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Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

2 skate to see downtown Christmas lights and Sac State!

We had 2 skaters tonight: Rusty and myself.  We discussed various options, decided to do a Sac State skate for a good workout.

We left at 7:15, shortly after Rusty arrived.  First we skated east on S Street and T Streets.  Along the way we stopped to see the Christmas lights at 53rd and S.  We skated through the lights as before.  See photo and 36 second You Tube video above on the left. 

Continuing to Sac State, we crossed Folsom near 59th Street.  Somehow we made a wrong turn, and entered the front of Sac State, instead of the planned Elvas Avenue entrance.  Atop the parking lot we took a photo.  See photo above on the right. We had fun going down the EMPTY parking lot.  It is nice to be able to traverse widely!  WH_EEEE!!!!!

By mistake we returned part way on Folsom Boulevard, which slowed us.  Finally at 53rd Street we skated north to M Street for a smooth fun skate home. 

e arrived at Vallejo's at 9:10, too late for dinner. 

I had fun during the skate; Rusty was kind and did not go super fast.  I had fun skating home - the West Steps, some other steps, a great parking lot.  What a wonderful end to a great year!

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

Who knows?

I was in Riverside visiting my mother.  So far I don't know if anyone did a Monday Night Skate on December 24, 2007. 

Here is a link to my You Tube rendition of our family Christmas party.

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

8 skate and see the lights!

Dave, Gus, Gordon, Rusty, Morgan and his sons, Dan and Jacob, and I showed up to skate. The streets had dried sufficiently during the day and we decided on skating over to Tahoe Park to check out the Christmas lights.

Morgan and Jacob came directly from The Firehouse restaurant wearing business coats, ties, dark pants and vests – the real deal. Jacob did a quick change into casual gear; Morgan opted to skate in his business suit. He has redefined the term “urban skating”. Check out the photos - I did what I could with my cam-phone.

We skated S St. and then cut south to T St. and crossed Stockton Blvd, continuing on T St. At 51st St. we turned north and skated into the main lighting displays. See photo above on the left for skaters entering Christmas LIghts Town.  Santa was out as usual and the streets were showing their yearly illuminations.

Since we started around 7:30 we chose to skate out 30 minutes and turn around to allow getting back to Vallejo’s before the kitchen closed. After checking out the lights for about 10 minutes we started the return loop. Gordon suggested we skate back on M St. so we took 49th St. over Hwy 50.

A group of holiday revelers on bikes that were previously at the lighting displays on 51st St. were traveling in a similar direction. We joined in with their group and formed a mini-“critical mass”. This group formed of adults and kids on bikes was having a great time enjoying the evening. I believe one of the bikers was towing a trailer loaded with gifts!

At M St. we turned back west to start the return leg of the skate. At Alhambra we skated south to Capitol, turned west and skated through Capitol Park, past the Capitol building and at 5th St. we went south to get to R St. A short jump over to 3rd and S completed the skate (about 9 miles).

A slight drizzle of rain was beginning as we finished the skate. Six of us stayed for food and conversation at Vallejo’s. See photo above on the right.  As the coming Monday is 12/24 I won’t be skating and that seemed to be agreed on by most. If anyone skates, drop an email to Bernie at SacramentoSkating.com to update the website. Merry Christmas to all and have a safe holiday!

Keep Skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

6 skate to see downtown Christmas lights!

We had six skaters tonight: David, Gus, Jacob, Morgan, Rusty, and myself.  Rusty announced that December 28, 2007 he and David were going to skate the Friday Night San Francisco skate.  Gordon will lead the Chrristmas light skate next Monday.

To start our Christmas light skate, we skated east over the Q Street Bridge to Front Street. Then we skated nor ht to Capitol Avenue,  We skated the full length of Capitol from the Tower Bridge to the State Capitol, which was lit up with a pretty Christmas tree.

From the Capitol, as suggested by David, we skated south on 10th Street to Capitol Avenue, where we skated east to let the world see us.

Eventually we skated south to S Street, and later south to T Street.  We skated east on T Street to 53 Street.  There we skated north one block to S Street, one of the most lit up streets in Sacramento.  See photo and 36 second You Tube video above on the right.   I am very pleased that Santa Claus said that I am on his list. 

Next we were skating west on S Street to return to 3rd and S starting point, but we decided to visit a prize winning Christmas lights house on 48th Street first.  Then we skated home on T Street and S Streets.

e skated at least 10 miles tonight.  My GPS unit says that we skated 12 miles. After the skate, Bobbie joined us at Vallejo's giving us a party of five,

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Hank Ballard: Work With Me Annie
(1,353K wav, 2 minutes & 51 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

Embedded 23 second video: Skaters enjoy skating down a parking lot!:

7 skate Elvas to Sacramento State College and return on M!

We had seven skaters tonight: David, Gordon, Mark, Morgan, Rusty, Steve, and myself.  Gordon will lead us on our December 17 Christmas light skate.  Mark led us in an election, and we voted to skate to Sac State.  David suggested that we take a different route this time, and we did

First we skated east on R and north on 7th Streets.  I don't remember all the streets and turns, but soon we were skating north on Alhambra to C, and east on C to Elvas.  On Elvas we had quit a run - al the way to H.

Turning east on H, we were soon entering Sacramento State College.  We skated to the parking lot and some fun.  If you use Firefox (Great browser, available for free.) or Internet Explorer, see embedded You Tube movie above on the left.

Now we had to race to get back to Vallejo's before 9:00.  We exited at the Elvas exit, then we jogged over and returned on M Street.  Back in town we skated on Capitol Avenue and other streets back to our 3rd and S starting point.

e were late.  After 9:00.  We got served with a scolding and a warning.  OK.  Just made the soup warmer.  After our great 12 mile skate workout, we had 7 in our Vallejo's party.  David did not join us; has to work at 5:00 in the morning.  Bobbie did join us.

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

6 skate south around Sacramento City College and back by the Sacramento River!

We had six skaters tonight: Brian, David, Mark, Morgan, Rusty, and myself.  As Mark suggested, we decided to skate south around Sacramento City College.

First we skated east on S Street ( If you use Firefox (Great browser, available for free.) or Internet Explorer, see embedded You Tube movie on the right. ) and south on 24th Street.  We wanted to skate through Curtis Park, so we should have gone south on 26th Street, instead of on 24th Street, but by skating south we still got to Sutterville Road.

On Sutterville Road we skated west up, over, and down the Hughes Stadium Bridge.  WH_EEEE!!!!!

Turning north off Sutterville Road, we entered Sacramento City College - lots of smooth pavement, short staircases, and a beautiful campus - a skater's playground!  From Sacramento City College, we skated west into Land Park - a skater's paradise!  We stopped at each parked car to see if they needed help. ;- ).

After enjoying skating around in low-traffic Land Park, we regrouped at the Sacramento Zoo.  From there we skated west on a path parallel to Sutterville Road to the Sacramento River Levee.  With some moonlight on the Sacramento River, and smooth pavement, skating north on the levee was beautiful!  Quite a workout too!

Reaching the marina, we skated north on Front Street, which is very rough in this area, to Broadway.  On Broadway we skated west onto the trail parallel to Front Street.  On this smooth trail, we headed north for the last lap on our skate.   With smooth pavement, the Sacramento River on the left, and the Sacramento City skyline on the right, this is one of my favorite runs.  I think it is even prettier at night than it was on our July 23, 2007 Monday Night Skate.

This was an eight to 10 mile skate. Bobbie joined us, so we had a party of  6 at Vallejo's.

