Sean and the roller derby - kitting out
Before xmas I had got in touch with the organiser of the rec league and she'd said that she was happy for me to start to learn skating with the next intake of new skaters, in February. Which meant I needed gear! I sold my nice bass guitar - I've moved to playing lead in the band - which gave me a budget for gear.
What I needed were skates, helmet, kneepads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and mouth protector. I'd been researching skates for a while - you need nice low-cut skates or you can do yourself an injury. I managed to track down a pair of the right sort of skates in my size, that were leather, OK for narrow feet, and as a bonus were end of line so were a lot cheaper than normal. However, they're stuck in the post somewhere which is really frustrating!
For most of the rest of the gear I trekked up to Skate Attack in Southgate to try stuff on. It's a good job I didn't just buy this stuff on the interwebs, as my sizes for the various bits definitely varied. And I tried on lots of different helmets until I found one that fitted my head. So the barbed wire pattern is not a deliberate choice! The staff were really nice, one of them plays for the London Rockin' Rollers, and they have a 10% discount if you're buying for rollerderby.
I didn't get kneepads there however. Instead, I bought a good pair second-hand from one of the league skaters, and also a cheap set of outdoor wheels. Wheels come in a variety of hardnesses, and some wheels are better for indoors and some for outdoors. Skaters will often change their wheels depending on the floor type of the venue they're skating at.
So now I'm all set, as soon as my skates turn up in the post. Given I don't do any real exercise, and don't even use the bike I bought last year, this is going to be an interesting excursion. Still, if it gets me doing some exercise, meeting people, helping out, and going to afterparties, it can't be that bad. I'll post my experiences here as they happen...
What I needed were skates, helmet, kneepads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and mouth protector. I'd been researching skates for a while - you need nice low-cut skates or you can do yourself an injury. I managed to track down a pair of the right sort of skates in my size, that were leather, OK for narrow feet, and as a bonus were end of line so were a lot cheaper than normal. However, they're stuck in the post somewhere which is really frustrating!
For most of the rest of the gear I trekked up to Skate Attack in Southgate to try stuff on. It's a good job I didn't just buy this stuff on the interwebs, as my sizes for the various bits definitely varied. And I tried on lots of different helmets until I found one that fitted my head. So the barbed wire pattern is not a deliberate choice! The staff were really nice, one of them plays for the London Rockin' Rollers, and they have a 10% discount if you're buying for rollerderby.
I didn't get kneepads there however. Instead, I bought a good pair second-hand from one of the league skaters, and also a cheap set of outdoor wheels. Wheels come in a variety of hardnesses, and some wheels are better for indoors and some for outdoors. Skaters will often change their wheels depending on the floor type of the venue they're skating at.
So now I'm all set, as soon as my skates turn up in the post. Given I don't do any real exercise, and don't even use the bike I bought last year, this is going to be an interesting excursion. Still, if it gets me doing some exercise, meeting people, helping out, and going to afterparties, it can't be that bad. I'll post my experiences here as they happen...