Squiggy was a hoot. First, I can’t say enough about what a great job Birgit and Jessica did. This is one of the best organized and skater friendly races in the country now. That is evident by the huge number of bad-ass pro skaters from all over the world that show up for it. The quality of the field was pretty scary.
Team Asphalt Beach-K2 placed 3rd in the Team Time Trial event on Saturday. We covered the 7 mile course in 21:48.28. It was Jessica, Harwell, and me. We lost to the Texas team that had Hernan Diaz and Renee Coffman by 21 seconds, and the Simmons Team – who killed the course in 18:49. It was good to be on the podium given that competition – and Harwell held a K2 Pro Longmount for the official photo.
The marathon was a great result for Jessica. She got 6th in Pro Elite Women with 1:19:54 – her best marathon result to date.
Bob Clare and I finished together in 1:23:09. Harwell was a little back at 1:23:58. That’s 11th, 12th & 15th in Pro Master Men. We probably lost 4 or 5 minutes due to all the rink-rat grab-ass in the pack. We would either skate 23mph or 16 mph – those kids would race anyone that went to the front to pull. It was kinda frustrating, but that’s racing.
We got some good publicity for our team and sponsors. I’m needing to skate some hill repeats between now and Texas
I bought the K2 Raider skates for my 6 year old daughter after looking tirelessly at what was offered for kids. I actually bought two other pairs, Roller Derby Coyote and Ultra Wheels Transformer. Both are good skates for the money (cheaper than K2, I would recommend the Coyote over the Ultra Wheels) but they don’t compare with the K2 Raider.
The K2 skate has a soft boot that is extremely well made. It has 70mm wheels and quality ABEC-3 bearings. The wheels spin freely and easily and are very quiet. The skate size is easy to adjust and very comfortable according to my daughter. She has been skating since she was four so I wanted a quality skate for her that would allow her to keep up with her nine year old sister. The K2 Raider fits the bill perfectly! And at this price, it simply cannot be beat!
I’m either crazy or brave, people say. I skate in New York City traffic. Street skating here’s an adrenaline rush requiring split-second timing, razor-sharp reflexes, and mind-reading skills. Obstacles abound: cars, pedestrians, sewer grates, cyclists, Pedi-cabs, oil slicks, traffic lights, rough surfaces, and on and on. You’ve gotta be aware at every moment–or else.
In a city packed with people, skating gives me a sense of autonomy. You can get to your destination, save money, and do your part for the environment. Not to mention it’s great for your butt. ; )
But here’s the thing about street skating: Something always happens! Like that standoff I had with a city bus. (He won.) Or the guy that was honking at me cuz I had on my short shorts that day. This is serious business, people! I can’t be waving and smiling at ya, I gotta keep focused!
Which reminds me. The things people yell at me, sometimes they crack me up. But the best thing anyone ever said to me, I was bombing down Central Park South, weaving a bit because there wasn’t much action behind me, when a man shook his head and said, “Don’t die too young!” Put a big smile on my face.
And I gotta say, the hotter or colder it gets, the better. I love to skate in next to nothing, sweat pouring down my face when I stop. I love the sting of bitter cold air in my nostrils, the slight ache of it in my lungs. I love it when coworkers ask, incredulously: “You’re not skating in this heat (cold) are you?!” “Umm, yeah…” (I call it rekindling my warrior spirit. But I don’t tell them that. I don’t want them to feel bad about their pedestrian lives.)
What else? Well, there’s skitching. I’m not gonna lie. Grabbing a free ride on a truck handle is almost irresistible at times. Except that once they sped up so much I had to let go, and found myself zipping along in lanes of fast-moving traffic on 8th Avenue! And one time I grabbed hold of an idling taxi’s wheel well and it took off fast, its rough metal ripping skin along the inside knuckles of four fingers. Ewwww…
And then there’s road rash. Oh, the ignominy of falling in the street! Oh, the kindness of strangers! Oh, the weeks that bleed into months of bandages and Neosporin and itchiness! But a little road rash now and then is the price you pay for the thrill. Just hope the payment ends there, cuz some serious shit can happen. Like dooring. Once I came up alongside a cop car that was, I learned later, responding to an emergency. The officer didn’t look before opening his door really really fast and BAM! that door whacked me on the thigh so hard–I got “the bruise that ate New York” as the ER doc put it. And it was summer! I remember going to the pool in the park and getting stares, I mean–it looked like someone had whaled on me with a baseball bat!
And, of course, you can break bones. But I had to do a road race in rural Georgia for that! Some lady late for church ran into my speedskating ass and I popped up into the air like a cartoon character! Landed in a grassy ditch with a fractured tibia and fibula at the ankle bone. Learning anatomy the hard way. I don’t recommend it.
But back to New York. Please. Now we have a super-terrific bike path that goes for miles and miles. OK, I admit, I’ve been enjoying the relative safety of the path, bopping along to some tunes, checking out the river and laughing at the bumper-to-bumper action on the West Side Highway. The adrenaline junkie of my youth wonders if I’m going soft. Yeah, maybe a little. But at least I’ll live to tell the tale.
The gPotato.eu team is glad to announce the official release of the inline skating MMORPG Street Gears. With over 50 000 players participating during the open beta-test phase, everyone can now download the game for free at the www.gpotato.eu gaming portal. With Street Gears going live, players can discover a bunch of new features, including new races, a new playable character, and lots of other surprises.
Street Gears is a free-to-play inline skating game where players can become “riders” fond of freedom and extreme experiences. The city of Park Town has tons of activities for all riders of all levels, such as speed-based races on lots of different tracks, team tournaments, and the possibility to show-off by doing impressive tricks and stunts. From today, all players can enjoy these features, and try the brand new ones that come with the official release of Street Gears.
These include the ability to create any second character on your account. Pick one of the classic characters or ride through the Park Town streets with a fresh, new rider called Rush, an ex-soldier with a love for inline skating. A new race mode is available to players, the Reverse mode. There are new additional quests and a new license, the Pro II, available from level 25. Players can put their reflexes to the test on the new Enberton track, challenging the riders with its various tricky landscapes. Finally, players can plug any USB pad into their computer and enjoy Street Gears as we announce controller support.
To celebrate the release of the game, this final version kicks off a lot of activities like the final events of the Asian Love Festival, which started on the 12th February during the open beta-test phase. In a festive atmosphere punctuated with exotic multicolored lanterns, a big team tournament will take place from today to the 12th March, the last day of the Asian Love Festival. The winning team will have the chance to see its logo displayed on the X-Game Stadium half pipe and win many other extraordinary rewards. Riders can also participate in a special event from the 5th to the 18th March, and win a lot of great prizes.
