Sunday, May 24, 2009

Meet-up II - Hamilton Beach Trail!






All in all, I'm glad I joined meet-ups. On sign-up my one simple expectation was to connect with other skaters for a social skate and that's what I've done now on two occassions. I would skate regardless of being a member/organizer and in spite of being a member/organizer I will continue to deeply enjoy my solo cruises; however, adding structure, organization and committment to my sport has already upped my participation level. Yesterday I was beat! A nasty tooth ache robbed me of a night's rest and my morning garage sale robbed me of a sleep-in. I could very easily have thrown in the towel after my sale but with an agenda to follow I switched to auto pilot and headed out for my 45 minute or so country drive from Acton to Hamilton!


It was with something of a "tongue in cheek" attitude that I gave the "travel brochure" title of "In Line Skating in Scenic Locales" it's name but the "scenery" aspect of my skate and I'm sure of many others' is a sensory pleasure that complements the child-like thrill of exuberant motion that the sport of in-line skating provides. The brisk skate and the gorgeous trail stimulated enough adrenaline and seratonin for me to complete the 16K skate with complete enjoyment.

Joining me for the second time were Paul and Diane and an additional member, Linda. Linda has only just taken up inline skating and she logged a very impressive cruise yesterday! The Hamilton trail is wide, smooth and continuous. It has no terrain transitions or street cross-overs to make it difficult to navigate for the beginning skater. It takes you past picnickers on the beach, beautifully gardened homes, parks, outdoor volleyball courts, ice cream stands, a public pool, a go-kart track, a water park, snack stands and Baranga's on the Beach - a great, sprawling patio bar/restaurant serving good food with a Greek flare that we afterwards brought and happily sated our 4 ravenous appetites. This venue definitely demands a repeat performance!