| Tech
Tip - Singin' (or Skating) in the Rain
August 2001 |
|||||||||||||
|
Your skating workout is going great, you feel wonderful, and everything is working for you. Suddenly the little black cloud that had been hovering for most of the afternoon opens up and dumps on you and your perfect workout. The pristine trail is now soaking wet and feels more like glass than asphalt. Fear not, it is not the end of your workout. By making a few adjustments to your stride you can finish your workout without any dings, knicks or falls. First of all, you have to understand that skating in the rain is like driving your car in the rain. It is slickest right after it starts raining because all of the oils are raised to the surface of the road causing slippery conditions until the oils are washed off. As soon as the oils are washed off, your car regains a good deal of its traction. The same thing happens to your skates. As the oils are raised up during a rain, it takes time for the oils to get washed off the trail or street that you are skating. In addition, your wheels are made of urethane and as you do your day to day skating these same oils are sucked up into your wheels. So while the oils are being washed off the roads, the moisture is also sucking the oil out of your wheels. So like your car, once the oils are washed off of the road and dissipated from your wheels, you begin to regain lost traction. So that is the natural aspect of rain skating, now for the technical side. As you skate on the slippery surface you will find that the longer your stroke becomes, the more likely you are to slip and loose your footing. In wet conditions you need to shorten your stroke and push from the tops of your wheels as opposed to the inside edges of your wheels. Try to keep your push limited to within the width of your shoulders. By making these shorter strokes you are less likely to create acute angles with your wheels which will cause you to slide out. The same considerations are needed when making turns in the rain. If you are using crossovers, you need to make them short and choppy, again, landing on top of your wheels. If you are not crossing over through a turn, you need to get your feet wide apart, in an A-frame position, and keep your wheels as upright as possible through the turn. This will keep your wheels from getting too much on edge and sliding out from underneath you. The biggest downside to wet weather skating is the required maintenance of your wheels and bearings after your skate. The bearings have to be cleaned or they will more than likely seize up on you. Your best bet will be to clean them as quickly as possible after getting indoors. Contrary to popular belief, skating in the rain is definitely possible, and in many cases it can be a lot of fun. You just have to focus on your technique and make it work for you in the wet conditions. Shorten your stroke, to within the width of your shoulders, and stay on top of your wheels. Respect the conditions but relax and have a good time with it.
|
Questline
Departments:
|
