Inline Skates from Black Diamond Sports in Palo Alto
20100618 at 08:00 A decade of hard use is a good life span for a pair of inline skates.
Richard & Tony skate dancing
After looking hard and doing a bit of research, I discovered that the old “Skates on Haight” retail shop no longer sells inline skates. Not only that, they own skates.com now, a large warehouse, and a worldwide operation. This skater attempted to schedule an appointment to visit the facility, by opening a “service ticket” as the website instructs. They never responded, and I left the ticket open. I told them I would go elsewhere, and make sure skaters know there is no place to buy skates in San Francisco.
I was surprised by and disappointed in this new “online only” sales situation in San Francisco. I needed to speak to a knowledgeable person, and luckily ran across a mention of Black Diamond Sports in Palo Alto.
As it happens I was traveling there to help a friend with his project by standing in as proxy in a “brainstorming” meeting.
Time was short and logistics complicated, so I called Black Diamond from Caltrain to warn them I was coming and hoped to buy skates. They are ideally located a few blocks from the station, and right away I was trying on a pair, getting expert help from someone who knew his stuff.
Less than thirty minutes later I rolled away with a pair of skates that I couldn’t be happier with. I made it to the meeting with time to spare! As I skated to the station after, it was getting dark, and I was on unfamiliar roads. That was not a problem; my feet now have wheels again, like they did years ago.
