Aggro Skate

For the longest time, when Daddy Lim and the kids do their aggro skating, I would either do my rollerblading, clocking distant  or watch them under the shade. Did I think about joining them? Not at all actually. Their falls look really painful and I lost count of the number of blue-blacks and abrasions that they had. Nana even fractured her ankle recently when she fell into the bowl. 

I don't know what made it suddenly clicks. Maybe bcos of the proximity of the new skatepark. No sports is easy, every sports = hard work and endless hours of practice. Maybe the idea of making time to travel to some faraway skatepark puts me off. I don't know lah, suddenly, I just thought that I would try. 

Zaky is outgrowing his skates again. Those are barely a year old. We talked about Zaky passing his to Nana and I inheriting his 1st pair of skates from Nana. With Nana out of the action, I didn't even have to wait for Zaky to outgrow. 

On Sunday morning, I had my very 1st try at the LS skatepark. I made sure that I covered as much skin as possible, both to protect from the sun and from possible abrasion. Daddy Lim and Zaky said that I looked like a bigger Nana. Hoho. Other than the wrist guard, every other skate/ guard is Nana's. 

I fell a couple of times when I thought too lightly of the obstacle. That slope looks so easy and innocent. I also lost my balance and almost fell many times. Each time that happens, I think I lost part of my soul. 。吓死我了!

After 2 hours at the skatepark, we decided to leave. It was so, so hot. We were sweating through our underwear literally. It was good fun though. I didn't try anything too daring but think that it was a good start. So much so that I allowed Daddy Lim to bring me to Kallang skatepark this morning. 

I fell so many times at Kallang and some of them were totally unexpected and whipped the breathe out of me. Damned pain. One of the achievements was to climb up the "big" (big in my perspective) ramp. 

Then I attempted to skate down and of course I fell bcos I didn't commit to skate down but was ready to fall. But I didn't anticipate how hard I would fall and the backwards impact made me knock my head on the floor. I don't think I had a concussion but that knock did give me a scare. 

We didn't stay long too, about 2 hours. It was so hot again, we were dripping sweat. Now I understand why Daddy Lim and the kids rest so much when they skate. I had a good time on the half pipe though. I actually  enjoyed pumping on the half pipe. I didn't look forward to the time where I can actually make it onto the platform bcos I don't dare to skate down, but the pumping was quite fun. 

Daddy Lim helped me to take several videos. I felt that I had skate quite fast and felt quite pro when pumping on the half pipe but when I looked at the videos, I was so slow and sometimes look like an old popo. Lol. 

That's it, my weekend of aggro skating. My badge of honor is a small blue-black on my right hip. I also got muscle ache on my back and shoulder. Why ah? I don't think I skate very hard leh. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Lakeside Garden Skatepark

We had been waiting and waiting and waiting. I think we waited for at least a year. Finally, the Lakeside Garden Skatepark is officially opened on 1 April 23. We lost count of the number of times we peered into the park and assessed the state of readiness as we passed by while on the MRT. 

We got excited as we saw the plants came up; landscaping is usually the last as maintenance is then required. We heard about the opening but wonder if it is an April Fool's joke as the barricade continues to be up. 

On 1st April, after the usual WWF ride, I purposely rode to peek if the park is indeed opened. It was, but not opened to public yet. There was some opening ceremony taking place and the skatepark would be opened to the public at 12pm! Finally! Then, so many friends started texting us about the opening. We know, we know. We finally have a skatepark right next door and didn't have to travel to ECP. Hoho. 

Daddy Lim came home in the afternoon, just when Zaky and I were preparing to go to the skatepark. Nana missed the visit. 

The skatepark opens from 8am to 10pm and closes every Monday for maintenance. It has a lot of pump tracks; big and small bumps everywhere. 

There is a super big bowl. 

Then, an intermediate bowl. 

A ramp and grind area. 

Then a sheltered area. 

Sorry, I know that my photos didn't do the skatepark justice. It was much more grand and the big bowl was really huge; my photo made it look like a mini slide. Hoho. 