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

8 skate over improved Tower Bridge for a loop through West Sacramento skate!

We had eight skaters tonight: David, Gus, Jacob, Mark, Morgan, Rusty, Steve, and myself. There were requests for us to visit the ice skaters at 7th and K. We also decided to skate over the newly improved Tower Bridge for a West Sacramento skate.  No new photos or movies tonight.

First we skated west and north to the Rosa Lima Skate Rink at 7th and K.  Why people pay to skate on this little rink is still puzzling to me.  With inline skates you can go through the same motions and go anywhere.

Ne we skated south to Capitol Avenue and west over the Tower Bridge.  Then we skated north to D Street.  Mark was often the lead skater.  On D Street we skated west.

I don't know the streets we skated on.  I know that we skated through a gate community with very smooth pavement.  I know we went by two baseball fields. 

hen we returned, we skated east on the I Street Bridge.  Then we skated down into the Amtrak Station.  WH_EEEE!!!!!

After enjoying some Federal Courthouse stairs, we were soon back at our 3rd and S starting point

This was about an eight mile loop. Bobbie joined us, so we had a party of 6 at Vallejo's.

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

Five Sacramento skaters skate the November 16, 2007 Friday Night Skate in San Francisco!

Sacramento skaters Jacob, Larry, Morgan, Rusty, and myself skated the Friday Night Skate in San Francisco on Friday November 16.  One time of excitement, among many, was seeing skaters skate down an escalator. See photo and movie above on the right.  Rusty organized this fun skating event. 

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

7 skate south and enjoy California Crocker Middle School, Land Park, and Sacramento River Levee skating!

We had seven skaters tonight: David, Gus, Lisa, Mark, Molly, Rusty, and myself.  Steve also showed up, but he was late, and skated by himself.  I announced that there would be Christmas light skates on December 10, nd 17, Mondays.  Later Steve asked about the 24th.  I said fine, but i would not be here, because I would be be visiting my mother.  Rusty announced that this Friday we will meet here at 3rd and S for carpooling to the San Francisco Friday Night Skate. 

We agreed to skate south. First we skated east on S Street to 13th Street.  Then, thanks to Mark's alertness, we turned south.  Soon we were we were skating south on 11th Street to Broadway, as we had intended.

e skated east on Broadway to the Tower Theater, where we enjoyed looking and breaking.  Next we skated south on Land Park Boulevard to California Crocker Middle School.

Next we skated south on 17th Street to and into Land Park.  We enjoyed skating around in Land Park, and soon we were at the Sacramento Zoo.

After painting a zebra white, we headed west on the trail parallel to Sutterville Road to the Sacramento River Levee.

Soon we skating north on the Sacramento River Levee parallel to the beautiful Sacramento River.  This is a great run!  My pulse got up to 155!   After a mile or two we skated off the Levee into a boat launching area.  Continuing north on Ramp Way, we were soon crossing Broadway onto the trail parallel to Front Street.  Nice!  We could see the Sacramento River on the left and the Sacramento skyline straight ahead.

Exiting east on the Q Street over-ramp, which David pointed out to us, we were soon back at our 3rd and S starting point.

This was about a seven mile loop.   Steve and Bobbie joined us, giving us a party of 8 at Vallejo's.  The photo missed David and myself, but you can see us above.  See photo above on the left. 

Keep rolling all you can!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

8 leave at 7:06 p.m. to skate an American River Parkway loop!

Out to enjoy the perfect skating weather on 11/5/2007 was Mark, Bernie, Morgan and his son, Jacob, Steve, Rusty, Dave and I. Dave is an old-schooler from the early days of Sacramento skating – Dave was an organizer of one of the first Wednesday Night Skates in the ‘90s. Welcome back, Dave!

Per our plan to get the skate rolling earlier, everyone arrived before or right at 7:00 pm and got their gear on. Bernie suggested we skate a loop of the Jedidah Smith Recreation Trail through Discovery Park out to the trail crossing at Del Paso Blvd; thus giving an option to those who wanted a longer skate to continue toward CSUS; thus who wanted a shorter skate could continue across the 12th St. Bridge and return to Discovery Park on the south side Ueda recreation trail. This sounded good to all – not that we are a difficult group – and since everyone arrived early and was ready to skate we started rolling at 7:06 pm. Amazing!

We took 3 rd St. north to N St. and turned west to skate to the Sacramento River levee promenade. Taking the promenade north we continued into Old Sac; connected to the recreation trail just past the Rail Museum; rolled silently yet swiftly into quad area of the shimmering water sculpture at the Sacramento Water Intake Facility; continued smoothly to Discovery Park; crossed on the old iron bridge to enter the park; and reconnected with the north side trail that roughly parallels the American River.

Skating the recreation trail at night has its own ambience – as Steve described it, the awareness of your speed is heightened and there is some feeling of time contraction. Of course skating in the dark or near dark, depending on if you are using a headlight, produces tunnel vision of the immediate surroundings. The tranquility of the recreation trail and the quietness due to the absence of automobile traffic really made this section of the skate great. We quickly covered the distance from Discovery Park to the trail crossing at Del Paso Blvd.

This was the decision point for multiple loops on the skate: loop back over the 12th St. Bridge or continue toward CSUS. I decided my legs were not up for more distance and I was going to take the shorter loop tonight. The rest of the guys felt the short loop felt just right and no one felt like continuing toward CSUS. So we all crossed the American River on the 12th St. Bridge and connected with the Ueda recreation trail on the south side of the river. We skated west on the trail to the entrance of Discovery Park. We skated the reverse of our outbound route to return to the promenade on the Sacramento River levee.

Dave suggested we investigate the abandoned railroad bridge that crosses over the freeways and connects at Q St. This turned out to be a great change of pace for getting back to the parking lot. The bridge is accessed by walking through a short section of gravel but the inconvenience of the gravel is mitigated by the fun of the skate on the former rail bed on the bridge. An excellent change…

This was about a six mile loop. It was a quick but fun skate. All of us stayed for food and conversation Vallejo’s – Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie joining us.

A discussion on the concept of “informational cascades” was started and as the theory of these cascades is based on the herd effect of people who know little or nothing about a subject discussing it and progressively driving down the intelligence level of group by enforcing misinformation, we proceeded to lower our relative IQs by taking on the theory of airplane flight (truth be told, I boldly instigated this discourse). Politics, Congress and employment opportunities for unemployed legislators were also discussed and the mating habits of the praying mantis crept in for good measure. We solved nothing but had a great time trying. For additional info on the mis-informational cascades check out these links:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/hell/Bestof/Andy

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/science/09tier.html?_r=1&em&ex=1192248000&en=9f36687fe8aef756&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

Another topic was Sacramento's carpooling on Friday, November 16 to the San Francisco Friday Night Skate. Rusty is coordinating this, and good rates are available at the Hyatt 2 blocks from the skate.

And remember we are starting the skate as close to 7:00 pm so arrive early, get your gear on, warm up and be ready to roll at 7:00 pm!

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

7 skate American River Parkway, Natomas Trail, and back by the light of the Halloween moon!

With lightning flashing in the eastern foothill skies, a gentle breeze blowing, temperatures in the 70’s a perfect evening for a skate was before the magnificent seven; Bernie, Morgan and Jacob, Rusty, Gus, Elmira (who is driving from Rio Vista to skate with us!)and Brian. We took the challenge and embraced it.

Bernie suggested a Natomas skate to the business park just south of I-80. Everyone agreed on this route.

