That’s Right, I’m Rollerblading. These Skates Will Make You Want to Do It, Too.
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It was week one of thelockdown orderin New York and it was beautiful out — one of those bright and warm March days that provide a fleeting preview of the summer to come. The streets were empty, both of traffic and most people. With pickupbasketballorsoccercompletely forbidden, the only kind ofexerciseI could get outside would have to be solo. I wasn’t going torun; I don’t understand how that suffering slog is enjoyable for anyone. Instead I decided to Rollerblade. If we were taking this time of isolation to reinvigorate forgotten hobbies (jigsaw puzzles,sourdough baking), then Rollerblading seemed like the perfect active pursuit for the moment.
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I’ve been on a mostly unspoken, wholly unfulfilled mission for the last couple of years to returnin-line skatingto an acceptable form of fitness and transportation. Everything elsefrom the ’90shad inexplicably become cool again, so why not the skates I wore nearly every afternoon of my street-hockey-filled suburban youth? They provide a solidcore workoutwhile getting you where you want to go faster than walking. They’re less burdensome thanbikingsince you don’t have to worry about locking them up, and there’s a joy that comes withskiingon concrete that you just can’t get from a jog. But I couldn’t commit. The crowded city streets, uneven pavement, and a general sense of embarrassment kept my skates in the closet.
Then social distancing happened. The biggest hindrance to my skating — having too many people around to run into and be seen by — was officially banned. With the streets basically mine, I laced up theRollerblade RB Cruisersthat I’d optimistically gotten the year before but had hardly worn. The wheels are burlier and packed tighter together for a smoother ride and a better sense of control on city streets. And the boot is light, soft foam with a minimal plastic frame. They were nothing like my middle-school skates: molded boots seemingly made of the same plastic as a refrigerator door and nearly the same breathability. (K2 makes a similar pair for street skating calledUptown skates, but I was a Rollerblade kid growing up, so I decided to be a Rollerblade kid now.)
I pushed my way up my now carless street, getting reacquainted with the smooth roll of the skates, and figuring out how to stop all over again. My glutes and thighs started burning, much faster than I expected, even though I was using mymusclesin a way I hadn’t since I was 12. And then, an even bigger surprise: As I made my way up to the nearly empty park near my Williamsburg apartment, I spotted another Rollerblader, a safe distance away, chugging along in a pair of in-line skates among the runners. Someone else knew just how much more fun it is to be on wheels than feet.
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