Friday, August 14, 2009

Florida Heat

I brought my skates and pads to my sister's place in Orlando, FL. I figured that I would just roll around the parking lot outside, but luckily there is a tennis court right next door. So I switched the blue wheels that came with my skates for my hot pink Radar Pure outdoor wheels. I was a little bit nervous about switching wheels without proper instruction, but I used the anatomy of a skate diagram from Sin City Skates and it was easy-peasy: Nut comes off, wheel comes off, bearings pop into new wheel, new wheel slides on, nut goes back on, and tighten. Yay!

I wanted to get out there pretty early to beat the Florida heat, but I was still on California time and did not make it out until 8:20 in the morning. It was already hot and humid. I took the wrong turn out of my sister's place and ran into a downhill slope. Uh oh! I had not expected that. I wondered if I should attempt a plow stop, but without helmet or mouthguard, I decided that the best course of action would be to just roll into the grass. I eventually found my way to the courts via concrete sidewalks. My new wheels handled the sidewalk cracks with such ease! They are not made of the same hard plastic as my blue indoor wheels, but are instead made out of some kind of thick rubber.

I spent an hour skating out in the heat...And I was soaked through after about ten minutes...At least I took frequent water breaks...