[SLIDESHOW] Skate, cycle, sun and pain: dispatches from the skate park

August afternoon. Blistering heat. Scorching cement. The whir of wheels.

Four BMX riders descended on the Msida skate park determined to show off their prowess with the bike.

With a pedigree stretching back to the 80s, the BMX remains a strong favourite among cyclists with a predilection for stunts and tricks.

The four cyclists took up their places at different ends of the graffiti-adorned skate park. Music blasted straight into their ears from their iPods. Giving each other a quick glance, they silently agreed on who would do what. And with that, they spun their wheels.

For over two hours, they performed individual, as well as team tricks. Jumping from opposite sides of a cement pyramid, two riders passed inches away from each other. Halfway up a ramp, the other two swung their bicycle frames in synch as they stood on their front wheels.

Moments later, three young skateboarders arrived, followed by an adult mentor. As the young trio talked shop, their elder counterpart whizzed across the park. Flowing through a number of tricks, he jumped off a ramp, landing on a flat piece of cement... all a way of showing his young protégés the ropes.

The young boarders then took it in turns to try out different moves. One after another, they jumped on and off their boards, until one of them plucked up enough courage to attempt the jump down a ramp. Satisfaction beamed in every pair of eyes as the jumper pulled up on the opposite ramp.

The hobby does not come without the occasional jolt of pain. As the guys walked off to continue their tricks, one could be heard complaining of a torn trouser leg after two bicycles connected half way down a ramp, leaving their riders in a tangled heap. The same fate knocked on a skateboarder's door as he parted company with his board in mid-air.

Sitting down to catch their breath and water their parched throats, both the BMX riders and skateboarders said that for them, this was a way of life rather than a sport. The activities bring together people from all walks of life. People with little education, graduates, guys barely in their teens and even those approaching middle age.