from How To Inline Skate on 28 Feb 2017
Finally! Spring has arrived! The new inline season has started!
Really?
Water everywhere. Ice and snow even. Not to mention sand! Salt!
Mehh, that doesn’t stop me. Here are some tips on how to skate in early spring!
#1 Focus on the ground!
There’s sand, ice, snow, water everywhere. So jsut always always always focus on the ground so you don’t get your skates stuck or damaged.
#2 Short strides!
The surface is slippery, so especially when doing crossover turns … better do short strides. I also wear padded underwear just in case.
#3 The grass roll!
The grass roll is super useful during summer, and here I do a snow roll I suppose, the same thing.
#4 One-leg paddle!
Like here going over sand, it’s almost impossible to skate. A one-leg paddle is good in such sitauations.
#5 Back wheels only!
It’s not recommended to skate through water, but if you have to, then only exposing the back wheels will reduce damage.
Also if one wheel gets stuck it’s quite easy to regain balance.
#6 Powerstop!
I remember how difficult it was to go from inline powerstop to ice hockey stops a few months ago. Now the table has turned. I need to relearn the powerstop.
Third try and it’s pretty much back! No problem there!
I may add that I practiced the powerstop on ice just recently, and now I’m more aware that the powersop kinda goes through the heel.
#7 Old Skates
There’s nothing worse for skates than skating during spring snow melt. Not only is all that water bad for your skates, but all that sand and salt from the winter will kill your bearings. I use my old skates with the absolute cheapest bearings I can find.
