Monday, August 22, 2011

Sk8 Nebraska: Day 1

At the end of day 1, team ironfeet has covered the first 58 miles of Nebraska! That's a Sk8 the State record! Everyone we met--on the road and off--was incredibly friendly. We got thumbs instead of fingers, and nothing but love and support whenever we stopped.

The day started at the Hebron Riverside Motel (the nice hotel in Hebron) where the proprietors gave us a sweet discount. We drove 15 miles to the Kansas line, then skated back to Hebron for lunch where we met Tony and Lonnie at Subway. They made foot-longs for everyone, took some pictures and sent us on our way.

After the first 25 miles, we stopped to freshen the camel backs and met some more folks who wanted to learn about the cause and donate. After that, the mercury started to rocket, peaking at 113 degrees. The skaters kept skating and knocked out another 14 miles before we stopped for some much-needed ice cream.

We decided to take a long break and plank some stuff in the Geneva park (you haven't lived until you've planked a tank!). Once we got back on the road, the pace slowed a bit, but the skaters were still averaging 12 miles per hour. We rolled into the York Super 8 around 6 and immediately jumped into the ridiculously cold indoor pool, where Dubbs gave her road clothes an old-fashioned pond washin'.


Some showers were had by all, then we hit the only buffet in York and filled up on egg rolls and crab rangoon. We're all toes-up in bed now, getting rested for tomorrow's trek. We plan to make it to Columbus, maybe a little further, depending on how day 2 is treating the skaters.


Running Tally Bonus Round!!
Dead frogs: 4
Banana peels: 2
Bugs inhaled: 1
Miles skated: 58


Sunday, August 21, 2011

It begins!

Skinnerella here, on pins and needles waiting for the van to pull up outside my house. Tonight we will drive down to Hebron, Nebraska, about 12 miles north of the Kansas border. The lovely lady at the Riverside Motel called a few minutes ago and, though she had planned on waiting up for us to arrive, when I told her that it would be 2 am (if we make good time), she decided she would just leave our room unlocked for us.

Why the late start? Why, the love of our lives, roller derby, of course! Mo, PBR and Dubbs were in Cedar Rapids last night bouting on a team of 7 against the Cedar Rapids Roller Girls. And our 7 Roller Dames came away victorious! Tonight the intrepid trio of skaters is reffing and coaching a Korn Stalkers' bout, hence our late start. The skaters will hopefully sleep in the van, then get a solid 4 hours before we get up and get skating tomorrow. If not sleep, I'm hoping that bristling excitement, a banjo-heavy ipod mix and granola will be enough keep them going. What more does a person need?