Inline Skating

[Reggs]

One night I was feeling restless so I went out walking. It turned into a 2 hr walk around random city streets that I had never seen before. I thought I would have gone further on some rollerblades, something I had not owned since I was a tween. I started reading about inline skates for fitness and apparently they have come a long way since the 90's. The materials are much better and they are more comfortable.

I got these:

They are Rollerblade Macroblade 84s. They have aluminum frames and the larger wheels(84mm) lend themselves to going faster and for longer distances than the standard 80mm.

These are so much fun! I imagined using them maybe twice a week, but since I've gotten them two weeks ago, I've used them 5 days a week. I've seen a lot of my surrounding area I otherwise would never have seen and it's been easy for me to lose a bit of weight in this short period of time. As soon as I put them on they just felt familiar even though I was probably 13 years old the last time I skated(31 now). I only lift at the gym and never do cardio, so this is also kind of filling a void in my workout too. I don't even skate for health purposes anyway. It's just a great way to end the day to go out at nightfall, skate for 40 mins to 1 1/2 hr, then come back home and have a glass of wine while enjoying the endorphin high before bed. It makes my sleep feel amazing.

I have no idea why inline skating died out in the 90s. I don't even do any tricks or anything, I just like gliding around the city for long distances. If you're going to buy some I recommend trying them on in a store for sizing. I have to size down 1, and the fit needs to be very specific. One video said your toe should barely touch the end of the skate, but not feel compressed. My fit is like this and I find it comfortable. I also don't wear athletic socks, just thin gold toes. I wonder if water beds have made the same technological advances since the 90's too. How cool would it be to rollerblade then come home to a heated water bed? I would have grown into the coolest adult my 13 year old self could have imagined.

 

[Soletrane]

I never got why inline skating died out. Probably as the learning curve is steep if you don't learn it young or have ice skating experience.

I haven't done it much since I left NYC a decade ago, but I thought it was awesome from commuting to group night skates.

It also had the advantage that it used more muscle mass than cycling but was less impact and faster than running. But the sensation of gliding very quickly especially at night was the kicker and why it is so addictive if you are a decent skater.

 

[Tck13]

Older thread but are you still using them? Anyone still roller blading?

 

[Soletrane]

Nope. I used to use them when I went to Hilton Head, SC where there are a lot of bike paths. But stopped a few years back in favor of using a beach cruiser. The last time I used them in a public (suburban) place, children stopped to stare or point - I guess skating has never been popular in their lifetime.