I figured it would be cool to try and find an online community of inline skaters, so this is my way of doing that! But of course anyone of any sport and any skill level is welcome here <3
I'll also be tracking and sharing my learning journey, cause my only guide is youtube tutorials...
I think it'll be cool in the future to be able to look back at where I started :]
I'm 17, and my pronouns are he/it. I started skating 6/5/25!
My skates are the powerslide zoom baby blue 80s
and this is my helmet! I decorated it :D
I saved up for all my gear myself!
and I think that's about it for my intro post? here's my primary blog where I just kinda goof around @doodled-doggy
hi so I haven't posted here in a bit, and I think this will be the last time I do.
a lot has happened, most notably my health has deteriorated greatly. I'm supposed to be starting physical therapy sometime soon, we're finding out a lot about my health, things that tell me maybe skating just isn't the sport for me.
I don't see a point in trying to force it to work when it just won't. it could be me, it could be my skates, all I know is that skating causes me way more pain than what is normal and what I can handle.
the other thing that's happened is that we're moving, we can't stay in this house any longer.
finding somewhere I can skate here was an issue, but the house we're planning on moving to has nowhere. dirt road, no sidewalks for at least a few miles.
so the plan is to sell my skates, probably get a bike. I'm not completely giving up though, if later in life I find myself with the opportunity I'd love to try this again, but it's just not going to work right now. I have a lot of health things to be worrying about first. like we're intentionally moving somewhere with no stairs it's that kind of situation.
as far as this blog goes I'm done posting not that I think anyone rlly cares lol. it was always kind of just for myself. as such I won't be deleting anything, I just won't be posting anything new.
it's really sad feeling like I have to give up all these things I love because I've gotten so sick so fast, I feel like I was a completely different person before. but I hope at least some of it is temporary, and maybe some day I can come back to it when I have a better understanding of my own body and how to manage my symptoms. or at least learn to feel like myself again.
I had a lot of fun trying to learn to skate while it lasted though! I'll never forget the memories I made or the people I met. my previous post was about how I was hanging out skating at the park with this new person, we're best friends now!
TLDR: I'm selling my skates, and I won't be posting here anymore.
I'm so confident now that I can record a video while I'm moving wow isn't that neat :D
I finally decided to try skating on the bike path! I hadn't before because it's really far to walk to while hauling all my gear, makes my back hurt. but I really wish I'd tried sooner! the smooth path makes SO much difference!
apparently learning to skate on uneven sidewalks and bumpy roads is really just not the move. but we live and we learn!
between my last practice and this one, I managed to thrift a little clear fanny pack, it's got a rainbow strap too so it matches my style! but I can put my phone in it while I'm skating and even skip songs and check notifications through the plastic :D
so with that, and my crocs on a bag strap I could wear, I was finally ready to take on a trail! usually I'd just kinda skate back and fourth while all my stuff is in a pile... it's really not great. on the bike path I got to experience things like small obstacles and simple hills! and I could also finally pick up a little speed (emphasis on a little, runners were still passing me lmao)
the way I'm carrying my shoes was a bit of a problem, they swing around and it makes it hard to focus, and especially with how much it hurts carrying my heavy gear all the way to where the bike path starts, I've started to think about a skate backpack! I'll have to keep thinking on it though :p
I also noticed I definitely need to work on my pushes, this was kinda the first time I was able to notice that they're pretty weak. but that's okay! I'm really really happy to be moving sufficiently :D
I'm also thinking I should start working on how to stop at some point, I won't be comfortable going much faster until I know how to slow down. currently I just roll to a stop and it's a little pathetic looking 😭
so what did I learn today:
-going to the bike path is worth the effort
-fanny packs are goated with the sauce
-I am goated with the sauce
-my pushes are sad and weak
-being able to stop is important even if you're not actually going very fast at all
today I had my best practice session yet I am so thrilled!!
all of my practice sessions would be really really short, too short. like I'd spend 5 minutes total skating before I was in too much pain and had to stop.
