Tables and Fables

For the last three weeks I've been obsessing about a pool at an old run down motel near my house. I had ridden it ten years ago when I passed it everyday on my way to work. One day we decided we were gonna say fuck it and ride it. The place at the time looked like no one had been there for years. Myself and a friend walked in and started riding, getting a few hits each then the police showed up outta nowhere and we were busted. Turns out there was an old guy and his dog that lived in this run down rat trap of a motel, he must have been around 80 and literally looked like a skeleton with skin. He was pissed and had called the cops on us, saying that he had caught us there before. Being my first time there I assured the cop that we didn't realize that the motel was still open and we didn't mean anyone any harm. He was cool and said that the guy had called several times before, turns out the skaters were using it for the same thing and he had some issues with them. We left and I forgot about that being a spot, until recently when I drove by and stopped and snooped around and found no one there. I had always wanted to get at least a few more runs in on the thing, and I figured it was probably now or never. The place seriously looks like it ready to be torn down and turned into a parking lot. The guy had to be dead by now, it had been at least 10 years since my "incident" there.
So after a week of planning and gathering troops (and a pump) I get to finally set foot inside this thing and get it cleaned out to get my session in. We (myself and a few T&F dudes) get up early last week on Sunday and start at it. Cut the gate open that had been wired shut and get the pump running, buckets going...everything going good. Then my phone rings and it turns out I had to work this day and I never work Sundays. I asked the guys what they wanted to do, and they said we will come back another day, they knew what it meant to me and I think they didn't wanna get it cleaned out without me.Plus it's November and 70 degrees out in Massachusetts they probably wanted to take advantage of the day and actually ride their bikes too, not spend the whole day waiting for a pool to dry. So off we went. The entire day I thought about what if I wasn't working. It would have to wait for my next day off and prayed it wouldn't rain between or we'd have to start from scratch.
Tuesday rolled around and I was off, JT and I headed over to the pool. I had read online that if you have a hose, you can create a siphon and the water will just drain even at a trickle til it either clogs or it's empty. So off we go with and old garden hose. We get there and instantly realize that it's not as easy as I read. We end up trying to do it the old fashioned way with our mouth's, after a few mouthfuls of stagnant pool water we decided it was a fruitless effort and we'd scrap the idea and come back in force on Sunday to finish the job and actually get to ride it.
Fast forward to today, and all I can think about is this damn pool. I figured that we can go there and spend a few hours and get shit done. First issue was that everyone except Mike Erikson bailed, again I can't blame anyone it's 65 and sunny in late November and they probably think I'm nuts by now. So I meet up with Mike and we get there and everything is gone. The buckets, brooms, all the hose, extension cords. The gate is wired back shut. So we discussed and decided that it wasn't worth get busted in there. Someone obviously had been there, and who knows when they'd come back. Once your in the pool you can't hear anything, so anyone could just roll up and your busted. At my age it's not worth the fines and court bullshit to get popped for trespassing.

Photo Tardiff

So I guess this pool has gotten the better of me and who knows I may never get to ride it. Funny thing is that I can't remember if I even thought the tranny was any good or not. It looks fun and my tastes have changed over the years. So for now I give up, but I'm hoping that it's still there next year and we have a dry spell where I can go there, get in a few runs and get this pool outta my system.