Sometime between my two trips to Cafe Luwak (after The Stupidest Bike Crash I've ever had[1] and the Kopi Luwak tasting previously mentioned) it managed to rain, which ment that when I showed up for bike polo this evening something finally tripped in my head and I figured out how to do skids on my bike. I even managed to do one on dry pavement in the parking garage after the game, so I think it might have finally clicked in my head. Of course, now I have to worry about wearing out my tires, but that's another story.
I also managed, in the same game even, to score two points, which puts my lifetime bike polo earned points up to "3". The first one was lame, even by my standards — the ball got stuck in a defender's back spokes, and as he rolled around and everyone was laughing, I snuck in and tapped it into the goal. The second one, however, was better: a shot which banked off another player's tire and went in (which, by our variation on the rules, counts).
Now if I can simply learn how to do a track stand, I'll be all right.
[1]: Okay, I was sitting next to the "traffic calming clock" (as Andy H. called it) in Depot Town, and after letting the traffic clear I pushed off, only to have my tire go two inches and get stopped by uneven pavement, and I did the most awkward slow-motion semi-over-the-handle-bars-pull-the-bike-down-with-me fall I've ever done. At least nobody was around to see it.