I like potatoes!

yay! Saturday morning training and off to test my new wheel set up (don't panic, nothing fancy, just switched 4 Suregrips for 4 Caymans) and so, met the wife at 8.20 to get the bus/train with wifey looking extra loaded up as she was heading off to Swansea after practise to skate in Vixens vs Sirens on the Sunday. Usual jabber about everything and nothing for the next 40 Min's seeing us pulling away from Central station in a cab and Rhayfen pulling squishy faces on the window at Jinx after we spot her.

As usual the hall was FREEZING! But I would say that, I feel the cold anyway, so after us all whining as we changed and padded up we got straight into warm ups and exercise. I think my balance is getting a bit better now but I'm still having the occasional wobble, still not a bad thing. Endurance up next, we had to line up from slowest to fastest skater (no prizes for guessing my position in the queue!) and skate 2 laps with everyone following, once the first skater did their 2 they dropped to the back and had to keep up, and so on and so forth. Penalty for not keeping up, into the centre and press ups, planks & squats! Tbh on the second time around I didn't even try to keep up, my legs decided to turn to jelly as soon as I'd finished my 2 lead laps so I just sucked it up and took the penalty.

From there we went onto countering/receiving blocks and I was paired up with Tara - she's got the patience of a saint bless her and knows how crap my balance has been of late so we worked on my leaning into her and pushing her off the track (thanks lovely!) Unfortunately I had to pull out of the pack blocking practise as my wonderful gum shield decided to take a chunk of my tooth with it! grrrrr.....was a good chance to watch the pack, practise backwards skating and turns and to keep an eye for penalties so I was still learning. From here we went onto work on teamwork and listening skills, great fun! Before we knew it the session was nearing an end, so, stops, cool downs and stretches to finish - well that and videoing Rhayfen doing turns so I can work on them in my living room, hey whatever works I say!

After the session, sustenance was needed so, although originally planning on going to a veggie cafe, we decided to stop at SpudULike instead - cheese, beans, garlic bread - WE LIKE POTATOES! and so, hunger quelled, we wandered off planning more mischief and after a quick trip to LUSH we separated. Wife, I hope you kicked ass at Swansea :D

Til next time!

xxxxxx

Why CRoC rocks

I know its not a training day or a day after training where I usually babble but I needed an outlet so bear with me ok?

I stumbled into roller derby, what? 8 months ago? yeah that's about right. At the time I needed something to do as control of my life was being taken away bit by bit and I needed an outlet. I attended as many sessions as I could and made some great friends who were in the same derby boat as me, we were all there to learn just some did quicker than others. Things changed, people came and went and I was forced to take some time out. What I've usually found is that if you need to step away from a scene, people move on and you can be quickly forgotten. Derby changed this perception for me, I had team mates chatting away on various social network sites and asking when I was coming back and my awesome derby wife Rhayfen keeping me sane day to day.

And so I returned, back to the beginning once more, but things hadn't changed - there was still smiles and banter and although the girls had come on in leaps and bounds they were still welcoming no matter what level you were on. It's gonna take me some time and work to get up to speed, but I'm determined to get there and its nice to be back with my derby family.

No matter what's going on in your life, you're accepted for who you are - and that my friends is why derby, my lady brothers and CRoC rocks!

Much love to you all

xx

Slowly Slowly catchy monkey...

Dinner sorted? check! Kids organised? Check! Other half settled? Check! Off to practise I go!

First things first, my darling derby wife Rhayfen giggled at my new kit bag on

Saturday asking if I could have gotten a bigger one - tis true the bigger the bag the more crap you put in it! However last night it came in very handy as I was packing spare pads and helmet for a friend of mine that was coming to have a go (so ner wifey :p )

The lovely Up Ya Jonsey picked me up with the wife and Knuckle Sandwich Nancy and the usual babble of conversation ensued.

