Saturday, June 23, 2007

On a roll



Would you call a middle aged woman who is in-line skating for the first time in over 4 years, praying fervently for her life at the top of every slope to Jesus, Buddha, Allah, and the Virgin Mary....

An old holy roller?


Here is my darling husband, who also has not been on his roller blades for over 4 years, showing off how good he is. And of course being a guy, refusing to wear a brain bucket.


Today's dream travel destination: The The 10 km Seymour Valley Trailway, a little-advertised gem in north Vancouver. Running up the Seymour valley, it is a wide, paved trail, excellent for bikers and rollerbladers. We used to rollerblade it regularly, and are getting ready to again this summer.


Of course Holland would be great too. Flat. Flat is good.

19 comments:

Big Brother said...

As you say flat is good, hills much less so especially on roller blades, the brakes aren't all that good. Ottawa is great for roller blading. The path along the Ottawa river is great for skating or biking, 20km of relatively flat well maintained paved path. In Montreal there is the Lachine Canal bike path which is also a great place to roller blade or bike on.

Voyager said...

bb, I know the Ottawa paths. The Montreal Lachine Canal path I would love to explore. I have not been to Montreal since expo. Now that's a few years ago!
V.

Dumdad said...

Let the good times (and people) roll. Looks like fun but I think I'll stick to my bicycle....

Alda said...

I've yet to try rollerblading but I've always wanted to.

And Holland is lovely ... flat and lovely. :)

Ian Lidster said...

A 'not so' old Holy Roller indeed. I hope you didn't 'faw down' and hurt yourself. So, my friend, I used to be a good ice skater and I've always wanted to try in-line skates. Does one skill transfer to the other effectively? Oh, and I'm saying I always 'wanted' to take it up, not necessarily that I will so do.

Ian

Voyager said...

dd, It is fun. But so is a bicycle.

Alda, I used to rollerblade a lot. It's a great workout if you skate hard, but easier on the knees than running.

Ian, if you can ice skate you can roller blade. The only difference is in stopping, which unfortunately is the most important skill to master!

V.

Rozanne said...

I'm terrified of rollerblading. I tried it once in (flat) Chicago, and did not enjoy even one minute of it. It ***does*** look fun, though.

Insist that hubby wear a crash hat next time. I don't care how good he is--there are too many other people not paying attention.

CS said...

I can skate on the old four-wheeled skates and I can ice skate pertty well, but I cannot rolelr blade. Or more accurately, I can't stop on roller blades. Son't know why, but I fall more than I'm comfortable with.

Voyager said...

Rozanne, I have only just got B to finally agree to wear a helmet while cycling. I'll work on rollerblading too!

CS, Yes, stopping is the hard part. I use the rubber brake pad a lot, but B just drags his hind foot sideways, a move I can't do as well. We were just going slowly up and down the dead end streets in my neighbourhood on Saturday, so I did not put on full gear, but usually I have knee and elbow pads as well as the wrist guards and helmet. The more protective gear I have on, the less I fall. Go figure.

jmb said...

Good for you, if you don't do it you lose it. It's pretty well hilly everywhere when you start rollerblading isn't it?
You've got to work on DH to wear his helmet. A pain, but...
regards
jmb

Voyager said...

jmb, What is it about men and helmets? And in B's case, it's not as though a helmet would ruin his hair.
V.

Leslie said...

Go you! Would you call a woman who hasn't been on a bike in 30 years slightly out of shape? I would. My other half recently bought a new one to use to commute to downtown and I'm so tempted to climb on and see if the old saying's true. This chick's definitely gonna wear a brain bucket though.

Diana said...

So much braver than I am there, V. Last time I went skating was 30 years ago in one of those old skating rinks. Yes, the skates were 2 on a side, like the ones I had at home that had a key.

Jazz said...

God, the very thought of getting on roller blades scares the bejeezus out of me. I have no problem with skydiving but rolling on those litte wheels? Terror.

Go figure.

CS said...

My son does that side drag thing with his foot, but when I try it just about wrenches my leg off. Sigh. Anyway, I'm back to tell you, you’ve been tagged with an award!.

Mike Minzes said...

Great pictures!!

Ian Lidster said...

BTW, I left a comment on cs's blog saying how much I thoroughly approved of her picking you for a 'rocking girl' blogger award. I thought her choice was excellent.
Your friend,
Ian

Anonymous said...

What a pretty trail and town. Yeah for getting back on the roller blades.

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