Why Do You Skate?

[motosk8ter]

I started this thread in the previous forum as I wanted to look into the reasons racers, fitness types, quad runners and others skate. I returned to skating about six years ago and fell in love with it again. I skate both inlines and quads just for the joy and fitness aspects. I have three sets of skates, 4X100's, 4X80's(the original inlines and my favorites) and the Riedell Torque series quads. I did the rink for awhile, still do, but discovered the outdoors and distance. Every time I skate it leaves me with a really mellow feeling after having been pumped. I find the people to be fun, unconventional yet very intelligent. I recently started looking at old, antique, skates and found them really cool. I aspire to speed skating but it is so easy to blow by me that I find I aspire more towards just "hanging in there". I was in Germany, prior to seeing this thread in 03, and never skated with the Europeans. That was a missed opportunity and would be an honor, as much as riding motorcycles there, and I plan to do it one of these days. My reasons for skating keep changing. I recently helped to start an "oldies night" at our local rink, "Roller King". Folks who were intimidated by the younger crowd are suddenly appearing and it has become an "in" night. The technical aspects of skating, bearings, wheels, frames and boots are exciting. Each new boot, wheel, bearing or frame changes the whole dynamic of the skate which in turn makes it more of a challenge. It never grows old as little changes make big differences. My only regret about skating is that I wish I had returned years ago but as they say, "There is no time like the present". It would be really awesome to hear why we skate. There has to be a psychology out there that connects us all!

[speedysktr]

the voices tell me to

[Ice Ramps]

I'll try to give you the short version of this, besides the psychology of pysical activity it is just plain fun. I grew up in the rink (both ice and roller) as my Mom was a coach. Sure, I had fun like all kids but it was later in life when I was deployed for a year during Desert Shield/Storm that I came to know how much I missed it, I actually improved more when I returned than I did in years of training. Anyway this is not always the case with breaks in skating, as we get back into it injuries can happen (esp as we get older). A couple of years ago I made a return to speed skating after a break from that paticular dislipline but tore my left calf during sprint training early in the return process. I have recovered but I have to stretch more often to prevent re-injury.

Dale

[Pepper Montana]

1. One reason is that it feels so good when I stop.
2. Skating teaches you about life. Speedskating mirrors the pace of my life. Sometimes you go all out and sometimes you get to ride the paceline.
3. It allows me to be just a little different from everyone else. Skaters are few and far between.
4. Speedskating teaches important life lessons like always check your equipment, always be alert for changing conditions, sometimes you are rewarded for paying your dues and working out, not everyone is meant to be a skater (you have to find what works for you)
5. Skating teaches you to listen to your coaches. Like when us eager, but raw, freshmen at Great Lakes State U. found ourselves in the championship against Hawthorne College. We discovered that in spite of our not so great equipment and facilities, we could overcome our opponents if we showed we had a good attitude. We also found that the girl we were supposed to be with was right in front of us the whole time! And, she is really foxy when she takes off her glasses and baggy grey sweatshirt. Who knew? Our coach didn't just teach us the double push (Yes, we finally got it just before the championship...) Our coach, gruff and crusty with rough edges, haunted by a few demons of his own, taught us how to be good people in life. We didn't have the advantages of Hawthorne College, but we had something better. That's right, we had heart. A big bucketful of good attitude and fightin' spirit. Sure, it wasn't easy. But our Coach with a heart of gold showed us how to be winners. Thanks, coach!
6. Skating is a fantastic way to work out and feel super. It makes your legs taut and springy with tons of vibrant energy pulsing out and down. Your heart and lungs become a smooth powerful machine pumping out gallons of energy and life.
7. Skating is fun and allows you to meet many great and interesting people.
8. One time, at St. Paul, I rode an elevator with an angel! Skating is the best!

[online inline]

Theres too many reasons to count, and ultimately, there's no reason.
"Why do I skate?"
It's a question i never have to ask myself when i strap on the skates. And I'd like to think that if i could post a video of myself here, anyone seeing it wouldn;t have to ask either.

[motosk8ter]

O/I, I gather the answer to your entry is "If I have to ask I would not Understand". I get that line from the Harley Davidson folks and with them I really do not care. We share a common sport but in different ways. I guess I was surprised at your cryptic answer which seemed a bit elitist. Possibly I misunderstood it. In any case have a great skate and an even better day. Phil

[online inline]

moto, sorry you read it that way, because it certainly wasn;t intended, but i can see how it could be misconstrued. (Sure let's talk about it, but I also think that skating done well speaks in it's own way to the same end).

I agree with all the reasons others have sighted. This question was asked a few months ago and there were countless reasons, all of which contribute to the enjoyment of this sport. They are all reasons to skate. They are the reasons i skate too.

But do they drive us to skate? Must i skate? Well, no, I don't think there is a reason why i skate. I just do it and keep doing it. I really don't think there is a 'reason', truth be told. There's a reason why I go to work, and there's a reason why i pay my taxes, but there really is no reason why i am compelled to skate day after day. I think it's bigger than that.

And so, when i skate, I don't have to start looking for what drives me to do this, as I know very resolutely as soon as i start doing it. It's self-evident to me, atleast. (But, as a counter-point, hwo many times a week do i have to ask myself why i put up with my job, for example).

And lastly, i would hope, that when i skate really well, when i really start hitting my stride, the physical expression of that activity would be so filled with grace, beauty, and vigor that anyone witnessing it would understand what would drive someone like me to the extremes necessary to perfect this extrordinary maneuver.