Arriving at Coleg Glan Hafren, pads were dished out, kit on and off to warm ups. Feel much better with the new knee pads, its amazing how such a small change can make a big difference. OK so I'm not the most confident skater still but I felt much more stable last night which helps with the confidence issue. After a quick introduction as we had 3 new ladies join us last night we were split off into 2 groups, min skills and non min skills. Mrs Baxter decided we would work on stopping (plough and T) and I've kinda discovered that, OK I might not be mastering T stops yet but also I may need a slight wheel adjustment as all sticky wheels seem to not want to drag. This definitely needs more home practise via 'zombie walking' lol. From here we went on to turning, after arguing with my foot and telling it it was not to lift off the floor I found I could quite happily just about go round in circles on the spot (dizzy!) however factor in some forward momentum and I was buggered! Rhayfen swapped in with Mrs Baxter in the teaching capacity so I picked her brain on the situation and it seems I can do it after all, just in a different way - different things work for different people, its just a case of finding what works for you I guess and the was I was shown looks like it may help with my T stop situation :)

From there we were all called back into the middle and were told we were going to have a mini scrim - now I may be a bit tupped but am not mental enough to join in quite yet, maybe in a few weeks when my confidence is back where it should be. So I joined the newcomers and was scorekeeper. It was great watching the girls really go for it and Rhayfen and Jinx'em G were fab jammer refs, although poor Dotty De'Struction - its one thing to be taken down but a whole other ball game to have the other player over your back! Still it was all fun and the final score was Raiders 47 Roathmantics 37. Cool down and stretches done, kit packed away - Charlie has taken to derby like a duck to water so it will be good to see her next session :D Car ride home! Interesting conversation to say the least, but maybe not one to post up here ;)

So, things to remember from last night

1. turning, master that and your stops should follow
2. try and skate a bit longer on one foot, helps with the balance issue
3. swap out some wheels, sticky is good to a point!

TTFN

xxxxxx

enough is enough...

sorry RDWC diet, you're out! Its one thing looking fab on skates but its another almost passing out on them!

This Saturdays session saw me admitting to a few things, I can't T stop, I'd only just touched on it before I had my 'leave of absence' and can barely skate on 1 foot for very far. Huge thanks to Cat and Tara for their help, I know what I need to work on, just have to find the space to do so (and not be running a kitten over lol). Thing is, knowing I used to be able to do most of this on ice skates makes me very frustrated with myself as I can't translate it over. Loved the blocking practise, even if this did bring on the beginning of the end of the diet! TBH I can't remember much else as I'd gotten so annoyed with myself by this point.

Finally admitted defeat with the knee pads, I'd bought Pro Tek Drop In's and although they were great with all the padding etc, I found them bulky and they were also too big for my knees resulting in me having to pull them up after every fall! These have now been replaced with a nice pair of Pro Tek Skate Park pads, much more secure - the test will be at tomorrow practise.

To finish, a huge thank you to my lady brother Jinx'em G for my fabby skull wheel nuts - you know me too well :D

Til next time

xx

Monday night madness

Whats that? Training on a Monday? oh yeah! After sorting out the domestic stuffs I was picked up by Up Ya Jonsey with Knuckle Sandwich Nancy and wifey Rhayfen already in the car. Much yapping about diets, weddings and other such nonsense ensued and a fab gift from Knuckle Sandwich Nancy as part of the handmade pledge thingy of a totally awesome name badge (will get a pic asap)

Got to Glan Hafren and the first thing that hit me when I walked in the hall was it was BLOODY FREEZING!! However we had some girls from Bridgend Rockabilly Rollers training with us so it was going to be fab. Padded up, skates on - cut off the circulation to my feet again (really must stop doing that!) and off we went into warm ups and training. I still hate planks, I think I will always hate planks but hey ho, 30 second planks it was on demand :s After a few more drills we were split off into 2 groups and set to practise different things. Our smaller group was split into 2 and after practising lateral skating went onto falls. Left knee falls I can do no problem, right knee - nuh uh, leftie wants to go straight down after and lets not even talk about 180s! However thanks to Jammers Assistant I know where I'm going wrong with them and what to practise :D

After that we went on to trolley dollying, pulling (it makes sense in my head) and a bit of lateral skating to blocking, poor Up Ya Jonsey! As she's still off skates atm she offered to hold the blocking pad and I dont think she was expecting half the hits she got from our group, although it was great fun!

