CAN A MIDDLE AGE WOMAN FIND HAPPINES ON ROLLERBLADES?
It was a long-time fantasy. It looked like such fun so it was easy to imagine myself speeding along on rollerblades. I’d seen groups of rollerbladers at Penn’s Landing doing interesting dances and group maneuvers. They seemed to be having a wonderful time. As a kid I’d roller skated of course, but here were adults having a great time together and I was determined to join them someday.
In March I received a mailing from The Sporting Club offering a weeks free membership. When I checked it out I found that the The Sporting Club even offered rollerblading classes. This was the chance I’d been waiting for! I called Jennifer Goldstein and signed up for a class, which turned out to be one of the best bargains in town. For $10.00 I had an hour lesson and rental of all the equipment involved. (Wearing knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards made me feel a bit like the Bionic Woman, but that’s all part of the experience!)
Jennifer is an extraordinary woman! Having done her senior thesis at Wharton on the development of in-line skates, she knows the history of the sport and of the equipment involved. She is a certified IISA (International In-line Skate Association) instructor and authorized dealer for Roller Blades. Jennifer loves what she is doing, so her enthusiasm is contagious and she’s a good teacher, instilling confidence in her students, patiently going over and over various moves until we too had mastered them.
And the experience! Wow! What a great feeling of freedom to be rolling along on blades! What an even greater feeling to take control of the movement and to do some basic maneuvers. This fantasy isn’t so far out of reach after all. After years of dreaming about it, a one hour lesson proved I can do it.
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