Introduce Yourself

[BHicks]

Hi! I joined last year, but never took the time to post.

My name is Brenda. I now live in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach area), but I grew up as a Rink Rat in the same rink Rob (BPTS) did...in fact, I'm trying to figure out if I remember him.

I skated out of Skate City, Littleton in the mid/late seventy's and early eighties. My focus was mainly artistic--freestyle, dance, figure, but I also did speed skating during that time.

My family moved to the mountains of Colorado and opened a rink called Rolling Wheels in Buena Vista in 1983. I competed in freestyle, figures and dance. It stayed open until the early 90's.

We opened our next rink in Canon City, Colorado in 2002/03--it only stayed open a couple of years.

Anyway, I've pulled out the skates and am trying to skate again. I can still land most of my singles (I haven't had enough guts to try a loop yet) and still have an awesome outer forward upright.

I'm skating on Harlick custom boots and Atlas AE84 plates with Bones super elite wheels. I had a toe stop shatter and I have been trying to find a replacement. I could really use some guidance if anyone knows where I can find freestyle toe stops to fit my plates (and possibly maintenance parts).

[Derrick]

Originally Posted by BHicks

Hi! I joined last year, but never took the time to post.

My name is Brenda. I now live in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach area), but I grew up as a Rink Rat in the same rink Rob (BPTS) did...in fact, I'm trying to figure out if I remember him.

I skated out of Skate City, Littleton in the mid/late seventy's and early eighties. My focus was mainly artistic--freestyle, dance, figure, but I also did speed skating during that time.

My family moved to the mountains of Colorado and opened a rink called Rolling Wheels in Buena Vista in 1983. I competed in freestyle, figures and dance. It stayed open until the early 90's.

We opened our next rink in Canon City, Colorado in 2002/03--it only stayed open a couple of years.

Anyway, I've pulled out the skates and am trying to skate again. I can still land most of my singles (I haven't had enough guts to try a loop yet) and still have an awesome outer forward upright.

I'm skating on Harlick custom boots and Atlas AE84 plates with Bones super elite wheels. I had a toe stop shatter and I have been trying to find a replacement. I could really use some guidance if anyone knows where I can find freestyle toe stops to fit my plates (and possibly maintenance parts).

Welcome, welcome. Another member that skated Skate City in Littleton in the early 80s. If you did friday/saturday night sessions at all we probably skated at the same session on at least one occasion.

I relly didn’t know people did art on wheels at the time. But I do now. I’m totally jealous of anyone with a good spin.

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by ccsykes

From Houston, my kids age 7 and 9 have gotten me back into skating. They enjoy going and I need the exercise ha!

I started skating at about age 7 in the 1980's. My first rink I rember going to was Winkler Skate in Houston (I think that was the name). It was by I-45 and Winkler drive and was owned by the Wulfen's.

As I got older, I started going to Almeda Skate, also owned by the Wulfen's. It was supposedly the largest rink in town, though I think Champion's might have been about the same size. I will admit, Almeda always did "feel" bigger than all the other rinks in town.

I spent a big chunk of my teen years at Almeda Skate, joined the speed skating team and when I turned 15, started working at Alemda Skate. First checking coats and working the skate counter (the suck jobs). I then moved up to skate guard and eventually was DJ from 1989-1990. I'm still in touch with a few of the late 80's Almeda Skate crowd, including the Wulfen's sons.

I've been skating at Champion's but plan to start checking out other rinks with the kids. I was surprised to see many of the same skating parts still being sold. I recently bought a pair of skates that are as close to the ones I skated with back in the late 80's, early 90's.

595 Riedell's
Laser Plates (Yes, I was/am a Laser fan boy)
Bones Swiss (couldn't find the Fafnir's I use to have)
Power Plus (I had the Orange Lebada's, couldn't find that style anymore)

I've ordered some yellow 83a cushions as the stock Laser one's seem way to rigid to me. I never ran wobbly trucks, but I did skate pretty loose. I can't for the life of me remember how I had my old Laser's setup. I'm in the process of trying to get my current skates to feel and skate like my old ones. So I'm sure I'll be posting another thread to get some advice.