Following that, we went onto jumping - uh oh! now if you've read my previous blogs you'll know I've only ever jumped once, and that was a teeny one! ok, so off we go one after the other but would you know it I nailed a teeny one again. Second time not so good, third time "too far forward, corrected, too far back, corrected, over corrected, oh hello floor" less jump more frog splash! Up Ya Jonsey said I was rather entertaining though hehe - I will not be deterred however and this shall be the month I master jumping. After that the ladies went on to play 'Queen of the rink', I however sat that one out as my gumshield is naff and I need to get a new one/look after the teeth I have!

So, homewards bound with the same ladies, talking movies, blokes you shouldn't fancy but do (Tim Curry wtf??) and what was for brekkie - can you tell that myself and Rhayfen are following the Roller Derby Workout Challenge including meal plans, she was starving lol.

well thats enough waffle from me, I'm off for some lentil soup! Tile next time dear reader

xxx

whoop!

Yesterday saw me return to training with CRoC, you'll get the double meaning of the title soon enough lol.

Got to training with my derby wife Rhayfen having avoided taking the 'peasant wagon' courtesy of Rhay's hubby. Padded up and skates on, whoop, there's the little wobble I was expecting. Started skating and we were to follow what was called out, left knee fall - fine, squat - fine, porn star - whoop - fell flat on my back (hahahaha don't go there!) Thank gawd I'd invested in crash pads lol. After warming up we were split into groups who had and hadn't passed min skills. We were then split in 2 to practise lateral skating/1 leg skating and trolley dollies! Laterals going OK, still a bit wobbly on one foot but can get there for a couple of seconds at a time lol. Rhay made up the odd numbers as she was coaching us and was my partner for trolley dollies, easy enough - yeah except for the 3rd time around when, whoop, there's the wobble again and oh hello floor, I believe we've already met.

Never mind, onwards to falls - these I can do it seems, what I did discover was that I need to get some gaskets for my knee pads as they kept slipping down my shin (mucho annoying!) From there to blocking practise, I like that :D wait til I get stable on my skates lol After a run down of this weeks rules to learn and a cool down my tum was telling me it was time for foods!

Myself, Rhayfen and Jinx'em G headed into the town centre in search of sustinence (ok with a slight detour to get laces etc) and ended up a Ruby Tuesdays, a delightful eaterie with free refills on the hand crafted lemonades and fries and endless salad bar!! We started out with good intentions, nice big plate of salad, however add the mini burgers, fries etc and we were ready to roll out in a different way! Poor Jinx aso got to witness firsthand the madness that is Emilie and Rhayfen let loose on the public hahaha - hope you recovered lovely!

So as you can see, if I fall I tend to whoop lol. Anyways, today I ache, today I must air my kit and change my laces - so for today, byeeeeeee!

xx

New Team, New Year, New start......

I know I know, it's been a while but life got in the way - anyway that doesn't matter now coz I'm on my way back to training this week with CRoC (Cardiff Roller Collective for those not in the know). I'm really looking forward to getting back into it, yes I know its going to be hard and its a case of starting over again but I've got a new positive attitude and am gonna throw myself into it!

To go with this I've also signed up to the Roller Derby Workout Challenge onFacebook, I get a feeling that its not called a challenge for nothing - you cut out all sugar, alcohol etc for 8 weeks but from what I gather girls who did it last time got brilliant results. I can't promise to stick to it faithfully but I can promise to try my best and that's what counts, right?

Oooh and before I go, I got a mail to say Emilie Mort'em is on the official roller girls register - whoop!!

Will be back here Saturday after the session with an update but til then

TTFN xx

getting serious

Lets do this thing!! Screw waiting for doctors and results, I'm motivated and getting off my derriere!! So, as promised, besides skate training, I'm gonna be doing the Roller Derby dvd 3 times a week in a bit to not only up my fitness but fix what I'm seeing in pictures!! This may sound extremely vain but I'm only going to be skating in mainly black from now on, the pics from Goodwood made me want to cry!

