[manomanowicz]

Inline skating.

It's relatively easy to get started. Buy some skates and a helmet and find some smooth tarmac (asphalt) to practise. For me, it's something always wished I could do so I thought why not learn.

I practised for a half hour to an hour after work when the weather was nice and found it a good way to de-stress, usually while listening to music. It's a good form of exercise too since it doesn't strain your joints too much. Obviously, you may (and probably will) injure yourself when you fall though you should learn how to fall to minimise injury.

If you're new, the fear of falling takes some time to get over but after a few hours you'll get the confidence to overcome this. At first you'll probably even dread going to practise but getting over that fear is intensely satisfying. Above all, you'll probably have to be okay with making yourself feel like a fool (in public). For me, this was the biggest thing I had to get over. Getting over that is liberating in itself. You realise the world doesn't end if someone saw you fall. You just get up again.

After about 10 hours I was at an okay standard and I feel after about 20-30 hours most people would be very competent. There's a high skill ceiling too so there's always more to learn and areas to develop.

The thrill of the speed and the sensation of going really fast never gets old.