BMX
Sergio Layos, Dan Foley, Kris Fox and Corey Walsh go in search of the best ramps in Vancouver.
With a handful of Three Day Metro Pass street trips in the books, it was due time to change it up and do one focusing on transition. Pedalling around town is the foundation of street riding, but would it work if we tried to hit up multiple skateparks accessible by public transit?
On the cusp of the long cold winter we had limited time to find out, but there was only one destination that would work for a trip like this: Vancouver.
Watch the video above to see all the action and scroll down for more from the trip.
Vancouver
If you’re a concrete-shredder, there’s no better place in the world than the Pacific Northwest, with its endless world-class parks that can induce drool in anyone glancing at its perfect transitions.
Looking for a place with a high concentration of parks, Vancouver seemed like an easy choice. A local told me there’s about 50 skateparks within the region. If we could cover a fraction of that territory by metro then we’d have a solid trip. On top of the parks, Vancouver is downright gorgeous. The scenery and culture is enviable to the rest of North Americans.
The crew
The crew chosen to take on this project came together easily. Sergio Layos was first on the list. Being a veteran ramp rider who’s on top of his game, Sergio could ride anything. Dan Foley has be putting out great edits recently so he got an invite. Kris Fox goes flat out fast and high. His riding is powerful so he had to come along. And Corey Walsh, the racer turned freestyler, and Vancouver local, was brought on board. His style is smooth and fast.
Leeside Park
We hit some incredible parks. There was a wide variety; old, iconic, new and perfect, to DIY and grungy. Our favourite was the Leeside Park. Built under a busy intersection, the ramps are in a long pedestrian tunnel. It was originally built with wood surfaces and old car tires to fill space, but the first iteration went up in flames.
It was rebuilt, and even sanctioned by the city and named after a late local skater. The ramps are all different and weird. Finding the smooth spots took a minute, but that’s half the fun. Having it rain outside and yet ride in an open air concrete park, it was such a lifesaver for our transition mission.
Dodging the weather is never pleasant on a trip, and this time around we got little reprieve. It rained for a lot of our short time there, but we still managed to find enough dry periods to hit seven parks in total. Vancouver was a great host, we’ll be back in good weather to cross more parks off the list.
Find more sweet city spots in other episodes of Three Day Metro Pass, catch up with the series here.