I thought I'd test how good this workout was for getting rid of inches too so am gonna make a note of my waist measurement (37") - yikes how did that happen! and note it again in 4 weeks time :)

So, today was the first of the 3 sessions planned for this week - yes I found it hard work, yes I sweated and at times made some rather strange noises lol, I may not have been able to do all the reps on each set but I was only about 5 out on some of them so I'm feeling rather pleased with myself :)

Just need to get the diet aspect sorted now :)

ttfn xxx

Small update

ok so I was hoping to have been fixed by now but the wonderful doctors cant fit me in for another week since my test results came back (which I find a complete farce!) Apparently they ran a load of them and they came back 'satisfactory' but the doc wants to go over them with me :/

Anyways, annoyed enough by illness and missing training last Saturday, I know the 'minimum skills test' thingy will be looming soon and I am really trying my best so I'm making it my aim to get my skates on my feet as often as I can and to also up my fitness by doing the roller derby workout 3 times a week

wish me luck......please?

xx

Goodwood Roller Marathon!

Mental? Moi? Of course!!! 7am on a Sunday morning wifey et all picks me up to head of to Goodwood to take part in the roller marathon. Hadn't really given it much previous thought except for pre registering. On arrival and clocking the track I suddenly think WTF!? 5 laps?? no way - but wifey insists I'll be fine so I sign on the dotted line, 5 laps it is then.

We pad up, foregoing elbows and helmets as its gotten so warm and we meet up with 2 more of the lovely CDD's who are skating too! At this point I figure its probably a good idea to visit the loo - then discover much to the girls hilarity that my wheels have a few issues with the surface - panic sets in, its like being back at recruitment day all over again and I cant move :( Eventually make it over to the toilet block and as I'm coming out one of my wheels falls off - its an omen! but I figure it must just be that me or wifey loosened them a little too much, no big bother. Get back to our spot, get the wheel back on and met up with the girlies for the start :)

Not even 100 yards off the start line, another wheel decides its not only gonna come off, its gonna do the marathon on its own!! rolls off towards wifey who is now pissing herself laughing and we get it back on again - off we go! er....no, there goes another wheel. Rather pissed now I hoik my skates off and get back to the spectators area,wifes lovely hubby CJ looks at the wheels and nuts and we discover I've been sold the wrong wheels and the only way the nuts will stay on is if we tighten them right up but then the wheels dont bloody move (you can imagine my despair!) However, CJ, being the genius that he is, sorts it out by simply flipping the nut over! I can haz wheelzagain :D yeah so they're a bit stiff so its gonna be harder work but I can go skate!

Not gonna give you a lap by lap - that would be dull, so here's a condensed version!

Jeebus that surface was a bit eeeek! I got going though and was chatting to people along the way (was not doing the marathon for a time thing, more a personal thing) and although my back was a bit achy I persevered! Hit the water station and sank a good litre and a bit - hot hot hot! before starting back off again. The roller girls were all shouting encouragement to each other which I thought was brilliant :) Yes I struggled but I kept on going (even though wifey whinged I was chatting every time she saw me lol) and at one point heard from a derby girl 'hey! are you Cham Pain?? I'm Sleazy Rider, Tony said to say hi!' as she and her companion whizzed past! This is where the Dory bit came in from the last blog, hard going but just keep skating skating skating! The downhill bits were a bit eek! and the uphill were killers but it was well worth it! I may not have finished my 5 laps but considering what I was up against I was very pleased with what I did accomplish :D

I got to chat to some lovely girls/teams (including Skulldozer from Manchester, hope your chipped bone is ok now!) and got to giggle at my wifey going 'aaaaaagh!! the pain!!' - in all fairness she has blisters on her blisters lol

On the upside - we all got pieces of eight!! lol ok, we got medals to say we took part :) I bet everyone was feeling it that night (and for days after maybe!)

signing out, a rather pleased

Amber

x

What's in a name?

A lot it would seem when it comes to the derby world! I've been given a heads up that my chosen name is gonna be a no-no as something similar was registered months ago :( ah well, these things happen I guess.

Good job I had a back up, one I am very pleased with and don't know why the inspiration didn't come to me before! Have sent it off to Two Evils straight away and will be unleashing it on you all at some point soon....CDD's if you're curious enough, roll call ;)

xx

Think like Dory!!

Just keep skating, just keep skating, skating skating skating la la laaaaa......... it'll become clear soon enough ;)

ok so I haven't blogged for a while, sorry 'bout that! Life, health and stuff got in the way, but hey you're reading this so it must be update time!!

