New Skates.... Finally!

Well ladies and gentlemen I finally made my way out to the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills to pick up my skates. I had an incredible experience with Sue Jones at the Skate Shop within the skating rink.

After visiting her shop a couple weeks ago to try on some skates, I decided I would purchase a new pair in about a month after saving up some moola $$ But as you can see I couldn’t wait a whole month, so I decided to agree to babysit (which I haven’t done in almost a year now!) so that I could afford them.

On my second visit to the shop I came in with the notion that I would try on the used pair, and if they felt okay, I’d get them. But that just wasn’t the case, I even tried on the competitor again, the higher end boot that was way out of my price range and it still didn’t feel right. So I ended up going with the Jackson Freestyle that I had fallen in love with on my prior visit. At first I tried on the boot with the socks that I normally skate in but they were way too tight. And unfortunately they didn’t carry the boot in the C size and I’d have to wait for them to come in. So, naturally my patience was growing thin. I couldn’t wait to be in new skates and a tighter fit was clearly not going to stop me. Sue suggested I try on the boots with the nylons (that most female skaters skate in) so I did and they fit really well. Just snug enough!

After officially deciding on the boot, Sue and I discussed doing a heat mold to help me break in the boot. This was an excellent idea, the skates were in the “oven” for about 10 minutes and then she tied me up and they sat on my feet for about another 10 minutes. Next, she helped me take them off and said that she would be mounting the blade for me. Having zero experience in this field, I asked how long it would take thinking that it might be a week if she has to have someone come in to do it. But surprise surprise for me, it only took about 10 minutes!

My biggest fear going into this is probably the transition. These boots are like 10 steps up from my current skates, so I will likely die of pain in the coming days.