How old is too old to learn to roller skate?

"Dance a lot," OP? Where?

If you’re over 19, people come to your house and break the wheels off your skates

I used to go to Rainbow Roller Rink in Chicago back in the 90s.

There was an entire cohort of black seniors who were dazzling on skates. They’d clearly been skating for years, but I found their agility and skill impressive and inspiring.

If you want to learn, give it a go! Skating is fun and decent exercise. You don’t have to be a star; you just need some will and an adventurous spirit.

Op you in danger girl.

I looked up local rinks a while ago because of another thread about roller skating (it was a youtube video of some impressive skating moves).

All three local places had adult only nights. I went for shits and giggles. Drank some cheap beer and went around the rink to Disco music. I did surprisingly well considering I hadn’t skated in 30 years.

I don’t know that I will make it a regular thing, but I had a good time.

Short answer is you are never too old - as long as you have a good sense of balance.

Can I have your stuff?

67 is not the age to start taking up things where you can fall and bust your body in half. It takes much longer to recover. Hit your head and it can be over for you. EvenI gave up rollerblading in the late 30s. Plus I didn't have health insurance at the time and decided it wasn't a good idea.

I'd worry about breaking a hip or something. I became ok at it in the late 70s but 1990 was the last time I tried.

I still ice skate but no more gay hockey league.

Other than the risk of falling and breaking something (how good is your balance, OP?), roller skating is very hard on your knees (and ankles, come to think of it). Roller skates can be heavy -- even the inline ones.

You didn't mention if you are an ice skater. If you love to ice skate, you should be fine, if a bit clumsy, on roller skates. But if you've never skated at all, I'd recommend ice skating first.

I loved ice skating and inline roller skating, but I was never accomplished at either. Still, it's a great way to get exercise.

You're just trying to contextualize the stretchy hot pants and the Xanadu wig, OP, right?

It'll be a lot safer on the streets at night, OP.

Head for the dark side of town!

Good to hear someone else r9 / SL. Grousing about winter is one of my regular pastimes but I still get a little tickle thrill when I hear the outdoor rinks are open.

Well, it's been many, many years, but where I grew up, R12, we actually had a real-live skating pond in the park near my parents' house. It was only a few blocks away, and I could walk there, with my skates tied and hanging over one shoulder. There was even a little building there with benches and a fireplace where they sold hot cocoa and candy to us kids.

When I finally skated in a ice rink as an adult, it just wasn't the same.

Look at instructional stuff on YouTube. Get pads and a helmet.

I’ve got a brand new pair of roller skates!

Yes as long as you wear a helmet and a seat belt and condom.

r13 it's close to my experience minus the pond.Our park, next to the school had outdoor rinks reserved for hockey leagues and figure skating but also a big misshapen area for the public skate. And we had the cabin for warming up. Most of the time we were with friends from school.

I remember I felt old at 11. I was invited to a birthday party, which happened maybe 5 or 6 times. The girl rented a roller rink and I tried roller skates and I found them difficult. For Christmas, I got a pair of roller blades and they were easier. I have a pair of roller blades and I haven’t touched them in years.

[quote] I have never in my life roller skated or ice skated or rollerbladed or skateboarded …but I have always really wanted to roller skate. I’m 67, not at all athletic but moderately active (walk, bike, and dance a lot).

No, don't try to learn roller skating. The skates actually lift you off the ground by about 3 inches. So, when you fall, it's a long way down. Plus, you're skating on a hard surface. So, when you hit the ground, it's a hard surface.

I've roller skated and found inline skating to be difficult. Point is: even if you have experience, it's not necessarily easy. You have no experience and you are not athletic.

Try something like jumping on a trampoline.

If you can walk and bike, OP, you can roller skate.

If you've got an interest in something and are fit and healthy enough then age should be no barrier to learning ANTHING new OP - No matter what it is. Even if you ultimately decide it's not for you or find you can't master the activity. Just do whatever makes you happy. The worst thing would be to look back and regret you didn't.

Thanks to all - those who are encouraging as well as those cautioning against trying. I really want to give it a go.

[quote]I really want to give it a go.

Just do it R22. Don't look back and regret you didn't give it a try! I can't stress this enough. Good luck and let us know how you go.

Which skates are you buying? Do you have a back yard where you can try them out on grass to get your confidence up a bit first? Or maybe a grassed park? I'm pretty sure you'll be doing the ONJ part in Xanadu before you know it and being just a sassy about it!

Wear knee pads and a helmet. And start off in a rink, not on a sidewalk or a street, where a crack can send you onto the pavement quicker than you can say "Medicare". True story - back in the very early 80s, when skating was briefly a thing for gay men, some friends persuaded me to go with them to the Roxy. I hadn't skated since grade school, when I had the sad skates that you attached to the bottom of your shoes. Long story short, I rented skates and was just getting the hang of the foot over foot technique to negotiate the turns and build up a little speed, when a mad queen doing her best imitation of Nancy Corrigan came sailing backwards with leg extended in arabesque, caught my arm and spun me like a game of crack the whip. I went sailing across the floor creating general mayhem on the floor and possibly causing a few concussions or broken bones before I went crashing into the side of the rink. I crawled over the the little fence at the edge and untied my skates, as I had had sufficient for the evening. But several months later there was a lengthy transit strike in NYC and having had two bicycles stolen in short order, I bought a pair of skates and rolled my way to work for several weeks until the strike was settled.

Have fun, but be careful!

OP, I started when I was 41. Go for it!

Go for it! Let us know what happens!

You can do it, but stick to a rink. Cement pavement isn’t something you want to begin on, especially when there’s an incline, and there’s always an incline.

Menluvinguy, I still wish you would use paragraph breaks, but that was a cute story.

Your choices aren't complete. The last choice should have been "Vivian Vance has a brand new pair of roller skates". I cannot participate in your poll.

OK, OP, I'm one of the people who said don't do it, you're gonna fall and break something.

However, if you really want to, I agree about doing it in a skating rink, not on the sidewalks. Yes, do wear protective gear. Go when it's not crowded. Roller skating is very enjoyable.

Did OP Natasha Richardson himself yet?

R31 is Andy Cohen eyeing Liam’s bulge.

Nancy Kerrigan -- not Corrigan.

Learn with Fred & Ginger

Or Gene Kelly

I could never roller skate or ice skate, but I can skate(board). I did it when I was a kid and stared again when I was 49 and have been doing it ever since. So I say go for it.

*started

Ice skating is a bit safer. While ice is still hard it does give a little compared to concrete. Plus it's a controlled environment with a smooth surface, no pot holes, gravel, or other surprises like you might get outside. Ice skates are much lighter and maneuverable as well. Roller skates are pretty clumsy, bulky and heave. The only downside is you need time to build up strong ankles. The first few times you might be hanging on the edge all the way around the rink. That's totally normal for beginners, but if you keep going, you will soon be gliding on the ice. Take a group beginner class, it's worth the money and they are not very expensive.

[quote]I could never roller skate or ice skate, but I can skate(board). I did it when I was a kid and stared again when I was 49 and have been doing it ever since. So I say go for it.

I had a friend that did that. He was 49 and could even do a handstand on his skateboard. UNTIL....he fell, broke his wrist, had metal plate put into his hand.

R39 So he can't still skate with a metal plate in his hand?

R39 Did he fall doing a handstand? That trick went out with the '70s, btw.

This made me think of OP!

R40, no he has not been on a skateboard since then. That takes a long time to heal.

R39, that trick may have gone out in the 70's but that's probably when he learned how to do it. Yeah, that's how he broke his hand.