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Our rink hosted a glow night for members with a DJ and black-out skate… super fun night and total throwback to my 90’s rink days! And yes, my local rink in Albuquerque was the rink in Season 4 of Stranger Things!

I attended an interest meeting in my city for Roller derby last week. The new recruit program will start in a couple of weeks and I'm excited about it. I don't know how the sessions will be conducted, but I'll try to post my progress. I hope to level up my skating skills with the 12-week program. 😁

I walked the route (1.5 miles) to check for sticks, stones and other debris on the country road. Then, I adorned all protective gear, except the elbow pads (I forgot them) and hit the road. The downhill, half-mile slope made me gain way TOO much speed, even though I carved. Then, the uphill skate tested my conditioning. Happily, I'm in better shape than I thought. 😁 I did this hill twice. Would have completed it more times, but a dog decided to join me and was nipping at my skates. 😳

Yesterday I got up early, had a light breakfast, did some stretching, fed the cats (most important), made a little lunch to take with and got out to the courts early. There was only one other guy in the whole 8 acre park (who was doing well shooting hoops - best I've seen there). I kept stretching as I warmed up... and started to feel it... I was skating better and feeling better. Did some drills - went well. I took breaks when I felt tired, had lunch and still the park was empty - nice and peaceful. I got back on the court and skated very well! Like I'd been wanting to since day one. I did another hour, and as I left, then people started to trickle in. Perfect timing... I like it when it's not too "peopley" out. Later, I still felt good, great actually, not tired or achy, so I didn't over do it. I hope you guys have these kind of days too. We need a few good ones to kinda reset. Upon reflection, me and that kid on the court had something in common... we practiced, alone, without help or distractions. I wish I'd told him I admired his playing. Maybe he thought the same about me, but I think we respected each other's space and time. Anyhow, it took me ten months, but I managed to have a very good skate day ...finally. Mar 20, 2026