To skate or not to skate?

I spent a lot of time as a kid skateboarding. My brothers and I basically lived and breathed it. Didn't matter if it was hot or cold outside, if the ground was dry, we were off skating somewhere. Eventually (and regretfully), I gave up skating in favour of spending evenings in the pub and weekends nursing hangovers.

In 2007, I had a very brief return to skateboarding when I bought a new set-up but there was no skate scene left in my hometown. No-one to go skating with so it didn't really stick.

Fast-forward a few more years and my eldest son got his own board and started taking lessons. I decided to dig out my old board and start up again. I really enjoyed it. So much so that I started regularly going to a skatepark in Leeds twice a week as a way to get some exercise.

The downside to skating now as I slowly approach 40 is I'm acutely aware of being injured. I can take bumps and scrapes but snapping my ankle by landing awkwardly isn't something I really like the idea of. Injury is a risk in any sport but skateboarding feels like a sport with a much higher chance, particularly bone breaks.

So I'm left with a decision whether to keep trying to learn new tricks and take on the risk of injury or do I resign myself to being something of a "confident cruiser" who can comfortably get around a skatepark from time-to-time. I honestly don't know.