I’ve been into skating for a long time, in some form or another. Roller skating kept my interest till the mid 90s, then inline skating. Yeah, we used to go to the rink like every weekend, sometimes twice a weekend. Now in 2006, it seems like another age has passed, and I’m ready for something new. I think we’re both ready for something new. I had taken a little time off from skating (got married among other things. I got married first though…) and I was wondering if I really wanted to get back into it for any other reason than to “not get fat.” I’ve always said I would get back into skating. But, there has never been any reason for me to so I just let it go.

Then I discovered what they call “freestyle slalom” skating. The basic idea is to skate along a line of evenly spaced cones, doing footwork, without hitting any. Sure I’d seen this before skating in Philly, or at Central Park, but this new variety I found focused significantly more on style, as opposed to just going down the line as fast as you can. This new focus on style is not so new to me. From when I was a kid skating in high school, I always watched my feet and legs making sure my movements were as fluid as I could get them. This new stylish slalom was appealing to me.

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