A Displaced Skater

Hubby and I made plans to visit our local skatepark last weekend. Our skatepark closes for the winter so we were thrilled that they were open for the season! We like to go during adult skate hours because it’s usually dead but the few skaters that do show up are pretty friendly. So, we headed out to do some skating in sunny, 70 degree weather, which was a wonderful break from the rainy, gloomy, and cold weather we’ve been having over here.

Ladies, do you ever get a little anxious before skating? I do. (Eek!) I attribute it to not feeling comfortable with my skating abilities and probably not trusting myself. When hubby and I began skating around the skatepark, I guess he noticed my tense stance (I, on the other hand, wasn’t aware of it). To help me relax, he skated past by me and said, “Be calm and assertive” — a la Dog Whisperer. Oddly enough, I knew what he meant. So, I relaxed my stance and shook off the nerves. It’s nice to have a skating partner. 

I practiced my pumping and riding fakie. Everything seemed natural to me. I was extremely excited that I did not lose my skating abilities after 3 months of nonskating! (Yes, I know. I haven’t lived up to my New Year’s resolutions but I’m all about flexibility so I’ll just roll with it. Pun intended.) The one thing I couldn’t help but notice was how tired my quads were feeling. Talk about muscle atrophy! After an hours worth of skateboarding, I realized that I need to start getting into skating shape. I figure I can start doing some other exercises along with the skateboarding to build up my leg muscles. I’m curious — what do you guys do to get into “skateboarding shape”? Do you do other types of exercise? If so, what? I’m doing yoga twice a week so I’m hoping it’ll help me build some leg strength. If anything, I’ll get the benefits of being more balanced — physically and mentally.

One last tidbit from last weekend: There were some very friendly and encouraging skater dudes at adult skate. It wasn’t until after my skate session when I definitely felt like a displaced skater. I was speaking with a friendly, older skater dude at the park, and he said that I was a “good sport” for skating with my husband at the skatepark. I was a bit taken aback by his comment, which I’m sure was his own way of saying “rock on, dudette!”. I thanked him and told him that it was actually me who encouraged my husband to pick up skateboarding again, not the other way around. He was cool about it, but I couldn’t help to think that perhaps there was an underlying message in his comment. Not sure. One thing is for sure, though. It wasn’t until then that I realized that I was the only female at the skatepark. Where are you, chicas?

I’d like to welcome Amanda from Cary, IL. Yay! She has a blog on CarveStarved, and you can check out her post here. One of her goals this year is to find a skate buddy. I’d like to help her out. I think everyone can agree that skate buddies make the experience fun and challenging. Case in point — I love to skate with my skate buddy (my husband). He motivates me to learn new things, and it’s hella fun! So, if you’re a skater from the Chicago area who is also looking for a skate buddy, please indicate your interest in the comments section below. I’ll be in contact. Thanks ladies!

…but still excited to do it when I get a chance to skate. On MLK day, a few of us acted on Obama’s call to service. Hubby and I skateboarded around the U.S. Capitol with a couple of friends and picked up trash at
a do-it-yourself skatepark underneath a bridge in D.C. Patti made the video of our adventure (and learning a version of bert slides). I couldn’t figure out how to embed the video so check it out here.

….because I’m looking forward to skating some more! Ladies, what are your skating goals for 2009? Here are mine:

1) Skate at least once a week. Work, commuting, and other life stuff have been getting in the way of my skating, especially the last several months. So, I hope to skate at least once a week for a couple of hours at my local skatepark, around the neighborhood, or anyplace that looks like its worth skating.

2) Learn to shred a bowl. Hmm…..I can ride fakie and my pumping is getting better but riding a bowl is my goal. I suppose the next step would be to learn how to carve in a bowl.

3) Longboard. Before I do this, I need to buy a longboard! Marye wrote a great post about longboarding equipment and I plan on using it as my purchasing guide. I found a parkway by where I live, and I think it’ll be a great place to do some longboarding. It has a nice, low decline, a couple of small hills, and very little traffic. The parkway is scenic so I think it’ll be a chill ride.

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m starting to wonder what in the world I’m going to do once winter comes around. It gets chilly (and sometimes snowy/icy) in the D.C. metro area, and sunlight is starting to become a luxury. I know I’ll be able to skate on weekends but I wonder about the times when weather can wreak havoc on those plans. I’m curious… what do you chicas do when winter comes storming around? Do you skate, watch skating videos, post more often on CarveStarved, practice tricks at home….? How do you keep/continue the stoke during the dreadful months of winter?