I've run into one member here from Champions, but can't remember their screen name.

-Chad

My skates (took the stopper off)

Welcome to the forum! Catch up with you Sunday.... Our skating group meets and skates on Sunday afternoons. Going to be there this weekend. We alternate between rinks a bit. If I can help, I will.

[Bobo]

Hi Guys and Gals, My name is Bob White (Bobo). I live near Toledo, Ohio. I grew up speed skating on quads, and now with an 8 yr old son we are getting back into session skating, and who knows maybe even something more competitive in the future??? I am 48, Sell Honda Cars (for the last 28Yrs) and am married to a beautiful wife Jennifer.
My current skates are Riedell 495 red Line, Laser plates with Ultimate 2 trucks, NMB, FAFNER, and QUBE Bearings and a mix of Wheels Orange Cannonballs, Atom Poison, and Sure Grip Wheels.
My sons are Gt 50 boots, and plates, Green Atom Poison Wheels and Kwik Bearings.
I look forward to hearing, and seeing posts from other skaters here, and look forward to being a member of the forum.
Thanks, and Hello!!!!!

[nickajshelden]

Originally Posted by Bobo

Hi Guys and Gals, My name is Bob White (Bobo). ......
Thanks, and Hello!!!!!

Hi Bobo. Don't let our silence fool you, there are plenty of folks on here and we'd love to welcome you.
Ohio is a great place for skating, though preferably with larger wheels in some areas, but lots of flat road. Where do you like to skate?

[lorenzo]

Hello.

I (accidentally?) became a roller skater last year while planning my birthday party at the local roller rink. An Instagram user that I follow had been posting all sorts of stuff about roller skating (@misscobra) and gradually I became more and more interested. I mentioned to my mother that I was planning a party at the skate rink and she mentioned that she could never rent skates, since her feet are "too wide." At the time, I believed her, and wondered if perhaps my feet were "too wide" and my birthday plans would be spoiled when the rental counter couldn't accommodate. Not to be prevented from roller skating, I got on eBay with an aim to find a pair of skates that would fit--I found a pair that were ending the next day with an option to "make an offer." Since the skates were still available, I decided to offer the seller half the asking price and went to bed. In the morning, I was surprised and delighted to learn that the seller had accepted my offer and on March 2, 2017 my first pair of skates arrived--Sure Grip Classic plates mounted to Riedell 220 boots. (I have no idea how old these skates are, but the trucks had 7mm axles when they arrived. I had almost no idea what I was doing, but managed to learn quite a lot by lurking here on the SkateLog forums.)

Not long after skating regularly at the rink, I was approached to play men's roller derby. Initially, I refused, stating a lack of interest, but eventually I relented. It didn't take long for me to "break" my plates--I actually just managed to strip out the hex wrench socket on one king pin, but it constituted an emergency, as I was skating constantly. Lucky for me, I live very close to the SkateNow shop, and rushed around the corner about 15 minutes before it would close for the weekend to buy a new set of skates. I arrived back home with a pair of R3s and crisis was averted.

Eventually, I bought replacement parts for the Classic plates and swapped the old trucks for some with 8mm axles. These became my outdoor skates. I wasn't particularly thrilled about the R3s, so it wasn't long before I had Eric at the SkateNow shop put put together a new pair of Bont boots and Arius plates, primarily for playing roller derby. And then I quit roller derby. I probably lasted four months before I deciding that roller derby wasn't my thing, but not before completing the basic skills course faster than any previous skater.

