The Start of a Skating Comeback

Welcome to my new blog that is going to basically be a journal of my attempt to make a speed skating comeback. My name is Ryan  and I am 28 years old living in Greensboro, NC. I started skating for Piedmont when I was 14 years old and competed until I was 20… give or take a year or two. As most speed skaters know, you have to practice 3 – 4 times a week (if not more) to stay in top skating condition and while I was still young, I was also starting a career and skating lost the battle to responsibility.

As many “old school” skaters have done, I made a couple various comeback attempts several years ago but my interest either dwindled or work got in the way. I am now at a point where I think I can work skating into my schedule and I also want to maintain my current physical stamina for another sport I do, road cycling. The winter temperatures and lack of daylight make it extremely hard to get on the bike and I think skating will really benefit me when the biking season rolls around. Anyway, back to skating.

Several guys that I used to skate with started showing up on some of the weekly bike rides I was doing last summer which immediately made me have the desire to skate. As we continued to ride together throughout the summer we would talk a little biking and a little skating, all the while my desire to skate was slowly increasing.

About three weeks ago my bike training went from 150+ miles per week down to around 45 each week. My body seemed to be screaming at me saying, “Hey you lazy bum why aren’t you working out.” Have you ever had that feeling? See, for me, the fear of gaining back the 15 pounds that cycling helped me lose was constantly in the back of my mind so I knew I needed to subsidize my lost time on the bike with something… and skating was by far the best option.

That being said I started looking into purchasing a new pair of skates. What a pain in the butt this was. I can’t begin to tell you how bad I hated the thought of purchasing an entirely new set-up. My Verducci was perfect with the exception that it wouldn’t fit the 4×110’s and getting some sort of attachment to use the large wheels only seemed like something that would constantly plague me with problems. When I have previously tooled around with a comeback most skaters were still on 84’s and 100’s had just started to come into the picture which meant skating on 84’s wasn’t that big of a deal. Things are way different now. Everyone has on the big wheels, which means the pack is going to travel at a faster speed… not just one skater rolling a bit better than everyone else. Think NASCAR at Daytona.

After looking into the various set-ups and prices I decided to purchase a Challenge boot and the Pilot 4×110 frame. I went with the Challenge simply because the same folks who made my Verducci (Which was great) are producing these boots. Same goes for the frame. I must add that 110’s are freaking huge! It’s almost ridiculous how large the wheels have gotten. Did we throw ability out the door somewhere along the line? I wonder how many people have abandoned the sport due to the fact that they could not afford to keep up with the equipment? That is another post for another day.

Needless to say I got my skates last weekend and will be going to my first Piedmont practice tomorrow night. Tony (coach) has already started asking… “Are you gonna skate Roanoke? Are you chicken? Are you to old?” (If you know Tony, you know he is mostly joking.) Sure I want to skate Roanoke. Will I be ready? How long will it take to get me into “skating shape?” Will I get remotely close to the level I used to be at? Has the sport left me behind? I guess these are questions that I will answer in the coming months.

By the way, my old skates are in great condition and are for sale. They are ideal for someone who is skating to simply stay in shape or for a beginner. Size 9 Veruducci, 5×84 Shockwave, and Hyper SGB wheels (good condition). Shoot me a quick email if you are interested in the skates (ryan at ryanshell.com)

Look out for a post practice update tomorrow night.