Ready to rock ‘n roller ski
Although I’m far from ready to mothball for the winter either my road or mountain bikes, I’ve wiped the cobwebs off the roller skis.
I bought a lightly used pair of Aero V2s …
… this past spring but set them aside (after outfitting them with speed reducers and a brake) until two weeks ago.
These are my first roller skis, and I was quite hesitant to invest in any. But my fear of not being in shape for the American Birkebeiner come late February because of a lack of snow on which to train properly proved greater than my fear of falling off roller skis onto hard pavement. (For the record, I have fallen a handful of times but have learned to tuck and roll into the grass edging the trail.)
More serious skiers than I roller ski year-round or go great distances on them. (For an example of the latter, check out this duo who recently rolled across Minnesota. And read their first-person account appearing in the October issue of Silent Sports.)
I get on mine as a means to transition from the biking season to the cross-country ski season.
So far, all is going according to plan. I’ve been out on them twice, logging less than than 12 miles, but growing more confident with each pole plant.
And judging by the growing number of roller ski reports accumulating on Skinnyski.com, other roller skiers are hitting the pavement and rail-trails too. The new issue of the magazine also features a roller ski scouting trip on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail along the scenic North Shore of Lake Superior.
– Joel Patenaude