At that point, the Bont skates became my rink skates and the R3s ended up in the closet. I don't really have a primary interest in skating; that is, there's not one type that attracts my attention the most. I probably prefer street skating, slalom, and park skating the most, but I also enjoy trail skating and jam/dance skating at the rink. I recently entered the Salt Lake City Marathon's 10K Skate and realized that I also have an interest in speed skating on quads--is that even real? I'm of the opinion that when a skater wants speed, they skate on in-lines... but I'm willing to have my mind changed. In fact, I'm hoping to chase down those in-liners on my quads next year, but it just dawned on me today that I probably need to make the Bont skates my outdoor skates and skate on the Riedells at the rink.

Anyhow, that's a brief summary of my skate life over the last year or so. I'm looking forward to learning more about shoes with wheels on them... and suspect another pair of skates for the skate park may be in my near future.

[Monkeybeaver]

I rediscovered skating about a year ago when my 7 year old was invited to a party at our local ice rink. He totally fell in love with it even though he seemed to spend more time falling than skating. He was having a hard time getting himself back up so I decided I'd strap some skates on & try to help him. I used to skate on my quads outside with my cousins when I was about his age & had a brief period of skating at a rink in rental quads wen I was about 13 (30 years ago), so I was hoping that these rusty old skills (never was particularly good anyway) would still be there & would be a little transferable, managed to get round without falling & could help him up.
We went back to the rink once a week for the next few weeks, then I signed him, his little brother (4 years old) & me, up for lessons & bought some skates. Bauer Supreme 140 for me, Sherwood Raptor for my 7 year old & some Graf adjustable for my 4 year old.
My (now) 5 year old hasn't really taken to it but his big brother (now 8) still loves it & plays for the local under 9 hockey team.
Got some Bauer XR2 inlines for me (super cheap second hand) & some Tour fb225 for my 8 year old so we could get some skating in off ice. Most of this is spent in the multi use court of our local park with me helping him practise for his ice hockey. Didn't like the way my inlines felt so changed the standard 76,76,80,80 Hi-Lo set up they came with to 72,76,80,76, they now feel a bit closer to ice skates & my boy wants to try to rocker his too.
Started to try to get some more skate time in by using mine instead of my bike to get around town. So far its not been as fun as I'd like because of the terrible condition of our paths, too many tree roots & cable laying repair patches on top of the generally poor surface. Started looking at maybe some bigger wheels, 110 & 125 tri skates. Then came across the Nordic style cross skates. Really like the idea of these, should run well on the awful paths & like the idea of ditching running for a full on Nordic session with poles. Like the idea of the brake, haven't really got the hang of stopping on inlines, T stop is fine but any sort of slide is so different to ice I'm struggling, need to dedicate more time & effort to it really (still love the ice more, when I schedule time to skate its most likely ice time). Not really bothered if they're slower than urethane, not looking for outright speed, just a good workout & a less bumpy/noisy ride. I'd also like to be able to still use them as a means of transportation without the poles, again not looking to break any speed records just need to get around. So far it looks like its Powerslide or Skike, currently leaning towards Skikes because they come standard with 2 brakes which seems to make more sense to me & they look like they might fit in a backpack easier once I get to where I'm going.
Any input on this would be appreciated, I have posted in the fitness forum too.

Sorry for the long post.
Darren

[sdcopp]

Hi there, my name is Shaun. I'm from Colorado Springs, currently 38 years old. I have been skating since I was five, through high school I skated everything I could get on my feet be it hockey, speed, quad, aggressive. For the last twenty or so years I've been pretty much only hockey, but looking to get back onto quads soon to more comfortably enjoy adult skate nights and general rink cruising. If men's derby becomes a thing for my local market I'll probably be there too.

Glad to be here with so many resources and good people to interact with

[ValerieAnne]

Hiiiiiiii!!! My name is Valerie, I'm 33 (34 next month). I am new to inline skating again, after about 15-18 years! So, I'm still deciding on which pair I'd like to get (on my budget, they won't be spectacular or anything though LOL). I don't drive and live in Cincinnati, so will just be riding around my neighbourhood/streets until I get the hang of it again, maybe I can upgrade in a year or two and use for longer distances. I've just REALLY missed skating a lot in the last few years. Whenever I'd go on vacation with family (that had kids), I'd make sure we could stop at a rink, so I could skate for a bit, haha!

