Skater Buds

If you’re a member of the Baby Boomer generation, it’s more than likely that you harbor a few special memories from the roller rink. That humming hub of social interaction has no modern-day equivalent. It was the place to be seen on the weekends, and if you weren’t there you were nobody. Who could forget the thrill of skating around and around with a cute boy or girl, then grabbing a milkshake before heading home.

Although it’s impossible to duplicate those treasured adolescent experiences at the roller rink, you can get in touch with your inner child by getting back in the skating habit. Adjustable roller skates give you all of the fitness benefits and freedom of movement provided by roller blades, and they aren’t nearly as bulky. It’s like being back in high school, minus the drama and pimples.

It seems like our lives just keep getting busier. While children used to have little to no commitments after school, their days are now full with things like soccer practice, extracurricular community service, and more. That means that time to play and unwind has to be pushed back further and further. Especially in winter months when it gets darker quicker, that often means your kid is going to be out and about in the neighborhood when it’s already dark.

That’s why it’s all the more important to teach your kid about general safety. The most important thing is that they always know to make themselves visible to cars when it’s dark outside. This means that your kid should have safety lights on him no matter if he’s riding his bike or rollerblading. With a bike, it’s relatively easy to attach an external light to the bike itself, but if your kid is out and about rollerblading, it’s best to have lighted skates. A lighted skate wheel will alert cars that there’s a kid there, and this will greatly reduce the chance of your kid getting hurt.

While many people feel like roller skates went out of fashion quite a few years ago, they can still make a fun and nostalgic throwback gift for your child. But one of the frustrating things about buying any present for your child is that they are apt to grow out of it so quickly. This means that many of your expensive and well thought out purchases will be of little to no use to your kid in as little as six months.

So if you want your kid to enjoy these skates for a long time, make sure you purchase adjustable kids roller skates. This means that even if your kid grows, he or she can still enjoy the skates for years to come. Purchase a pair for yourself as well, and you can go on rollerblading trips together. This will encourage both of you to be more active in your day to day lives.

In 1863, the four-wheeled turning roller skate, or quad roller skates, with four wheels set in two side-by-side pairs, was first designed, in New York City by James Leonard Plimpton in an attempt to improve upon previous designs, the skate contained a pivoting action using a rubber cushion that allowed the skater to skate a curve just by leaning to one side. It was a huge success, so much that the first public skating rink was opened in 1866 in Newport, Rhode Island with the support of Plimpton.

The design of the quad skate allowed easier turns and maneuverability, and the quad skate came to dominate the industry for more than a century.

Many people enjoy spending time outdoors.  They like to be able to breathe the fresh air and just enjoy nature.  One of the favorite activities that they do is to roller skate.  They can go to parks and skate the whole afternoon.  It is a great form of exercise as well.

Some enjoy skating in skating rinks.  They might rent the roller skates or have a pair of their own.  Some have the modern rollerblades instead of the old fashioned roller skate.  But whatever equipment you have, you will surely have lots of fun skating.   It is a great activity to do with your friends and family.

With the arrival of alternative sports, more and more kids and young adults seem to clamor for edgier competition venues.  Somehow, a regular sports arena just doesn’t cut it anymore.  Known for being more adventurous and therefore dangerous, alternative sports promoters are finding themselves holding competitions at the most unlikely of places.  For example, street roller skate races are held just about anywhere there’s a stretch of road available. Whether it be uphill or downhill doesn’t seem to matter.

Roller skaters in particular are not picky X-gamers.  Give them a street, an abandoned pool and they’re good to go.  The edgier the location, the better.  Armed with their elbow pads, their helmets and their roller skates, they’re raring to go at the mark.  They’re not called X-gamers for nothing of course.

These days, kids are known to be more active in what is known as X games or alternative sports.  Back in the days, roller skating was known as a hobby or socializing activity.  Nowadays, kids roller skate for sport.  As a matter of fact, roller skate designers have revolutionized the general look and feel of the skates.  Some designs are more streamlined for use in competitions and races.

The otherwise laid back reputation of the roller skate has now turned edgy and cool.  Tricks and stunts have been tried and perfected.  Roller derbies have given way to roller parks complete with platforms and tunnels.  Parks are brimming with roller skating enthusiasts, hell bent on perfecting their skills.  Sports shops and hobby stores come out with advertising campaigns aimed towards kids and young adults, promoting roller skating as the newest, hippest alternative sports craze after skateboarding.

The first recorded years of roller skates was in 1743 in London. The skate was used as a stage performance. 17 years later John Merlin designed an inline skate with metal wheels.

By the 1880’s roller skates were being massed produced in America. Skates usually come in two different varieties, quad roller skates and inline skates or blades.