After a minor health blip a fortnight ago which stopped me completing a saturday skate (and also got me frustrated to the point of tears) I'm back on the old wheels again with a vengance. So, after selling some relics from my past, and doing a bit of digging I decide its about time to invest in some better knee pads and some ass protection! So off to the skate shop I go and come out with some awesome Pro Tek knees and crash pads - figured I'd pick up some outdoor wheels while there too so listened to the 'knowledgable' shop assistant and got a set of pink wheels for what I figured was the reasonable price of £20. Happy days!

Wednesday - freeskate night, perfect chance to try out the new pads. Knees, fiddly to get on but my gawd you can feel the difference when you land on them! Crash pads, look well funny on, kinda like very odd cellulite but very easy to skate in and you get the added reassurance that if you ass plant its not gonna kill!

Saturday - left the house with Elmer nice and early so we got to the STAR centre with time to spare :) padded up and got put through the paces - squat, left, right, right, squat, single knee, squat.....bam! hit the floor lol first proper test of the crash pads and I am totally impressed and in love! straight up and at'em again with renewed confidence! ok, not overconfidence as I still havent mastered turns, heck I cant even get my feet in the right position but practise makes perfect right :) Then as we head into session 2 in comes Pixie Punchup! we get some skate drills done and are off into 3 'teams' to do some relay stuff. I'm not the best but I manage it and avoid the forfits!! yay!!! Then off to work on lateral skating before we start working on blocking :D

I love blocking :D we're told to skate up in pairs and as we get between the 2 sets of cones to block eachother as best we can. After a few gentle 'tickles' we kinda pick it up a bit and I have to say a huge thank you to my fab blocking partner but also a big apology for getting a bit innapropriately grabby - Amber will learn to keep her hands to herself from now on! The lurvely Pixie then decides we're gonna do some exercises with our skates on - leg lifts and bicycles!! The groans of pain echoed round the hall including a squeal of 'no more! I'm doing a marathon tomorrow!' from my wifey!! hahaha Left on a high!!

More to come sports fans....just thought I'd do a separate entry ;)

ttfn!

oooh eck!

Saturday - good times, small child in tow (cue 'muum when are we going?' half way through the session) good to chat to some of the team members and try out the new wheels for the first time! Sooo much better, in comparison its like being back on my Rios wheel wise which is a good thing ;) didn't join in much as the back was stilltwingy and doing falls seemed to aggravate that, got some of the weaving etc done though but still feeling like a minor failure :/

Time to get a bit more serious methinks - have looked at my diet and realised its not what I'm eating, or the size of the portions - its the amount I eat! I skip breakfast, snack at lunchtime and have a 'proper dinner' most of the time but its not good! Especially when you have thyroid function issues working against you too. So diet has been addressed - have dug out my slimming world books, not for the weight loss factor but simply because I know I'll start eating regularly! As for exercise, time to start using the NVQ's I earned and put my theory into practise, might even start my Tae Bo training again, we'll see.

All in all not bad, sorry if I dont seem so chatty, am having an attack of the meh's at the moment :s

seeing stars

ok, am having to catch up on the last 2 sessions here so stick with me ok!

Saturday - feeling good, taking Elmer Thud skating with me today and we leave in plenty of time to get to the STAR centre - I've been really good and bought a bus pass too so I have no excuse not to get into Cardiff! Anyways, we arrive nice and early, get kitted up and after doing a few laps I realise I may need to stretch out a bit more as my lower back was really hurting :s so I take myself off and do some more stretching, its only the first hour so plenty of time to catch up with practise I think :) All the while Elmer's going 'mum, look at me....look! er...how do I move again' lol

So I get back over to the main area, sit and grab a quick drink and am all set to join in with the weaving/fall drill, but after getting no more than 2 'paces' from the chairBAM! I catch my wheels and smack down on my coccyx (I believe a few obscenities were muttered at that point and tears held back while cursing my own stupidity) 2mins for recovery and I decide I was gonna give the game a try anyway but after doing a simple knee fall I realise its gonna mean shooting pains up my back so I admit defeat - thus spending the remainder of my weekend on diclofenac and sat on a hot water bottle!

