The totally radical and allegedly low-paying Dew Tour extreme sporting event wrapped up Sunday at Civic Center Plaza, where Supervisor John Avalos griped that it took up too much public time and space in the name of sugary sodas and corporate profits. While the supervisor's beef with the event may have focused on traffic disruptions and soda that most of us outgrow when they turn 18, members of the local skateboard community took his comments as an affront to San Francisco's skate culture in general.

In an open letter sent out over the weekend, the San Francisco Skateboarding Association president Bryan Hornbeck wrote:

"By publicly condemning the Mountain Dew Tour in their inaugural year in SF, Supervisor John Avalos continued a practice perfected by our parents’ generation of elected leaders: bash skateboarders and deny us access to public spaces in San Francisco."

In addition to the giving Bay Area skate rats something to do other than hang out in Walnut Creek parking lots, the event also did wonders for local skate shops. Kent Uyehara, who owns the popular FTC on Haight Street chimed in:

"To us, this is the Super Bowl of skateboarding. Our store has seen a huge amount of traffic for the past two weeks because of the Dew Tour. This helps our business, which in turn helps our employees. Maybe Supervisor Avalos is upset that they took away his parking space in front of City Hall, but it’s a small price to pay for promoting our industry to the world."

Finally for the Skateboard Association, which advocates for local skaters and new Rec & Parks-approved skateparks in the city, San Francisco holds an important place in the sport's legacy. Not only was Thrasher magazine started here, but San Francisco has more than a few legendary skate spots around town. A few of those were even incorporated into the skate course itself. The middle section bears a remarkable resemblance to the China Banks spot near Portsmouth Square in Chinatown, but here's extreme dude Manny Santiago going on a skate tour from 3rd & Army, to the old Hubba Hideout at Justin Herman, and ending up on Pier 7 all in one run:

As for the accusations that crews working to build the park weren't paid according to the city's minimum wage laws, that investigation is still ongoing.

[SFist Tipline]
[ABC7]