My Grand Return!

This weekend was packed with derby events, the biggest being the Pride Parade. A bunch of us LOCO gals went down Dundas Street, some on skates and some not, to promote our recreational derby league. Lots of people were interested and we handed out tons of flyers. Plus, it was Pride! so it was a helluva lot of fun! 

This was also my first outdoor skate in a year. Any roller skater can tell you that skating outdoors is a very different experience from skating inside. The tiniest pebble can put you on your ass, and Dundas Street is no smooth sailing. I hadn't been outdoors in ages, and even though I skated on Friday night at LOCO's weekly skate night, I was still nervous. Fortunately, people told me I didn't look as nervous as I felt, although it seemed to me I spent the whole skate with my head down looking for cracks to step over and debris to avoid. Some helpful bystanders assisted me in getting on and off the sidewalk -- those damn cobble stones! -- just going to show how friendly and fun Pride events are. The community in London really came together and it was a great time. Afterwards, we skated back to the Morrisey House, where we have our weekly pub night, and had a pint together. My husband joined us with my little boy Jack (in the picture above) and our pal Eric. Good times. 

I was also really impressed with the baby shower for Nia Capps on Saturday, which was basically all derby girls and was also really fun. I'm a sucker for little white bread sandwiches and cheesy games, so showers are always appealing to me, but a shower full of derby girls is even better. 

Friday night was my first full skating practice, and I took it easy. I didn't want to wake up the next day with a lot of muscle pain. But I should have pushed myself harder because I was fine! From now on, I'm going to giv'r 'cause I want to get back in shape and back to some wicked skating. Our league is looking at scrimmaging soon, and just because we aren't competing with ranking teams doesn't mean I don't want to kick ass in our own league's scrimmage game! If derby is anything, it's a challenge to push yourself beyond your limits and I want to see how far I can go.

Vansterdamn XXX