Zaky was the only one who skated and took a while to familiarise himself. He loves big ramps, speed and big air (thus ECP) and declared that the skatepark isn't as fun as he couldn't find big ramps to gain enough speed. He complained that he had "nothing to do". No wonder lah, the skartepark was built in consultation with the Skateboarding Association. Nobody cares about the aggro skaters. Chey! Then the rain came and everybody squeezed into the sheltered area. After a while, we left. 

Dinner was a better option. Daddy Lim and the kids would be taking lessons with Coach N at the new skatepark the next day anyway. 

Lesson with Coach N was this afternoon so that we can go church in the morning. It is Palm Sunday. 

Zaky had cell while Nana went to the CNL church. We had a couple lunch before driving to different places to pick the kids. Very busy. 

Lesson was supposed to be at 2pm but Coach was late, which was good bcos it was so freaking hot. I went to skate at the park and I was burning even with the breeze and shade. 

When I was done, they were all hiding in the shade. 

There is a Ride Side cafe that hasn't started operation. No vending machines are in sight as well. Maybe that was why the Starbucks become even more crowded. Even we got 2 venti drinks from Starbucks. 

The sun continued to work very hard but it was fun bcos Coach showed them what can be done plus many pro aggro skaters came. I had a great time just by looking at the pro skaters. 很厉害! Zaky was also quite 厉害 in my perspective. He tried hard and kept trying until we had to ask him to leave bcos he looked like he was overheating and over exhausted. Coach was probably worse, Coach was fasting somemore. We duno how he did that, we downed so much water and still felt like dying in the heat. 

We skated home; our home is really across the road. Hohoho. 

This is us de-gearing at the corridor. 乱到...

Aggro skating is a messy affair, this is how we demob after every session. 

What is worse than baking under the hot sun? Doing so without sunscreen. Ya, I forgot. Zzzzz. I at least had my face sunblock since morning, Daddy Lim and the kids were simply sataying away the whole afternoon. Nana wanted to compare tan lines. 

Who win? 

The kids are talking about heading down to the skatepark during weekday evenings. Hohoho. So convenient to have a skatepark right next door. At least we know that we must not do 2pm lesson next time. I feel like suckling pig.

Mummy Lim

Porvida Indoor Skatepark

Daddy Lim and the kids had missed aggro  classes for the past few weeks bcos of Daddy Lim's work. Yes, they can always skate on their own but no, they have not been doing so. Daddy Lim had finally decided that we would visit the new indoor skatepark at Selegie. The good news is that there are more and more decent skateparks coming up. While the big outdoor skatepark right outside our house had been delayed and again for months, there would be another  new indoor skatepark coming up at JE. 

Daddy Lim is excited about Porvida bcos it is indoor, air-conditioned and they have mini ramps. Nothing too intimidating or threatening to his ego. Hohoho. The charges are $15 for every 2 hours slot and Daddy Lim gladly pay to try out how good they are. My job was to tag along and be the photo and videographer at times. 

Porvida is in one of the malls at Selegie. That mall is totally revamped and very hip, unlike the sleazy place that I remembered the stretch of malls to be. We were hungry at arrival and chose to have dinner at this western fast food alike place. Then, I found out how many other food options there are in that area. Wasted. 

Their session started at about 6pm and the staff were very relaxed about the timing. No indemnity needs to be signed, just read the house rules and you are on your way. The place is not huge but the crowd is limited and thus good amount of space for everybody. 

My job as a photographer. 

Nana took a while to warm up and had Zaky hold her hand as they conquered the ramps. So sweet! Once she warmed up, she improved so quickly and did so much. I saw her fakey (aka backwards) down a ramp somemore. Then Daddy Lim sheepishly told me that he also. Lol.