An additional announcement was made: We will be starting the skate at no later than 7:00 pm. This is to get rolling earlier to allow getting to Vallejo’s before their kitchen closes. Take note to arrive as early as possible to get your gear on and be ready to roll at 7:00.

The route tonight took us north on 3rd to N St., at the Crocker Art Museum we turned west and continued over to the promenade on Sacramento River levee. We skated north to Capitol and cut through the construction closure of the Tower Bridge and entered Old Sac. A quick skate on 2nd St. and we reconnected with the recreation trail just north of the Rail Museum.

Traveling on the recreation trail north with a quick pass through Discovery Park and we connected with Garden Hwy. Turning west we skated the recreation trail that runs parallel to Garden Hwy. At Gateway Oaks Drive we crossed GH and continued north to River Plaza Drive, excellent asphalt on these streets made the skate fast and smooth. There is an access point to the Main Drainage Canal recreation trail at the end of River Plaza and we regrouped there.

The scent of skunk was present but we didn’t run into any of the striped critters as we skated north through the canal nature area. This rec trail brought us to West El Camino Ave. We crossed over West El Camino and continued on the recreation trail through the large park area. This eventually brought us to the business park at I-80.

e regrouped at a picnic table area in the business park (See photo above on the left.) and skated a reverse route to go back. A surprise was in store for us: the gentle breeze we started with was now a fairly brisk head wind. We just cranked up the effort and got a little extra workout going back.

This was a great 8+ mile skate. Bernie joined by Bobbie, Elmira, Morgan, Jacob, Gus and Rusty stayed for food and conversation at Vallejo’s.

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

9 skate to Sacramento State College and back, earning degrees in fun!

Skating last Monday night was Bernie, Mark, Morgan, Jacob, Elmira, Brian, Guy, Rusty, and I (the other Brian). A CSUS run was chosen and we got started around 7:15-7:20 pm.

We skated our normal route; taking S St. to Alhambra and then jogging south to T St. prior to Stockton Blvd. T St. is very nice on the east side of Stockton and we move quite quickly to 59th St (See photo and movie above on the left.), where we turned north and crossed over Hwy 50.

Continuing on 59th St. we skated to Folsom Blvd near the Corti Bros. market and then skated 58th St. to M St. Turning east on M we made our connection to 62nd St., where we enjoyed some Halloween decorations.  See photo above on the right.  Nest we skated on 62nd Street to its corner with Elvas Blvd.  We next skated Elvas to the CSUS campus access arch and pathway.

The bike path on campus has recently been renovated so the surface is smooth and fast. We skated over to the parking garage. I cooled my wheels at the entrance while the rest of the crew took a ride on the elevator to the top to catch a little downhill skating. The need for speed was too great for Bernie, Rusty, Jacob, Mark and Guy so they went for a second lap down the “hill”.WH_EEEE!!!!!

We cut through the campus to the J St. entrance and skated back toward mid-town. After passing under Elvas we turned back onto 58th St. and skated south to M St.

We took M St. west to Alhambra and then connected with Capitol Blvd.

e skated Capitol Blvd to its connection with Capitol Park and took a detour south on the park perimeter sidewalk to N St; continued west to 7th St. and skated back under N St. through the “subterranean” building to connect with O St. at the Heilbron Mansion. On a side note: for those of you who have not seen this building, it is a beautiful Italianate structure that survived the razing of the homes in this area to make room for government buildings. It is an orphan in a sea of concrete, steel and plate glass. Its architecture is as impressive at night as during the day.

Back to the skate… we meandered from 7th and O back to the parking lot at 3rd and S St. The conditions were perfect for skating; the distance was about 13 miles; and we made excellent time, getting back for food at Vallejo’s right around 9 pm.

Bernie, Bobbie, Elmira, Mark, Rusty, and Brian stayed for food and conversation. The rest of us had to call it an early evening.

Actually, by the time we got in Vallejos it was after 9:05, and Alejandra and others complained.  The cook has to stay late and open at 6:00 in the morning.  We should arrive before 9:00, which is when the restaurant closes.  We discussed this.  The Brian, who was there, not the observant and articulate writer, suggested that we should start our skate at 6:30 to avoid this problem. Others agreed.   I said that we are democratic, and we will vote on this.

 Bernie

Short notice announcement: tomorrow’s skate on 10/29 will be our Halloween skate (costume optional). Keep in mind don’t wear a mask or anything that is long, loose and flowing. Masks obscure your vision and long, draping, dragging clothing can get jammed in your skate wheels.

Keep Skatin'

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

9 skate south to the Tower Theater, California Middle School, Land Park, and the Sacramento Zoo, returning on the Sacramento River Levee!

Joining the Monday Night Skate, 10/15, was Bernie, Steve, Mark, Gus, Lisa, Elmira, Dan and Brian and me (the other Brian). Bernie suggested we skate our William Land Park skate route in a reverse direction; going to and through Land Park and the zoo first and returning on the Sacramento River levee.

The weather conditions were really nice; slight cloud cover in advance of the predicted rainfall; temperatures in the 70’s and a slight breeze. We skated 3rd St. to Broadway and Broadway to Land Park Drive (and grabbed a quick look at the Tower Theater movie listings).  See photo above on the right.  We continued south on Land Park to California Middle School on Vallejo Way, where we regrouped.

Leaving the school we continued south to William Land Park and skated along the park’s perimeter road back to Land Park Drive. We crossed over Land Park to the zoo entrance; skated south to Sutterville Road; then continued west to the Sacramento River levee.

The recreation trail on the Sacramento River levee is in excellent condition; the asphalt is smooth and fast. We made excellent time going north. Let me try to describe this: the overcast sky, reflecting the lighting from downtown illuminated the trail in a luminous mist, and the Sacramento River serenely flowing to our west as we zipped northward, a symphony of wheels in motion on a ribbon of black glass. Now of course, not all of us were moving as melodramatically as I have described but Steve, Mark and Lisa shot down the trail and the rest of us did our best to catch up!  This section of the recreation trail is a gem.

As we came down off the levee into the south boat launch parking lot, reality slammed our legs with a with bone-jarring, foot-rattling pothole gauntlet.
This parking lot is the complete opposite of the smooth surface on the levee. From the boat launch parking lot we continued north on Miller Park Dr. and connected with Broadway; skated back west to the short section of recreation trail that skirts between the marina entry road and the Sacramento River Promenade area. Once again, Mark, Steve and Lisa put on the rockets and made short work of this section.

After returning to our start point, impromptu figure skating and exhibitionism was on display as Gus, Steve, Dan, Brian, Lisa, Mark and Elmira got freestyling with jumps, pirouettes, etc. Bernie and I cooled our heels and checked out the scene.

This is about a seven mile loop and made for a great skate. Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie, joined us for excellent food and conversation at Vallejo’s. So until next week…

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

8 skate T Street to Sac State, coming back on M Street - an educational loop?

Brian, Danny, Gordon, Gus, Lisa, Rusty, Steve, and myself skated tonight.  As suggested by Gordon, we voted by a wide majority, to skate to Sac State. 

First we skated east on S Street.  Eventually we skated south a block to T Street, where we continued east to 59th Street.

At 59th Street we skated north to M Street on 59th Street and 58th Street.  Then we skated southeast to the end of M Street and a "haunted house".  See photo above on the left.  We then skated Elvas Avenue to Sac State.

e then skated northeast off Elvas into Sacramento State College.  In Sac State we turned north toward the parking lot.   

