## Ropes and Skates (Good Combination?) Part 2: The Trip In.

Post by jennifer » Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:20 pm

Hello again everyone sorry for such a long wait on this second part of my story. I am going to pick up where I last left off.
Once the group was assembled and ready to leave, the 7 of us began our trek down the trail towards the park. The path itself was paved and smooth, which was a nice feature when your trying to roller skate with your hands tied together. Scott and Amber took up the lead of the pack out in front. Even with their arms tied in front, both of them were confident skaters and they seemed to have little trouble keeping their balance. One of the things that I remember when learning to skate was that if you put your hands together and lean forward. Almost like your pushing on an imaginary table it helps you keep your balance. This position works best when your skating slower, but it works at higher speeds as well. Even with the ropes on their wrists they could keep their balance reasonably well.
Shelly followed closely behind the fist two of our pack. She was newer to skating than the rest of us. She hand only been doing it for about 5 or 6 years now. The rest of us had learned from when we were around 4 or 5. Still, she was more than able to keep pace with the rest of us as we moved forward. Especially since she wasnâ€™t tied up. Amy followed Shelly in close pursuit. At least the best that she could. My little sister was a lot smaller than the rest of us. Also her skates were meant more to teach the child how to keep her balance rather than for speed. She was moving a little faster that she could walk quickly. This was really the pace setter for the rest of the group. When The front 3 skaters got too far ahead Amy would yell and they would stop and let the rest of us catch up with them. It was a slow going, but we were all having a good time of it.
I just realized that I left Brandonâ€™s outfit out of the last story. He was dressed similar to my brothers and had on the normal safety gear minus elbow pads. He kept pace next to Shelly and a little ahead of Amy and myself. Neither of them was tied up. Brandon had been a few times in the scouts, and he knew about our games on and off over the years. However, he wasnâ€™t as active as a participant in them as my friends were. He had begun thinking that it was a little weird as he got older and continued hanging out with us from time to time. But he never really made a big deal out of it one way or the other. For the trip down he maintained his place mostly and tried to keep out of the way as the rest of us.
I followed parallel to my little sister. I was probably having the most trouble keeping my balance and staying upright. I could manage a pace a little faster than hers with my hands tied like this, but not a whole lot. I slowed my self on purpose to allow more time to adjust for balance and the movement of the trail. Finally, Sean brought up the rear of the group. He was in now hurry moving his bike along with whatever pace the rest of us were taking. He didnâ€™t want to complicate things by trying to pass me and Amy. I was having enough of a hard time keeping myself upright and moving forward without any additional obstacles. Also, he had the bike trailer with him which, slowed him down and required more work to maneuver with. My older brother was content to follow at the pace the rest of us set and bring up the rear of the parade.
The 7 of us spread out across the trail as much as the stretch would allow us to. For the most part the trail was even and paved smooth. If I remember correctly it was somewhere between 8 and 11 feet across at most points. Wide enough that two bikes could travel side by side in one direction or the other. Our ordering and positions changed on and off based on the terrain and the speeds and balance issues we had being around each other on this trail. Sometimes Shelly would catch up with the front two, especially when they stopped so the rest of us could catch up. Other times she would fall back to where Amy and I were skating. There were a few instances where the 7 of us were spread out in an almost single file line based on our speeds and relative positions. It just varied as we moved down the trail towards our destination.
For the most part, the trail was strait, smooth and well paved, but there are a couple of turns in it. Also there are some places where there is a slight decline or incline that resembled a short hill. As long as we were going forward I could easily keep pace, but at these tricky spots I had to stop and adjust my movements to avoid a fall. Skating with my hands tied behind their back in the fashion that they were was a tricky undertaking to begin with. There was some shared conversation back and fourth during the course of the path, but mostly I kept my eyes to the ground. I need to be careful of where I was going and the things surrounding my immediate path. With my arms folded behind my back like they were, I couldnâ€™t use them for balance at all. I had to rely completely on my legs for the task. This through off my center of gravity and made it a lot harder to adjust to the terrain and changing speeds. Even with my safety gear on, I wouldnâ€™t be able to use my arms to catch myself if I fell. So, I was being extra careful about how I approached the whole situation.
