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Vicky was a complete beginner skater. She was bought some rollerblades and had a beginner rollerblading lesson in Hyde Park this summer. This is how she got on…

Hi. I’m Vicky. I’m 28 and work as an art director and prop maker for films and telly.

My boyfriend Nathan bought me a pair of rollerblades and all the pads for my birthday this month. We’ve just bought a flat together which is near my new job and I’ve been talking for ages about wanting to skate to work. It would be way quicker than the tube and I love the whole “coolness” of the idea.
Nathan’s got some skates already that have been in the back of the wardrobe since he got them. He used to be really into skate boarding and is really up for learning to rollerblade so the plan is to go to the park and start skating.
So at the weekend we are in Bethnal Green park on our new wheels on and all padded up, looking like Michelin men. Nathan is up and moving but all I can do is stand on the spot. I can’t even lift one foot without feeling like I’m going to crash. My heart is beating like crazy and I’m sweating and lurching like mad. I can just about shuffle my feet to move slowly but my legs keep getting further and further apart until I make myself fall on my bum. Nathan is good though, he is about half a mile away and can’t turn round to come back to help me up.
I’m not exactly sporty. I hate the gym, smoke rollies, drink way too much and last did any sort of sport back at school but too be honest I thought skating would be loads easier. I remember going ice-skating and getting it pretty much straight away.
We ended up with our skates off after half an hour. We were both laughing about being so crap but I did feel pretty bad for Nathan. I know he spent a fortune on my skates and I really didn’t want to give up.
At home we “Googled” to find someone to help us and we splashed out on a “Go-stop-turn” lesson with SkatesCool. We read on the site that apparently most people start as rubbish as we felt at the beginning.

So it’s Sunday in Hyde Park, me and Nathe are waiting on a bench by the Serpentine Road for Lee the skate instructor. We can see about a million skaters all brilliantly zooming past going backwards and looking very wicked. Some of them are going all these flashy moves around a line of tiny cones. Me and Nathan are just looking at each other laughing.

When Lee arrives he asks us about what other sporty stuff we do and I just admit that I never do anything sporty. He checks our skates and pads and I feel really dumb as I have put my wrist things on back to front or upside-down. What am I doing here?
We start by going over the little fence and onto the grass. The grass is easy to walk on with skates. I really don’t care if I stay here for the whole lesson. Lee shows us first how to fall over properly and then says it’s our turn. Nathan does it straight away but I just cant do it. I don’t mind about looking stupid it’s just the fear of hurting myself. Eventually I do it and throw myself to the ground. It’s actually ok and you can land pretty heavily on the pads and it doesn’t hurt. I get up and do it again. Lee says it feels just the same on the concrete too. Hmmm.
We stayed on the grass a little while and Lee tells us about the proper technique, center edges, bending knees, eggs in the back of our skates, sleeping bears looking like a monkey and playing piano with your toes! ( It does make sense when you’re in the moment).

Soon we go over to the road in little crabby, side steps and repeat the same exercises on the road as we did on the grass. I’m absolutely terrified! Thank God Lee is patient because I do it all wrong straight away. We seemed to roll forward at about 100 miles an hours doing this “duck walk” thing. I know it’s more like 10 inches an hour but it really does feel like a death ride at Alton Towers. You totally forget to breathe. Nathan is going well and easily leaves me behind but at least I’m actually doing it!

After about 10 minutes Lee says we are going to move on and learn “stopping”. I’m thinking the “Going part is still need like loads more practice but he says it’s all fine.
Lee does this heel-braking demonstration to show us. He speeds towards us and makes a loud squeal sound as he stops really fast. He leaves a line of black rubber in the road then says that’s how we are going to stop. We just look at each seeing the flying pigs in each others eyes.
I assumed we were supposed to copy Lee straight away but he shows us again this time breaking it down into separate parts.
We have to do this thing called “scissors” where you put one foot in front of the other. It all looks really easy but gets a bit technical once you start trying to balance your weight, bend your knees and do it going in a straight line. We do it on the spot and then do it moving along. Once we get that we have to tap the front toe three times. I promise it’s not as easy as it sounds. My feet are beginning to get cramp and I can’t remember when I last had to concentrate so hard on anything. Lee keeps telling me off for not looking cool. Apparently my arms are flying around like helicopter blades in the air. He makes me skate with my hands on my thighs and it actually gets easier right away.

Nathe is obviously a natural. He is already on the “Power” part while I’m still “tapping” but to be honest I’m doing better than I ever though I would. I do keep getting a bit frustrated and Lee keeps reminding me that I have only been on my skates for fifty minutes. Apparently I am not getting the “power” bit because I keep bending my back and not my knees. How is it so hard just to bend a knee or two?
We do this thing where I have to “punch the ground” at a certain point. That helps loads and for the first time I do it and stop ok. I’m hardly going at the speed of light but the feeling of knowing how to stop seems to let me go faster.

Eventually we do the “turning” bit. We have to race along and freeze in a penguin position and press a magic button under our big toe. It might sound ridiculous but it actually works and you end up turning towards the direction you came from. Lee tried to explain all the physics when I asked, ” Why does it work”? I nodded and pretended I understood.

The whole vibe of Hyde Park is wicked. You can fall over in the most embarrassing way and people don’t even bat an eyelid. All the skaters know each other and are either all practicing really impossible moves or having picnics on the grass watching the other skaters doing all the impossible moves. We had a brilliant time and will be back after work this week to practice all the homework we have. Skating is definitely cool!