At the Sac State parking lot, we cooperated with police officers and did not do a lot of skating.

We returned to 3rd and S by skating west on M Street, Capitol Boulevard, and S Street.  Steve estimated that we skated 12 to 14 miles.

All of us but Danny and Brian stayed for food, beverages, and conversation, and we were joined by Bobbie, my girlfriend.  What a great night!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

6 skate American River Parkway loop with visits to Cal Expo and Canterbury Road!

Gus, Lisa, Mark, Rusty, Steve, and myself skated tonight. Please see photo on the right.Mark suggested an American River Parkway loop (skating out on the new trail, back on the old) with a visit to Cal Expo.  This is what we decided to do.

First we skated north on 3rd Street, west on O Street, and north on the Front Street Promenade.  We heard at least 3 seals under the Tower Bridge, so we skated down to the Waterfront to investigate.  The distance was too great; the flash photos did not come out.

Soon we were skating through Old Sac and onto the American River Parkway. We skated the new trail on the south side of the River to the 12th Street Bridge.  After skating north on the 12th Street Bridge, we skated onto the American River Parkway and skated east to Cal Expo.

From Cal Expo we skated west on Exposition Boulevard past the Radison Inn.  We then skated up and then over WH_EEEE!!!!!
a bridge to the Canterbury Inn and Canterbury Road.  We then skated to Del Paso Boulevard.

On Del Paso Boulevard we skated back onto the old American River Parkway (north side of River) and west back into Old Sac.  From Old Sac we were soon back at our 3rd and S starting point.

Mark and Steve estimated that we skated about 12 miles.  Great workout!

All of us stayed for food, beverages, and conversation, and we were joined by Bobbie, my girlfriend.  What a great night!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

9 skate south and enjoy California Crocker Middle School, Land Park, and Sacramento River Levee skating!

Gus, Bernie, Gordon, Morgan, Jacob (Morgan’s son), Steve, Mark, Rusty and I came out to skate and the conditions were perfect; air temperature around 80 with a slight breeze. Bernie suggested skating to William Land Park by our “11th St. route” and then returning up the recreation path on the Sacramento River levee.

No new photos or movies this week.

We skated east on S St to get to 11th St; turned south on 11th and continued to Broadway. At Broadway, we turned east and skated to Land Park Drive. We checked out the movie listings at the Tower Theater then continued south on Land Park.

At California Crocker Middle School on Vallejo Way, we stopped for a quick water break. Unfortunately, there is construction in progress in the quad area of the school so we were not able to skate the excellent concrete sidewalks in this area. We skated around the school to continue the skate on 17th St.

17th St brought to the north side of William Land Park. Taking 18th St to 15th Ave, in the park we reconnected with Land Park Drive at the Sacramento Zoo entrance. We continued over to Sutterville Road to get to the recreation trail entrance at the levee. Mark suffered a locked wheel about half way along Sutterville Road. Bernie, who wears a helmet light of phenomenal output, stopped to assist him. Mark had to remove the locked wheel to free the object jamming it (probably a stone between the wheel and the skate
frame) and soon we were all rolling again.

At the Sutterville entrance to the recreation trail we skated north back toward downtown. The trail on the levee has been recently renovated in conjunction with levee strengthening work and this makes an excellent surface for skating. The surface is black glass. With the full moon reflecting on the river the view from the levee was great. At Miller Park the great conditions disappeared! Miller Park Drive has abysmal, checked and cracked asphalt. We vibrated north to get back to Broadway.

At Broadway we turned west and skated back to the short section of the recreation trail that is accessed just past the railroad tracks. This brought us back to 2nd St and O St. A quick sprint on O got us to 3rd. We took 3rd back to the parking lot at S St.

As stated earlier, conditions were perfect with mild temperatures and clear skies, perfect for skating.

This was a 7- 8 mile loop.

Bobbie joined us and we grabbed some food and conversation at Vallejo's.

Keep Skatin'

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

4 skate American River Parkway and new Natomas Trail!

We had 4 skaters - Julie, Mark, Steve, and myself.

We decided to approximately reskate our June 25, and August 20, 2007 skates - skates through Discovery Park, then west on the American River Parkway, then into Natomas.

First we skated north on 3rd Street to O Street, where we skated west to Front Street.  After regrouping at Front Street we skated into Old Sacramento.

After again regrouping, we skated north onto the American River Parkway, regrouping again at the Sacramento Water Intake Facility.

Next regrouping and turning point: Discovery Park Bridge.  From here we skated down into Discovery Park. WH_EEEE!!!!!

Coming out of Discovery Park, we skated west on the American River Parkway multi-use trail toward Crawdad's, until we reached Gateway Oaks.  At Gateway Oaks, we left the trail and skated the sidewalks and street of Gateway Oaks into Natomas.

We turned west at the first corner we came to, and skated until we were on a multi-use trail going north. See photo above on the right from June 25, 2007 Monday Night Skate.

Continuing northward on this trail we crossed West El Camino Avenue and eventually looped around into a commercial/office development near I-80. We regrouped near a set of picnic tables near one of the businesses.  We decided to return on the nice Natomas trail - as Mark suggested on our August 20 skate..

Skating east and south, we eventually were skating south on Gateway Oaks, taking us once again onto the American River Parkway.  After skating east we were soon heading back into Discovery Park.

After Discovery Park we were soon again in Old Sac and on our way to our 3rd and S starting point. See photo and movie above on the right.

I estimate that we skated about 10 miles.

Counting Bobbie, my girlfriend, and Rusty, a fellow skater, 5 of us stayed at Vallejo's after the skate for great food, beverages, and conversation.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

9 skate American River Parkway loop!

Tonight we had 9 skaters - Dan (first time with our group), Elmira, Guy, Julie, Larry (returning after several years), Morgan, Rusty, Steve, and myself showed up to skate.  We decided to enjoy an American River Parkway loop - north side of the river first, then the south side.

e started off by skating north on 3rd Street, then west on O Street to Front Street. See photo and movie above on the left.

We skated north and east on Front Street into Old Sacramento, where we got onto the American River Parkway.

On the American River Parkway, we skated north to the Discovery Park Bridge.   We then skated down the bridge into Discovery Park. WH_EEEE!!!!!

In Discovery Park we skated east to Del Paso Boulevard, breaking along the way.  At Del paso Boulevard we skated south over the 12th Street Bridge to get onto the American River Parkway trail on the south side of the American River.

Skating west for two miles on this trail we were soon back at the Discovery Park Bridge.   Continuing south on the American River Parkway, we were soon in Old sacramento and on our way to our 3rd and S starting point.

I estimate that we skated about 8 miles.

Five of us were joined by Bobbie, my girlfriend, after the skate.  All of us enjoyed food beverages, and conversation to top off a great skate.  See photo above on the right.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

4 skate to chalk art, Sacramento City College, and the Sacramento River!

On this Labor Day, we had 4 skaters - Gus, Mark, Steve, and myself showed up to skate.  We decided to enjoy our local chalk art and then to skate south to Sacramento City College and the Sacramento River.

e started off by skating north on 4th Street, east on R Street, and north on 15th Street.  There we were in John C. Fremont Park (Thank you, Google Maps!), a park with chalk art on the sidewalks on all four sides and in the middle sidewalks too.  See photos above on the left and the right.

After looking at the art on all four sides of the park, we skated south on 15th Street, and then on Land Park Drive to Vallejo Way and Crocker Middle School.

