I love in-line skating; as I’m not allowed to run, and getting to the cottage to go kayaking can be a difficult, skating is a great activity and suitably challenging. It also happens to be great training for alpine skiing 🙂
And besides, why should the runners have all the ‘blogs?
The Skates
Despite my ridiculous obsession with all things Salomon, I’m a long standing (skating?) K2 loyalist on that front (Flight ALX -> Moto Extreme M -> V02 Max), to the point that I wrote to K2 HQ and asked what the comparable replacement to the Motos would be. I trucked on over to Figure8 to pick up a pair of size 12.5 skates; they weren’t cheap, but since big-retail never seem to have size 12, 13 or more importantly – half-sizes – I went to the boutique route. The obvious bonus there being that their staff are much more familiar with their product than the summer-job kids at Big-Box-Inc.
The Accessories
(Those wrist-guards almost pre-date the Internet!)
I just picked up the Salomon hydration pack to replace my old MEC bag, which I found very uncomfortable when full of water. The S-LAB wears more like a vest and puts the weight rather high up on the spine – it also comes in various sizes. It’s super comfy and I’m really happy with this investment too because there’s a million pockets in very useful places: I can carry my phones (4S + Z10), house keys, water, 2 more bottles and a pair of shoes – all without even looking at the main compartment, which means I can get at all of that other stuff without stopping and taking the bag off my back. The drinking tube is also insulated which is quite beneficial on super hot & bright summer days… this is not a common feature of “summer” hydration kits.
The wrist guards are ancient… I may have gotten them in 2001, but they’d sat on the shelf since 1997. They’re huge, cumbersome, and extremely well suited for my size and high-risk wrists. I’d like to replace them with something similar, as all the textiles are falling apart, but it seems like the only wrist guards for sale now are little skid-pads meant to do nothing more than protect you from a mild abrasion if you land on your hands.
I now know well enough that that’s not what I need protect against.
Similarly, I don’t bother with elbow or knee pads – or braces (just don’t need ’em for this activity) – a bandage will take care of that.
A little epidemiology study shows that the most common inline-skating injuries are to the wrist at 25-37%, (or arm/wrist/hand/fingers appx 60%) and head injuries at 5%. It’s also worth noting the distribution puts about 74% of the injuries to people under the age of 14. Check out this report’s summary, it’s short and rather informative.
If you come across some substantial wrist-guards similar to what I’ve got now, please let me know – no price too high…
Finally the brain bucket – I like my brain, I always wear a helmet. You should also, because you probably have a very nice brain too.
I’d swear that the Rudy Sterling was moulded from my skull, because it fits so perfectly – and it even has a bug-mesh so they can’t get at your scalp. Plus it comes in a ridiculously loud & bright green/blue, so of course I love it.
To top it off, I’ve got my long-time favourite Adidas Evil Eye wrap-around sunglasses for days, and clear Ryder Shells for the evenings – because you’d be amazed at just how significantly bugs will slow you down!
The Trails
My goal is to do this loop with an average speed of 16KMph – every. day.
It’s a nice tour of the Ottawa River from both provinces, and there’s some big hills over on the Gatineau side too, to keep things interesting.
Usually this takes me almost exactly an hour, ±5 minutes.
The weather was so fantastic today, I couldn’t help but go explore. Thirty Seven Kilometers later…
The Call To Action
As usual, I’d be great to go rolling with a friend – or a fast jogger or slow cyclist. Get in touch!
And another selfie!
