LONDON FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE TM
& SUNDAY STROLL TM

From: Week on Wheels <wow /at/ lfns.co.uk>
Subject: [wow] West on Wheels, and Strolling South
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 14:59:03 +0100

This Week, On Wheels

* This week: West of Centre and South of the River
* Last week: Three skates weekend: Union Street, All the Sites and
   Alexandra Palace
* London Inline Marathon
* Surface Hazards: Know Your Enemy
* Passing out parade for first time Strollers
* The Wilton: why the pavement is the place to be
* Our bike still needs a name
* and finally our WoW editor for this week gets all self-indulgent and
   profiles himself ...


== THIS WEEK ==

LFNS: West of Centre

This week we're hitting the high profile bits in the centre of
town. The blue section will cover Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square,
Parliament Square, Victoria Street and the Kings Road. Lead Marshal
Brendan will then take us down to Parsons Green for half-time (anyone
who's been watching will have noticed that he has a penchant for
stopping here). We'll then up the pace and hit the Hammersmith loop
before taking in some of the Royal Borough's (that's Kensington and
Chelsea to you and me) finest surfaces.

                               http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060811

Sunday Stroll

Natasha will be taking us on what she describes as a Beginners
Stroll. The weather forecast is for a lovely hot day so we're taking
it nice and easy as we meander slowly southwards. Perfect for new
street skaters (so drag along your nervous friends) the Stroll will
take in Sloane Square and a little run south of the river (but nothing
too tough we promise). As ever, the full route will be up on the
website just as soon as we've route checked it to make sure we can
bring you the smoothest surfaces.

                               http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060813


== LAST WEEK ==

LFNS: Union Street

Lead Marshal Markus' first outing of the weekend, at his usual
blistering pace. We know that a number of you were disappointed that
he avoided his regular mix of cobbles and stairs, but we also know
that loads of you loved his pacey runs through Soho. And the usual
marshal cries of "Keep Left Please" were joined by a cycling constable
in the City of London (well done Markus for not burning him
off). Another hot skate on another hot night...

Not many photos for this one. If you've got more, send them in.

                              http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060804/1


LIM Saturday Skate: All the sites

Then when the urge to put on skates becomes just too much to resist,
you often find us involved in some other street skate or inline
event. This time it was the London Inline Marathon weekend so a
special tourist street skate was arranged for visitors to take a few
snaps before going full pace on the track. A combined crew of LFNS and
LondonSkate marshals assisted "Race coordinator" Rick in taking us to
pretty much all of the major tourist sites in the centre of
town. Crossing the river four times we had half time just by the Tower
of London and even "Sinner or Winner" man at Piccadilly Circus had to
pipe down as the yet unnamed new music bike blasted out 2000watts of
chilled music to accompany what was a very chilled Saturday
skate. (Was a bit hot though!)

Sunday Stroll: Alexandra Palace

Those of you who didn't join our Saturday outing might well have been
watching "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" (apparently reality
TV meets the Sound of Music) on BBC1. We took our own unique view of
this on Sunday when those of you brave enough to turn up participated
in "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Markus?" (stick with the analogy -
he's Swiss!). You see the problem is that he just loves one way
strolls, nasty surfaces and hills. So we let him have his way and the
hills were alive with the sound of skaters.

This marathon (with apologies to our LIM skating friends) skate took
us through North London. After a special first stop at a massage
parlour (which marshal Tom seemed to thoroughly make the most of - see
photos: link below) and then another at Finsbury Park, we took on the
best hills that North London had to offer as well as a cheeky peek at
the new Arsenal stadium. A seriously demanding skate (especially for
all the newcomers - to whom well done!) but weren't those views worth
it at the end?!

Of course if you were brave enough to skate back into town (I was and
don't I know it!), then doubly well done....Fortunately Marshalcam
meister Joby (who normally does our music mixes - isn't he
uebertalented?) was on hand to capture all the fun of the ups and
downs on camera.
                            http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060806/1


== FINDING YOUR LIM-ITS ==

- "Skates end somewhere other than the Vic?"
- "Tell me about it, the one we did on Sunday just went round and
   round. 26 miles and we still hadn't found a pub - that's the last
   time we let Hans lead a skate."

Some of us who weren't toiling up the hills to Alexandra Palace last
weekend were instead toiling around the hills at the Eastway Cycle
Circuit. The fourth London Inline Marathon was blessed with weather
that was dry (unlike 2004) and not insanely hot (unlike 2005), and saw
a total of 61 starters in the full marathon and 33 in the
half-marathon which ran simultaneously.

Despite many good international skaters, it was great to see a strong
showing of London skaters in the results. Special mentions to the
marshals who won shiny stuff: Hans (overall winner and British
Marathon Champion), Peter (third place, British Champs Senior Male),
and Tanya (third place, British Champs Senior Female). And to Sol's
daughter Laura (perhaps better known as Minisonic) for first place in
the Mini Marathon Recreational category.

