[SkateDC] After-Skate Report, Sunday Intermediate for Aug 23, 2009

[Bill English]

Our little ten mile skate to the Langdon Park Skate Park went well today. This was a mostly fresh route that I picked by using gmap-pedometer. In fact I did not know a skate park was there until I noticed it in the satellite picture while looking around for points of interest. It has gotten much easier to plan a skate now that we can get good maps and photos from the Internet. I sent the cue sheet and map link in an earlier e-mail. I will probably re-use this route again in a few months, perhaps with a couple of improvements.

Part of the route used roads that were already familiar to me. On the way back we went by Home Depot and the 4th Street NE wholesale warehouse district. I remember following other leaders through those places but I don't think I led groups through there before. Traffic was not too bad for those normally busy places, since we got there early enough on a Sunday morning.

The skate park was interesting but the swimming pool style concrete terrain was not very user-friendly for inexperienced aggressive skaters. Three of us attempted to skate in there, with lots of falling. I tried first and I thought I was doing pretty good but then I failed to get around one of the puddles and quickly skidded and crashed. I tried it again and made the same fall the second time. Jackeline then gave it a try and did not do too much better, just a little tighter turn to the right and she would have gripped the banked curve successfully. Patrick did the best, using his hockey skates and making a couple of good reversing moves before coming to a stop. It is a nice skate park but not easy enough for beginners. Jubran took some photos. I have skated in a similar skate park off Wilson Blvd in Arlington, VA at Pohatten Park, but that one is bigger and has more beginner terrain.

Two new participants were G and Patrick (a couple who have come out with us only once before for one of George's Embassy Skates). They skated very well and had no trouble keeping up. The other people were George, Jubran, Jackeline, and me. We almost used up our whole two hours and hurried at the end so we could visit with the advanced group.

Bill