While I was concentrating pretty hard on just managing what I was doing, Amy was taking the whole experience in. Usually when she went skating with us it was just at the local rink or around in the drive way at home. She could take whatever pace she wanted and there was no hurry. She wasnâ€™t used to the idea of using skates as a mode of transportation yet. Still my little sister didnâ€™t let that bother her. While she had to concentrate on just keeping moving forward, there was a look of pride and accomplishment on her face. She was keeping pace with the big kids and quite happy that she was able to do it. She got to see a lot more of the trail from where she was rather than being strapped down in the bike trailer behind Sean as we had originally planned. Personally I think she was enjoying this a lot more since she was moving under her own power.
Personally I was glad of the slower pace because it allowed me more time to react. Although I could tell that the front of our group was a little annoyed by the slow goings. Sean kept a forward glance and a warm smile. He was probably the most patient of our group. Finally, we came to the first real problem area for us. Well, I shouldnâ€™t say for us, it was really only a problem for me. There is one point on the trail with a sharp incline about 10 feet in length that goes up about 5 or 6 feet in the that distance. Up to this point I had come down the trail without incident, but my first attempt up the hill I got about 3 feet forward then I lost my momentum. I began to loose my balance and fall backwards. Luckily, Sean had stopped his bike right behind where I started up the hill and an outstretched arm of my brother broke my fall.
I looked back and thanked him for the help. I explained that I didnâ€™t think I could get up the hill like this.
Sean agreed with me on the subject and parked his bike. Once the kick stand was in place behind me, my brother came around and pushed me up the hill slowly. It looked almost like he was pushing a dolly up the hill, me being the human counter part. It took us a couple of tries to work out the balance, but after a few minutes, we managed it and I was standing at the top of the hill. I cleared the way and went and stood with the others as we cleared out of the way. Sean went back down and maneuvered his bike back up the hill. It was quite an undertaking since he had the weighted trailer pulling against him. But my brother was strong and managed it on the first try. After taking a minute or two to catch our breath, the caravan resumed is journey forward towards our destination. Later, I had the opposite problem, trying to stop going down a short incline, but Shelly caught me at the bottom without incident.
Skating with my hands tied behind my back was a difficult undertaking and I had took plan ahead and keep an eye on the trail as we came to each part of it. The trip to the park as a whole was only about a little over two miles. Usually we could skate or bike that in about 20 minutes to half an hour. However, with Amy in tow and my perdicament it took us almost an hour and a half to reach our destination. It was a park. The same park that I talked about in one of my earlier stories about wearing the walking harness and being tied at the same time when I was 7 or 8. The park itself had changed quite a bit from when I was younger. It still had the playground and a couple pavilions, but the facilities had been amended to a larger play area and the city had installed several other athletic fields. They hand also added a basket ball and a couple of tennis courts for additional recreation. The park itself also had a good deal of wooded areas around with hiking trails and the path that the bike trail continued down. In all the place was probably at least 20 or 30 acres of land. Maybe more, but I am not completely sure.
While the park was mostly unpaved area, there was a sidewalk that led from the bike trail up to the parking lot and the sports courts. The paved path also continued from the parking lot to the play areas and one of the pavilions. Skating it was a little more difficult that the bike trail since it was narrower and made of concrete blocks rather than one continuous paved area. Still, after we tightened up the formation a little bit all of us managed to get from the bike trail down to the parking lot. The parking lot was paved with black top, but it wasnâ€™t that well suited for skating. There were cracks all over the place and it was in need of repair. The parks wasnâ€™t used nearly as much as it used to be. The city had gone about building a new swimming pool a couple of miles away and a new park and playground to go with it. It was in much better shape than this one and it got used more often. It was usually a rare affair to see anyone else here on a day in the middle of the week. As was the case, we had the place all to ourselves which, made it a good place for a tie up game and some public privacy.
The parking lot was not an ideal skating area under the circumstances. However, the basketball court was solid cement and at least 40 feet across and 25 feet wide. It would offer a more ideal area for that later in the day. The 7 of us headed down the sidewalk from the parking lot to where we finally brought our procession to a rest. Sean set the kick stand on his bike and the rest of us skated into the pavilion to sit down for a moment. Every one except my sister took a seat on one of the benches for a quick breather. Scott brought his bound hands up and used his teeth to pick the knot restraining him loose. It took him a couple of minutes of effort to free himself, but it was an interesting performance to watch. Once my brother was free he offered the same courtesy to Amber offering to free her hands if she wanted him to. Amber decline and said she proffered to leave the ropes on for the time being.