As in previous years, the event was organised by the LondonSkaters
Speed team: big thanks to them and to everyone who volunteered to help
on the day. Results are now up on the web site.

                                  http://www.londoninlinemarathon.com


== !! SURFACE HAZARDS: KNOW YOUR ENEMY!! ==

When you take on the mean streets, you're going to have to face
various hazards. This guide will help you navigate them and glide out
on top.

COBBLES have the worst reputation when it comes to surface hazards and
this is largely unjustified. When approached correctly they are easily
navigated. For small sections of cobbles, keep your speed up on
approach then take a big scissor (one foot well in front of the other)
and glide over. Simple. For longer sections, keep your speed up and
continue to skate, making strong strides. Remember to lift your toes
in your skate and keep your weight ovver your heels - this will reduce
the danger of tripping if your speed decreases too much.

SOFT TAR is by far the worst hazard you are likely to
encounter. Skating into a patch of melted tar can see your skates
grind to a halt before your body has time to react, inevitably
resulting in a stack. The best way to cope with tar is to avoid
it. Make sure you're padded up should the worst happen and you stack.

London has a wonderful assortment of MANHOLE COVERS. Some can be
glided over gracefully while others feel like you're skating over
cattle grids. Again, the best method of navigation is to avoid them,
but if that option is not available then a high-speed big scissor will
see you across safely. If it's damp there is no grip whatsoever: if
you do hit a wet manhole cover, DO NOT TRY TO BRAKE OR TURN. Just
glide across it and regain control when you are back on a grippier
surface.

CABLES are installed across many streets in London to monitor traffic
volume. Unlike your other enemies, cables move around from street to
street unannounced, then lie quietly in wait to unsettle the humble
street skater. Cables are similar to cobbles in that they are nowhere
near as bad as they seem. Keep your speed up and either jump, step or
long scissor across them. They'll only catch you out if they catch you
unaware. Other less savvy skaters might not be as sharp as you though,
so keep alert for people ahead of you and prepare to take evasive
action. And watch out for cables that have been set vibrating - loose
cables can vibrate a good distance off the road and are better stepped
or jumped over.

The occasional burst water main or street sweeping vehicle can leave
patches of STANDING WATER. This is very easy to navigate as there is a
surprising amount of grip on wet surfaces. Take a more upright posture
and shorter strides to ease over any water hazards, and avoid manhole
covers.

Skating on DIESEL is like roller skating on ice. You'll notice a
sudden absence of grip for no apparent reason on what appears to be a
clean dry surface. This is one time when long strides are not a good
idea: take short, gentle steps. You'll soon feel when you are past the
spill as your skates will start biting again and you'll be away. You
are most likely to come across diesel spills at bus stands and taxi
ranks.


== CONGRATULATIONS ==

Here at WoW, we often forget how tough that first streetskate can be.
So, we want to congratulate all of the people who have recently
completed their first one. Recent first time completers of the Sunday
Stroll were: Andy, Jo, Celine, Sledjana and Machaela. Well done to you
(and indeed anyone else who made it round; especially this week's Ali
Pali run). If you're a new streetskater and want a mention in future
WoWs then just let us know via the feedback form on the website.

== THE WILTON: FOR ONCE PLEASE STAY ON THE PAVEMENT==

Those of you who join us at the Wilton Arms after the skate might well
have enjoyed some of the unique driving skills and dentistry on
display after Friday's skate.

The Landlord of the Wilton (who loves having us by the way) has
received a few complaints about the way some skaters block the road
during the post-skate drink. We've therefore been asked (very nicely)
to ensure that we keep the road clear in future. As ever we don't want
to alienate the locals and would love to keep this a skater friendly
pub, so please bear this in mind.

== A BIKE WITH NO NAME ==

By now you'll know that our new music bike is being put through its
final paces before being let out on a regular basis. But we still need
your help in deciding what to call it. So put your thinking caps on
and enter our competition. We'll even throw in some champagne for the
winning name.
                                       http://www.lfns.co.uk/bike.php


== PROFILE VIEW: CHRISTIAN ==

This week's WoW editor is Christian. Having started street skating two
years ago, he's been away for a while being bankerish, but he's back
now and already throwing himself into the on-street and
behind-the-scenes work that keeps the LFNS running.

When not writing newsletters for his adoring public, Christian's most
visible role on the skate is as Rear Marshal. Firm but fair; he keeps
the back of the skate happy and moving. Christian likes the job
because he gets to encourage some of the newer skaters. (Remember that
encouragement is more often available on Sundays: on Fridays you are
more likely to be shouted at if you are at the back.) Seeing people
completing their first Stroll or Friday skate is, he says, really
rewarding. Especially if they're pretty.

When he's not skating he does something or other in the City which
we're told involves long hours and hard work. We, of course know
better. Christian has been known to commute to work on skates, though
we're relieved to say that he doesn't ruin the image of skating by
doing it in his pinstripe suit and bowler hat.


== FIN ==

That's all for this week. Comments? Questions? Don't reply to this
mail: it'll bounce. Use the feedback form on our site. To
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