Speed is not of the essence

“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.” 

Sometimes I can get a teeeeeny bit carried away. Apparently I have a rather impulsive personality. Don’t worry, I wasn’t told this as part of an intervention or anything, it wasn't a surprise, I kind of already knew.

Impulsive and stubborn which can be a dangerous combination. Almost a very dangerous one this time.

So, I mentioned a while ago that my sister and I were planning on roller skating from Swanley where we live to London Victoria. Well I thought this was going to be as simple as hula hooping for 24 hours. Turns out I was WRONG. So terribly terribly wrong.

Now, we have both mastered skating forward, pretty much stopping on flat surfaces and I reckon if I really put effort into it I could cope with backwards (pillow strapped to my behind of course!). However, downhill is just something we cannot comprehend as something we will be able to do anytime soon. Well, not so much that we can’t go downhill. That bit we are fine at. It’s the gliding at a rapidly increasing speed downhill where there are busy main roads at the end of that hill bit that we aren’t so keen on.

I foolishly (and naively) figured 2 weeks practice would have us ready for a 17 mile skate to London easy peasy. Wrong. So very wrong. It was driving back from Bromley (which is a 20 minute drive from me) that it dawned on me that this challenge was a death-wish. There were minimum 6 steep steep hills that ended with roundabouts, a lot of traffic or required me to jump off and on pavements. we would have literally ended our lives on 23^rd August. I was not #keen as my friends would say. Mostly because I have a Ball to organize still and a holiday in October, and I am desperate for a tan!

So as I drove home I got a bit down at the fact that we wouldn't be able to complete my challenge.

However there is a heroine to this story and of course a happy ending….

My good friend Ellise (now she really knows I love her genius because it is forever written down on the world wide web!) came up with a bit of an idea!

We can still skate… just pick somewhere flat instead! GENIUS!

So now my sister and I are going to be skating around London Hyde Park. It will be the equivalent distance around Hyde Park. You will find us quite easily – we will be the ones flailing around being passed by elderly people and toddlers!

For this challenge my sister has created a page – all donations will still go directly to the Autism Trust but as this was her idea and is more her challenge than mine – mostly because she falls down more than me – I am using her page for donations https://www.justgiving.com/Lana-Anscomb

So everyone please take a little look and if you have spare dollar please help push her along!

Hope... Out

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