Meanwhile, Sean had retrieved a duffle bag from the back of the trailer and brought it over to where all of us were sitting. It contained all of our shoes from when we had put our skates on earlier in the day. The group as a whole began the process of changing over from our skates to our normal footwear. Except Sean who didnâ€™t bring skates and Amy, whose skates just strapped on over her sandals. We had planned to do quite a bit of skating that day, but we were all tired from the trail in an a break sounded like a good idea at the moment. Everyone made good progress at the effort besides myself. There is no good way to take off roller blades with my hands tied behind my back as they were. However, Sean was more than happy to lend me a hand. Sean slipped my skates off and helped me into a pair of tennis shoes that I had packed before.
â€œSo, Jen how are you holding up?â€ my brother asked me as he stripped my second skate off. â€œItâ€™s a lot harder that I thought it would be getting here. But I am managing pretty well, thanks to you at least. Thanks a lot for all the help back there.â€ I replied with a smile. It was the truth of the matter. I would have probably had a harder time without all the help that Sean gave me. The whole trip in was quite difficult, but I had a good time and it turned out to be a rather rewarding experience in proving that I could accomplish what I did on my own. Sean nodded and told me I was welcome for the help. After all it was his job to keep his little sisterâ€™s safe. My brother finished tying the second bow on my shoe and stood up looking me in the eyes.
Sean asked me if I wanted to be untied at least for a little while. The truth of the matter was that I was pretty tired from the skate in. My arms were also a little stiff from the ropes, but not really all that bad. The ropes hadnâ€™t been exceptionally tight. They were just snug enough to keep me from slipping out of them. Sean was pretty good at tying someone up and leaving just enough slack to be comfortable. Also, the position was that hard on the arms and my wrist pads insulated my arms from the ropes so they werenâ€™t digging in all that hard. I declined my brotherâ€™s offer and told him that I wanted to stay tied for a little longer. Though I would likely want to be untied for the trip home. Originally I wanted to stay tied up for the whole day out here and for the time being I planned to leave the ropes on. I told my brother that I would leave them for the time being, and he told me to tell him if I changed my mind. Most of the rest of the group was finished changing out of skates by this time.
Our groups set about to piling the skate in the back of the bike trailer so that they wouldnâ€™t get lost. Shelly and my brotherâ€™s also took the opportunity to lose their helmets. Sean added his knee pads to the pile as well. He offered to extend me the same courtesy, but I decline. He would half to untie me to get my arm pads off anyway and I had everything adjusted to how I wanted it. I couldnâ€™t make any changes with my hand bound behind my back like they were. Shelly and Amber left their pads on as well. It wasnâ€™t a matter that is was more comfortable to have them on or off, it was more that the time to remove and dawn them. Also, it left less of a mess to sort through in the back of the trailer for the time being. I was surprised when Amy didnâ€™t take her stuff off. It was probably a combination that Sean asked her not to and she was emulating the older kids like she often did while I was growing up.
Everything was well situated. The rest of the group was discussing their plans for the day. Amy wanted to hit the playground and climb around for a while. After a request from Sean Scott agreed that he would travel with her and keep an eye on things. Soon after the two of them headed down towards the playground. Amy running and my brother in a steady following. Brandon followed along with Scott and the two of them kept a conversation going between them. He only needed to keep her in an eyes view. Sean seated himself next to me on the bench and perched his feet up across on the bench across the way. He had brought a novel he was halfway through with him. One of his college professors had given him a book list for the next semester. The novel would be require reading the second half. Sean had gotten the book ahead of time and was working his way through it over the course of the summer to have it out of the way . My brother was always ahead of things like that. After catching her breath, Amber decided to head off towards the playground in tow of the other two members of our party. All of us were too old for it besides Amy, but this was just going to be a quiet day anyways.
Shelly had remained behind at the pavilion with Sean and myself. It was a warm day out. Not really all that hot, but still it was in the 70â€™s and the shade was a nice oasis from the tiring trip to get down here. Shelly seated herself next to me and we started talking to pass the time. After all there wasnâ€™t a whole lot that I cold do without the use of my hands. We spoke for a while back and fourth about our plans for the summer. She was staying home mostly and just enjoying the sunshine. She had a summer job lined up for the latter half of July and the first half of august. She was going with her uncle in a food trailer to work at several county fairs for 5 weeks in a row. She had done this last year as well. It was a lot of work, but she made a little over two thousand dollars in the five weeks.