Anyhow, as I said, I live in Cincinnati, I love to read and listen to music. Country is my preferred genre of chose, but I'll listen to anything that's audible/can be understood. Lately, I've been really into genealogy as well. I have a cat, he's called Nestle. I live by the river (well a few miles away now, but when I lived down the hill (now I live up the hill, lmao) I lived across the street from it. So, maybe one day I can get good enough to skate down there and around the park there LOL. I work on the computer/internet. As you can tell, I find almost anything funny and always try to laugh. Speak soon!

I also enjoy quad skating, just prefer inlines on a daily basis. Maybe I can find a pair that can do both/switch out, or cheap quads and use them 1-2 times a week lol

[nickajshelden]

Originally Posted by lorenzo

Hello.

I (accidentally?) became a roller skater last year

pretty much my story too. it was my 18th birthday, and I hadn't been on skates since I was 7.

[evinman1234]

Hello my name is Everett. I live and skate in Cincinnati (unless doing marathons). I am 58 and have been skating since I was oh about 16. I spend most of my time on quads in the winter and inlines outside in the other seasons.

I own about a dozen pairs of skates ranging from freestyle, urban to speed. I skate all wheel sizes except 125 MM. I tried them and just don't really care for them.

I generally skate about 13 miles when I go out and average about 13 mph on urbans/freestyle and about 15 mph on marathon skates. I am a "wheel addict" if you follow Lino on YouTube.

I literally have all types of wheels in my garage...80mm, 90mm, 100mm, 110mm, 125mm ..mpc, RB, K2 matter...

For quads I skate on Reidell 595 with Rollerbones Turbo wheels although I have a box of assorted other brands etc as well.

I skate the Miami Whitewater trail and the Newton to Cleveland Trail ( perhaps one of the longest in the US).

Looking to do the Skate of the Union next week and possibly the Athens to Atlanta in October.

[ValerieAnne]

Originally Posted by evinman1234

Hello my name is Everett. I live and skate in Cincinnati (unless doing marathons)

I skate the Miami Whitewater trail and the Newton to Cleveland Trail ( perhaps one of the longest in the US).

Hi! I'm in Cincinnati (Sayler Park/Cleves/Western Hills) as well! I'm new (again) to skating, so def don't know enough to do group skates, or anything.. lol.

I used to live out in Harrison, I don't drive, so thought it was boring.. until about a year before I moved, I found a different path that was much closer to the shops/safer to get to. As, i lived up the hill from the library, so would have to walk that all the time until then, and people don't care/slow down.. so I spent most the time walking in the grass LOL! Shame, I didn't know very much about the area, etc as I'm sure I could've found a way to the park/trails and probably could've taken skating up again much sooner.

So, you gave me a few paths to look at if I'm ever in the area. If you decide to do A2A have a good time!

[evinman1234]

Originally Posted by ValerieAnne

Hi! I'm in Cincinnati (Sayler Park/Cleves/Western Hills) as well! I'm new (again) to skating, so def don't know enough to do group skates, or anything.. lol.

I used to live out in Harrison, I don't drive, so thought it was boring.. until about a year before I moved, I found a different path that was much closer to the shops/safer to get to. As, i lived up the hill from the library, so would have to walk that all the time until then, and people don't care/slow down.. so I spent most the time walking in the grass LOL! Shame, I didn't know very much about the area, etc as I'm sure I could've found a way to the park/trails and probably could've taken skating up again much sooner.

So, you gave me a few paths to look at if I'm ever in the area. If you decide to do A2A have a good time!

If you are in Cleves you are close to my favorite skating trail Miami Whitewater park-an 8 mile scenic loop just simply beautiful. If and when you feel up to a "group" skate drop me a line sometime and we can skate it. My wife does not skate but rides along on her bike! It would be fun..

