LONDON FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE TM
& SUNDAY STROLL TM

From: Week on Wheels <wow /at/ lfns.co.uk>
Subject: [wow] Wading Wheels: South Park, Walham Green
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:09:04 +0100

This Week, On Wheels

* This week: South Park and Walham Green
* Last week: Little Venice
* Profile View: Gerbil
* Bearing up nicely
* Berlin Marathon: registration closes this week


== THIS WEEK ==

In Chinese mythology, Dragon Kings bring rain. In Norse mythology,
it's Freya. Radio Times readers claim it's the fault of BBC weather
forecasters, and Serpentineroad.com posters usually hold Northerners
responsible. But this week the LONDON FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE is once again
attempting the South Park route, so if we're forced by precipitation
to cancel the skate for the third week in a row, Blame Canada.

The route runs through the smooth bit of Battersea Park (watch out for
twigs) and Millbank. Half time is at Parsons Green (District Line).
Brian Boitano would keep left.

                              http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060825

The SUNDAY STROLL heads in similar direction but not quite as far:
we're going to Walham Green. No, it's not the US drugstore (that'd be
"Walgreens"), in fact it's the historic home of the very first Compton
"ABC 3-6 + Melotone" model[*]. Which, sadly, is no more, but we're
stopping there anyway. Nearest tube stations Parson's Green or
Fulham Broadway.
                              http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060827

[*] 'Many players have described these instruments as "tonally
unadventorous" (which is absurd) but they gave cinemas the look and
sound of a "mighty organ" from just 6 ranks of pipes thus reducing
cost and space'.
                                                    http://qurl.net/HD


== LAST WEEK - SOME SKATING STILL POSSIBLE ==

FRIDAY'S skate fell victim to the weather, as our summer of drought
officially ended. Papers are already full of stories about how
Londoners face flood risks. No doubt the route will return on a
future occasion

On SUNDAY, despite similarly wet weather and many marshals being away
at the races, thanks to a short break in the wet stuff we actually
managed to get rolling. We delayed the start of the skate to let the
sun break through for our meander northwards to Maida Vale and gentle
skate back again.

We try to keep the summer Sunday Strolls particularly beginner
friendly and we seem to have succeeded this week with people at the
back getting visibly more confident over the course of the
skate. Congratulations to those who finished their first ever street
skate.
                              http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20060820/1


== PROFILE VIEW : GERBIL ==

This week's featured marshal is small and cuddly and likes to be
stroked. Oh, wait a minute - that's A gerbil and this week's marshal
is The Gerbil who is (he says) tall and cute...

Gerbil has been marshalling now for nearly 3 years - so long that
no-one can now remember that he is named after a member of the rodent
family because... Well, he's pretty coy about it but it has something
to do with joecartoon.com and accidents. Besides running in an
exercise wheel and performing simple tricks for chocolate treats,
Gerbil likes Freelines, rock climbing, hockey, ice skating, inline
skating and writing software (yes - another geek!).

Gerbils are nocturnal desert creatures that can survive on very little
water. Other interesting facts about Gerbils include they have their
own religion. So, at last, a marshal who officially demands that you
bow down and worship him. (KEEP LEFT! GOD SAYS SO.)

Gerbil didn't plan to feature in this week's newsletter but made one
clever remark too many at an editorial meeting and produced this copy
as the alternative was a profile entirely composed of random facts
about children's pets and making fun of his nickname. Lucky escape
there, really.
                                                   http://www.corg.org
                                        http://www.freelineskates.com


== BEWARE OF GEEKS' BEARING THREADS ==

Bearing (n.) A device that supports, guides, and reduces the friction
of motion between fixed and moving machine parts.
http://www.dictionary.com

If you're an inline skater you can't avoid bearings: they're the
wonderful little mechanical devices that allow your wheels to spin
freely. Given that they are such an important part of skating you may
wonder why you never hear about them - well, that's because bearings
are widely classed as a taboo subject for fear of technical people
going off on one. However, from the safety of his office desk (he
says he's on a coffee break) an anonymous Week on Wheels contributor
(visible only in silhouette) attempts to brave the subject, shed some
light, and bring some insight. This is not the voice of an actor.

The ABEC standard:

ABEC stands for Annular Bearing Engineering Committee. This was a
standard created by some engineering boffins to classify bearings in
terms of tolerance (the permissible limit of variation). The higher
the ABEC rating the more precisely the bearings are made. Unlike the
Spinal Tap guitar amps, the ABEC scale only goes up to 9 - some
manufacturers claim theirs are "Beyond ABEC" or "ABEC11", but this is
what's technically known as "marketing".

ABEC doesn't tell you everything: inline skating puts lateral forces
on the bearings and often involves dirt, dust and damp, which won't be
represented in ABEC ratings.

Common bearing myths:

"If I buy better bearings I'll go faster."

Perhaps partly true. A good set of bearings will reduce your rolling
resistance so it will be easier to get up to speed and easier to
maintain your speed, but you will see a far greater improvement if you
invest time in improving your technique instead - some of the fastest
street skaters in London skate on severely neglected bearings.

"Cleaning bearings takes ages, it's better just to replace them."

There are three schools of thought. You can spend all day cleaning
your bearings (if this sounds appealing, there are procedures - and
probably support groups - on the Internet) or you can give them a
quick spray with lube and skate on, or you can skip the "lube" stage
too and just put up with the squeaking noise. it usually stops quite
soon.

("Three" is actually an oversimplification. There are as many schools
of thought as there are skaters - which is why bearings discussion is
boring and goes on for ever - but these are three representative opinions)

A set of ILQ9s can last for over a year of regular skating with a
'spray and skate' maintenance regime whenever they get wet. If
you do spend all day cleaning your bearings they will be smoother,
make less noise and perform better. You have to weigh up the time
spent to the performance increase and whether it matters to you. If
you're a speed freak maybe it does but if you just want to go free
skating then it probably doesn't. If after you've sprayed your
bearings and had a good skate on them you feel a considerable drop in
performance then it's probably time to replace them.

"If my bearings get wet they'll disintegrate."

Wrong. If your bearings get wet all the gunk that's inside them gets
churned up. When you leave them to dry when you get home the churned
up gunk will typically set, and the metal in your bearings may corrode
so all the smooth surfaces become coated in rust and become
rough. This can lead to your bearings seizing (the wheels no longer
turn round freely). Does this mean they're wrecked? Certainly not.
Lubricate them with oil (good), WD40 (will work at a pinch) or GT85
(recommended - ask for it by name at your bike shop) and get out and
skate on them. (Adherents of the zero-maintenance regime may, as
usual, skip the "lube" stage). This will work all the gunk and rust
out and after a few miles they'll be performing much better.

So there's a brief guide to bearings. The most important advice is to
spend less time on it than you do on skating.


== BERLIN DEADLINE ==

If you read last week's article about the Berlin Marathon and thought
"hey, sounds good", but then forgot to do anything, you have until
Friday before online registration closes.

http://www.scc-events.com/events/berlin_skatemarathon/2006/anmeldung.en.php



== GAME OVER ==

That's us done for this week (yes, now we've written this we just have
the comparatively minor job of marshalling two street skates). If
there's anything you'd like to tell us about, please send it in. Don't
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