I was feeling especially determined today so I tried something I really just should've been doing before. taking breaks instead of just going home 😭
scoot around a bit, sit down and take my skates off for a few minutes, gear back up and repeat. to nobody's surprise it worked wonders and I was out there for almost an hour! I think I'm also just about at if not past where my skill level was at before! I am really really really excited :D
I also brought earbuds this time so I could listen to music, makes it a lot more fun :]
also everyone is so nice to me when I'm practicing 😭
since they're doing construction on my usual stretch of even-ish sidewalk, I had to move and and now my spot is the road leading into the cemetery near my house. a lot of people walk or bike there, and every time someone came by and saw me on the ground taking a break they'd ask and make sure I'm okay, someone even yelled back to make sure I knew there was a car coming. it's so sweet and it made me really happy I dunno :]
fyi I wouldn't ever be skating on a road if it were busy or if I just had anywhere else I could go, this road isn't very busy at all and the cars on it drive slow, and I always I keep my eyes peeled anyway! the majority of the traffic on this road is by foot or the occasional bike.
the other thing I did alongside changing my strategy was change my goals. before I'd go out to practice aiming to get to a certain point in my abilities, now I'm practicing to practice. like, I made it my goal for today to stay out until the sun was setting and just do what I could in that time frame, with breaks. I liked that a lot!
I was actually feeling pretty ambitious near the end, decided I'd try skating back home instead of walking to and from my spot like I usually do. it's like 2 blocks. but the road is too bumpy, and then it's an uphill uneven sidewalk. so that didn't happen, but I tried!
I know all this stuff I figured out today probably seems like common sense to everyone whose done a sport before, but I haven't done any formal sports, I just like going for long walks! I didn't expect learning how to learn to be part of learning to skate, but it's very welcome, I'm having so much fun! building a skill like this is very rewarding :D
so I had work (WHOA) and then before work even ended I had a 2 week vacation and then I got sick so I couldn't practice for almost 2 whole MONTHS. uh oh.
I could barely skate before my "break", so yesterday I finally managed to get back out and to no one's surprise I'm back at square zero 💔
the weather is really shaping up though, and I've got nothing to do between my summer job ending and school starting, so maybe I can lock the HELL in and be back to where I was before by the end of the week? maaaybe????
they're doing construction on the one flat section of sidewalk I'd always practice on so I've gotta find a new spot. fuck my stupid baka life
I skated around my whole block today! that's been my goal for a while now, I'm super duper happy :D
it's a kinda treacherous though, the sidewalk is crazy uneven. it didn't help that at some point I started shaking a whole ton 😭
I think it might've been cause someone was setting off fireworks, it's not even a little dark yet... what the heck
but uh yay!! I reached my goal! I already have some ideas for what I wanna do next :3
and I passed a lady on her porch she said I was "adventurful" :]
I really only went out today cause I realized I really need to be practicing more often so I'm gonna start shooting for twice a week, idk how that'll go with my new job but we'll see
usually I go after dinner but before the sun sets. I dunno what I'll do when daylight savings ends...
practiced again today, I'm making fantastic progress! I'm suuuuper happy :D
I was out for about half an hour which is longer than usual! the pain used to set in at about 5 minutes, but I think that's finally improving, so I was able to practice longer than usual!
I practice just going back and fourth across our side of the block cause that's where the sidewalk is even, and the neighbors actually came out to tell me I need to bend my knees more haha
but her advice was really helpful, and it's always nice to chat with someone! I'm really getting the hang of my strides now! I can move fast enough that I will very soon need to learn how to stop 😭
we'll cross that bridge when we come to it though, I need to get a bit better with my balance first I think...
I'm thinking of giving the neighbors a few brownies as a thank you :]
kinda just doing this to track my learning milestones :3
I tried skating again today and I actually made some progress :D
I hadn't practiced in over a week cause the weather has been unfortunate and I was really really sad, but today I kinda forced myself outside lmao
I made it halfway around the block before my feet started hurting really really bad so I took my skates off and limped home 😭
but I've never skated that far before! I'm getting the hang of my strides, and I still haven't fallen yet but I'm actually having close calls and saving myself instead, which means I'm good at NOT falling and that's something! and the sidewalks are super uneven so that'll be a good skill to have
it's reeeeeaaalllyy hot out though and I was wearing all my gear ofc, so I'm kinda super gross now 💔
but anyway I'm really happy with the progress I'm making! I should really be practicing more often cause rn it's like... maybe once a week. but I'm still doing good. I think my biggest problem is that my skates screw my feet up really really bad. it goes away pretty soon after I take them off but when I have them on after a few minutes the pain is unbearable
either it'll go away... or my skates are too small in which case I'm cooked cause I don't have the money to buy another pair :/
I'm also neurodivergent and more sensitive to pain than the average person, it's possible my pain levels are normal and just feel worse than how people tend to describe it. I could also be tying them too tight? but sometimes I feel I don't tie them tight enough. I dunno
but I'm gonna keep at it and hope the pain goes away 💪
