First derby road trip of 2012

Last weekend I embarked on my first roller derby road trip of 2012.  We had a bout against the Green Mountain Derby Dames on Sunday (as part of the Derby Social), but Eloda, Luci. D. Dream, and my sister Carol started our New England adventure a day early.

Our first stop was to see Anne Persand (awesome friend and premier roller derby referee!) in Massachusetts.  Anne was working on a project to make Valentine's Day cards for charity, so we brought some crafts and made a bunch of cards.

After that we headed to White Water Junction, VT and spent the night. It was an obvious choice that we had to get breakfast at the Farmer's Diner because we saw a review on Yelp that they had maple milkshakes. When in Vermont.

Carol, me, and Luci at the Farmers Diner.

yum yum yum! Maple milkshake in the background.

antiques

After breakfast we went to an antique shop and found some amusing items. Next stop was Hanover, NH for some more New England-ing and lunch. From there it was a quick ride over to Enfield, NH, the location of the Great Derby Social 2012!

Disharmony, Knockout, and myself were alumnis of the event from last year.  But this year there was something new: two sanctioned bouts, and we were asked to play! Against our friends the Green Mountain Derby Dames!  Eeeeeeee. 

Busting out slick moves on the rink floor
before the bout. We didn't win the bout, but did
we win the pre-bout?
Photo by Alana O'Hair

This was our first bout of 2012, as well as for Green Mountain. I had a little bit of jitters, but once the bout started I felt fine.  Green Mountain took the lead in the first jam, but we actually got a substantial lead in the first part of the period. It was exciting!

Green Mountain kept fighting, and eventually evened out the score. Both sides had a little penalty trouble. In the second period, the score was neck and neck and there were a bunch of lead changes. In the end, Green Mountain won the bout with a score of 141 - 138.  So close!  Hey, we'll take it.  It was a fun and exciting game.  A great start to 2012 for both teams.

Hellions of Troy take on the Vermonster!!

The plan all along was to hit up Ben & Jerry's as part of our road trip to Vermont.  And what a better way to end our antic-filled road trip?

Photo by Knockout Kid.

Sunday (February 20) late morning a bunch of us met up at Ben & Jerry's on Church St. in Burlingtown to take on the Vermonster.

Wow.  There's a lot going on in there.

Eloda presents the Vermonster.

Although this is the before picture, I believe more or less of these people ultimately partook in the epic undertaking.  I, for one, was wrapping up hanging out with my family that morning, so I was part of the clean up crew.

Back Row: Miranda Wrights, Captain Slow, Skittles, Ivanna, Beefcake, Miss Ida
Front Row: Baby Nuclear, Knockout Kid, Spam, Deadlie Mercury, Eloda Saracasm, Luci D. Dream 

Making some progress.

Can almost see the bottom...

Like I said, I wasn't able to get to Ben & Jerry's until near the end of the bucket, as it were. By then the ice cream was pretty melted... just the way I like it.

Clean up crew.

Not sure how long this whole crazy situation took. About 45 minutes?
Annnddd the after shot:

It looks like everyone had mixed emotions about the experience. Great job, Hellions.

Side note: Alloveralbany.com wrote about taking on the Vermonster just recently as well! Check out their post, which includes a video about how the Vermonster is made.

Hilarity and good times ensue up in Vermont

Quick recap on the Green Mountain Derby Dames bout here: http://blog.timesunion.com/rollerderby/hotrdvgmdd/2927/

We had so much fun in Vermont last month! Once I got to the bout, I made the unique decision to break in my new set of Poison wheels. My Atom Queen Bs are pretty much bald, and probably too hard for GMDD's polished concrete floor. Shockratease helped me perform surgery on my skates.

It's not a great idea to use any kind of new equipment during an important event, but I'm glad I did. GMDD's floor was a lot slicker than Rollarama, and the balance the Poisons provided me really helped me out. I did end up with a lil' blister, but no big deal.

Other Hellions antics included having a second floor locker room and subsequently piling into the elevator and giving certain people a nervous fit. muah hahah.

February Events

Where can you catch the Hellions this month? February is the shortest month of the year, but there's a lot of derby stuff going on!

Saturday, February 5: Bout Day!  Hellions take on the Oz Roller Girls of Oswego, NY.

Thursday, February 10, 6:30 pm

Friday, February 11, 6:30 pm

Saturdayday, February 12, 2:30 pm

Hellions tabling at the SUNY Albany Vagina Monologues. Come out to see a great show!
Cost: $10, Proceeds from the performances go to Unity House in Troy.
Tickets will be sold at the door. Several Hellions are former Vagina Warriors (and we all are at heart: Short Temper, Reading Rambo, and Baby Nuclear.

Saturday, February 12 - Sunday, February 13
A few Hellions are headed to the Great Derby Social in Enfield, New Hampshire. 24 hours of socializing, open skate, and scrimmaging. If you're a local derby person, there's still time to sign up!

Friday, February 18
Schenectady Art Night. Stop in, say hello, buy tickets to our March 5 home bout :)

Saturday, February 19
Away bout in Burlington, Vermont against the Green Mountain Derby Dames! GMDD's Season Opener is a double header. So happy to be a part of it! Also, former Hellion Sonic Euthanizer now skates with GMDD. It will be a beautiful reunion!

[Of course we'd love to have all you Capital District fans come watch us play up in Vermont, but if you reallllly can't make the trip, you can check out the Albany All Stars at the Armory the same night.]

Saturday, February 26 Road Trip! It's not a HoT bout, some of us are just going out to show our support!
Boston Massacre v. New Skids on the Block || Cosmonaughties v. Nutcrackers
DOUBLE HEADER
Bout #1, 5 pm: Boston Massacre v. New Skids on the Block (Montreal)
Bout #2, 7 pm: Cosmonaughties v. Nutcrackers

Will I really be able to visit three states in the month of February? I hope so!!! Stay tuned..

Bonus: Saturday, March 5
Home bout at Rollarama against the PRD's Killah Bees. Save the date!