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11 responses total.

Well, my last skating expirence was at Vet's park.  I went there with chanur
and scott.  No complaints about the ice, skates, or prices.  First aid service
was pretty good too!  

Yes, and they even cleaned all the blood up!  :)

I'm surprised by your experience at the Cube, but not your description of the
staff.  My son skates there every week and we've never had a bad pair of
skates.  I've rented from them several times for general skating and they've
always been good skates, though expensive rentals.  I like the fact that they
are nearly new rental skates.

The zamboni hits the ice at the cube just about every hour from my
recollection.  Maybe they were short-staffed or the zamboni was in need of
repair when you were there?  All in all, I like the cube quite a bit.

I've also skated/rented at Yost and Vets.  They're both OK, but older/colder,
not as 'friendly' bldgs, imo.  Yost might be a lot better now that it's (been)
renovated...don't know if that's finished yet or not.  Vets is trying to
regain some of the business it lost to the cube so they, too, may be going
an extra yard to make your skating outing more enjoyable.  Haven't been there
since last year.

This item has been linked from Consumer 79 to Intro 137.
Type "join consumer" at the Ok: prompt for discussion of
ice, rice, mice, and other consumer issues.

I just drove by the Ice Cube for the first time today.  I've
only been ice skating once, that was over at Veterans', and
it was about as pleasant as any first-time-ice-skating experience
could be.  >8)

My wife Alice has been skating a lot at both "Vets" and the Cube. I showed
her the initial item and responses, and here are her comments:

Ah, Popcorn encountered most of the "problems" when skating a public
session at almost any ice rink that is heavily used, which the three rinks
at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube are- dull skates, "lumpy skates", chopped up
ice, rude skaters, and sometimes disinterested, if not rude, young
employees.  These "deficiencies" should be reported to rink management. 
(office upstairs) 

I skate regularly with the Ann Arbor Figure Skating club on "club ice" 
(the club rents time from the Cube and members pay premium price ($8/hr) 
for the priviledge of skating relatively uncrowded ice, take lessons from
your pro AND skate on freshly zambonied ice.  The more skaters, the more
advanced the skaters, the more quickly the ice gets chewed up.  That too
is true for hockey. The club offers group lessons too - much more crowded
but "classes" confined to limited area for purposes of instruction.  City
Parks and Rec also offer group lessons at Vets.

But, by far the best time to skate public sessions at the Cube is Mon-Fri,
6-8AM (I've encountered 10 people tops), next 12-2PM (can get more
crowded).  Both these sessions draw folks who routinely skate for
excercise or more practice.  It's a great way to start the day, but hard
to get started when it's dark outside! 

Rental skates - I used to, but never will again.  Vets are better boots
because they are leather, not plastic, but they don't keep them sharpened. 

If I've been off the ice a few weeks it takes me quite a while to find my
skating feet and balance again.  It would be really difficult after years
away.  It was. After at least 10 years since skating I resumed to
introduce my daughter to the fun.  After a year of skating with her and
bringing her to city lessons I signed up too, then met a women who was
taking lessons with the Club and liked those better, so I tried. I was
really hooked.  I now skate 4 days a week and am improving. 

So, Popcorn, try again, I hope the experience is better. 

(Alice later added the following.) 

Rental skates at the Cube:  I skated public session Sunday evening and
really discovered why rental skate blades are so bad.  Lots of teens were
walking and fooling around on the concrete steps while wearing unprotected
rental skates.  This activity does in a sharpening pronto.  I plan to talk
with management on Wed when I'm there next. 

Care of ice skates and blades:  Proper care of ice skate blades is to wear
rubber protectors when walking from changing area to the ice, remove
protectors and store them outside rink on board shelf, then step onto the
ice.  Reverse procedure when leaving the ice.  Reason, lots of folks walk
around on the rubber mats with their outdoor, gritty shoes, and that grit
is waiting to have your blades.  After taking off your skates, remove
protectors and dry blades thoroughly with a towel or other soft, clean
rag.  Then put on cloth protectors known as soakers to store your skates. 
When you get home remove the cloth soakers, rewipe blades, and allow to
dry thoroughly.  That, besides assuring your blades won't rust, also
assures that the soles and skates dry thoroughly.  Now, I'm sure that is
more than you wanted to know about caring for ice skates and blades.  Good
equipment is an investment and worth the care. 

(If you want to ask Alice any questions, send them to me and I'll pass
them on.)

I have never rented skaes myself.  My parents bought us "K-Mart" quality
skates when we were kids and now I understand why my feet always hurt in
those things!  We took our kids to The Skate Exchange on Industrial Hwy.
and got some really nice, thought used, skates for about $30 to $50 each.
Nice thick leather uppers with blades that were screwed on.  The owner
is a really nice woman who knows a LOT about skates and skating!  She told
us that with screwed on blades one can accomodate people with mild foot
problems since the blades can be repositioned with respect to the boot.
She also takes in used skates and sells them for a 30% commision.  She
has a very good selection of skates for all ages and you can bet that is
where I will go the next time I decide to get new skates for myself.

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Hmm..I think my old skates are somewhere in my parent's garage.
I wonder if they still fit?  Probably not.

If they don't, it pays to take them to the skate exchange.
The proprieter's name is Joyce Cook.
The hours are limited - 2-5:30 M-F and Sat 10-2

Up here in the Great North Woods, we don't have any of these problems.  We
skate outdoors, own our own skates (or borrow from friends), its never
crowded, and when the ice gets bad you just hose it down on a cold night. 
Maybe you should all leave the ratrace of the city.

I'm planning on it.  Thoug the  will be west, not north of A^2.
I truly love the North Woods though.

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