Safety:
Always wear protective gear. Helmets admittedly tend
to make people look like skating mushrooms, but the fact is its better
to look silly than injure your brain! When buying protective gear one
should consider spending money on resilient pads, as they tend to take
a battering. When wearing knee pads or elbow pads it is not advised
to wear them underneath your clothing. The reason being that the concept
of the pad is the outer plastic shell slides on the ground. Hindering
the sliding effect can lead to injury and destruction to your clothing.
Most people, when falling have a natural tenancy to get their hands
out to break the fall. That brings 2 cautions to remember. #1 Don't
wear a watch under your wrist guards. The watch strap gets pressed quite
severely against the wrist resulting in substantial bruising. #2 Make
sure that your wrist guards are well padded. Some pads have a gel in
them that absorb the shock of the impact. The majority of wrist injuries
are due to impact forces that crack the top of the ulna and/or radius.
Responsibly:
When skating whether it be in the park or on the roads,
the skater must act responsibly. Things to remember when using the road
are, the skater must adhere to the highway
code. In the parks there may be cycle paths. Keep to the left of
the cycle path. This will allow cyclists to pass by safely without the
confusion resulting in a collision. Through out London there are cycle
paths, if you intend to commute around London on your skates it
is best done on a cycle path than on the pavement or in traffic. One
needs to be vigilant went skating, keeping a eye out for hazards such
as water, oil, sand steep down hills etc can save the embarrassment
of wiping out. Skate in a manner which you deem fit of your skating
ability.
Fun:
Rollerblading after all is about enjoying yourself. 60%
of inline skating ability is technique and the other 40% is confidence.
So get out there, have fun!