Good Bye 1988 Rollerblades?

I have been bragging of late about my exactly-20-year-old rollerblades. I mean the awesome lightning rollerblades I purchased in 1988 that I have been using pretty consistently since then. Amazingly, the wheels are as smooth as ever. I have rotated them once, but never replaced them. The brake finally wore down so much that it is useless, and I have held on for a year since then. But now I have to face the reality that my black and neon green super-skates, specially ordered in junior high, just won't cut it anymore. You see, I stopped by Play-it-Again Sports last night, only to be disappointed. Apparently, the brake I need installed I might be able to find online (none in town) if I'm lucky. The wheels, which should probably be replaced, cost about $32 per set, plus more for the adapter parts, since the skates are just a wee bit out of date. A new pair of durable, much more asthetically pleasing skates runs at least $100, so what do I do? But I think I've made my decision after last night.

I decided to go rollerblading with my brake-less skates in our new neighborhood. I figured it couldn't be that bad - a few little inclines and declines, no big deal. I've done the tough stuff - stairs and such on the U of U campus, tunnels and rickety bridges. Unfortunately I misjudged, and I was lucky not to have ended up injured or dead, lying in a heap on the road, accented by some neon green. I really am not exaggerating much. The uphill was no problem, coming back down to the house was out of control. I can turn my foot to use the sides of the wheels for some limited braking, but it doesn't work so well. I can jump onto the grass, but that isn't always so easy, especially with all of the amazing gardens and eco-friendly yards in our neighborhood. I can go slowly back and forth across wider streets - kind of works, you know like when you first learn how to ski. The problem with that is when a car decides to show up, or when the speed slowly picks up and the bottom of the hill comes racing towards me. But there were three occasions where I just couldn't stop, and had to take drastic measures to turn off the road. I know, I know - terrible lapses of judgment. Could have totally avoided that. I promise, it won't happen again. For the record, I finally gave up on the last hill towards our house (not to mention directly west towards 13th East), and took off the skates for the short barefoot walk.

I can't give up this sport after so many years of dedication, and the potential for me to actually have fun getting in shape this summer. New rollerblades are sounding like a much better alternative now. Or I'll have to stick to Skating around Liberty Park. Okay - Classic Skating is always an option too.