So, in the end, i consider it a victory that i cannot reduce this complex phenomenon, and the motivating force behind it, to words. It's beyond words. Let poets take words to make things of awe and wonder. I can't. Hopefully before i am through, i will take the tools of this sport and create my measure of awe and wonder, but it will be way beyond what can be described by words alone.

It's fun to talk about. But all i'm trying to say is let;s not forget that skating has a language all it's own and a purpose all it's own, and they go beyond any need to be justified.

[ZoeIzaSk8ter27]

Originally Posted by Dave Morgan

1. Skating teaches you to listen to your coaches. Like when us eager, but raw, freshmen at Great Lakes State U. found ourselves in the championship against Hawthorne College. We discovered that in spite of our not so great equipment and facilities, we could overcome our opponents if we showed we had a good attitude. We also found that the girl we were supposed to be with was right in front of us the whole time! And, she is really foxy when she takes off her glasses and baggy grey sweatshirt. Who knew? Our coach didn't just teach us the double push (Yes, we finally got it just before the championship...) Our coach, gruff and crusty with rough edges, haunted by a few demons of his own, taught us how to be good people in life. We didn't have the advantages of Hawthorne College, but we had something better. That's right, we had heart. A big bucketful of good attitude and fightin' spirit. Sure, it wasn't easy. But our Coach with a heart of gold showed us how to be winners. Thanks, coach!

dad, what are you talking about..?

anyways, I skate because it is alot of fun for me, it is better excersise than softball, and my dad and I actually get along when we skate. weird...

btw, im at school. =o

[Jessica]

Originally Posted by ZoeIzaSk8ter27

anyways, I skate because it is alot of fun for me, it is better excersise than softball, and my dad and I actually get along when we skate. weird...

It's amazing the things skating can do

[ZoeIzaSk8ter27]

It is amazing.. I never thought it would be so addicting, either. I think skating has really changed my life alot. And those are other reasons why I skate... I'm completely addicted, and when I skate I feel proud of myself, because I'm getting better at something very difficult.

[BWI-Sheldon]

.

[xlracer]

I'll be 47 in 5 weeks and at my age anything that makes me feel like Im 16 again is alright by me. When ever I have my skates on, I can still do things that I did when I was 16. Granted I cant do 1500 meters in under 3 minutes but I can still skate fast enough for a few laps to have some fun. I just wish I could get more floor time. Skating sessions is okay but there is nothing like pure floor time. Just you and a few other skaters and skating hard and turning left over and over and over again.

[BWI-Sheldon]

Originally Posted by speedysktr

the voices tell me to

still the best reason I've heard.

[lightningstrike]

Originally Posted by speedysktr

the voices tell me to

Originally Posted by BWI-Sheldon

still the best reason I've heard.

I second that.

[Laserskateplate]

It Keeps me Young.
It keeps me in good health.
It keeps me out of Trouble.
It connects me to past generations, And the ones coming up.
It keeps me in touch with my community.
It challenges me , It Frustrates me, It comforts me.
I GLIDE ON THIS MUSIC, I FLOAT ON THESE WHEELS.
AND ....I'll be doing it till they put me in the ground

SKATING ........The other Drug!!!!

[oldnslow]

I thought he just did it to collect sh*t.

[BWI-Sheldon]

Originally Posted by speedysktr

the voices tell me to

Every once in a while I have to revisit #2 post in this thread.

Well said sir speedy!

[coomes]

Originally Posted by speedysktr

the voices tell me to

Originally Posted by BWI-Sheldon

Every once in a while I have to revisit #2 post in this thread.

Well said sir speedy!

+1. Or is it +2? Yep, that's about it. Skating seems to make those voices happy.

[Jointlock]

1-exercise 2-stress management (must have the IPod for that)
3- fresh air
4- the ability to move in ways I can't on foot
5- get people into the sport
6- help the new skaters
7- spend hours trying to make my body move through a set of mini cones so I can still be cool at 41
8- make new friends
9- social outlet
10- turn down a lot of dates with a lot of nice women in my age range (have the best girlfriend a guy could want....but it still makes the ego feel good)

[skaterdog]

I started skating as a way to do something with my 7 year old daughter. She loved to skate and I took her to the roller rink at the end of our street every Friday night. She got to be very good and fast and quickly moved up to speed skates while Dad stayed with his rec skates.

Some of my very best memories are of those Friday nights at the rink where I was often one of 2 or three people in a packed rink who was over 20 years old. I felt a bit out of place but I loved to watch my little red headed girl speeding around the rink.

Once in a while I'd get tangled up with some kids skating the wrong way or playing tag and I'd hit the floor. My daughter was way more coordinated and graceful than me and in all the years we skated there I never saw her fall.

One of the odd side effects of all of these skating sessions is that when I hear some old Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears song I'm transported back in time to the crowded roller rink, the smell of roll-on and the fog machine...the rush of energy from skating in a wild fast pack of skaters..kids passing or jumping on and off the rink while you test your reactions to avoid hitting them...and feeling tired relaxed and happy walking out into the cold night air with my arm draped over my daughter's shoulder.

These are snapshots that are burned into my brain as I moved on to speed skates...the speedskating team...the joys of outdoor skating on big wheels. I still think the best times were back then.

Or maybe it's because my daughter grew up and left for college last week? It seems like time goes so FAST.

That's why I skate!