Wednesday - back's feeling better than it has been so off to free skate I go (thanks toRhian again!) tentatively get kitted up again and set off at a gentle pace, all the time in the back of my mind thinking 'if you fall on your arse again it's gonna hurt twice as much!' - total lack of self confidence evident eh! Then it dawns on me, sticky skating! I need to practise and see how far I can actually get so it's an ideal time to do so! Ok so I start out doing the kiddie thing of watching my feet but after some fab encouragement from coach Lemme Atom I stop feet watching and keep going with it, I can continuously sticky skate for almost 2 laps :D its not the hugest distance I know but its a start right? and each little achievement makes me feel a bit more confident :) Now if I can just convince the coaches to start a reward chart system with stickers....hey it works for my kids! lol

Gotta shoot for now - the FedEx man is at the door :D we know what that means FINALLY!!

dance magic dance!

After a totally manic day yesterday I was really glad it was free skate night, even if only for an hour I could take my frustrations out on my wheels! Huge thanks to the lovely Rhian who gave both myself and Rhayfen a lift into practise (well it is 9.30-10.30pm....whats that I hear you say? public transport? hahahahahahaha!)

So we get to the hall and after plugging in the iPod of doom with the emergency playlist - I grab my pads and skates on and get skating encouraging Team Tard to go-go-go! So yeah, as I said, it was an emergency playlist so veeeeery random but it gave me a chance to indulge my eclectic tastes so we had a mix including Kiss, Johnny Cash, Sugarhill Gang, Prodigy, David Bowie and even (to mine and Zoes amusement) Adam Ant! fun fun fun!

Many thanks to Pixy Punchup who, as she zoomed past for the upteenth time, called out "c'mon Amber, try crossovers, even if its just little ones!" as, despite my protestations I figured the worst that could happen is I fall on my arse so gave it a go.....and did them (woohoo!) Ok so it was only one or two per corner but for me its a lil breakthrough - especially as I'm still on those stupid slippery wheels!

Talking of wheels, I am a little unimpressed at the moment. As you may recall I spoke previously about having ordered my Fugi Pushers of which there is no sign/progress update yet, so I thought I'd give the company a lil nudge and find out what the hold up is. Email back from them this morning tells me they're expecting their delivery today/tomorrow so they'll dispatch them asap - now considering when I ordered them they were showing they had 10 lots in stock (and still show it today) I think I am rightfully peeved at this. On the upside - I just found the Haribo so TTFN!

Pirates and positivity!

Incase you haven't guessed, I'm a pirate at heart (maybe a Victorian one, who knows lol) so have decided to incorporate it into my derby persona! To celebrate this I got some verrrrrry nice new ink by Dean at Black Jacks Tattoos in Church Village. He's also very kindly working on some artwork for me :D

Anyway, as its a new week I've decided its time to start focussing on the positives! I'm still trying to find a stockist that doesn't use paypal to get hold of the Roller Derby Workout dvd but hey, lets look at what we've got here

1. I may not be used to my wheels but I can move on them!
2. I may not have got t-stops down but I can skate backwards
3. I've signed up for the Goodwood Roller Marathon (12 miles!)
4. I'm going to start the Roller Derby Workout challenge!
5. I've never missed a practise without bloody good reason

So, after looking at that for starters - the only way has got to be up, right?? Aaah yes I thought I'd pop a lil 'inspirational quote' in every now and again too

"It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up"

oh dear

*ding dong* "Good morning and welcome to Team Tard, this is your captain speaking, look out for some turbulent times ahead" *ding dong*

not only did I lose confidence in myself this week...I didn't even put my skates on :( I felt like a total and utter waste of space from the second I walked through the Star Centres doors. However, I didn't turn around and go home, I stayed and watched - you'd be surprised what you can pick up just watching so maybe its not all bad?

Future position forecast - a cone! lol

On the upside, after talking to looooads of peoples and with the lovely Lil Red's 'for dummies' help I've finally ordered my new wheels, c'mon postie get my pushers here

ups and downs....

ok well maybe more downs lol - Ried-hells firmly on feet and once more into the breech! Team Tard assembles itself for more practise and after a few drills we get split up!! Time for some training drills so its all stops, weaving and falls - yay!!