My part of the conversation differed a little bit. There was a family vacation coming up in a few weeks that I was looking forward to. The whole family was. My parents and both of my brothers had each taken close to two weeks off from work and we were heading off to Kentucky to go see some of the many caves down their. It had been two years since the whole family had gone together anywhere like that. We were going to be camping out of our camper. I had been looking forward too it all spring. Only Mary wasnâ€™t going. Her work schedule didnâ€™t allow for it regrettably, but that was just the way things were. She was going camping with us at the end of august like we did every year. However, Sean would have to miss that since he would be starting back to school. Still, it was a sight to look forward to. I had done quite a bit of reading several books my parents had gotten on the caves. I was quite surprises at all the things I had learned and even more excited that I was going to be going in person in just a few short weeks.
I was rambling on when I noticed that Shelly had broken eye contact with me and was instead looking down at my bound hands. It didnâ€™t annoy me really, she usually looked at that sort of stuff when we were tied up. She didnâ€™t have anyone in her family to play these kinds of games with all that often. Her brother tied her up a few times, but most of her experiences on the subject were either tying herself up or with my family. â€œIâ€™ve never seen your hands tied up like that before. It looks pretty secure. Does it hurt or are you okay?â€ Shelly broke the conversation as she observed my shift in attention. I stopped talking and looked over at her. I decided an explanation was in order and began explaining the tie to her. First, I commented that I was fine. The position was quite comfortable actually if you didnâ€™tâ€™ struggle and relaxed your arms. I explained that Sean had only begun using it recently. It was something that he had come across in his college education. I explained how it worked and why it was so effective to my friend as she took in the matter. It was kind of like having my arms in a straight jacket behind the back. I had plenty of experience at that since Mary had coaxed my parents into getting me one a few years earlier. Shelly had only tried it on once.
When I got a little further into my explanation, Shellyâ€™s eyes lit up with anticipation about the whole idea. She held up her hand to cut me off and looked over to where my brother was sitting reading his novel on the bench next to me. â€œSeanâ€ she said quietly to attempt to draw my brotherâ€™s divided attention away from the book he has reading. Sean looked up and inquired the reason for the interruption. â€œI was wondering if you could tie me up the way that you did your sister. I think that is an interesting way to do the hands and I wanted to try it out.â€ My brother just shrugged and deposited the book on the table in front of him marking his page with a playing card he kept in the back cover. The he rose and headed over towards the bike where he had parked to get a piece of rope to do the tying. However, his search didnâ€™t go as planned.
We had only brought 4 or 5 pieces of rope to begin with. With all the gear and lunch their hadnâ€™t been much room for it. Plus we wanted to keep it hidden from my mother since she wouldnâ€™t approve of skating with my hands tied. Sean dug through the duffle bag for a few minutes and then he told us that his search had come up empty. â€œScott must have taken the other pieces of ropes with him to the playground.â€ Sean commented apologizing for not having anything to do the binding with. Then Shelly caught sight of the rope that Scott had left on the table when he untied himself earlier. He must have forgotten it in the confusion. She brought it to my brotherâ€™s attention and suggested that he use it to tie her up. Sean just shrugged again and told her that he would do the best that he could.
My brother came over to where Shelly was standing and had her turn around and position her hands behind her back. He mad a few adjustments for the proper placing and then began to tie my friendâ€™s hands in the same manner that mine were bound. The piece of rope was a little shorter than the one he had used on me earlier, but he managed a fair job none the less. With Shellyâ€™s hands secured behind her he walked over and seated himself and resumed his reading. Shelly gave the ropes a few good tugs and tested their security. After a minute or two she resigned herself to the same fate I already had. She couldnâ€™t escape and would probably be stuck until someone untied her. She came back to where we had been sitting and reclaimed her seat next to me. The two of us continued onward with the conversation where we had left off earlier. It might have seemed strange for the two of us to be talking tied up like this, but this was part of normal for my family.
Well, this is getting to be a little long again and I already finishing the 6 page of text. I think I am going to break here for a while and finish up the rest of the story later. Despite the lack of rope, our games continued and most of us got a turn. We did some more skating later that day. Shelly still didnâ€™t want to skate with her hands tied and Sean kept Amy from attempting it. But I had another go at it and it turned out to be a tricky situation. Anyways I am going to stop here for the time being and come back to this later.
Jennifer

### Re: Ropes and Skates (Good Combination?) Part 2: The Trip In.

Post by kidnapper » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:39 pm