I've started making a list of all the new things I want to try in the New Year - it's scary how soon January 1st is going to be here! The usual stuff is on there: exercise more, learn a new language, read more books - but number one on my list is to become a London Rollergirl.
I first heard about roller derby a year and a half ago. I was toying with the idea of buying some rollerblades and getting some lessons, and through my incessant Googling of the words London + skating + roller came across the website for the LRG. They skate on quads (four wheels), and as I loved my rollerskates as a kid I thought it would be easier to pick up than blading, plus I liked the dressing up element. Reading the forum the LRG's seemed like a friendly bunch and it sounded like a great way of getting out and socialising with more women.
So what stopped me from going? At the same time I was reading a lot about about the Friday Night Skate, where a gang of rollerbladers meet up to whizz around the streets of London. It was June, and I thought that sounded like a brilliant way to see the city, get a bit fitter and meet new people over the summer. So I decided to go for the blades, got kitted out and took a four week Citiskate course.
As it transpired, blading was not for me. I was okay at it, but as I didn't have anywhere good near me to practice I didn't make any progress between lessons. There was no way I could see me reaching the standard required for the Friday Night Skate any time soon so I put the blades away and forgot about the whole thing.
It was only recently when I started hanging out with one of the team captains of an LRG team and got all inspired by her talk of the training sessions and recent bouts that I looked at their website again and got excited about joining. Newbies can go along on the first Saturday of every month to learn basic skills, after which they're welcome to attend weekly league practice, so I'll definitely be there in January. There's just enough time to get kitted out with some decent pads and a helmet so I stand a chance of emerging intact.
In the meantime, does anyone want to buy some rollerblades?
What new things are you going to try in 2009?
Image courtesy of armcurl's Flickr stream.
