when i first got you glass pads basically didn't yet exist. between hard pads and my glorified 10€ cutting board made out of glass you were a god ray shining on all peasants interested in non cloth pads. and shortly after you released the scene would not take long to drastically shift. with the likes of superglide and the chinese market looming, flooding enthusiasts with and variety and sometimes affordability, you were the g pro wireless of pads. there to show the way.

i however seem to have missed most of these developments over the years. because you were my ceiling that i had been looking for and allowed for me to shift my focus on other details. one obsession about sensitivity or grip turned into the next all on the back of the freedom that you allowed. nothing had ever given me the opportunity to focus so much on things that weren't related to the pad at all. problems could simply be overcome with control, technique and enough time. never leaving space to think about you. but eventually, after all that time, things tend to iron out and focus inevitably shifts back onto what lies beneath.

and so it happens that oddities you notice along the way start turning into annoying distractions. something that could be chalked up to not being good enough now stands out as preventing the next step in improvement and comfort. the audible destruction of skates anytime you dared to flick the mouse. the glide consistency akin to a journey through mountains and valleys. the total change in surface behaviour at the apex of switching directions. all these things now nag at your experience, because you are not where you were 3 years ago.

so i enjoyed my stay. i enjoyed the journey. but now i can not wait to find something that will give me what you gave me 3 years ago.