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This is the "Week on Wheels" free weekly London skating email newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your email inbox each week.
From: Week on Wheels <wow /at/ lfns.co.uk>
Subject: [wow] World on Wheels - Summer skating in New York and Marseille Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:09:54 +0100 This week, on wheels * This week: Chilled Best of London and Smooth Kensington and Chelsea * Last week: The great Markus birthday weekend washout * Skating in Farn Parts special: Marseille and New York * Skater diary July and August * Boring legal bit == THIS WEEK == As many of our marshals will be away racing in France or Switzerland, we're running a slightly shorter and slower LFNS this week, in a 10-mile 100% Red Route. This is a good one for those that are worried about trying to keep up on the fearsome Black Run, as this week there isn't one. Lead Marshal Brendan has borrowed parts of a route from Sol (who was supposed to be leading this week but got a case of the speed jitters and is now off to Le Mans). The route takes us past many museums and other touristy attractions, and you may be able to take some photos, although a bit blurry as the surfaces are reportably a bit rough in places. http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20070629 On Sunday Christian's taking us on one of his SW1/SW3 smooth surface specials. A chilled-out meander round Victoria, Chelsea and Kensington with half time at South Kensington tube. Nothing particularly challenging so absolutely ideal for first time Sunday Strollers. http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20070701 Tonight's LondonSkate route is down to Clapham and back, so if you want to Roll on Wednesday, meet opposite the bandstand at 7:30 tonight for an 8pm departure. Normal gossip on Serpentine Rd forum - but just don't mention the WEATHER, they get tetchy about it. http://www.serpentineroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25690 == LAST WEEK == It rained. We had lots of witty comments to fill space when both skates got rained off but we used them all up in April. Still, at least this means that Markus has 2 skates in the bag, his flyover skate and his one-way Stroll to Greenwich, which he is planning to run on Sunday 8th July. == SKATING THE MARSEILLE FNS / NEW YORK WNS == LFNS marshals on holiday in the area decided to drop in on the city's Friday Night Skate, run by Marseilles en Roller, the 'official' organisers of the Marseille FNS. The trip coincided with Marseille's blue-themed festival, and participants dragged a big blue ribbon into a concert venue, posing for photos beside a sound and light show and fireworks. The blue skate could have been nicknamed the cow skate, as all the stopping points seemed to be near brightly painted statues of cows. Nevertheless, Marseille has many charming areas, and the route meandered through the town centre, into the old port and then followed the Corniche JFK coast road where on a clear day you can see the island of 'If', the setting for 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. The exhilerating downhill towards Palm Beach, provided a thrilling climax to the skate. As this was a special event, skaters of all abilities were encouraged to complete at least the first half. The speed on the second half approximates to that of the LFNS, and although the stretches are generally longer than we have in the UK, they do wait for everyone to catch their breath before setting off again. Although some participants grumbled about the quality of the roads, in the main they are far smoother than those we skate on in London. Marseilles en Roller meet every Friday night in front of the Velodrome on Boulevard Michelet. Each skate covers around 20km in a couple of hours. The streets are wide and as in many French cities, drivers are respectful of skaters (who are considered as pedestrians and aren't permitted to skate on the roads although many do). The skate was well-marshalled, and accompanied by an outrider on a motorbike (and on this occasion by police motorcyclists). http://www.marseilleenroller.com/documents/ParcoursRandoBleue.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/7969909@N08/638702244/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/7969909@N08/638702188/ To make up for missing the LondonSkate, LFNS photographer Doron sent us his report from the New York Wednesday Night Skate, which meets up every Wednesday evening outside the Whole Food Market on the South end of Union Square. Union Square is packed on a sunny summer evening with people who have left the office and are chilling, playing chess or kicking a small beanbag around (all of which can be done on skates). At 7:30 the skaters start arriving for an 8pm departure. The skate's theme was 'The Three Bridges' and started with a glide uptown to 59th Street and over the 59th Street Bridge. It's a long climb to the top, but there's a great view and the downhill on the other side is fantastic when you are not scared witless. After a short wait for stragglers, the skate continued through Queens and across the smaller Pulanski Bridge into Brooklyn. Half-time was at a petrol station (without Farris screaming Halftime). From there we skated to the Manhattan Bridge into Manhattan and then uptown back to Union Square. The view from both of the bridges across the East River were fantastic. The skate is run very differently from the skates Londoners are used to. Participants skate in single file on the right hand side of the road. The skate tends also to get quite strung out and split up at junctions. They ask you to not jump the lights. Don't panic though; they do wait and marshals will ensure that you go the right way. There is a guy at the back called a Sweeper to pick up stragglers. NY is hot, so pack plenty of water for the skate. Since thye're skating in traffic, many wear hi-vis or lights. Just like in London, many passers-by shouted whoops of delight, and traffic was generally quite tolerant of skaters. Lastly just like in London, we went to a local bar for food and drinks afterwards, and the group was really welcoming and friendly and loved the English accent. What a perfect way to spend a night in New York. http://www.weskateny.org/ http://www.mochasuperman.com/galleries/wns062007/index.php?fpp=100&fid=36 == SKATE DIARY - July and August 2007 == Today and Thursday 26th July, Rollerstroll, Montrose, Scotland http://www.skatewithpete.com/lessons/ Manchester Skate Stroll - Sunday 24th June http://www.serpentineroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25522 Derby All Nighter at Rollerworld 7th July http://www.serpentineroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25365 Battle Extreme, Eastbourne, 14/15 July (to be featured next week) http://www.eastbourneskaters.co.uk/ Inline Games 2007, Hannover, Germany, 20-22 July http://www.serpentineroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23601 Rhine on Skates 135km - Saturday 25th August http://www.serpentineroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25604 == ITSY BITSY SKATING SPIDER == Pity poor marshal Richard who, after a week of rained-off skates, discovered a cobweb complete with resident spider in his right boot. Being a kindly soul, Richard removed said insect without harming it and placed it near Wellington Arch (where it is presumably dodging tourists, summer showers and horse poo). == WHAT SAY THE LAWYERS? == Feedback, comments, complaints, suggestions, please drop us a line through the feedback form on the site. To unsubscribe, see the link in the page footer (down a bit, yes, there). If you email us, it will bounce. http://www.lfns.co.uk/feedback.php#contactus Material in this email is protected by copyright; it may be reproduced unchanged in full provided that credit is given. All trademarks acknowledged. Falls may be recorded for monitoring or training purposes. The LFNS is not responsible for the content of external web sites. Happy Wednesday afternoon all. -- Sent from the London Friday Night Skate - http://www.lfns.co.uk/ Check out any time - see http://www.lfns.co.uk/unsubscribe.php?list=wow |
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