Ironically, did not discover my athletic self until more than a decade into adulthood when the skate bug bit me. As a student, I lived in my head and weaseled out of gym classes to take more academic courses.
My first experience with inlines was when I visited a friend in San Francisco. We rented skates and giggled ourselves silly, wobbling up and down hills, holding onto cars and lampposts. Bought my first pair of skates as an unemployment gift to myself; the top-of-the-lines fit like gloves. My NJ housemate, who encouraged me to buy them, did not like being shown up when I successfully rolled backward my second time out. Ah well—we choose the sport that suits us. Helps to have spent bits of my childhood on roller skates coasting the driveway and taking trips to the ice rink.
Shortly after moving to NYC 11 years ago a friend invited me to the well-attended Wednesday night social skate. Heard about the faster, further, leave-bodies-by-the-side-of-the-road Tuesday night skate, 18-26 miles. Bought a helmet and went the following Tuesday, and every Tuesday for years. The social aspect made me forget how hard I had to work to keep up. At first I had to train with men 15 years my senior to keep up. I owe much to the encouragement of better, senior skaters, both female and male. Earned more scars on my knees as an adult on skates than ever as a child on Big Wheels.
Got new skates this summer. The 100mm wheels sail over rough pavement & potholes, and climb hills more easily. The cuff seam has bruised my entire right ankle, ripe for growing a bone spur. The discovery of EZ-Fit booties, a neoprene half-sock, has made skating enjoyable again.
Still mourn my last skates, which served me faithfully for 4,000+ miles. They have toured:
* Cross-country from Kittery Maine to Philadelphia Pennsylvania—8 states with 9 other skaters, 423 miles
* Two A2A road races [Athens to Atlanta, an infamous 100-mile-in-a-day skate event]
* Two Tour To Tanglewood North Carolina bike-a-thons of 90 and 100 hilly miles where cyclists treat skaters like minor celebrities and document me as their first female skater
* Defi de Montreal, 128km around the island
* Miami Great E-Skate, DC Skate Weekend, Skate Boston, Philadelphia Free Skate, and (NY) Big Apple Roll - fun weekends of 5-7 skates, partying and socializing.
* Paris Friday Night Skates and a three-day skate trip along a rails-to-trails path through French wine country
* Berlin
* NY 100K (for which I ran registration for a few years and sang the pre-race anthems)
* Eddy Matzgar's skate clinic
* a few Greenwich Village Halloween parades (thanks Aaron and Tracie for the loan of the Batgirl costume); the first year I skitched home (pulled along) on the back of a boyfriend's motorcycle
* … and years of weekly street skates over bridges to NY outerboroughs and NJ plus training skates of 50+ miles. Lots of pavement in New York!
Street skaters seem to have some qualities of an adrenaline junkie. I like to challenge my fear of heights by dabbling in flying trapeze, skydiving in Hawaii, bungee jumping in Florida over a pond (which bore a sign "do no feed the alligators"), and screaming in terror down roller coasters. From diving in the air to diving underwater, I have also had the opportunity to scuba the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Belize, Cozumel, and Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean. It was dear skate friends who introduced me to trapeze and scuba, in fact.
Skating was a great escape from my unhappy and sedentary life pushing papers on Wall Street. Took a 7-year hiatus from skating to overhaul the career and grow a physically demanding business around another passion: Dogs. It was a tribute to my beagle Casey, no longer with us, that I created Camp Blossom out of a desire to be home for her in her senior years. I get paid to watch puppies play, offering a platinum-level service as dog behaviorist, trainer, boarder, and daycare provider. My dog charges learn etiquette in navigating a densely populated environment, demonstrating a calm, friendly, and trusting demeanor in any number of situations. The newly-built park in front of my building facing the Hudson River serves as my office. Before you feel badly for a city dog, wait until you see their activity and social calendar! In return, the dogs have taught me great kindness and an endless generosity of spirit. I log 4-7 walking miles per day but always prefer to skate!
Some of the most fun paid jobs have been on skates:
* Wearing a purple MSN butterfly costume to debut the new web browser by skating the city and singing badly-written jingles
* Skating with dogs - someone has to teach them not to launch and bark at skates!
* Skating with a cat (okay, that was my idea while catsitting last week—he liked it—but I have been hired to walk cats on leash outside)
Other passions include musical theater, fine dining, and fantasy novels. For 3 weeks every fall I hang up my skates and binge on a musical theater festival, attending 30-40 original musicals in 3 weeks. Have volunteered for the nonprofit producer, not quite ready to venture into producing myself. During the rest of the year, I attend an average of 3 live shows per week, from musicals to plays to bands to improv to cabaret. Lots to do and see and eat in NYC! Running with dogs and skating the streets affords me the eating habit, one of life's greatest pleasures. My current 25-book fantasy series describes life in and around castles, and war with swords on horseback. Looking forward to seeing castles and medieval towns!
Forty-and-a-half years old, single, and loving life.
If you have read this far, thank you for your interest. Thanks, Steve and friends, for taking a chance on a stranger.
Here's hoping for dry weather and smooth pavement. Looking forward to new skate friends, good laughs, and great memories.
