skate skiing, anyone?
 

I have experienced a weird lapse in motivation this November. Usually I am out cross-training and getting ready for ski season, but I just couldn't make it happen this fall. (which is a whole 'nother story, actually)

But since we got a big snowstorm ~2 weeks ago, I have been rediscovering the joys of skate skiing. It's very technique-oriented, which keeps my mind really engaged (see Tom's thread) and I don't even notice how hard my body is working.

So I am finally back in a routine of doing something active. I was thinking how helpful it is to have alternate sports during the off-season to keep things fresh and fun. Seems to me that x-c skiing could be a great way to work on base fitness while giving yourself a break from riding, and this can help lower the likelihood of mental burnout come July.

Oh, plus, you can re-use all your nice winter cycling clothes for skate skiing too - it sure is nice to already have all the layers for each variation in temperature and wind.

So - does anyone else out there use this or other forms of winter training?

When I lived up north, I use to love cross country skiing. It was hardwork but very relaxing to me.

It was quite different than cycling but I think it was a winter complement. The thrill of "down hill" was not there but getting into ones zone(state of mind for me) was wonderful. No matter how cold it was, I was not cold after 15 minutes of workout,,,,

I think we all experience those "down" days/weeks.....

Smile and get out there skiing.....

Good luck. PETE

My wife and I do a lot of back country skiing in the winter.
We're lucky to be in a part of upstate NY that gets plenty of snow and has great terrain for skiiing.
I've never used skating technique, mainly because all our skiing is on ungroomed trails in the woods.
I have trouble relating to the threads about bicycle trainers. I need out door exercise, no matter what the weather, so that means commuting by bike whenever possible and skiing/snowshoeing or playing hockey the rest of the time. I'm not even the least bit interested in riding a trainer indoors.

Since winter is the best riding season here, I ride my bike. I'm envious of you guys though.

JG

Backcountry skiing is about my favorite thing, but it's been much harder to ski since I moved east (from Colorado).

I'd like to learn how to skate sometime. Unfortunately I don't learn such skills easily. I taught myself to ski on narrow, rocky hiking trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. So I have an interesting bag of tricks for survival skiing, but my turns are pretty ugly!

Dave

You already have snow? That's cool I guess.

I did skate-style XC ski racing in high school.. it's cool and all but I wouldn't ignore Nordic style XC skiing. You can't actually "go places" very easily with skate skis. They are maybe a little better downhill but it's a lot harder to climb a significant hill and you really need groomed snow to have the most fun.

You basically have a certain hill size where up to that size skating is faster.. but above that size the skiier on Nordic skiis continues up the hill and the skater has a ton of trouble.

I guess you could consider it the equivalent of two riders.. one on a road bike with a double and one with a MTB.

All I care about is enough snow to do either one without driving hours.. it seems to be hard to come by lately.

Excellent points Ben!
Just like bikes, more than one setup is a good thing. I just went out and bought a pair of cheap, used touring skis so that I could "go places" and ski when it's not groomed. That way I can do whichever suits the snow or my mood, which will get me out there more often!

If I had snow I think I would be into XC skiing. My limited experience with it was a blast.

As it is, I tend to head for the handball court in the winter. Even though good court design is non-existent and pretty much all of them have climate-control issues, it's indoors in the winter. Also it's sufficiently different from cycling that it's a nice change of pace mentally. Also, the old guys at the club love the fact that I'm half their age. They haven't seen a handball player under 25 (or 35 for that matter) in years.

Backcountry and tele- that's my winter workout regimen. And commuting by bike, too. Right now, we need more snow. I haven't even been out once yet. This weekend will be the first time to get some turns in.

I prefer skate to classic skiing, even though i only own classics right now. I find the technique needed to enjoy classic really hard to master, and by the time I do, the season is over.

Worst part of living in Toronto, is that you have to drive a long way to get any good skiing in, making it not so much fun to do (drive 1-1/5 hours each way to ski for 2 hours does not make much sense to me)

oh so lovely and smooth with a V1

a little more speed and we off to V2 Alternate

hit the hill up and get the heart pumping with V2 for some some serious butt whooping

back to the car and swap out the gear to finish with some Classic

I keep a cold skate pair and a regular pair along with one set for teh classic


There are no more friendly people than those at the nordic center - my favorite thing about the whole experience is the people ...I don't mind getting to the fresh groomed trails first either.

I run and will do some snowshoeing and backcountry skiing when we get snow. Skate skiing is a great workout and looks like fun but I don't like being confined to groomed trails.

man, that sport looks hard. at least with bikin' there's somewhere to sit and cranks to tell you where your feet go.
talk about a learning curve!

maximum respect for the skate skiers.

manet does

the glide is hypnotic