Monday, January 11, 2010 — It was all about the wheels today! Tammie, her friend Rose and adorable 2-year-old son, and I went on a 5-mile bike ride along the shore of Kapa’a today. It’s a wonderful bike path right on the coast, sometimes just 10 feet away from the crashing surf, close enough to get the salty spray on you.

It has been at least 20 years since I’ve been on a bicycle, but it all worked out. No crashes, bumps, bruises, scratches, or scrapes. The best part was the cute bell on the handlebars so we could (in a very high school fashion) signal each other when we saw a particularly nice-looking man go by (oh my!)!

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Later that afternoon it was all about the roller skates….luckily not mine, but those of the Garden Island Renegade Rollerz: all women’s flat track roller derby league! What a blast! I have never been to a derby match…and before you get the vision of big scary women on skates, let me tell you that many were petite girls who could zip around that track like no one’s business!

Here’s about all I know: there are two teams of five players. All but two players form the pack, which starts out on the first whistle. On the second whistle, the last two players–the jammers–start out for the pack and, well, basically, knock down anyone in the pack to get through. If a jammer gets through  the pack, she scores points. After that, it got a bit fuzzy for me in terms of the actual point scoring.

It was fun and there was quite a crowd there to cheer the teams on. Halftime was a belly dancing show! Below are the team rosters….each player has a “stage” name, with a few being a little naughty.