[SkateDC] After-Skate Report, Sunday Intermediate, June 28, 2009

[Bill English]

Skaters,

Enjoyed kind of an easy skate today, lacking hills for the most part. Recycled a 2003 route that was written for viewing cherry blossoms. We did not see any cherry blossoms today, so we viewed damage from the Friday thunderstorm instead. Quite a few broken trees were on the route, especially in East Potomac Park. Someone did a good job of sweeping up the sticks, they were not too much of a nuisance. Some us us tried skating last Friday and got a first-hand experience of skating through a hail storm which hit suddenly about 30 minutes after we began.

The weather Sunday was much nicer, overcast with gentle wind and temperatures in the high 70s. We finished up before the drizzle began.

The planned route took us to the Lincoln Memorial, East Potomac Park (which was mostly closed, probably due to storm damage), The Francis Case Bridge over the Fish Market, Banneker Circle Fountain (it was squirting today for a change), Washington Channel Yacht Harbor, Titanic Memorial, Arena Stage Theater Construction Project, and the National Gallery of Art (where a guard unsuccessfully tried to detain us with his whistle). At that point I checked the time and we were 35 minutes ahead of schedule. With George's help, I added on to the route so that we finished up at 11:05. The extra stuff we saw included the Law Enforcement Memorial by Judiciary Square, a little golden statue of a woman with a fawn, the Building Museum, Chinatown, two contemplation gardens, then a long piece of 9th St NW past the Convention Center all the way to U Street, U to 16th, then the tunnel under Scott Circle to finish up at the White House.

We had two very minor crashes. Joe from Baltimore/Pittsburgh had a little trouble with the bumpy pavement by the yacht harbor. Jose (first-time participant) went down on U street but popped back up right away and kept skating. I heard someone yell "skater down" and when I stopped & looked Jose was skating to me already. 

There were 11 participants:

Jose (new guy with the Spanish pronunciation of Jose)
Jose (has skated with us since April, uses the Portuguese pronunciation)
George (thanks for sweeping)
Jackeline
MyeongHee
Tom
Rodney
Shawn
Eryx
Joe
Bill (me)

The next time we have a really hot, humid day I will use this easy route again. Will try a hillier Arlington route next week if the temperature is mild and if the participants all have braking figured out. All the skaters today had good skills and that kept us ahead of schedule.

At one of the regrouping stops I announced that I would give the first few miles of the Advanced Skate a try after we finished the Intermediate Skate. None of the other Intermediate skaters were in the mood for that, but Eryx almost talked Jackeline into skating the Capitol Crescent trail. Both of them live near Bethesda. Eryx put in many miles today, skating from Bethesda to the White House even before the Intermediate Skate began. Actually he arrived late but caught up to us at the Banneker Fountain after phoning in. 

It was fun speeding along with Kent G. and the other advanced skaters past the Barbeque Battle on Pennsylvania Ave. I was keeping up easily until the reality check halfway up Capitol Hill. That is when I departed, cut over to Constitution Ave, and zoomed back to my car. Rudy, Fabio, Scott, and Jacques followed Kent. I forget the name of the female skater in the group (I should know it since she skates often). I was thinking Monique but I am pretty sure that is incorrect.

The Sunday Intermediate Skates have been really fun in 2009, with a good mix of WAR veterans plus many skaters who are new to the club this year. Thanks to all the participants for the great company. There are many other Intermediate skaters in WAR who have not been out in a long time. Try setting your alarm clock for the early skate next Sunday and at least give it one try before the summer is over. I will even include a free coffee stop at McDonald's if you need one. 

Bill