We left at 8pm. They were tired and I was freezing cold. Daddy Lim was saying that it wouldn't be as cold as the rink. Nonsense, I was literally freezing at the skatepark. Would we come back? I don't know but if we do, I would choose the more interesting food options the next time. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Another ECP Roll

Daddy Lim and Zaky had their aggro skating lessons on Sunday morning. I had decided to tag along. Daddy Lim asked me if I would be using my "bubblegum" colored quads skates. I wish but I don't know how to brake on them and there is this huge slope leading to the skatepark. One has to 1st conquer coming down the same slope to get to the ECP paths. I cannot and I don't think I want to risk my life for that. 

It is always a period of adaption when I switch skates. I took the chance to rotate some of the wheels too. I had accidentally created an anti-rocker on my skates when I rotated the smaller wheels to my 1st and last wheel and needed to correct that.

The rocker and anti-rocker setup is usually for some rollerblading tricks. Of course I can't do tricks, I don't even dare to attempt jumping off steps. My greatest achievement so far is to be able to blade down slopes without falling. Hohoho. 

I went on my way, rollerblading along the familiar route. Probably a little too familiar and overconfident that I didn't watch out for the twigs/ leaves/ seeds as I usually would. I tripped and almost fell 4x. The 3rd time was especially bad. I tripped over I-duno-what and was really falling. At that moment, my hands instinctively reached out in anticipation of the fall. My eyes saw my hands and my brain was so amused. Everything happened so instantaneously, instinctively but not coordinated by the brain. Lol. Daddy Lim asked if I saw my life flashed across my eyes. No lah, don't have. Hoho. 

I made it to MBS this time, before deciding to turn back quickly bcos the stormy clouds were threatening.

The boys were done with their classes by the time I was back at the skatepark. Zaky was lethargic, maybe from too much BBQ food the previous night. It started drizzling not long after and we called it a day (morning).

Then, while Zaky was at his Chinese tuition in the afternoon, Daddy Lim brought Lil Shauna and I to the Kallang skatepark. Yay, 2 skateparks in a day. This time, I tried my bubblegum quads and was looking for fellow quads skaters bcos I wanted to learn how to brake. Someone told me that I should turn and then use the front brake stopper. Wah.... 高难度. I hope I managed to brake before I even fall to my death in my attempt to brake. 

I only managed 2 rounds around the track bcos it was sheer hard work on the bubblegum. I gave up after 2 rounds and switched to my rollerblades and glide freely for the next x rounds. Hoho. When can I be very good on the bubblegum ah? 

Mummy Lim

Another Pair of Skates?!

I always nag Daddy Lim and the kids on their purchases. The breakdown of bicycles, skateboards, scooters and skates that we owned are as follows:

Daddy Lim - 1 roadie, 1 trail bike, 2 aggro skates, 1 longboard (luckily he managed to sell his other old pair of rollerskates)

Lil Shauna - 1 hybrid bike, 1 rollerblade, 1 inline artistic blades, 1 skateboard, 2 ice skates (one old pair)

Zaky - 1 hybrid, 1 aggro skates, 1 skateboard, 1 stunt scooter, 1 kiddy scooter, 1 skateboard

Don't ask me why. As you can see, Daddy Lim is the 带头. He is also usually very encouraging towards the kids in buying new bike/ skates/ scoot. At times, he even helped with the researches. I have tried and learnt my lesson that nothing comes cheap if Daddy Lim is the only parent accompanying the kid to get a new something. 

I always pride myself as the thrifty and sensible one in the family. I only have 1 road bike and 1 pair of rollerblade. The rollerblade was recently purchased after the old pair was very worn. 

I totally enjoyed my new rollerblades and had rolled many kms on them. The lessons that I took with Auntie S helped greatly and I am so much more confident in them now. I thought of doing slalom classes but didn't progress and then I got bored. Hmmm.. what's next?

Daddy Lim had always said that different pair of skates have different uses/ feel. Even though he has 2 pair of aggro skates, they are supposed to be still very different. Really meh? 

I had given his "wise words" some good thoughts and therefore...

Hohoho.. 

I also want to try the "difference". 

These are very basic, entry quad skates. These are the Chaya Melrose Elite skates. I got them 2nd hand from Carousell at $160, saving about $100 for a brand new pair. They are very new despite being 2nd hand. 

