Too often I blame my lack of blade skills on my aging, crippled body. Those, however, are just excuses because age is lame.
Take for example the man pictured above. Yes, in his Sports Illustrated for Kids trading card, he is but a mere pup in his roller skates, but Dante Muse can whoop ass.
But, as Bitter Cold turns 10, the man wearing No. 84 in the qualifiers will be 43. And no, I don’t have number dyslexia. That four came before that three. He’s more than twice the age of some people competing.
And, while you’re watching him do shit like a 270 backside backslide to switch sweaty on the coping, you’ll also be wondering why he’s skating so fast. That’s because he’s been the world speed skating champion 14 times. That, and an X-Games gold medal in downhill doesn’t look too shabby on a resume either.
You’ll be witnessing history that you’ll someday tell your kids, “Yes, my darlings, I was there when the old man bladed at Bitter Cold.”
