Skating at Geelong

Posted upon getting back home from 2200km road trip.

Last Saturday morning I had the pleasure of skating (inline) with another part of the clan I've never been skating with before, this time around one of the new developments near Geelong.  Three metre wide footpaths had lit my interest upon our arrival the night before, so my intentions had been clear.  Sure enough, Banjo, River and Nick all came with as I left their home where we'd been staying for an hour or so trip up the street to the nearest swing park.  While they'd delayed there, I did a circuit of the nearby lake, followed by a few simple transitioning figure eights on a flat bit of concrete before we all returned home.  I didn't have a load of power in my legs, and even after about 3km wasn't on top of my breathing.

That evening I went out again, this time on my own.  I set off in another direction, and explored the neighborhood as far as I could in each direction.  Probably a total of 5km at higher speed than the morning and with less fatigue effects.  

I got back near to sunset, to find that Banjo had put on his older brother's skates (who had grown out of them) and was waiting for me.  So we spent about the next half hour on the path near their home, learning the basics of balance and stopping.  He's pretty good at sport and had been skating a couple times before which, combined with his age meant that he was on top of the basics by the time we'd finished.  I think he thought I was pretty good at it and only being polite when I said that if he kept it up he'd be better than me in a year.  When I told him I'd been skating for eight months and he'd had a chance to figure it out, I think he realised that I was realistically complimenting him.  

It will be interesting to see what he makes of it.