A sun-burnt and weather-beaten Barrett Junction. Let’s ride! Photo: Bandy.
Skating down Barrett Junction is a Wild West type of downhill experience—harkening way back to the days of the true outlaw, a rougher and much ruggeder time when simply to survive was the struggle of the day!
Vegas Mike, ripping like only Vegas Mike can. Photo: Bandy.
A raptors view from atop a nearby perch. Photo: Bandy.
Concentration & negotiation is the name of the game. Photo: Bandy.
Drawing the right line is critical—homie-dude knows what’s up. Photo: Bandy.
Barrett Junction’s crusty, patchy, and sun-burnt surface whips and winds a skater down through the boarder-land and desert-hills of southwestern California near the Mexican boarder. If you have the balls and wherewithal to ride down Barrett Junction on a skateboard, much of your reward is found in a marked numbness and lower-back pain caused by the constant jolting vibrations between your board, knees, and feet as you are dipped and bucked by the endless sea of asphalt fissures, grooves, and surface gaps.
When your riding you sometimes forget the vastness and beauty of the scenes around you, but they’re there. Photo: Bandy.
One of the best yet, Scott Lembach. Photo: Bandy.
Scott Lembach and I tucking into the home stretch. Stoked! Photo: Niko Kroha.
If that’s not enough fun for ya then maybe you’ll enjoy the non-stop jostling and abrupt shiftings that occur when riding down this road, as you are forced to constantly readjust placement just to stay on deck. Don’t look down!—make your foot adjustments with caution and care—keep your eyes peeled on the worn and weathered road ahead of you. If you look too long at your feet, or move too much or too quickly, you will get bucked the hell off of your four-wheeled steed faster than you can say “Sioux City Sarsaparilla.”
To put it lightly, Andrew Schumaker’s is “intense”, but it serves him well when it’s time to shred-faces. Photo Bandy.
Max Capps dippin’ and leaning with purpose. Photo: Bandy.
Scott trying to catch up with Levi Green—not gonna happen on this run, dude! Photo: Bandy.
I guess what I’m getting at is, riding and racing Barrett Junction ain’t for downhill dandies or sissy shredders. The handful of gnarly skateboarders that do come out here and ride Barrett—let alone race the sumabitch—are indeed a specials breed of ripper who’s passions for bombing hills are matched by very few.
Like the sign says. . . Photo: Bandy.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Barrett Junction Cafe. Photo: Bandy.
Anyway, thanks for taking a gander at these here images and for taking a moment to read my humble reflections—it’s appreciated.
A huge thanks and hat-tip to all the skaters that shred Barrett, to all the skaters who are bold enough to race it, to Joe Marshall for pulling everybody together, and to all those who have made me feel like part of this downhill family. You people fucking rock!
I’m pretty sure Max Capps has at least ten leather suits. This is his “practice” suit. Also, he won the race. Photo: Bandy.
Last but not least! A mega-huge thanks goes to Scott Lembauch of Muir Skate, to Kelsey of NJK, and to all those that pitched-in and were in cahoots to surprise me with a fresh set of leathers at this race. I almost cried when I saw ‘em, but I didn’t because I’m super tough! Ha ha! Thanks homies! When’s the next race? January?
BTW, here’s an article from our last trip out to Barrett Junction back in 2011: Peep This!
[...] Re: Official Wheelbase Magazine Thread Barrett Junction: A True Western Outlaw. "Skating down Barrett Junction is a Wild West type of downhill experience—harkening way back to the days of the true outlaw, a rougher and much ruggeder time when simply to survive was the struggle of the day!" Check out the full article here: Barrett Junction: A True Western Outlaw. : Wheelbase Online Skate Magazine [...]