As I’m typing this, currently in the Vans RV, with the dimmed warm lighting illuminated in my peripheral vision, I also couldn’t help but notice the smiling faces on everyone who was in the RV. It was the kind of smile that could only come from a good day, from good riding, and being around good people.
Today marked the first official riding day of the Vans x The Bloom tour, it was also the start of us heading back south. Our first stop after breakfast was Napa Skatepark; about 10 minutes from where we were staying. Not quite an official first stop, as it was just Angie, Maca, and myself who were there as the rest of the crew had to head back to the hotel to collect their gear, and a few girls had to also pick up a few essentials from a local Vans store. The Napa Skatepark, in theory, was a stunning park, two huge bowls, two open ones, and a few fun street features, but it was also very technical, tight and steep. The park didn’t quite make the cut, and by the time the rest of the crew had come, the consensus was to move onto the next park.
Venturing further south, the second stop took us to Benicia Skatepark. I mean, I don’t know what to say other than this park was infinitely better. Two bowls, one with pool coping, one large deep open bowl, and ledges scattered around. The crew was ready to get to work and we were blessed with an empty park. It was a good park for Angie, Maca, Perris, and Teresa; lots of solid lines with flowy airs, tables, t-bogs, and gaps, all in which I won’t go into detail since there’s an edit in the works. For Linda though, it wasn’t the kind of park that spoke to her street roots, but even she admitted the bowls were fun. As the day progressed, and the sun started heating up, the girls left the park with sun-kissed faces after a couple of hours riding.
A little tired, hungry and in need of a recharge, the crew made a pit stop for lunch before the evening session at Novato (pronounced, Nova-toe) skatepark. Novato was also a good park-park, and offered Linda more in the way of street in the form of the flat rails that were there – again, can’t spoil anything but Linda did a difficult line here. The sun by this point was ready to take rest, the temperatures slowly dropped as the day progressed but it didn’t take long until the Vans adorned hoodies and windbreakers came off.
A lot of solid content was captured at Novato as well, including a doubles line with Angie and Perris and hip to hip action from Teresa. From a spectator’s point, it was like watching a live version of power hour, there was a lot of solid content captured from Colin and Dan in a very short amount of time, and before I knew it, the sun had fallen and the questionably placed park lights went on. As the day started winding down, I found myself sitting with Linda and Perris. I casually turned to Perris, and like a young teen girl looking to get some gossip, I asked her about how she met her girlfriend. Perris had recently come out to the world, to her family and friends all in one go. She had kept a big heavy secret for a very long time and by the end of her story as to how she met her girlfriend, I said to her she looked more whole since coming out.
As the first day of riding drew to a close, and the majority of the crew were showered and ready to sleep, Angie proposed we explore San Francisco that evening. It wouldn’t be long until one by one, a group of reluctantly tired riders suddenly had the urge to explore – after all, most of them hadn’t been to San Francisco before. We survived the cold evening and the sprinter survived some questionably tight straights; we visited the Golden Gate Bridge at night and went on quite a ride; nearly launching off some of the hills that could have doubled for jumps. As I’m typing the ending of today’s update, warm and cozy in my bed, I think about the adventures that the crew will have when I wake up, with plans to stay in San Francisco another day before heading to Fresno.
Save the Date!
Vans x The Bloom Jam @ Vans Off The Wall Skatepark
7471 Center Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92647
March 16 2022 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Join us on Wednesday, March 16th from 5 – 8 pm and celebrate the last day of the trip with us. This event will be open to everyone and will include free food, drinks, giveaways, and more. Come out for the Cash for Tricks Jam and hang out with some of your favorite riders. The event will be live broadcasted on Brakeless TV for those who can’t make it.
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