From the school we skated south on 17th Street and east on some other street.  Our next stop was Sacramento City College. 

After some fun we skated on through Land Park on 14th Avenue and other streets toward the Sacramento Zoo. 

From the Zoo we skated west on Sutterville Road to the Sacramento River Levee.  On the Levee we enjoyed a great run north by the Sacramento River.

From the Levee we exited to continue north on Ramp Way to Broadway.  From Broadway we skated north onto the multi-use trail parallel to Front Street.  This pretty trail by the Sacramento River took us back to O Street, and we sere soon back at our 3rd and S starting point.

I estimate that we skated about 10 miles.

We were joined by Bobbie, my girlfriend, after the skate.  All of us enjoyed food beverages, and conversation to top off a great skate.  We all had beans to help us skate faster, and alcohol to help us skate more fluidly  ;-).

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

8 skate east on great American River Parkway!

We had 8 skaters - Donnie, Gordon, Gus, Guy, Jacob, Morgan, Rusty, and myself.  While we still have plenty of light, we decided to do the American River Parkway.

e started off by skating north on 3rd Street, west on O Street, and north on the Front Street Promenade into Old Sacramento.  From Old Sacramento, we then skated onto the American River Parkway

On the American River Parkway we skated to the Discovery Park Bridge.  We then skated down the Discovery Park Bridge into Discovery Park.   WH_EEEE!!!!!

From Discovery Park we skated east on the American River Parkway.  See photos and movies above on the left and the right.

At Del Paso Boulevard, we paused.  Six of us who wanted to skate more, continued east on the American River Parkway.  Rusty and I returned to 3rd and S by skating south over the 12th Street Bridge, west on Richard's Boulevard and south on 7th Street.

Rusty and I skated about 6 miles.  The other skaters went on to the 5 mile mark, and then came back.  I estimate that they skated about 11 miles.

Counting Bobbie, my girlfriend, 5 of us stayed at Vallejo's after the skate for great food, beverages, and conversation.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

14 skate west and north returning to beautiful trails, scenery, and adventures!

We had 14 skaters, including a brand new one, whose name escapes me.  The skaters include Alice, Donnie, Jordan, Julie, Justin, Gus, Guy, Mark, Molly, Morgan, Rusty, Steve, the name I forget, and myself.  We decided to approximately reskate our June 25, 2007 skate - a skate through Discovery Park, then west on the American River Parkway, then into Natomas.

First we skated north on 3rd Street to O Street, where we skated west to Front Street.  After regrouping at Front Street we skated into Old Sacramento.

After again regrouping, we skated north onto the American River Parkway ( See photo and movie above on the left.), regrouping again at the Sacramento Water Intake Facility.

Next regrouping and turning point: Discovery Park Bridge.  From here we skated into Discovery Park. WH_EEEE!!!!!

Coming out of Discovery Park, we skated west on the American River Parkway multi-use trail toward Crawdad's, until we reached Gateway Oaks.  At Gateway Oaks, we left the trail and skated the sidewalks and street of Gateway Oaks into Natomas.

We turned west at the first corner we came to, and skated until we were on a multi-use trail going north. See photo above on the right from June 25, 2007 Monday Night Skate.

Continuing northward on this trail we crossed West El Camino Avenue and eventually looped around into a commercial/office development near I-80. We regrouped near a set of picnic tables near one of the businesses.  We voted and decided to try to find a new way back, instead of returning on the nice Natomas trail.

Skating east and south, we eventually were skating south on Gateway Oaks, taking us once again onto the American River Parkway.  After skating east we were soon heading back into Discovery Park.

After Discovery Park we were soon again in Old Sac and on our way to our 3rd and S starting point.

I estimate that we skated about 10 miles.

Counting Bobbie, my girlfriend, 10 of us stayed at Vallejo's after the skate for great food, beverages, and conversation.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

11 skate east on S and T Streets to Sacramento State College (and back)!

Alice, Critter, Gus, Julie, Mark, Mary, Mitchell, Molly, Rusty, Steve, and I skated the 8/13/2007 Monday Night Skate.  As Mitchell suggested, we decided to do a Sac State skate, which we have not done for about two months.

First we skated east on S Street.  See photo and movie above on the left.  Eventually we skated south a block to T Street, where we continued east to 59th Street.

At 59th Street we skated north to M Street on 59th Street and 58th Street.  Then we skated southeast on M Street and Elvas Avenue to Sac State.

e then skated northeast off Elvas into Sacramento State Collage.  In Sac State we turned north toward the parking lot.  See photo and movie above on the right. 

At the Sac State parking lot, twice we had a lot of fun riding the elevator up and skating down.   WH_EEEE!!!!!

Satisfied, we returned to 3rd and S by skating west on M Street, Capitol Boulevard, and S Street. I estimate that we skated about 14 miles.

After the skate, we had 6 people at Vallejo's for great food, beverages, and conversation.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

Seven Sacramento skaters skate the August 10, 2007 Friday Night Skate in San Francisco!

Sacramento skaters Gordon, Guy, Mark, Morgan, Rusty, Scott, and myself skated the Friday Night Skate in San Francisco on Friday August 10.  Rusty organized this fun skating event.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

13 skate northeast to and on Ueda Bike Multi-use Trail!

Alice, Critter, Gerald, Gordon, Gus, Guy, Julie, Mark, Mitchell, Morgan, Rusty, Scott, and I skated the 8/06/2007 Monday Night Skate. Rusty again announced that August 10, 2007, Friday, would be a good Friday for us Sacramento skaters to do the San Francisco Friday Night Skate. Gordon, myself, and several others indicated that they might want to participate in this San Francisco skate.

We decided to skate a new multi-use trail.  One just paved in the last year or so.

e first skated north on 3rd Street, then east on O Street to Front Street, where we regrouped.  Next we went north on the Front Street Promenade until we reached Capitol Boulevard.

Next we skated thru Old Sacramento and onto the American River Parkway.  See photo and movie above on the left. 

When we reached the Discovery Park Bridge, we skated east on the new multi-use trail on the south side of the American River.

When we got to 12th Street, we skated north over and down to the drinking fountain on the multi-use trail on the north side of the American River.

Next we skated east on the American River Parkway (north branch) to Northgate.

Exiting on Northgate Boulevard, we found that we had lost Gerald.  Mitchell went back, but could not find him.  We next skated north to Garden HIghway, where we skated east on the sidewalk and then north on the trail to the southern start of the Ueda Trail (on El Camino).  See photo above on the right. 

We skated north on the Ueda Trail crossing San Juan.  Some who skated further, also crossed Highway 80 and some other streets.

Gordon wisely got me and several others to head back before we reached Highway 80. 

Turning south on Ueda, we exited on San Juan, as advised by Scott, who used to make deliveries in the area. 

Scott led us home.  East on San Juan, south on a trail through Natomas.  Before long we were skating south on the Natomas Parkway into Discovery Park.

From Discovery Park we skate-climbed the Discovery Park Bridge and skated the American River Parkway back into Old Sacramento.  After jumping over the Crocker Art Museum, we were back at our 3rd and S starting point. ;-). 

I estimate that we skated about 15 miles.

After the skate, we had 12 people at Vallejo's.  Daniel joined his father, Morgan.  Bobbie, my girlfriend, joined me.  Julie brought in her twin daughters.  Enjoy their photo on the right.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

10 skate West Sacramento for variety and fun!

