It was a beautiful day for our second rollerski clinic of the summer on Saturday. Six participants can be added to the June clinic to make for over 15 attendees total, many of whom were trying out rollerskiing for the first time. With ages ranging from 7 to 53 it truly showed the scope of our sport, and you may just see some new faces out on the bike paths and roads!
We now have a poster filled with lots of rollerski checklists and safety notes:
For a little more detail, it seems like this would be a great place to share some safety and equipment notes…basically, what these bullet points refer to!
SAFETY NOTES
Helmet: Gotta have this to protect the head! AT ALL TIMES
Pads: Not mandatory, but sometimes helpful for beginners who may fall over a bit more and want to prevent road rash
First Aid Kit: Bandages and antiseptic are the key items here, so it’s worth creating or keeping a small kit on your person or in your car
Road side/route: Know the side of the road to ski on (the right) and know your route ahead of time to avoid sketchy intersections
Daylight: While biking at night sometimes happens for commuters, try to stick to rollerskiing in daylight hours only
Stopping: There are several stopping techniques and it’s great to practice/know when to use them
Hi Viz/Light: As the photos on the poster all indicate, bright colors are really useful. We often try to wear yellow, or if we forget (or take off a shirt when it’s really hot out) we use some reflective vests/strap contraptions to remain visible. The US Ski Team is trying to encourage the use of blinking lights more, and many of the kinds you can put on your bicycle can easily clip/wrap right onto a helmet or water belt!
CHECKLIST FOR YOUR SKI
- Skis
- Boots
- Poles (with rollerski tips)
- Helmet
- Bright colors
- Water
- Watch if you want to record time/data
- Snack(s)
- Gloves if you prefer
- Glasses if you prefer/are skiing in a group/if it’s sunny
- Dry shirt for after training
Thanks again to all those that came to our clinics, or helped out at them! Safe and happy skiing-
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