45 at 45 Tour - Obsession Or Middle Age Madness??

Rich Sayers skated 45 different Northern California skateboard parks in twenty days of skating to celebrate his 45th birthday. This is also a showcase of the many public skate parks we now enjoy. Rich learned how to skate vert at age 40; getting back on a skateboard after not having skated for almost 20 years. There were bumps, sprains, bruises andscrapes -- but the thrill of zooming around on concrete walls, grinding coping and doing handstands to fakies was too alluring to stop!

Visit his site for tour notes, photos and videos.

Editor's note: I've only met Rich a couple of times, but I can tell you, he is one of the most energetic people I have ever met. Way to go Rich.

The Sun Never Sets On This Crew

There are about 20 men here on this midweek night with their equipment, their experience, their memories and, most importantly, their lighting. Too busy for daytime skating, they come out under the cover of darkness, set up the lights, turn on the portable generators and start skateboarding up and down and across the concrete bowls and ramps. While waiting their turns they chat, watch and applaud fellow skaters, and chew on dim sims. Some sip on a beer, some do running repairs on their boards.

Old-school skateboarders, as these veterans between their 30s and mid-50s are known, meet twice a week in skate parks across Melbourne, from Frankston to Northcote to Point Cook. And many parks in between. Read the rest of the article.