It must be done.
Pride goes before a fall, and in the world of derby, a bad fall can wreck your life.
I'm at the point where I need new gear. Not want, but need, in order to be safe on the track.
o- My knee pads are shot; the foam padding has compressed and dissolved to the point of uselessness, thanks to the combined efforts of sweat and repeated impacts (~$65).
o- My wheels' corners are rounded off to the point where I can't make sharp cuts across the track without risking ankle injury, and they're worn down to the point that they don't grip the floor very well any more (~$70-90).
o- My boots are being held together with about 14 layers of duct tape (~$175-300), and no longer provide the support needed to pull off the hard-lean, fast-cornering skating safely. In other words, my feet roll in my boots when I corner, or do crossovers, which is quite bad. Tight lacing was only able to combat it for so long.
o- My bearings have outlived their usefulness... to the point that they make cranky grinding noises when they spin, and occasionally stick (~$65).
There are other things that could stand to be replaced as well (wrist guards, trucks, helmet lining, etc.), but those haven't yet crossed the Point of No Return threshold. For the bare necessities, I'm looking at about $400-600 (after taxes, bearing lube, new bolts, etc.) of mid- to high-quality equipment that I simply cannot afford to replace right now.
So, here goes. If you were thinking of spoiling me for xmas, or just want to be super awesome, I've made a donation button via PayPal. I believe there's an anonymity option for those of you who want to be sneaky buggers.
In any case, I'm sending this out in lieu of wish lists to family, and passing the proverbial hat to all you folks who read my babblings here. Every little bit helps, and I'll gladly send out derby pics as thank-yous to those who'd like them, once I've been able to get my ass in gear (*rimshot*).
I'm at the point where I need new gear. Not want, but need, in order to be safe on the track.
o- My knee pads are shot; the foam padding has compressed and dissolved to the point of uselessness, thanks to the combined efforts of sweat and repeated impacts (~$65).
o- My wheels' corners are rounded off to the point where I can't make sharp cuts across the track without risking ankle injury, and they're worn down to the point that they don't grip the floor very well any more (~$70-90).
o- My boots are being held together with about 14 layers of duct tape (~$175-300), and no longer provide the support needed to pull off the hard-lean, fast-cornering skating safely. In other words, my feet roll in my boots when I corner, or do crossovers, which is quite bad. Tight lacing was only able to combat it for so long.
o- My bearings have outlived their usefulness... to the point that they make cranky grinding noises when they spin, and occasionally stick (~$65).
There are other things that could stand to be replaced as well (wrist guards, trucks, helmet lining, etc.), but those haven't yet crossed the Point of No Return threshold. For the bare necessities, I'm looking at about $400-600 (after taxes, bearing lube, new bolts, etc.) of mid- to high-quality equipment that I simply cannot afford to replace right now.
So, here goes. If you were thinking of spoiling me for xmas, or just want to be super awesome, I've made a donation button via PayPal. I believe there's an anonymity option for those of you who want to be sneaky buggers.
In any case, I'm sending this out in lieu of wish lists to family, and passing the proverbial hat to all you folks who read my babblings here. Every little bit helps, and I'll gladly send out derby pics as thank-yous to those who'd like them, once I've been able to get my ass in gear (*rimshot*).