RSS Feed (xml)As we sat and I avoided another peculiar Euro breakfast, the rain subsided and the decision was made to drive into the centre of Haskovo to see if a tree surrounded marble monument was water free and to kill some time, hoping the pond’s surface would dry out. Most of the guys weren’t feeling the spot, but Lynskey stepped up and quickly knocked out a nollie nose manual and flipped into one as well on either side of the monument, carefully riding out into a bank that left no room for error of judgement.
By this time we figured it was time to give the Duck pond a try. Situated in Dimtirovgrad, this spot was amazing and our timing was just right. We arrived to find the concrete just about dry and had ten minutes skating before the heavens opened. Luckily in this time Manhead managed to get a trick on a wall that only Jerry Hsu had managed to get to the top of before, and I managed to sketchily ride away from an iceplant fakie on a much smaller wall. I was happy to get my trick but gutted to be rained out. The place was ridiculous and we could have easily spent four or five hours there had the weather permitted.
Click here to continue reading
We hastily jumped in the van and Alex, our guide, suggested we visit the town of Plovdiv as it was on the way back to Sofia and he had some friends there that might know a few spots that could be dry and he knew of a great restaurant where we could sit out the rain, should it come to that.
Bulgarian cuisine is interesting to say the least. They seem to love their veal and odd cheese and it owes a lot to French gastronomy from the pre-communist colonial times. This led to me betting 10 Leva (local currency – about £4.00) that Avid couldn’t eat a whole plate of egg-coated frog’s legs or boiled chicken hearts and lungs. He opted for the former and polished them off quickly and so won the cash – even if he didn’t stop complaining of feeling ill for the next two days. We sat and debated the virtues of British processed food whilst Avid started to go a shade of green and went hoping mad (I thank you!) over all the frog references we made.
As the afternoon progressed, the weather took a turn for the better and we decided to see if we could salvage what was left of the day by having a look at some of the spots on offer. A set of 13 stairs was found and Makepeace stepped up to try and skate the beast. To find out what happened, guess what – yeah, it’s gonna be in Sidewalk! Lets just say that after 2 heel bruises, a badly cut big toe and a badly grazed back, he was victorious, even if he spent the rest of the trip urinating blood. Think on kids, getting gnarly looks cool but your body won’t thank you for it…
With only an hour or so before dark and having been inspired by Makepeace’s determination, Amir decided it was his time to get some. Alex led us to a perfect but huge 15 stair outside a small yet exclusive looking shopping centre. Just as all the flashes and lighting were set up, it looked as though our luck was out as a security guard showed up, only for him to happily stand and watch as the Amir Williams carcass toss began… Amir has my utmost respect. Not only is he a thoroughly nice and self-depreciating guy, he also has a hell of a lot of bottle. Over 30 times he threw himself down those stairs, dislocating his finger, severely bruising his right arm, as well as the right side of his hip and banging his head on more than one occasion (including kneeing himself in the teeth), yet he kept on getting back up and running to the top, desperate for another go to tame those stairs. He would surely have been successful too had it not been for a change of security, with the new guard kicking us out, trying to get physical with Amir and then having the audacity to call the police as we walked away.
We legged it to a nearby café and hid whilst Alex grabbed the van. He pulled up out front, we jumped in with no time to finish our drinks (bought not to look suspicious) and sped to the motorway to get back to Sofia. Plovdiv – great spots but watch out for the security!
We got back to Sofia and I went straight to bed, the thought of coming too close to getting beaten up by some huge, skin headed Bulgarian police had taken it out of me.
I awoke to find all the guys in quite a state. Not good, as we had to be out of the hostel within the hour. I slowly got different stories from each of the guys as to what had happened on our return to Sofia. Lets just say it involved Sam Bruce lying on a bar, having Vodka poured down her throat by an overly amorous bartender and Sidewalks Ryan Gray giving the hostel’s toilet a traditional Heckmondwike pebble dashing!
As everyone gathered their things together, Alex arrived and we loaded our luggage into his van. We had a good seven hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport so he kept our gear safe whilst we went to NDK one last time to film and photograph any last tricks that people wanted. A good deal went down but as the photos are due to be used in the Sidewalk article, you’ll have to wait and see what the guys got. Some of it wa’ daft I tell thi!
As five o’clock approached, tricks were rushed out. Some were landed, some not. Then all that was left to do was get a quick team photo in front of NDK’s impressive fountains, jump in the mini bus and get to the airport. We checked in, got a coffee and a hotdog and sat there, waiting to get into that big metal bird.
And that is where this story ends. It’s now 8.43pm British time; the Route One skate team are all fast asleep around me and by my calculations we are probably somewhere over the Netherlands.
Take my advice: Visit Bulgaria, it’s a wonderful country and has shed loads of amazing stuff to skate, you certainly won’t regret it. And if you do go, get to that duck pond – it’s bloody ace!
In a bit…
Alex Winstanley (R1 team manager – of sorts).
No comments:
Post a Comment