The story so far
After spending a weekend in Nice (variable weather, sunburn, nice forested hill with remains of ancient settlement on top, small stones all over beach making it marginally less comfortable than it might be) I decided that it was time I got some inline skates. I used to be able to ice skate, so how hard can it be?
After two attempts, I have the following to say:
- Actually, not very.
- But harder than ice skating. The important thing to bear in mind is that ice skating requires merely that you can skate in a straight line and turn left at the end of the rink. It doesn't involve speeding up, slowing down, or stopping to give way to traffic.
- I started under the impression that stopping was the hardest part. This is not true. Staying stopped (and upright) is the hardest part.
- There is no point in messing about with the brake thing (chunk of rubber attached to back of right boot) until you are moving at a high enough speed to make it worthwhile. If you brake from a slow speed, you will become stopped very quickly and start wobbling or rolling slowly down the kerb again. You may as well slow down by aiming for something inanimate to grab hold of, because you'll need it a minute later anyway
- Once you are moving at reasonable speed, the chunk-of-rubber is a lot easier to deal with
- Choose somewhere smooth to practice. Rough asphalt can really shake the ankles. `Level' is also a good attribute.
Look out for the next thrilling installment of "Dan attempts to sprain his ankle" later this week.