Inline
Skating Newsletter Article Inline
Skating Newsletter Article Eric has been in touch with me since he started skating in March 2000 on off-road 3-wheel skates. This letter was so fun to read I had to share it--with Eric's permission--with others who are sure to identify. BTW, he lives and is learning to skate in Germany--LM
Here is the latest update on my rollerblading progress... My daughter (9 years old) and I are watching television and guess what comes on? The European Downhill Rollerblading Championship for both Men and Women.... It was truly wonderful to see this spectacular sporting event. Anyway, as I told you before, she and my wife are both better bladers than me... But they are my hands-on teachers... So we decide to have our usual Saturday blading experience...
Recently my daughter has been getting "bored" with her blades, but after seeing the girls in this downhill competition, she was totally enthusiastic this Saturday about blading... Normally, we rollerblade together in a big parking lot, but this time I suggest we rollerblade in an industrial area in the street.... Both my wife and my daughter look at me with a gleam in their eyes and readily agree. In the past, after about 30-45 minutes, I was tired and my legs hurt and I was panting and ready to quit... Well, this time we are rollerblading up and down and around these streets, and after about an hour my wife is finished... She is complaining that it is too hot and she cannot continue... But get this Liz, I am not even tired... I rollerblade at least 2-3 times a week now (not counting weekends), and my wife only on Saturdays.
My wife goes to the car and that's it for her but, my daughter and I start racing and doing swizzles and seeing who can swizzle the farthest ( I won) and who can stop the quickest (she won). I still cannot use the back brake yet, and we continue for about another hour... We go to a nice outside cafe and have lunch, where my wife tells me I have really improved, and I am more steady and confident on my blades.... Of course, inside I am thanking you and making all sorts of homages to your existence, but outside I just smile and say thank you....
After lunch, my daughter suggests we skate some more and do some downhill daredevil skating like we saw on T.V.... Well, I am not too sure I can handle this but I say I will skate with her to the hills and watch her... My wife agrees to do the same... We get to the first hill and my daughter attacks it and succeeds in conquering it... My wife backs out, and I am torn between backing out and accepting a challenge that will raise my skating experience to a new level... Well Liz, you would be proud of me: I accepted the challenge.
I quietly say a quick prayer, do a mental check to make sure my Merrill Lynch account has my daughter and wife as beneficiaries, and push off down the hill... I even stroke a little to get some additional speed... I start to brake when the speed is faster than I can think. I am doing the wide A-line edge brake thing. I start to lose speed and I am half way down and I am thinking "Great job!" when all of a sudden I find myself swerving to the left... I start to panic (1st mistake), and then I wipe out...
Fortunately, there is a grassy field on this side of the road... Helmet on, and all my pads, so I am not hurt, but my ego is crushed... I get up and there is grass and hay-like material coming out of my pads... A grass stain on my shirt, road rash (my first) on my shoulder, but no physical damage... You would have laughed your pretty "perfectly shaped shoulders off" at the sight of me... But the funny thing was it was such "FUN"!!!! I pick myself up, wipe off all the grass and dirt and am ready to call it a day. But my daughter--who takes horseback riding lessons--remembers the first time she fell off the horse. She did not want to get back on it and I made her do it, by telling her that "WIMPS" fall and then walk away, but "CHAMPIONS" fall and they get up and go right back until they do it right...
So I am skating back up hill nursing my ego, thinking I am going to skate home and she calmly says to me "Daddy are you going to be a WIMP or a CHAMPION"? Well, you can guess the rest of the story.... Down I go again, I succeed, but now she wants to do a bigger hill.... At this time I have to push my body just to stay up on the damn skates... And we have to skate UP all these steep hills, so we can skate down them...
When we finally skated home, I was totally finished... But the workout was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it and needed it... I realized that I am now in much better physical shape than when I started in March... The last time I skated was about a week and a half ago... I've been too busy, as I am getting ready to take the family on our yearly Mecca to Barbados... So I had to do a lot of catching up and getting ahead at work so I can afford the 3 week vacation without my desk at work becoming a paper and undone assignment dump...
But anyway, I found myself wishing I could make more time to skate... It is like it is in my blood or something.... You know what I mean??? Well, anyway thanks for all you have done for me... You have surely got me hooked on this thing for better or for worse... I would like you to tell me where I can go to find out more about recreational skating for fitness, as I truly enjoy that aspect of it... The downhill stuff was fun, but a little to extreme for my present skills, but at least I have just progressed up another level after completing my first, second and third hills, with my daughter... I am going to take your advice and buy some 4 wheel skates next month, instead of my big three wheelers, and would appreciate any information you can give me on where I can find more information on fitness skating.... Thank you, and until my next update, waiting to hear from you... Oh, if you ever come to Europe let me know..!!!!!!
Eric ________________________________________________________________________
Comments or questions? Ask Liz