Char and I went to the indoor skatepark tonight. It's called Four Seasons and has apparently been around for many. many years (since the early 90s), but I didn't know it existed until just this month. I looked up indoor skate parks after one of my roller skate dance classes, and this popped up.
It was everything I had expected - it had that awesome 90s factory vibe with graffiti murals in the bathroom and a shady side entrance. The second floor area was supposed to be a beginners section, but even that proved too advanced for us; so we were a big worried at first. Really, we were scared chicken shit to do anything. I practiced a bit up there in the flatter area (Char fell a few times on her longboard. Surprisingly, I was better at skateboarding than I remember) and we eventually moved down to an unoccupied area on the main floor to practice, since there wasn't much flat area to work up upstairs. Char went across the arena a few times, and I went up a small ramp twice. I practiced stopping, going backwards, going up and down ramps (down backwards, then turning), jumping, dancing, skating on one leg, and doing some trickier moves.
I was very, very proud of my progress because by the end of the two hours I was jumping really well, skating backwards, going halfway up ramps and turning around, and managing my dance moves really well. I also didn't need to rely on a back brake once. The one thing I was still struggling with, though, was stopping at fast speeds. I think I'll post online for some advice.
We both had a really good time and would definitely go back. Char was feeling much more confident at the end, too. It was really great considering that we felt we had made a big mistake in the beginning. I think I was able to really progress here, and I don't feel so terrible anymore. Shit, maybe I could go all the way up a ramp in the future.
The one sad aspect was that there weren't any other roller skaters there. I was expecting at least one. The owner said there are hardly any, which is disappointing. I know the roller skaters say they've been seeing more roller bladers lately, but I don't think that's true. To to fair, I have see more roller bladers on the trails this year more than ever (a grand total of 2 people), but roller skating is still by far more popular.
It was everything I had expected - it had that awesome 90s factory vibe with graffiti murals in the bathroom and a shady side entrance. The second floor area was supposed to be a beginners section, but even that proved too advanced for us; so we were a big worried at first. Really, we were scared chicken shit to do anything. I practiced a bit up there in the flatter area (Char fell a few times on her longboard. Surprisingly, I was better at skateboarding than I remember) and we eventually moved down to an unoccupied area on the main floor to practice, since there wasn't much flat area to work up upstairs. Char went across the arena a few times, and I went up a small ramp twice. I practiced stopping, going backwards, going up and down ramps (down backwards, then turning), jumping, dancing, skating on one leg, and doing some trickier moves.
I was very, very proud of my progress because by the end of the two hours I was jumping really well, skating backwards, going halfway up ramps and turning around, and managing my dance moves really well. I also didn't need to rely on a back brake once. The one thing I was still struggling with, though, was stopping at fast speeds. I think I'll post online for some advice.
We both had a really good time and would definitely go back. Char was feeling much more confident at the end, too. It was really great considering that we felt we had made a big mistake in the beginning. I think I was able to really progress here, and I don't feel so terrible anymore. Shit, maybe I could go all the way up a ramp in the future.
The one sad aspect was that there weren't any other roller skaters there. I was expecting at least one. The owner said there are hardly any, which is disappointing. I know the roller skaters say they've been seeing more roller bladers lately, but I don't think that's true. To to fair, I have see more roller bladers on the trails this year more than ever (a grand total of 2 people), but roller skating is still by far more popular.
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