| By Blane Bachelor
Mike Martin remembers the days of the Wimp
Wagon. More than two decades ago, a mob of Bay area residents got together
regularly to bar-hop -- or, more appropriately, bar-roll -- on skates. The Wimp
Wagon, an old mail truck that held about 30 people, trailed the crowd to collect anyone
who couldn't make it on their own wheels.
"Back then when I went, there were about 200 people -- all
on roller skates,: said Martin, also known as "Muscle Mike" in Tampa's skating
community. "... I never had to ride in [the Wimp Wagon], thank god."
The Wimp Wagon isn't around anymore, and for the most part,
neither is roller skating. Instead, inline skating -- considered more of a sport
than its predecessor -- stole the scene in the early 1990s. The inline skate, with
wheels placed in a vertical line instead of side-by-side in traditional roller skates, was
born in 1979 when an ice hockey player in Minneapolis found a way to train in the
off-season.
Since then, the sport's popularity has exploded. In the
early '90s, U.S. participation boomed, with a 103-percent increase from 1990 to '91,
according to the National Sporting Goods Association. It has leveled off since, then
growing just 4.1 percent in 1997, but the numbers still are boggling. More than 26.6
million people participated in inline skating in 1997, a figure that surpassed soccer,
football and baseball.
The sport also has an established niche in Florida, especially
the Bay area. According to the NSGA, Tampa Bay ranked 18th in participation with
272,000 skaters in 1996.
Driving down Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard is evidence of that popularity.
Skaters nearly outnumber joggers on the world's longest continuous sidewalk. There
are all types of skill levels -- some weave expertly through the runners, others stumble
along trying to avoid munching pavement.
Skaters who fall into either of those categories -- and
any in between -- can enjoy inline participation that goes beyond just casual rides.
The Bay area boasts a strong skating community that goes back to the '70s, when the disco
days put many people on roller skates. |
A recent outing with the Tampa Bay Road
Rollers was an uplifting experience for Craig Fulton
of Clearwater
The Bay area is at the
forefront of the booming popularity of inline skating |
Several large groups,
among them the Tampa Bay Road Rollers, which Martin has been instrumental in developing,
have established a solid following for people looking to meet others while getting in
shape.
"The great thing about this is that it doesn't
cost a lot to come out and enjoy yourself," said "The Breeze," a local
enthusiast who prefers to be called by his skating nickname. "It's great
exercise, and it's a great way to meet people. ... I guess the bar scene is getting
old for some people. [With this], a different week will bring a while new group of
people with the same purpose -- to exercise, have fun and meet people. It's
fantastic."
The Breeze, who runs the Road Rollers with Martin, said the Internet has
been the best means of attracting participants. The Road Rollers' Web site, which he
developed, posts times and sites for the group's weekly skates. They usually pull in
anywhere from 30 to 50 skaters.
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