The stops aren't so bad, each of our little groups cheers each other on when we achieve what is necessary which is fab! Ok so I chose to plow stop each time but hey its a stop! Whistle blows and we're on to weaving, we all seem to manage that ok - maybe not coming back on one skate all the way but practise makes perfect right? The we get onto the falls, I don't mind this as I like doing falls - ok so I worried Josh when I slammed down on both knees but trust me, no sense no feeling lol. What did worry me is the fact that once minute I'm standing next to the wall, the next BAM! on my butt landing firmly on my skate - only thing hurt, my big toe! yeah I can't figure it out either.

Still its all good, still totally hating the wheels (am in the process of researching new ones) but I'm still going onwards :)

I think I can, I think I can....

Here we go! After joining what I've lovingly christened 'team tard' I discover we're working on finding out what our skate levels are - put me back in my rios and I'd be in Level 2 (ok lower level 2) but with the Ried-hells I'm definitely level -1

Josh explains to the group what we need to perform to confirm we pass level 1 and we keep on practising under his encouraging watchful eye and it turns out I'm not as bad as I imagine! Team Tard heartily congratulates each other then happily watches some of the other girls practise (rather fast I must say!)

Ried-hell

Welcome to Ried-hell, got to training and after putting on the new skates immediately had flash backs to recruitment day :s Its not so much the skates themselves that are hellish but the veeery slippy wheels that come with them - Raydar Caymans, far too slippery for our lovely leisure centre floor! Still, persevere I think to myself, it may just be a case of getting used to them. So I spend most of the session just actually getting used to moving in the damned things. Its a little weird as your balance is slightly different than on the Rios and the wheels feel soooooo much wider, its like walking in tissue boxes (thanks for that one Jen ;) lol)

Hopefully they wont take too long to get used to.........please!

uh-oh!

What have I done! A couple of weeks in and I'm actually getting better on the old skates when, not only did I buy a lovely new pair of Riedell R3's but I also sold my Rio's so theres not a snowflakes chance of me actually falling back on my 'safety skates'. I am rather pleased with the new purchase but have been warned that it'll be like starting over again and to watch out for 'Riedell toe' (cramps in the toes/foot or possible numbness) As much as I've sat admiring the new skates I've actually realised I wont be on them for 2 weeks as life will be getting in the way of training - eep! Wish me luck?

Just rollin' along

So here we go, week two and I'm raring to go! Having bought all my own kit to save potching about hiring stuff weekly I can't wait to get stuck in, ok so I may be a little bambi on ice with wheels on me feet but its all good and I even attempt a few of the basic falls after practising actually moving lol. I'm still amazed at how good some of the girls are and am quickly reassured that given time and practise I'll be up to standard (fingers crossed!)

The morning is a little chaotic but great fun, I decide that its definitely a good idea to

1. customise my Rios, can't have them getting lost among team kit
2. look for somewhere to practise outdoors
3. possibly look at my diet/eating habits - this is serious stuff!
4. falling on your butt hurts big time!!

However I soon learn that derby girls party as hard as they train! So off to the Old Library for drinkies and food and planning!! Look out week 3 lol

Cant go back, gotta go forward to go back....

better move on lol

Hi and welcome to the rollercoaster journey that is going to be. So lets start from the beginning shall we? This whole thing started when I saw an ad on Facebook for the Cardiff Dragon Dolls recruitment day. Sounded interesting I thought so clicked 'attending' and thought no more of it until a few days before when I spotted a recruitment poster on the gate of who I now know to be Zoe 'Quaff da Rhayfen', so I rang my other half to ask if he knew where Star Centre was and explained what I was up to (much hilarity ensued on his and by best friends behalf!) but I wasn't going to be put off!

So the big day came and I pulled my wonderful Rio Rollers out of the wardrobe where they'd been for a year and the realisation hit - I haven't been on roller skates for the best part of 19 years!! What on earth am I thinking!! Still I pootled along and there was a great turn out! Everyone signed their disclaimers and sorted out protective gear then split off into various sections - this is where I totally failed, I could get up but I couldn't move! After a little while I managed to get away from the wall and the wonderful Tabby helped me to find my balance and learn to actually move on those ruddy wheels! Things can only go upwards from here right?? Well they did! I knew I was going to love this so I went out that week and bought my protective gear - no going back now!