I Blog about my Roller Skates... AGAIN

I can't help it... I'm a little bit of a gear geek. New hobby = new stuff to play with and learn about. Roller skating is no exception. I started training for roller derby back in August. I'm now on my 2nd pair of skates. The new skates are the Riedell 126 boot with a nylon plate.

I'm also on my 3rd pair of toe stops and my 4th set of wheels (not counting the outdoor wheels I just bought for skating on Rails to Trails). I've purchased an extra set of bearings, maintenance equipment, toe covers, shoelaces, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards... It all adds up! I should note, all the gear I've purchased was NOT to replace worn out or broken stuff. Mainly I've been looking for the best gear combination for me to skate in.Granted, skating isn't ALL about the gear. There's a WHOLE lot of skill involved. The gear does help, though...

Radar Zodiac Wheels (red). Slightly narrower profile, although not as narrow as my Heartless wheels.

Gumball toe stop. These toe stops are awesome! Large and super grippy.

Toe covers to keep my skates from getting torn up. I like this style that covers the entire toe rather than the toe strips that only protect the front of the toe.

WTIU News Segment on White-Nose Syndrome

WTIU interviewed me last week about the confirmation of White-Nose Syndrome here in Indiana. I am proud that I did not cry during the interview.

Roller Skate Bearing Maintenance

Recently, I took a roller skate maintenance class at my favorite roller skate store Rolling Thunder Fun Factory. This is my first attempt to put that knowledge to use.

When I got my new skates, I gave Jim my old skates and bearings. I had skated on them for months without doing any actual maintenance, so I figured it would be nice of me to use his bearings (my old ones) for my first attempt at bearing maintenance.

My cleaner of choice is Simple Green diluted at a 2:1 concentration (2 parts Simple Green, 1 part water). Simple Green is pretty easy to find, is inexpensive, is a good degreaser, AND it's biodegradable.

Some basic tools - bearing puller/press, skate tool, bearing cleaning container filled with Simple Green, paper towels, bearing oil (not pictured), compressed air (not pictured).

Remove wheels first. Set locknuts aside in a safe place.

Use bearing puller to remove bearings from wheels.

Pets may decide you are focusing too much attention on maintenance.

Use a safety pin to gently remove plastic cover. Note: some bearings have metal covers that cannot be removed.

Be sure to remove plastic rings from both sides. Bearings will be exposed for better cleaning.

Slide bearings on spacers onto bolt of bearing cleaning container. Secure and place lid back on container

Shake container for several minutes to get cleaning solution into bearings. Remove bearings and place on dry paper towel. Note: If your bearing are really dirty or oily, you can let them soak for a few minutes. You 'll need to make sure you have enough cleaning solution in the bottle to submerge them. Note: I also give my bearings a quick rinse afterward, because I feel like the Simple Green is kind of gummy.

Break out the canned air.

Use the canned air to dry out the bearings fully. There can be NO moisture left in them or they could rust. You can ruin perfectly good bearings this way. If you think they're dry, spin them to make sure there's not still some water in the bearing spacer.

Put plastic covers back on bearings.

Line up bearings. Put one drop of oil on inside and outside. Flip them over and repeat. Note: Oil can also be added while one of the covers is off for easier, more direct application

Give your bearings a good spin to distribute the oil and make sure they spin well. Use your bearing press to put your bearings back in your wheels and put your wheels back on your skates. Take them for a spin to see how they feel!

What to do with Hand Spun Yarn?

I've been spinning yarn lately, but I've been stumped about what, exactly, to do with it. I finally got around to making a scarf with my favorite skein of handspun. It's one that my friend Toni and I dyed the fiber for. I brought it home, and it spun up so lovely!

I searched through Ravelry for a pattern I liked that would look good on BOTH sides of the scarf and that would potentially work with irregular hand spun yarn. I finally settled on the Drop Stitch Scarf (sorry, you do need to log in to Ravelry to see it). 

The scarf knitted really quickly. After blocking, the design looks really nice. I'm just frustrated that I can't get the lovely purples to really show in the photographs. My photo skills are a bit... lacking.

Ice Storm

Indiana has been slammed with an ice storm the last couple of days. Indiana State University even canceled classes yesterday and today, which saves me from attempting to drive on ice covered roads. 

Last night was especially interesting. As the ice accumulated on tree branches, they were under extreme strain. My house is surrounded by large silver maples, which have a tendency towards losing branches anyway. We spent the night listening to large branches falling and crashing all around us. The poor dog was traumatized by all of the noise.

Our roof survived intact, but our neighbor's garage was not so lucky.