Archive for August, 2010

Meet Staci Stance, Model

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

After over 15 years of teaching inline skaters, I have honed the instructions in my lessons to a toolkit of the most effective words and demonstrations. But once the lesson is over and my students have gone home, I can’t give feedback and tips about how to get the most from their skate practice sessions. On the trails, I see skaters who have no idea that they could be going a lot faster or farther with just a couple of  minor adjustments to their skating posture.  Read more... (211 words, 1 image, estimated 51 secs reading time)

Plastic artist model demonstrating heel brake stance
Staci Stance demonstrates heel braking

Tags:
Posted in Skating | Comments Closed

Idaho Silver Country Skate Tour

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

Imagine five days of great people, great scenery, and the best inline skating trails you could possibly imagine! I was fortunate to be one of three guides for the August 2010 Zephyr Adventures Idaho Skate Tour in northern Idaho’s Silver Country.

image

On Idaho's beautiful Trail of the Couer d'Alenes

image

Bridges span rivers and lakes on this converted rail trail

Last Sunday, twenty eight active folks from across the country and beyond — ranging in age from their 30s to 70s — jumped into two large passenger vans with skate gear in hand. Those who had just flown in found themselves rolling on the tree-lined Fish Lake Trail in eastern Washington state within a few hours of landing. This short 7-mile route with a swimming lake nearby made a perfect first-day trail.  Read more... (234 words, 4 images, estimated 56 secs reading time)

Tags:, ,
Posted in Adventures, Skating | Comments Closed

Northern Iron Horse Trail Update

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Today we skated the Iron Horse Trail section that extends from Rudgear road to Monument Boulevard and back. (See a complete write up of Iron Horse Regional Trail North on CASkating.com.) We started near the upgraded staging area at Rudgear, with its benches and a water fountain, completed in late 2009. Lots of happy trail users were out enjoying the beautiful morning in Walnut Creek.

On this northern portion of the Iron Horse, the surface is generally in good condition except for one section alongside Walnut Creek which continues to degrade. The wash-boarding is bad enough to knock a skater down or to throw a bicyclist off her bike. It’s about time the city or the park district did something about this growing hazard.  Read more... (267 words, 1 image, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)

Posted in Skating | Comments Closed