed by pirates and arrested in India, almost died when he was attacked by a rabid dog in Tibet and nearly married in Nepal.
In total Mr Iwasaki has cycled over 45,000km (27,961 miles) on his favourite Raleigh shopper bike but two have been stolen and two have broken so he now rides his fifth. In May 2005, he became the first Japanese man to climb Mount Everest from sea level without using any transportation. He has also rowed from the source of the Ganges river in India to the sea, a journey of 1,300km which took him 35 days.

Here's the route that Keiichi has taken from his home in Japan. Amazing.

I really want to do some long distance cycle touring (on a road bike not BMX!) in the future but without possessing unreal magic skills I'll have to do it the hard way and save some cash- that may prove difficult!

Rowing down the Ganges River

London

Australia

India

Cambodia

This story along with Marc Beaumont's achievement of circumnavigating the world last year in a new world record time of 194 days has really inspired me to do something bigger than the Coast to Coast ride that I did earlier this year (which is like a trip to the shops in comparison). I am going to sign up for a 300km ride from London to Paris next year for the British Heart Foundation and I'm planning to cycle Edinburgh to Tynemouth in the spring.

Charlie Crumlish

This section is amazing. Nice to see someone original for once! From the FUTU DVD.

Charlie Crumlish in FUTU from bradhill on Vimeo.

Crazy Female Fixie doubles flatland?

This is immense, especially when they stand on each others sholders!



Hopefully if the weather stays fine there will be a proper update soon with some riding snaps in it.. maybe.

Not dead yet!

Finally had my Internet installed yesterday after a month off so we should resume normal service over the next few weeks. Quite a few things have been going on for me personally in the last month. Firstly I met my Dad who I hadn't seen for about 23 years or so, which was one of the most nerve racking experiences of my life. Everything went better than I could have hoped and I'm really pleased with how things are going. I also have 2 half brothers Ethan and Daryl who I met which was awesome. Daryl just came 5th in the under 16's at the Skate Comp at Whitley Bay the other week, good work Daryl!
Not really ridden that much in the last 2 weeks with so much going on but hopefully next week when the schools go back there should be some good sessions kicking off (so long as this rain pisses off!).
I was loving the new Shithawks logo so I had Scotty T tattoo it on my leg, still a bit to do yet but it looks sweet! Cheers Scott.




Dave 'Frodo' Summerson

Since Whitley Bay skatepark opened last July there has been so many new faces turning up and starting to give BMX a go. Sure there are a load of kids who just go for something to do and quit as soon as they get bored but there is a group of younger riders who are really getting into it and progressing at an alarming rate.
The rider who sticks out most in my mind is 17 year old Dave 'Frodo' Summerson. Despite only been riding since October 2008 he already has the skatepark on lock down and seems to learn something new every time I see him (he just learnt fakie whips this week). His airs are getting higher and his lines more technical. Pretty soon he will be giving park boss and house wives favorite Marty Meenaghan a run for his money! The best thing is Dave has a good attitude towards riding and always has a smile on his face. I'm sure if he keeps progressing at this rate you'll be seeing a lot more of him.

Lipslide in the bowl

Smith grind on the Jersey

Daves signature 1 foot barspin! (he can do them properly now)

Blasting the gap from the bowl to the street course

Random Shit

Word up. Lack of posts lately as I've just moved house and I don't have an Internet connection, to make matters worse there ain't even a sodding BT line installed so if I want to get it in its gonna cost an arm and a leg. Sour buzz. Luckily someone nearby has a unsecured Wi-Fi hub so I can nick their Internet for the time being.
Summer holidays are in full swing and Whitley park is chocker block and usually covered in crisp packets and empty bottles at the moment, try and hit it in the morning or evening to avoid scruffy faced kids on Thomas the Tank Engine scooters. Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks or so:

Jo toothy hangs it at the Wastes

Jo, boost on the Waste Land quarter

Paulie is going to have a sore neck in the morning!

This bus ride was mental. Battle Hill's finest Hen Party out in full force on the Quayside (Venga) bus going into town, Whalen and German George getting in amougst it!

Sam, hop up to 360 off at Whitley Bay High School

Above x3- NoName party down at the Tyne Bar the other week was really good with Jackmaster playing the headline set.

The new gaff- sweet as a nut.

Whitley Park- I had to take this photo at 4am to capture it this quiet

Van Homan will save us!