ORANGE : Moms Push Their Limits at the Rink

All you need is a baby and a buggy.

At the Holiday Roller Rink in Orange, skaters meet each Wednesday morning for “stroller skating” class, a 1 1/2-hour workout in which mothers skate while pushing infants and toddlers in strollers.

Some mothers have never skated before and grip the strollers like a lifeline. Most haven’t skated in years, but the strollers help balance the least steady of skaters.

Rink manager Jim Blee says stroller skating is one of the few forms of exercise for parents that children can participate in too. He teaches the women fitness techniques and explains how to skate safely with the buggies.

“He tells us if we feel like we’re going to fall we should just let go” of the stroller, said Gloria Norton, 47, who began skating three weeks ago with her 18-month-old niece, Megan McKown. “He tries to give us exercises to do. I just try to stand up.”

The women take a few laps around the rink, warming up to the tunes of Michael Jackson and the Beach Boys. Their small stroller passengers bounce and sway to the musical beat. As the class progresses, Blee gives more challenging instructions. He sets up cones for them to negotiate, then he asks them to leave the strollers and skate ahead.

“Last time I skated was about 15 years ago on Balboa Island and I ended up in someone’s bushes,” admits Mary Hinckle, 37, of Orange. “I feel a lot better pushing 80 pounds ahead of me.”

Charlie, her 2-year-old son, calls out the colors of the rink’s flashing lights as his mother rolls him around. “He’ll be telling me how to (skate) next week,” Hinckle said.

Charlie wasn’t listening.

“When do we do our hokey pokey?” he asks.

Holiday’s stroller skating class is the only one in Orange County, Blee claims. The class began in September after rink owner Robbin Fleming saw stroller skating at a Northern California rink featured on a television show several months ago.

Stroller skating now will become a regular part of the rink’s schedule, Fleming said. “The kids love it because they go fast and they get this wind in their face,” said Fleming, who once skated competitively.

Despite speed, wind and flashing lights, even the most enthusiastic stroller passengers tire of being strapped in for the whole class. Some children napped while others walked around and sometimes got in the way of skater traffic.

Thirteen-month-old Geoffrey Davis found that with his mother, Teri, on skates, he was almost as steady on two legs as she was. As Davis wheeled an empty stroller, Geoffrey flung himself at the back of her legs, causing Davis to lose her already precarious balance.

“Don’t sneak up on mommy like that!” Davis pleaded.

Skaters said they hope to continue stroller rolling even after the eight-week class ends. Norton said she is considering buying a pair of skates so she can stroll Megan in the neighborhood “once I get better at this.”