The wheels start rolling. Slowly, then picking up speed quite quickly as the hill gets steeper. I've learned that I love blasting down a hill on my roller skates (even though I'm not a roller coaster person).
My head fills with a blur of bright colours, the memory of the setting sun and feeling of a breeze in my hair as I roll down Junipero Hill in California.
Roller skating seems to be much more common in the small part of LA I've visited so far. I'm trying to catch the eye of every skater going past, smile and nod at them, but then I realise we're not in Yorkshire now! People seem pretty friendly though overall.
It's safe to say I'm hyper fixated with roller skating. Obsessed.
It just makes me feel so GOOD.
I've mastered the fundamentals (took me years mind) and I'm at a skill and confidence level I could never have dreamed of when I started out.
Even here - the fact that I'm here - a block away from the Moxi Roller Skate shop is just amazing. Life takes you where you want to go, but what if it could take you places you never expected?
Have you ever given up control, thrown caution to the wind just to see what will happen?
I'm living that life now. It's both terrifying and exciting at the same time. Exhilarating. And I've chosen it.
Letting go of trying to control things that are beyond my control has been a powerful lesson.
I can control the wheels on my feet. I cannot control the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. Thankfully they are green when I get there and I zoom into the car park at the bottom. It's gorgeous. The sun setting over the water to my right and the lights of the bay twinkling on.
Maybe I'm remembering this with the rose-tinted hue of sunset... Or maybe it's because roller skating makes me feel that good that my body remembers sailing down that hill (much shorter in real life than I expected to be honest - we have longer hills in Leeds for sure!)
The importance of trusting your kit
Either way, I never had doubt in my skates. At the time, I actually knew very very little about skates. Moxi had just released a new colour, and they now had 4 colour options. I've always loved pink. My inner child was delighted with pink skates, even if the adult me was slightly ashamed at how much I loved them. I had never owned anything quite so pretty and well made!
The amount of skating those boots saw - at least two visits to Skate Love Barcelona - where they were worn for 14 hours a day (I did a lot more skating back then) and this trip to Cali.
Basically they took a beating. At some point, I decided they were too dirty and beyond cleaning, so I dyed them burgundy and changed the plate for a lemon yellow Sunlite plate. Even after all that, I sold them and they still had a decent amount of wear left!
When you visit Roller Girl Gang at The Skate Sanctuary now, you can expect the same customer service we have always provided.
We want what is right for you. From boot, to plate, wheels and accessories, there are choices to be made. All we need from you is the vision of what you want to do and we can help you create the rest.
We are not interested in selling you something you don't need.
If you want to talk to our team about your future skates, get in touch today!
If it's information you're after, you may find one of these blog posts useful too.
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