[Mystralhawk]

Hey there! I'm a roller derby ref in Rockville ,Maryland.

I've skating inline for at least 15+ years and have just now started skating with quad skates.

Cheers!

[Sniff]

[QUOTE=Monkeybeaver;732188]
Started to try to get some more skate time in by using mine instead of my bike to get around town. So far its not been as fun as I'd like because of the terrible condition of our paths, too many tree roots & cable laying repair patches on top of the generally poor surface. Started looking at maybe some bigger wheels, 110 & 125 tri skates.

Yep, I know exactly what you mean. I found my 80mm wheels ok, but a bit of a struggle here in Cardiff in many places. For a city trying to promote itself as a forerunner of low- or zero-carbon transport it's done nothing so far for cyclists, skaters, skateboarders, wheelchair users, anybody. OK, rant over! - I've gone up to 100mm (bigger, though not that big) and I've noticed it's quite a bit easier and smoother, and more enjoyable. I'd recommend to anyone in the UK who is planning on skating for transport/commuting on our crappy surfaces - go with 100mm or bigger.

[Oicusk82huh]

Originally Posted by Mystralhawk

Hey there! I'm a roller derby ref in Rockville ,Maryland.

I've skating inline for at least 15+ years and have just now started skating with quad skates.

Cheers!

Good to have you! Quads open up a whole new world. Inline skating definitely prepared you well.

[kcire10]

Hello All! I'm Erick and I've been back skating for almost a year (in July) after a 20-year hiatus. I live in Irvington, NJ and skate pretty much every other day (between the skating rink and home).

Good to meet everyone.

[Monkeybeaver]

[QUOTE=Sniff;732822]

Originally Posted by Monkeybeaver

Started to try to get some more skate time in by using mine instead of my bike to get around town. So far its not been as fun as I'd like because of the terrible condition of our paths, too many tree roots & cable laying repair patches on top of the generally poor surface. Started looking at maybe some bigger wheels, 110 & 125 tri skates.

Yep, I know exactly what you mean. I found my 80mm wheels ok, but a bit of a struggle here in Cardiff in many places. For a city trying to promote itself as a forerunner of low- or zero-carbon transport it's done nothing so far for cyclists, skaters, skateboarders, wheelchair users, anybody. OK, rant over! - I've gone up to 100mm (bigger, though not that big) and I've noticed it's quite a bit easier and smoother, and more enjoyable. I'd recommend to anyone in the UK who is planning on skating for transport/commuting on our crappy surfaces - go with 100mm or bigger.

Still haven’t got any of these, got a bit distracted by the Nordic skates when I was looking for some bigger wheels. Got some Skikes & as I can’t pass up a bargain also ended up with some really cheap powerslide xc trail 2 from eBay. Started a thread about it over on the fitness form. They haven’t solved the transport issue as the pneumatic tyres require so much more effort to skate than PU wheels that you’d end up as a sweaty mess at the destination. They have replaced running as my main form of exercise though. I’d definitely recommend it as a good workout.

[rhyfelwr]

Hi all. Great to be here and hope to pick up some tips and advice!! Im an old school skater with a real passion for sliders and rollers

Oh... and I live in the UK with lots of hills!

[rhyfelwr]

[QUOTE=Monkeybeaver;732929]

Originally Posted by Sniff

Still haven’t got any of these, got a bit distracted by the Nordic skates when I was looking for some bigger wheels. Got some Skikes & as I can’t pass up a bargain also ended up with some really cheap powerslide xc trail 2 from eBay. Started a thread about it over on the fitness form. They haven’t solved the transport issue as the pneumatic tyres require so much more effort to skate than PU wheels that you’d end up as a sweaty mess at the destination. They have replaced running as my main form of exercise though. I’d definitely recommend it as a good workout.

Ive got a pair of PS Imperial SUVs and they have pluses and minuses. Yes, they are perfect for fitness with my HR getting up to 180ish for about 1 hour... hard work and hot... even in the UK!