Gerald, Gordon, Gus, Julie, Mark, Mitchell, Molly, Rusty, Steve, and I took to the streets for the 7/30/2007 Monday Night Skate. Rusty again announced that August 10, 2007, Friday, would be a good Friday for us Sacramento skaters to do the San Francisco Friday Night Skate. Gordon, Molly, myself, and several others indicated that they might want to participate in this San Francisco skate.

We wanted to avoid the North Area because of mosquito spraying.  We voted between a long skate to Sac State and a shorter West Sacramento skate, and West Sac won. 

e first skated north on 3rd Street, then east on O Street to Front Street, where we regrouped.  Next we went north on the Front Street Promenade until we reached Capitol Boulevard.

When we went to cross the Tower Bridge, we got a big surprise.  We had to cross on the south side, even though we normally cross on the north side.  This significantly changed our skate.  We normally head north after crossing.  This time we headed south.

We skated south and west on several streets.  Many with poor pavement.  On Jefferson we headed north. See photo and movie above on the left. 

We skated north for quite a while.  Gordon and Mitchell helped provide us with directions.  Then we skated east for a while.  One of the streets was Cummings. 

Then we again skated north onto a path, before resuming our eastern direction. See photo and movie above on the right. 

I don't remember which streets we skated.  We did get to come down a nice hill, then we were skating south on Lighthouse Drive back toward Sacramento.

We next skated east over the I Street Bridge (Whoaa!! skating up.  Wheee skating down!!! ) back into Sacramento.

Some of us returned through Old Sacramento.  Some of us returned through the Amtrak Train Station. I estimate that we skated about 8 or 9 miles.

After the skate 10 of us enjoyed food, beverage, and conversation at Vallejo's.  We all ate beans to help us skate faster ;-).

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

8 skate south for scenery and fun!

Bernie, Steve, Rusty, Mark, Gus, Gerald, Lisa, Julie and I took to the streets for the 7/23 Monday Night Skate. Rusty again announced that August 10, 2007 would be a good Friday for us Sacramento skaters to do the San Francisco Friday Night Skate. Bernie suggested we skate our William Land Park skate route in a reverse direction; going to and through Land Park and the zoo first and returning on the Sacramento River levee.

This sounded good as it would potentially give us a slight tail wind on the return leg. We skated to 2nd St. to Broadway and Broadway to Land Park Drive (taking a quick look at the Tower Theater movie listings). We then took Marty Way to get to California Middle School where we regrouped and skated around the concrete quad area (excellent skating surface).

Leaving the school we went south to William Land Park. Steve took us on a side trip across Freeport Blvd. to the Sacramento City College campus where we skated around the sidewalks and grabbed water at the cafeteria fountains.

e left SCC; skated back west to cross Freeport; and skated along the park’s perimeter road to Land Park Drive. Crossing Land Park we skated south to Sutterville Road and continued west to the Sacramento River levee.

As we came down off the levee into the south boat launch parking lot we continued north on Miller Park Dr. and connected with Broadway. Steve and Bernie led us west on Broadway back to the short section of recreation trail that skirts between the marina entry road and the Sacramento River Promenade area. Steve took a short detour to skate the concrete embankment of the nearby oil depot parking lot.

Coming back north on the levee at this time in the evening gave us a great view of the Sacramento River and the Downtown skyline (See photo above on the left and photo and movie above on the right.).  A slight breeze was kicking up and gave us a little tail wind assist. Combined with the excellent asphalt on the levee, this return leg of the skate was great.

This was about a seven mile loop and made for a great skate. I left right after the skate. Eight stayed for excellent food and conversation at Vallejo’s - six skaters plus Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie, and Lisa's husband, John. So until next week…

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

10 skate the American River Parkway.  7 of them also skate toward Rio Linda!

Ten showed up to skate: Alice, Charley, Elmira, Gordon, Gus, Mitchell, Molly, Scott, and myself.  It was nice to be joined by Charley and Elmira from the Trilogy Skaters. Rusty has announced that August 10, 2007 would be a good Saturday for us Sacramento skaters to do the San Francisco Friday Night Skate.  We decided to skate the American River Parkway toward Rio Linda.

First we skated north on 3rd Street to O, then we skated west to Front Street.  From Front Street, we skated north on the Promenade into Old sacramento.

e skated from Old Sacramento onto the American River Parkway.  On the Parkway se skated north to the Sacramento Water Intake Facility and the Discovery Park Bridge, where we took breaks.

After our Discovery Park Bridge break, we skated east on the south side of the American River on the American River Parkway to 12th Street, where we again regrouped.  At this point, Mitchell volunteered to take the skaters who only wanted a short skate back to 3rd and S Streets.  Charley and Elmira returned with Mitchell.  I estimate their skate was about 8 miles total.

The remaining 7 of us skated north over the 12th Street Bridge to the branch of the American River on the north side of the river.  After regrouping at the water fountain, we began skating toward Rio Linda on the trail present at that point.

Skating on this trail is great! (See photo and movie above on the left.). On the way we crossed a railroad track. (See photo and movie above on the right.). We skated about 3 miles toward Rio Linda, then in Del Paso Heights at Harris Street, we turned around and headed back to our 3rd and S starting point.  It was already almost 8:30. 

As usual, skating south from Rio Linda, the wind is against you.  We persevered into the wind, skating south until we were back on the regular north side branch of the American River Parkway.

Once on the Parkway, we skated west into Old Sac, and south to 3rd and S.

I estimate that we skated about 15 miles.  We did not get to Vallejo's until 9:30.  Kindly, they stayed open and helped 9 of us (counting Bobbie, my girlfriend) enjoy great food, conversation, and beverages.

I had so much fun tonight, that I felt wonderful!  Fun skate, beta endorphins, good friends....WOW!!!

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

10 skate south on the Sacramento River Levee to Captain's Table, Land Park, and more!

Ten showed up to skate: Guy, Gus, Lisa, Mark, Mitchell, Molly, Morgan, Rusty, Steve, and myself.  Rusty announced that August 10, 2007 would be a good Satirday for us Sacramento skaters to do the San Francisco Friday Night Skate.  As suggested by Mark, we skated south.

First we skated north on 3rd Street to O, then we skated west to Front Street.  From Front Street, we were ideally positioned to have the most scenic south skate possible.  One that would include the new multi-use trail parallel to Front Street.

e skated south on Front Street, then on the multi-use parallel to Front Street to Broadway, enjoying our view of the Sacramento River.

Soon we reached Broadway, where we skated west and then south to the Sacramento Marina (See photo and movie above on the left.).

We skated around the boats in the Marina.  Then, after sinking three of them :-), we skated south on Ramp Road to the Sacramento River Levee.

We skated south on the Levee to Sutterville Road.  There we decided to continue south to Captain's Table.

Exiting from the Levee (we had no choice) at Captains's Table we skated east into residential areas.  We skated east on Euclid Avenue.  We also skated on other streets.  Finally, we were skating north on Land Park Boulevard.  We stopped at the zoo. After we watched the rhinos have sex :-), we were ready to go again.

Next we skated through and around in Land Park - a very beautiful park.

Then we skated north on 18th Street and 17th Street to California Crocker Middle School.  We skated around on some of the smooth pavement (See photo and movie above on the right.).

Next we were north bound on Marty Street to the Tower Theater, where we studied the marquee and rested.

Then we were homeward bound.  West on Broadway to 11th Street, north on 11th Street to S Street, and west on S back to our 3rd and S starting point.

I estimate that we skated about 10 miles.

All of us stayed for excellent food, drink, and conversation at Vallejo’s. Bobbie, my girlfriend, joined us.

