[SkateDC] After-Skate Report, Sunday Intermediate for July 26

[Bill English]

I enjoyed a nice morning skate with Céline, Søren, and Reneé. After doing some cone skating in front of the White House, we tried an Arlington, VA route that has more steep hills than the usual Intermediate Sunday Skate. I think most Intermediate Skaters would enjoy those hills, but Céline and Reneé got a little bit intimidated by some downhills where the roll-outs were not visible from the top. That is understandable for people who have a healthy self-preservation instinct. No problem- Søren and I helped with the heel braking and we took a couple of those hills extra slowly. On the other hand Céline and Reneé blew past Søren and me during some of the steep uphill segments (and did not even offer to push us). We took two laps around the Colonial Terrace neighborhood so that Reneé could be confident about bombing down its hills during the second lap. That is a nice safe place to enjoy some rolling hills and curves, but it does not feel safe
 until after you know what is up ahead. We also had some nice chats during relaxed rest stops at the Vietnam Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Netherlands Carillon, Marine Corps Memorial, Key Park, the canal through Georgetown, Washington Harbor, and a couple other places where we stopped for photos. We were not in a hurry since we had two hours to cover only eight miles. Reneé will probably put the photos up on Facebook before too long.

I sent the cue sheet and a URL for the map in an earlier e-mail, but I made route changes after that. To avoid damp wooden bridges, I cut the Mt. Vernon trail from the route and used the Memorial Bridge instead of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge on the way into Virginia. Those changes made on the spot seemed to be a big improvement and I think I will keep them in the route for the next time I use it.

George almost came along with us but a phone call from a friend having car trouble pulled him away.

Thanks Céline, Søren, and Reneé for being such cheerful skate buddies today. It was fun to spend a couple hours with you. Céline and Søren had a lot of good stories to tell about the Boston Skate Weekend and the Eddy Metzger Skate Farm. Reneé got to revisit some places she remembered from Skate DC Weekend.

Bill