Skating: Day Four, with Photos and Vid By Kitty....

We shall start and end with Bengals tonight, as all the best stories should. Here's Little Queen Mab. Cat Mihos is here this week, and when she comes, I get lucky. (That may have come out wrong) By lucky I mean I get lots of great photos and tonight, some video as well. All of the photos here are hers, as well as the video.

(Thank you, my love!)

I found out our local Roller rink has open skates on Sundays and Wednesdays, which is going to be perfect, schedule-wise, for my skating practice. They also have a Bouncy Castle in the middle of the track, which tends to minimize that Real Derby Feeling I am going for here, and was also a bit disappointing in that one needs to be under 9 to use it.

Other than that tho, I love the place. The people who worked there got excited about our song requests, (And I believe the fact that there were people there) and have agreed to play us anything we want when we come to skate.

"We" today was Myself, Cat, Daisy, Daisy's Husband and a friend of theirs.

Limbo contest. Yes, we joined in. Got beat by a 4 year old, but in our defense, he had REALLY SHORT on his side.



This is a short, and I do mean short, video of my Toe Stop. A little move I was practicing today. One turns around backwards and hops up on ones toes and, hopefully stops, and skates off quickly the other way.

Watching a lot of the video Cat took was really good for seeing what I am doing WRONG. I've been watching the National Derby Championships this weekend, and last weekend, of course, watched a whole lot of Derby practice live and in person.

I don't look like they do YET. But this is only, if you count House on the Rock, my 4th time out. And I am darn sure I couldn't do it if Joan of Dark had not left me a pair of her skates. These skates KNOW what they are doing. I rely on them for instruction.

The biggest thing I learned today, watching video, was that the Bee Rule of "No Flailing" applies to Derby as well. I Flailed around like a, er, FLAILER. Things got much better when everything stayed in close. I did a lot of FAST and going around corners tightly as well. I'd say I was good at dodging people too. Didn't hit anyone at any rate.



Another great thing about skating today was my confidence. It's all coming back. I grew up a figure skater, and somewhere, somehow, I remember this. I'm not afraid on quads any more than I ever was on ice skates.

FIT is hard. Starting a new sport at the complete BOTTOM from scratch is hard. Skating is hard. Derby, one surmises, more so. Pushing yourself until you can't move, skate, stand, ride, dance, whatever: Hard.

But you know what? It's the best feeling ever. And it's only going to get better. And it's very very worth it.

This makes me happy.

And beyond tired. Total noodle legs after an hour, tho the Screaming Shin thing seems to have given up and settled down. I love this, again short, vid mostly because of the soundtrack.

Perfect.



And we end with Bengals. King Lear the huge, in my bed. Which is where I will be soon.

Love, Bengals and Skating Again,
Lorraine