I finally got them last week and tried them. 

They feel.... very, very weird. 

I had imagined them to be very stable given the quad wheels setting. They probably are. I can't tell bcos each time I moved from one type of skates to another, the transition is unstable and takes time to adapt. Reviews say that Chaya skates are small(er) but I actually feel that they are true to size. Luckily I didn't end up with a bigger sizing. 

It takes time to get used to them. As a 1st, I had to skate wider or ended up clashing my skates together as they are boarder base. Then, the maneuverability is much lesser compared to inline. Many times, I almost fell bcos my body had already altered direction but my feet (skate) haven't changed course. 

I have worn them 2x. Not bad, not bad. I tried to learn some simple dance moves but of course it isn't as easy as what one sees in tik tok. Hoho. I feel like an elephant on wheels. 

Mummy Lim

Skatepark Wins

The boys are now so looking forward to their weekly aggro classes with Coach N. They take classes with M on Saturday mornings and M's companion made skating doubly fun for Zaky. 

I was faithfully riding with the WWF gang. The route was coincidentally to the Shears bridge and I could tag, dropping off at Suntec to go look for the boys at the ECP skatepark. 

It was a freaking hot Saturday morning. I arrived slightly before the class started. While I spent the entire time under shade, I was perspiring in my cycle gear just doing nothing but watching the boys. 

Zaky said that they did a lot of grinding. I wasn't paying much attention. Haha. I did see Coach helping Daddy Lim to conquer a drop, which he hasn't attempted bcos of mental block. He said that it looked so scary and he kept imagining that he would face plant when he drops. The first one, Coach held Daddy Lim and dropped in together. Coach looked like he was 扶-ing a 老公公. Hohoho. We all cheered when he did it. Lol. 

Once conquered, Daddy Lim kept going on his own again and again for fear that he will lose it the next time. He was like a little boy, thrilled over a new toy/ skill. 

Throughout the session, I tried not to move too much so that I wouldn't create more heat energy. The only time, I stoid in the sun to help the boys filmed their royale grind bcos Auntie M, the official camerawoman, had left with M. I am so noble.

Coach was in the skatepark until late. We saw he had friends coming when we were leaving. While he was in the skatepark, he didn't stop "coaching". When the kids asked him how to do this/ that, he gladly advised and demonstrated. This school fees 很值得.

Daddy Lim had to work on Sunday but was keeping his eyes on skatepark-ing on Monday. The weather forecast said pre-dawn and morning thundery storms. He had planned to bring Zaky down in the afternoon, only to wake up to glorious weather. We ended up dragging Zaky off the bed and to ECP. 

The weather was threatening to rain in the later morning. I was glad to make it back before the rain.

Then on the way back to the skatepark, the sun was shinning brightly again. The weather is so u predicable. No wonder we can no long trust the weather forecast. 

While there is no M at the skatepark yday, Zaky was glad to have B, his classmates. B had been dropping in regularly with his skateboard, when we are at the skatepark. 

I can't wait for the lakeside skatepark to be ready. ECP is so far away and the petrol price is not coming down anytime soon. Zzzzzz.

Mummy Lim

More Skating

Zaky finally got back to the Somerset skatepark for his 3rd lesson after an unintended break. It was 1st the park maintenance, then the rain. Aiyo. Zaky had been bugging us to arrange the session. It is so much more fun to skate with somebody, even if it is a coach and in the much bigger Somerset skatepark that is currently only opened for classes. 

Class was arranged at 6pm bcos while the skatepark is opened for classes, the lights were not switched on. It was a mad rush with the peak hours traffic. 

1st up was grinding and least favorite of Zaky's. Coach and him spent so much time like staring at the bar. Lol. 培养感情?

I saw what looked like a lot of theoretical advices on what to do. Zaky must have done all the what not to do bcos I found him lying on the floor after each attempt. Hoho. Coach Justin was trying to hold him but the attempts were futile; I don't see him being much bigger than Zaky. 