Bernie

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

16 skate east on American River Parkway trails to Sac State - and back!

Sweet sixteen for a second week in a row! Let me do a little name dropping, skating tonight was: John, Bernie, Gordon, Steve, Julie, Molly, Alice, Mark, Gerald, Gus, Morgan and his son, Jacob and Jacob’s friend Evan, Rusty, Guy and myself. Alice is new to the group. Evan has skated with us before but has not been out recently. It is great to have additional skaters join us!

A CSUS skate via the American River Parkway was chosen. This was a good choice as the temperature was hovering in or around the 90’s and going along the American River would offer slightly cooler air, some shade and a great view.

Similar to our skate on 6/11/2007 we skated northwest to the Sacramento River levee (See photo and movie above on the left.) and took it north into Old Sacramento (See photo and movie above on the right.).

e skated through Old Sac and reconnected with the Sacramento River recreation trail, and continued north to Discovery Park. At the Discovery Park entrance we stayed on the south side of the river and skated the newer section of the American River Parkway to the 12th St. Bridge.

At 12th St. we crossed over the bridge to the Del Paso Blvd crossing of the parkway. We regrouped there. A few of us braved getting water at the drinking fountain that is just north of the Del Paso crossing – it is missing the top section of the faucet so it is more of a “geyser fountain” than drinking fountain. Get your sinuses washed for free!

Our route took us through the section of the parkway trail that previously was closed due to the Union Pacific Railroad trestle fire and reconstruction.

Similar to our skate from a few weeks ago, we had to brave sections that are in need of repair and sections of no trail (See photos on the left and the right.)!

We exited the recreation trail at the H Street Bridge access point. After crossing the bridge, we skated along the perimeter of the CSUS campus and continued back to M St. and our typical return route through midtown via Capitol Blvd.

Fourteen of us stayed for excellent food and conversation at Vallejo’s; Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie, joined in.

I estimate that we skated about 13 miles.

Rusty suggested getting a group together for going out to San Francisco to do the Friday Night Skate. I have never done the SF FNS but Steve, Rusty, Bernie and Gordon used to go out there back in late 90’s when they would get 700+ skaters. The word I heard was if you can skate our Monday Night Skate you can do the San Francisco skate so I’m interested in checking it out. Many expressed interest so we’ll discuss in detail at the next skate. So until next week…

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

16 skate west and north discovering new trails, scenery, and adventures!

Wow! Where do I start to name the names of those who showed up tonight! Sixteen names to sixteen skaters:
Bernie, Steve, Gordon, Rusty, Morgan and his son Jacob, Mitchell, Julie, Molly, Lisa, Scott, Gerald, Dean, Mark, Gus and Brian!

This is the largest group we have had this year and the most women skaters we have had for any skate in recent memory. The three ladies were representin' and skating fast. Lisa skated with us about two years ago, Molly is back for her second week; Julie is back for her fourth or fifth skate in about six weeks!

A skate out toward the Garden Highway was chosen, so we skated northwest to the Sacramento River levee to the promenade sidewalk. We continued north into Old Sacramento to connect to the recreation trail (American River Parkway). This we took to Discovery Park; crossed over the American River, and crossed the park to its Garden Highway entrance.

Turning west, we took the recreation trail that parallels the highway. At Gateway Oaks Dr. we regrouped and debated if we would continue west on the Garden Highway or take Gateway Oaks into the housing/commercial area. Skating the highway is doable but the last time we did this the surface was very rough asphalt on a very narrow shoulder with high speed traffic; not the best conditions, so we decided taking Gateway Oaks was a better choice. As this skate progressed our decision to go this way would prove to be a wise one.

Gateway Oaks drops down off the levee and we caught a little coasting benefit on the short downhill and quickly turned west at River Plaza Drive. This street runs parallel to the Garden Highway so it was taking us in the general direction of our planned destination: Crawdad's or The Virgin Sturgeon. As I haven't been out on the Garden Highway in years, I didn't know if the Sturgeon was still in business.

This skate would not provide an answer because we chose to turn off the streets and get back on the recreation trail that runs along Main Drainage Canal that courses north through this area. This was a first for me and many in the group, a completely new skate path in a very nice area. The trail travels through a nicely wooded area. The residents in this area have a gem of a facility for exercising or casual strolls (See photo above on the left.).

Continuing northward on this trail we crossed West El Camino Avenue and eventually looped around into a commercial/office development near I-80. We regrouped a set of picnic tables near one of the businesses and continued on an older asphalt path that travels the perimeter of the business park. This path has been there for quite a few years and is deteriorating. Its surface is heavily checkered and trees have created root heaves across many parts of the path. The shade offered by the trees is a virtue; just keep your knees flexed and work the root heaves like moguls.

We regrouped again at the corner of Gateway Oaks and West El Camino. Scott and Gordon were pretty familiar with the area and suggested continuing south on Gateway Oaks to take us back to our original connection point at Garden Highway. When we got back to Garden Highway we reversed our route back to Discovery Park. Our return path was through Old Sac and to our start point at 3 rd and S St.

This was an eight to ten mile loop and fourteen of us stayed for excellent food and conversation at Vallejo's; we were joined by Bernie's girlfriend, Bobbie, and Rusty's girlfriend, Linda (See photo above on the right.).  So until next week.

Keep skatin'

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

9 skate south along the Sacramento River!

Warming temperatures didn’t dissuade nine skaters from showing up the Monday Night Skate - Bernie, Gordon, Steve, Rusty, Mark, John, Gus, Molly and I took to the streets. Molly is a new skater to join us – she hails from the beautiful and much wetter city of Seattle. Gus is back for his third week. John and Rusty are old-timers who have been joining us regularly. Rounding out our group are Bernie, Gordon and Steve - the OGs; and the college kid, Mark.

We chose a southerly route along the Sacramento River to William Land Park and a return through Land Park thus taking advantage of the potentially cooler conditions near the water and the shade of the park area.

Prior to starting the skate we were visited by Tom Higgins of the Friends of the Sacramento Greenway. This group advocates and supports efforts to develop access to the Sacramento River greenway for human powered recreation and transportation, with a goal to tie into the American River Parkway system. He dropped off some flyers to us and discussed the planned Summer Solstice on Thursday, June 21. Check out their flyer for additional details: Sacramento River 6/21/2007 Bike, Skate, Stroll, Picnic. See email message from Tom for additional background info and future events.

Back in June 21, 2004, they had a fun party with snacks, beverages, musicians and a good group of supporters and they are looking for a good turnout for this year’s event. Check it out if you can – extending the recreation trail south along the Sacramento River would be a tremendous asset! The Monday Night Skate visited the party then:
http://www.sacramentoskating.com/monday_2004.html .
Jump to the June, 21st entry.

e skated northwest to the Sacramento River levee and continued down Front St. to access the recreation trail (See photo and movie above on the left.). This asphalt is fairly new and is very smooth. We skated into Miller Park and continued around the marina perimeter sidewalk to connect with Miller Park Blvd. Taking this street south we reconnected with the recreation trail on top of the levee just south of the boat ramp parking lot. Due to the recent levee strengthening work, there is new asphalt on part of the trail and it is also a great skate surface.

We made good time down to Sutterville Road and skated east to Land Park Drive. We stopped for water near the Fairytale Town entrance and continued to skate the loop road; circling the park (See photo and movie above on the right.). We meandered through the Land Park housing to arrive at California Middle School for another water stop.

