After another extended period of forced rest, I finally resumed training yesterday. I was still weak from that bout of fever so I only wanted an easy roll on the trail to get my legs moving again. Much to my dismay, it ranked right up there as My Worst Skate Ever. I did a little sprint to chase ML and that short effort made me want to hurl. Definitely a session I would like to forget.
Recent correspondence with a friend have me reminiscing about my Paris Night Skate experience back in October 2005, before I started speed skating. I remember grumbling to myself how much precious real estate my bulky rec skates took up in my luggage (c'mon, I was vacationing in Paris. Of course I needed room for my purchases). Today, I cannot imagine traveling without my skates. I smile as I revisit my own words. That feeling of entrancement is still fresh in mind after all these years. Enjoy!
You know how at the end of a long day of activities, it’s hard to bring yourself out of the comfort of your couch and head out the door again? Well, this was exactly how I felt before getting out for the famous Friday Night Inline Skate. With a little trepidation, I followed other fellow skaters to the meeting point at Montparnasse Bienvenue. I was really impressed by how some skaters were comfortable navigating around the metro on their inline skates! I emerged from the subterranean to find myself surrounded by the largest crowd on skates EVER. There were people in Halloween costumes, people with boombox strapped to their back, people with flashing lights on their wheels, and best of all, a person with a customized backpack with music blasting and lights flashing.
I quickly changed into my skates and moved carefully towards the middle of the pack. Before I realized it, we started moving forward. What a thrill it was! It felt at the same time like a carnival, a marathon, a party, and a pack of juvenile delinquents about to descent upon the city of lights. Police on skates as well as volunteers were blocking off traffic and pedestrians so we could tear our ways through the streets. Onlookers from building balconies were cheering us on. People at the side of the streets were giving us high-fives. It was unlike absolutely anything else I’ve done before. Experiencing the city while sceneries were flying by was liberating to say the least. Getting to know Bastille by my dislike of its cobblestone surface was a totally unexpected encounter. Of course, crossing the Seine while taking a hurried sideway glimpse in fear of tripping on potholes was also priceless.
By the time we arrived at the Republique, it was already past eleven. Hoping to return home in time for the last metro, I decided to call it a night and found my way back from a strange neighbourhood. This is definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
Comments