NEXT GARAGE SESSION: 16th MARCH. INFO 

British winters suck...right now it is dark when we leave for work and its dark when we get back. That rules out a vast majority of our hills as they are poorly lit. The one spot that is still worth skating is nearly an hour away. Knowing Britain like we do, by the time we get there the clear starry skies will have been replaced by heavy, soggy clouds which will disgorge their contents just as we strap on our last knee pad and push into the hill.

So unless you plan on hanging up your skateboard for the next four months...or flying to Barcelona every weekend, you need to find somewhere dry and lit in order to keep skating. The answer is Multi-Story car parks.

Multi-Story car parks can be found in just about every town and city. Most are empty at night, offer some form of slope and have great big lights on the ceiling! Its almost too good to be true! They come in all shapes and sizes: Fast and tight, open and mellow. Some have crazy spirals and some have several different lines down them...but they all have that all important roof to keep the wind and rain off you.

A big part of riding your local multi story is working out the security shifts. Around our neck of the woods that is normally around 9pm on a Sunday which gives us plenty of time to chill at a mates watching skate vids and listening to tunes so that by the time we run up the stircase and out onto the top level, we totally amped to have it all night.

There is loads you can do once you get there: Have races with your mates, have high jump competitions, practice your flip tricks...its all skateboarding and it will all help next time your bombing your hills in the dry. The more the merrier as well...get a crew of people together and take as many boards as you can. A few deck chairs will keep the other half happy and give people somewhere to rest after they just stacked in the first corner!!!

There is something awesome about walking back outside at 2am, stoked and sweaty, into the drizzle and inky blackness knowing that you have just cheated the weather and pushed those dark thoughts about a night in front of the TV firmly to the back of your mind for another night. Don't worry about the funny looks you get at work the next morning as that graze on your elbow soaks through your shirt...they dont know that you earnt it pinning a corner as you undertook 4 other skates in a 'race to the death'...and they probably wouldnt understand.

We will be hitting up our local multi story most weeks from now on so keep an eye on our forums to get the latest...and if you have amassed a nocturnal crew of your own, put it up on the forum and share the stoke.