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On 5/11/2007
Joe Lehm
wrote in from
United States
(65.19.nnn.nnn)
Ditch Slap was intended to highlight Albuquerque’s diverse terrain which demands a large quiver and even larger skills. Throughout the week each skater had a chance to marvel at the kind of skating that they lacked skills in. Never gone 50 mph? 10’oclock in the pipe? Feed the Bear lately? 100 miles of downhill cruising? Indian School with a tail wind? City Engineers unknowingly created this endless playground. Skateboarders intentionally created the Legend, and the Ditch Slap Shuttle Pass!
It rained once and the ditches flowed for a few hours, then by the next day they were dry again and ride able, serving two functions in one day. The Chinese Ditch Race was re-counted all week as the most gnar, craziest, crash fest and 10 minutes of adrenaline EVER devised. James West Jr went down hard, breaking a truck, cracking 2 ribs and bouncing his helmet hard enough for a concussion and Worst Crash award. It was suggested that the ditch shaped trophies needed to have some rocks, sticks and urban crap glued into the bottom to replicate the actual achievement. Jon Huey won.
The Skate Park Race was unreal, carving around the course through the 10 and 12 ft bowls and kick turning through the ¾ pipe. Jeff Budro ruled the night, blurring his way to 1st place, and 13 year old Zac Brenner beat more than ½ the field taking 9th. The session was amped up by Dave “Science” Maxwell throwing down the biggest and gnarliest moves this new park has ever seen.
Katenip’s Banked Slalom was more than a ¼ mile long, and included a middle section with no cones, then back on course for some challenging cones which sent racers onto double up walls and back down. The Albuquerque Police Dept. showed up with only 3 riders left to get times. As they surveyed the scene they looked a bit confused by the sight of every skater in a helmet, some in full faces and most padded to the hilt! After it was explained that only 3 riders remained the officer seemed content to watch as the racers clocked a time, picked up cones and water bottles and vacated in about 5 minutes. Thank you APD. Jason Mitchell won by 3.5 seconds! Ryan Ricker took 2nd with a hilarious effort by his pinch pusher Will Brunson.
The Shuttle Days in between races proved to be equally exciting, leaving just enough time for tired legs to stop burning between runs. Harper Ditch became the hotel drop off, 2 miles of carving and cruising bringing you right to your front door. Rio Bravo Style Jam was a chance for everyone to let it loose. Steve Ladderman dazzled the crowd with his board to board boneless followed by snatching up the 1st board from the bottom and doing it again! Then out came the leathers, dropped boards and aero gear for numerous Downhill runs and draft trains. Matthew McDonald from England drove the shuttle and insisted that we were all insane.
Harper Banked Slalom Race started off with some water in the ditch, then it all dried up, then it started again. Then the head wind picked up on this short and demanding course. The corkscrew under the bridge makes racers pucker up as they avoid hitting the walls, ollie gaps and ladders. The unlimited push was the deciding factor in this sprint style race, and you know what that means. Will Brunson won, pushing on the flat and walls as he approached the first cone.
The Bear Slalom Cross was the first of it’s kind, and pitted racers against each other in what Jody Wilcock called a “Criss Cross Crash” In the end, there were some crashes. Josh Burt fed the Bear with a broken finger and lots of other racers left behind slide puck plastic for dessert. Again, Brunson won, with Ricker and Lehm filling out a TimeShip podium sweep.
The daily compilation of injuries grew until there was only a couple of skaters left who had not been slapped. David Price was overheard saying that he had been spared, but Jim Z set him straight, shaking his badly broken finger and warning ”You should watch what you say, that ditch could still jump up and slap you down!”
Kelly’s Brew Pub once again served as the perfect place for an Awards Party. There we tables full of prizes and everyone went home with at least a deck, some with more than they could carry. A big thank you is in order to all of the sponsors that helped to make this event happen!
TimeShip Racing wants to Thank: DRAS, ISSA, Dregs, Landyachtz, Tailtap.com, Concrete Wave, Pressure Drop Longboards, Ninja Bearings, Insect Skateboards, S-One Helmets, Longboard Larry, Paris Truck Co, Coast Longboarding, MechGrip, Khiro, Powell Skateboards, Gravity, Skateboarder Magazine, Grind King, Sk8Kings, Viking Pads, Surf One, South Shore Distribution, Bones Bearings, Designer Rocks, and San Diego Speed.
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