Spot Check: Bonsor Skatepark

Me carving a mellow frontside throught the Bonsor Pipeline. Photo by Micheal Tse.

Well it's about two years old now and Bonsor is still ranking in the very top end of my favourite skateparks in the city. There's been more than a few times where the most stressful part of my day was deciding whether to skate Hastings or Bonsor. Self employment will do that to you. Two years later the debate is still raging on and today Bonsor is winning. I'm heading out there as soon as I'm done writing this.

One of the many fabulous creations of Jim Barnum's Spectrum Skatepark Designs, Bonsor is unique among Vancouver skateparks for a few reasons, the main ones for me being the 18-foot fullpipe, pool coping, tight trannies, small amounts of flatbottom, and glassy concrete, all of which add up to a fast ride and grinds that feel like grinds should. But there's way more to Bonsor than just the Pipeline, there's also the Dogleg Bowl, a copingless area with about a million lines where, without so much as one push, you can cruise around until your legs give out. Fun, but keep you eyes out for small kids. Many of them don't realize the folly of dropping in right in front of you and nothing makes you feel like more of a dick than flattening a tiny person. Even if it was their fault. Then on the other side of the park you'll find the most popular part... a killer street area that is home to a wealth of different sized ledges, curbs, flat banks, rails, stairs, manual pads, and hubbas. There's even a stupidly tight ankle-snapper of a barrier wall that's fun to hit on your way through.

If you find yourself in need of skate gear or refreshments while you're there, wander across the street towards the giant skateboard and set yourself up at Push. And just because it's good to know... the owners are cool (Eve's been a fixture of the Vancouver skate scene longer than many of Vancouver's skaters have been alive) so you can rest assured that your money is going to a good place. And that's that for now, time's a wastin' and I really have to get to Bonsor.