The interior quad area of this school has been renovated with a very nice concrete area where Gus, Steve and Molly proceeded to show off their Mad Skating Skillz. Mark, while demonstrating his backwards skating style, ran into some mysteriously protruding pipe remnants and ended up landing on his previous bruised g. maximus thus ensuring he would need ice packs and a Jacuzzi later.

We finished the skate by taking Land Park Drive to Broadway and Broadway to Riverside/11th St; 11th St north to S St, then S St to 3rd.

This was about a seven mile loop and seven of us stayed for excellent food and conversation at Vallejo’s. Lucky seven plus one; Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie, joined in. So until next week…

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

13 inline skaters skate short and long American River Parkway loops!

We had thirteen skaters tonight! Here is the roll call: Bernie, Gordon, Julie, Mark, Mitchell, Gerald, Gus, Scott, Morgan, John, Rusty, Guy and me. With a turn out like this Bernie was feeling a little inventive and suggested we run two skates; both on the recreation trail but one shorter than the other. We would skate the south side of the American River Recreation Trail as we did last week but cross north over the 12th Street Bridge and reconnect with the trail at its Del Paso Blvd crossing. This would allow a group that wanted a shorter skate to return back on the north side of the American River and return on approximately a six mile loop.

Those skaters that wanted a longer skate could take the recreation trail access on the opposite side of Del Paso and skate to CSUS and return by M Street to midtown; thus skating about 13 miles.

Similar to last week’s skate we skated northwest to the Sacramento River levee and took it north into Old Sacramento (See photo and movie above on the left.). We skated to the north side of Old Sac and continued to Discovery Park and the access point for the American River Recreation Trail (See photo and movie above on the right.).

The recreation trail along the river is great this time of year – it is very scenic and affords slightly cooler conditions due to the tree coverage and proximity to water. As the weather warms we will be considering more river runs!

Skater side notes: Gus has returned with the skates he picked up from Steve last week. He has really taken to the inlines and his quad skating skills are serving him well. There was no need to give him an assist this week. Gus is rollin!

hen we reached the Del Paso Blvd access point Bernie lead one group west to take the shorter skate loop, the rest of us went east to CSUS. If everything worked out right everyone would meet back at Vallejo’s.

The skate to CSUS took us through the section of the recreation trail that previously was closed due to the Union Pacific Railroad trestle fire and reconstruction. It is now opened to limited traffic and we soon found out why as we skated through areas that are virtual moonscapes of gravel and potholes. At the reconstructed trestle the paved trail is nonexistent and we had to cross over dirt and sand.

The Monday Night Skate is always interesting!

Additional side note: the reconstructed railroad trestle looks good. A serpentine spine of pre-cast concrete and steel coursing between the two river crossing bridges; in its minimalism it does make a statement to what can be accomplished in a short time with the right people, materials and finances. The air in this area still smells of creosote, the last remnant of the old wooden trestle.

We exited the recreation trail at the H Street Bridge access point. After crossing the bridge, we skated along the perimeter of the CSUS campus and continued back to M St. and our typical return route through midtown via Capitol Blvd.

The group taking the short loop returned to Vallejo’s about 30 minutes before the CSUS group but we all made it back and everyone had a great time.

About nine of us stayed for excellent food and conversation at Vallejo’s; Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie, joined in. So until next week…

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

Eight inline skaters and one quad skater skate north of 3rd and S!

Hey! This is June 4th and for Sacramento that normally would mean days in the 90’s or higher with hot dry air. So why are we experiencing this mild weather with slightly overcast skies and a strong delta breeze?

Well nine skaters showed up tonight and didn’t question the weather but how soon would the skate start. Here is the head count: Bernie, Gordon, Julie, Mark, Mitchell, Steve, Gerald, Gus and me.

Gerald is an old-timer returning after a little absence; he still rolls fast and strong.

Mitchell is another old schooler who has come back for more fun.

Steve, Gordon and Bernie have been out for the Monday Night Skate since when 72 mm wheels were considered big.

Mark just finished up major Physics finals at CSUS so he needs some mindless skate fun to decompress.

Julie has been showing up regularly so we haven’t scared her off!

Gus is the new guy and showed up with quad skates. He is a rink skater giving the street skate a try.

The group decided on a skate on the south side of the American River Parkway. As mentioned in previous skate reports the south side path is a fairly new addition and the asphalt is smooth and fast. We skated northwest from 3rd and S to the promenade sidewalk on top of the Sacramento River levee and proceeded north into Old Sacramento.

As our group skated in to Old Sac Julie caught a skate lace in one her skates and though I am sure she tried to rely on her cat-like reflexes to save her, she ended up skidding on the pavement. Fortunately, she was wearing a full set of pads and her slight scrapes were much less than what could have been without protection. Moral of this story: Practice Safe Skating, wear protection.

Bernie, who as Captain Rollerblade, defender of truth and justice (and also runs this website) has put together a video showing the benefits of wearing pads while skating. The man risks his body to show us the way!

Check it out at:
http://www.sacramentoskating.com/Safe_Stopping.html

Back to the skate - we regrouped at the recreation trail just north of Old Sac ( See photo above on the left. ) and continued toward Discovery Park. Gus, hanging tough on his quads, rounded out the group after we stopped midway to Disco Park at the Sacramento water intake facility. After grabbing some water we continued northward.

At Discovery Park, instead of crossing the bridge, we continued on the south side of the American River. This branch of the recreation trail eventually tees with 12th Street and when the group got to this point they stopped to wait for Gus and me. Valiant in his efforts, Gus was still rolling along when Steve circled back to check on us. With about ¾ of a mile remaining to meet the rest of group, I suggested Gus grab hold of my fanny pack belt and get a tow. Now all you jokers out there - note I said fanny pack, not fanny. Steve added much appreciated boost by giving Gus a push. Needless to say we were a sight. But we started with nine skaters and nine skaters would return – that’s how we roll.

At the 12th Street bridge we turned south and skated to Richards Boulevard. Richards took us back west toward Discovery Park. At North 7th Street we turned south and skated back into downtown Sacramento.

Steve and I continued to give Gus the Push-Me-Pull-Ye assist to get back to the start point and the rest of the group was gracious to stop and wait on us – thanks guys! Thanks Steve, for the push – I was “tow-talled” out!  See photo and movie above on the right.

Point here is our skate is for the most part a recreation skate, we are out for the fun of skating and we don’t leave anyone behind.

This was about a six mile loop. It was a quick but fun skate. All of us stayed for food and conversation at Vallejo’s – Bernie’s girlfriend, Bobbie joining us.

Steve had a pair of Rollerblades that were a little narrow for him and he offered those to Gus to try out and get inline. I hope to see everyone next week and hopefully Gus has caught the inline bug.

Keep skatin’

Brian

Johnny Be Good
(40K midi, 2 minutes & 15 seconds play)

Sacramento Skate Patrol Meetings

Three skate memorable Memorial skate south!

We had three skaters tonight - Julie, Gordon, and myself.  Gordon suggested that we skate south by the Sacramento River.  We agreed, and he led most of the skate.

First, we skated north on 3rd Street to O Street.  Then we skated west on O Street to Front Street.

After regrouping and resting, we skated south on Front Street to the multi-use trail parallel to it.  We then skated south on this trail ( See photo and movie above on the left. ) to Broadway.

e skated west on Broadway till it turned south.  Then we skated south to the Marina.

We then skated around the Marina.  See photo and movie above on the right.

After skating around the Marina, we skated south on Ramp Road to the Sacramento River Levee.  We skate