With the exception of my niece’s b-day party earlier this year, I can’t remember the last time I was on roller skates. It’s probably been damn near twenty years at least. And I was never a great skater. I was an okay skater, but I always watched those kids zooming around on speed skates with undisguised envy.
The Hot Wheels Skatium in Carbondale, IL
But the local roller derby league is holding open try-outs in three weeks, and I kind of, sort of, totally want to be a Southern Illinois Rollergirl! And I no longer have an excuse not to – a really nice roller rink opened up in town, so I don’t have to drive forever or put up with a poorly maintained scuzzy little rink.
Those ubiquitous brown rental skates
So, for the first time in probably two decades, I went to the roller rink tonight, I rented a pair of those horrid brown skates, and I teetered around the rink until I didn’t have to hold onto the wall anymore. And, I did it! Eventually, I didn’t have to hold on to the wall, and while I wasn’t exactly zooming around like some of the pros, I’m pretty happy with how well I did.
Oh, the horror!
Lil Sis came with me – she’s a much better skater than I am because she still has some of the fearlessness of children in her. Unlike me, she’s not afraid of falling and she’s in really good shape (it’s still frustrating to try to skate while carrying so much weight and worrying about falling and getting seriously injured). She’s also very excited about the roller derby and will be trying out alongside me in a few weeks!
She's quite the skater!
So, today, we skated for two hours and until muscles in my inner thighs and legs that I didn’t know I had were screaming in protest. We go back Thursday, and we’ll probably be skating at least twice over the weekend. If we can keep it up for the next few weeks, I have no doubt that we’ll be skating pretty damn well by the time try-outs roll around. As far as I can tell, there’s not a technique or trick to it – it’s like learning to ride a bike without using your handlebars. It just takes a hell of a lot of practice to learn the balance!