The grind was soon aborted and they switched to the ramps. The skatepark was crowded and there was a lot of waiting. I don't know what is the skatepark etiquette and don't understand how skateboarders/ skaters/ scooters from different parts of the skatepark decides who to go 1st. I do know that the ones who dare and don't care get to skate more, just like ice skating. Lil Shauna and Zaky are obviously the same breed, waiting and avoiding others. This other little girl went down and up the ramp a few times and Zaky was still waiting bcos she simply doesn't care. Haha. 

After class ended, Zaky got to skate a little more with Coach, who now donned his own protective gears. We had to drag him away at about 7.30pm as the sky was too dark to provide sufficient lighting for safety. We have 1 more lesson left and then we will decide what is next for Zaky. 

On Saturday afternoon, we were at Kallang skatepark. I was happy to be able to break in my new skates. 

They feel very different from the old pair. For one, trying to wear them is a workout on its own. They are heavier and harder. The wheels are harder too, which makes them more slippery. I had a hard time trying to turn in them. What I did achieve was a 1 sec heel-toe but lost it soon after. 

We were back at the skatepark on Sunday morning for part 2 of breaking in.

They feel so much more comfy now. I am having my next lesson on Saturday and hopefully would be able to maneuver in them. 

Zaky had a harder time at the skatepark. He was trying to attempt something and wouldn't get it and was super frustrated, ending in multiple falls on his same side thigh area. Ouch! I had to come into the park to be the cheerleading team and that usually helps. He fell again at the same area and I saw his lips trembled. He went again, fell again and this time he didn't hold it in. He ended up bawling his eyes out while sitting next to the half pipe. The others were so surprised at his outburst and he looked like he had badly injured himself or something. I highly suspected that it was my presence. Haha. 

It was good for him to release all his frustrations bcos he found renewed energy and managed to get what he wanted after that. Haha. With that, we left the skatepark with a happy boy. 

Mummy Lim

New Toy

I have finally decided that I should get a pair of new skates to replace my duct taped ones. Hohoho. 

I had thought that this pair of skates is like 8

to 10 yo. I checked back my blog, no lah, only 6+ yrs. Hoho. We bought these in end 2014. They are not heavily utilised other than the recent many months. They just looked worn bcos the plastic glued to the boots disintegrated due to prolong non-usage. The boots are securely screwed to the bottom of the skates and shouldn't fall apart. The duct tape is just an added security for just in case. The different duct tape is bcos I ran out. Hoho. 

This pair of skates is so comfortable bcos they are soft boots and well-seasoned. I would have used them much longer, maybe until the wheels are worn out (which will probably take very long) if I have continued to be contented with just rolling round and round the Kallang tracks. Daddy Lim had been bugging me to change them but they are working fine, just less aesthetically. 

I know that the time has come when I started the skating lesson. These are leisure skates and the wheels spaced further apart for comfort but less maneuverability. The soft boots give less support and less control. I also think I saw Coach Jack rolled eyes at my seasoned skates. Hahaha. 

Daddy Lim was super encouraging. We started online skates shopping the same night. He took time to tell me which are the good brands and gave his comments on those that caught my eyes. Through this, I came to a conclusion - the whole Singapore is either cycling or rollerblading bcos so many models are sold out, especially the entry (and cheaper) models. Zzzz. I ended up buying a more expensive pair for $321, gift from Daddy Lim. #赚到

The delivery was quick and sent to the doorsteps within days. I like receiving parcels. Hoho. 

Chio leh.

They are much chunkier and heavier. I had problems releasing the clips and had to ask for help. 

Sorry ah, my old skates are low class velcro kind leh. 

They are so difficult to wear and tighten. Trying to wear them is a workout on its own. 

I can't wait to try them out over the weekend. I think it will take some time to break them in. 

Now, why is Daddy Lim so encouraging? While looking for my new skates, he blurted out that he has already bought another pair of aggro skates!!???!!! One that is $400+. Why? Bcos he wanted to try a different kind of aggro skates. Sob. I is 无语. 

These were delivered last night and he is very excited. Hahahaha.

Mummy Lim