Denton Orator Mentions Inline Skaters in Tour de Kale Bike Ride

[Here's the text of Ms. Ayers' article promoting the idea of inline skating at Tour de Kale! Thanks to Tour de Kale for recommending us and to the Denton Orator for being so enthusiastic and encouraging. Used by permission; email address removed for privacy's sake. Please visit dentonorator.com and thank them or their sponsors with your business and appreciation.]

Eight wheels are as good as two in Tour de Kale
By Toni Covington Ayers

[Copyright 2008, Denton Orator. All rights reserved. Used by permission.]

While the Tour de Kale draws hundreds of cyclists to the Denton area each summer, a team of inline skaters has proved that eight wheels are as good as two in this annual fundraising event.

Members of Team Roadskater.net and TDK participants share a common interest in the outdoors as well as in helping others in need. The team participates in the Tour de Tanglewood each year (the 2008 event set for Sept. 6 & 7) to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. “We try to raise money for people who can’t do what we do – roadskating on inline skates,” Roadskater.net member Blake Lambert said.

In addition to Tour de Tanglewood, Team Roadskater.net participates in various other fundraising events throughout the year and, thanks to the kindness of volunteers and cyclists alike as well as the organization and beauty of the TDK routes, Lambert said the Tour de Kale has become one of their favorites.

“Last year was our first time with the Tour de Kale,” he said, “and we had three skaters. We were apprehensive about participating at first because we didn’t know how the cyclists would view us (as skaters). We didn’t know if they would welcome us.

“But that’s what I really want people to know about the Tour de Kale,” he continued. “WE FELT SO WELCOME!”

Lambert joked that he was also a little worried about traffic along the routes, “Until we got there and saw that everyone who lived along the route was volunteering! There was no traffic!”

In a blog on the Roadskater.net website, fellow skater Elizabeth Bailey described the 2007 TDK by saying Denton and the surrounding area provided “mostly perfect, very hilly and largely uncongested roads for the perfect roadskate or bike ride.” She described the route as “beautiful with scenic mountain views, hilly, uncongested, and conspicuously manned with the fire brigade and volunteers at 90% of the turns.”

Despite an early wipeout on what Bailey referred to as a “skate ramp” covering the FarmPark’s railroad tracks, plus reaching downhill speeds in excess of 35 mph, the team managed to finish the 60K route with big smiles (and no broken bones) in just 3 hours 21 minutes. They were met with ice-cold washcloths and water, and finished the afternoon off with barbecue, sweet tea (is there any other kind?) and dessert.

“This event welcomed us skaters with open arms and loud encouragement, and Kale (Watkins) made that clear to us when we talked with him after the event,” Bailey said. “What a great guy. Put this one on your roadskate-training calendar!”

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The 2008 Tour de Kale is set for June 20 & 21, with a 5K Night Run planned Friday evening at Harrison Park and the cycling events to be held on Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Denton FarmPark.

Lambert said even more members of his team are interested in participating in this year’s TDK, although he could not predict how many skaters would attend due to a scheduling conflict with the Philly Free Skate that same weekend. “It’s safe to say that a handful of enthusiastic inline skaters will join the hundreds of road cyclists helping to raise money for local charities at the Tour de Kale,” Lambert concluded.

If you are interested in learning more about Team Roadskater.net and its mission, or about inline skating in general, visit the website at Roadskater.net. “We hope to present inline skating as an alternative way to get off the couch, not just for kids but for adults whose knees and ankles have seen their last days of running, for example,” Lambert noted. If you’re a beginner, he recommends you get started at a large, empty parking lot rather than in your home neighborhood, which is much hillier than you ever realized, he said. “Get some lessons if you can, and wear wrist guards and a helmet at least!”

For more information on the TDK, visit them online at www.tourdekale.com.