Entries this day: new_skate_group

new skate group

10 August 1999

Last night I went skating with a group called Inline Swine. Far as I can tell, they don't associate themselves with the name so much as associating themselves with, "we meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8pm at Texas Art Supply."

I found the group while skating alone downtown 3 weeks ago. They were about a block away so I caught up with them. I discovered they were cool and they skate regularly so I may hook up with this group regularly!

Last night (back to the story) we skated about mmmm 12 miles? Through lots of places I wouldn't go normally, simply because I didn't know they existed, or wouldn't feel safe by myself. (mom, please note this example of common sense)

Skate skate skated from montrose and Fairview, down to Waugh, west along Memorial, then north through some back-ass streets until we crossed over I-10. As we were crossing this narrow bridge (it did have walls and a fence-cage over it, I waved and waved at the traffic!! "Hey! Flash your lights!!!!" for about 2 minutes and not a single car flashed its lights. Not that they could hear me, but c'mon some kind of acknowledgement is in order... maybe a light tap on the horn or wave a hand out the window... something! Not this time.

On and on east across TC Jester and then stopped at Durham and 11th street in the Heights for drinks at a convenience store. I was glad to stop. I hadn't really skate-exerted myself that much in quite a while, plus I started out the night with kinda ripped up wheels on my right skate. The back center wheel (inline skates) was shredded to the point of being useless. Kinda like when a truck tire on the highway shreds, long strips of rubber peel off, I peeled off about 1 & 1/2 pi worth of tread from my wheel hub. (That's 270 degrees worth. (That's 75%. (That is, my wheel was useless for skating.)))

Scott said it looked to him like my front wheel on the same skate was going to shred next. Scott and Jeff and someone else offered me some hand-me-down wheels once we got back. I absolutely accepted. (If I could make it back.)

Through more back streets east of Shepherd as we headed back toward downtown, my remaining wheels seemed to work fine. Back over I-10 on some street I waved at cars, and again got no response. Hmpf.

Then we did more and more and more skating in a generally going-back type of manner. Crossed over Memorial on Sawyer, which is kinda cool because Sawyer forms a nice hill over Memorial, allowing for a quick zip down the hill after skating up.

Got back to Texas Art Supply and was offered some wheels by Scott. I thanked him profusely and said bye to all my new friends and skated home. Put on the new wheels and I'm excited about trying them out on Thursday!! permalink