I’m Back Bitches!

My apologies for the aggressive title, however I am once again inspired to blog about my experience on wheels and I’m so very excited about it!

I felt most comfortable talking about my journey while I was still struggling at every skill and working to pass my assessments. Once I passed and became a bouting skater and later a veteran, it felt much more foreign to try to share what I was going through. I didn’t think anyone would find it interesting to read about how I’m trying to master the washing machine with the left shoulder leading. I wasn’t on a top tier team, so my guidance was better suited to the skaters I was training at practice.

Then the injuries came. One in 2015, one in 2017. They were so very disheartening. And while there absolutely should be more posts about injuries and recovery, I didn’t have the right state of mind for it.

So 10 years into roller derby, and a global pandemic hits. What now? We managed to have one bout in March before my city and state went into lockdown. It was a home team game, with newbie skaters reffing, so it felt like a safe event. We weren’t bringing anybody in from out of town, we sanitised our venue, and we didn’t slap hands. Practices were scheduled the following week, but promptly cancelled. Like many leagues, we attempted to do an online practice, but it became clear that it wasn’t sustainable.

Now here’s my disclaimer: I’ve not been a skate park gal during my derby career. There was a fear that I could get hurt during the bouting season and let my team down, and post injuries there was a fear that I would have trouble with my body and should maybe reserve skating for something I actually knew how to do. BUT I have long been an extreme sports fanatic. I have watched SO MANY years of the X-Games and other competitions. In fact, it was a fair metric that if I skipped watching the X-Games to hang out with someone, it meant something. I have long dreamed of being like my idols on tv 

Cut to August sometime. A former teammate is visiting and encourages me to come out to the skate park. I’d had a beer or so, which made it seem like a good idea. But I wasn’t intoxicated, so no one could talk me out of it. I also had a strong desire to get out of my apartment. I had an attitude of, “Well, I haven’t died yet,” and that made the experience much less daunting. I tried and failed at so many things that night. I tried dropping in, which is not for newbies or the faint of heart. I felt bolstered by friends and the newness of the skills. Yeah, I fell. But I tried. Which is what also happened when I went snowboarding for the first time and was brought to the top of the mountain.

So I’ve been back a couple of times. Each time has involved some falls, some successes, and moments of both terror and glee (sometimes simultaneously). I’ve gone alone and with friends, day and night. My experience in derby means that my proprioception is pretty good and I can usually instantly tell what went wrong after I try something. I have also spent a lot of time watching other skaters, of all disciplines, to learn the mechanics of the techniques.

I’m by no means good. But I’m determined. And I’m still a skating nerd. I will be obsessively studying and reverse engineering and learning. When I fall, I’m going to get up, shake it off, warm back up, and try it again until I find some level of success. I’m going to try my partner’s inlines and maybe a skateboard.

So hit me up if you’re new to the parks too. Hit me up if you love discussing gear. Hit me up if you want to discuss how the size of the contact patch changes the coefficient of friction and how that can be just as important a factor as the durometer in selecting wheels.

Happy skating!