Drills and skills#

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 01:53:27 +0000

left parallel turn: first thing I tried as soon as I got there, and it worked. So, looks like that one's beginning to stick
front-back transitions still better clockwise than anticlockwise, but improving
back-front transitions: tried both sides. There's something a bit odd here, actually. If I pick up the left foot and turn it towards the direction of travel, it usually lands pointing out rightwards on an outside edge, and it's easy enough to do a short push and then crossover with the right foot. In the other direction when I lead with the right foot, I have to turn it the full 180 degrees and then the left foot follows some time later. The version with the crossover (left foot leading) is easier to do faster but I need to be able to do it both ways both sides.
Eddy Matzger's duck/pigeon thing (one footed slalom with trailing toe wheel for balance, propulsion both on regular and underpush). Can more or less get this on the right foot - though not reliably, edges still wrong on left foot (so no underpush)
and hockey stops, or something that would pass for them in a poor light. Actually, it's really just a parallel turn tight enough that I can feel the wheels break traction on both sides, and I haven't tried it at any kind of speed yet. Didn't spend much time on this because the car park is overlooked by flats and so I don't want to be making lots of annoying squeaking noises at 11pm. Fun, though.

I have a plan for Berlin. Based on the cutoff times we've seen at this stage, block B is going to be massive and contain skaters of all levels from elite skaters who couldn't get a team together to compete in the A block, to "speedness" skaters wearing kneepads and big wheeled rec boots (Fila M100s, K2 Radical 100s, that kind of thing). So, my prediction of how the race will go in block B is roughly as follows:

there will be a mass of fifty or a hundred skaters who take off at approximately the same (not killer) pace.
after the first 3-4 km, they will form into two parallel lines. These will be continually splitting and remerging, as the stronger skaters near the back of the pack jump off their slow line onto the fast one, then whoever's at the front of the overtaking line tries to merge back in behind the front guy on the line being overtaken
those who don't consider they have the skills to be continually jumping between lines will therefore end up at the back
possible outcome (1): somebody will overestimate their skill levels at jumping in and out, and cause a stack which will probably take out a whole slew of people in the back half of the line. If I'm not careful it could even be my fault
possible outcome (2): everyone stays on their feet but the pack splits properly on a hill or a corner or something and the people at the back get left behind

My plan, therefore, is to acquire the said skills (and confidence) toute suite, which will enable me to stay out of trouble near the front instead of getting shuffled to the back and having someone else's ineptitude take me out. I could kinda sorta claim it'd just be bad luck if I didn't and they did, but I don't really buy that - there's a strong argument that you make your own luck in these circumstances by being better prepared.

Why am I hungry? I've not even exercised today. Tomorrow morning it's back to the dentist, to see what he recommends to fix my front teeth: one slightly loose and dead, and the other about two-thirds snapped off. Maybe he can rebuild them smaller this time, that would save a lot of trouble.