My Spin Class Strategies for Road Biking

December 21st, 2013

Last February, I still had my doubts about being worthy of the expensive racing bike Dan got me for Christmas, especially after The Big Crash. But my bike riding skills and confidence slowly continued to improve as the year and miles (1200+ so far) progressed. In late summer, I finally had to admit that the feeling of terror that dominated most rides had evolved to one of FUN!

DVFitSpin

Now, holiday commitments, the ski season, loss of daylight and unfriendly weather make time on the bike difficult to fit in, so I’m back to Spin classes. The outdoor riding fantasies that get me through that intense two hours every week often result in drills and experiments to address issues I experience on the road.  Read more... (476 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

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Our Excellent Active New Zealand Adventure

September 29th, 2013

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, Dan and I decided it would be cool to take a summer ski vacation, so we scheduled a visit to New Zealand from August 13 through September 5, 2013. Per Dan’s well-planned but flexible itinerary, we followed the ski trip with sight seeing, hiking and wine tasting on the South Island, and a brief stay in Auckland.

As you’ll see from the albums (a combination of our best photos), New Zealand is a gorgeous country, especially for outdoorsy, adventurous types.  Read more... (492 words, 8 images, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

  • The montage link shows the whole album on a scrollable page in Google+.

Posted in Adventures, Liz's Journal | Comments Closed

Downhill Skate Adventure in the Eastern Sierra

August 10th, 2013
WARNING TO DECENT PEOPLE! Read no further. This piece is not for you. There are f-bombs all over this piece ‘coz that’s the way I f-bombin’ talk. [And retelling such an adventure almost requires it to capture the intensity of feelings! — Liz]

 by George Merkert

I was psyched when I read Scott Peer’s mail asking whether I wanted to head up to the Eastern Sierra for a little skate with him and a couple of his other downhill skater pals.

All I could think was, “Hell yes. I’ll skate it for sure.”  Read more... (3961 words, 2 images, estimated 15:51 mins reading time)

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What Testers are Saying About the Flex Brake

August 4th, 2013

FlexBrakeThe Flex Brake is a new approach to inline braking and speed control currently seeking funding through “Kick Starter.” When they reach a certain number of  pre-orders they’ll be able to go into production. Meanwhile, an adventurous few are already testing early prototypes.

I took a look at the Flex Brake video and Kickstarter page and then noncommittally shared links with my skate network. I avoided voicing my concerns about the design because I am not a tester and I did not want to negatively impact the company’s prospects for success.  Read more... (452 words, 2 images, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

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Not Yet One With the Bike

August 4th, 2013

Capture“You go ahead and start, Liz. I’ll catch up,” Dan said on the Friday morning we did a fitness roll before work. I took off, excited to be worthy of a morning ride with Dan, who has been road biking since well before I met him 30 years ago. Two miles later, I was proud when he came up from behind and exclaimed, “That was harder than I thought it would be!” We proceeded to tackle the steep uphill on the next block together, but he screamed past on the downhill, tilting elegantly into a hard right turn leading to our country road route. Sigh. Maybe someday I’ll look like that…  Read more... (531 words, 1 image, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

Posted in Biking, Fitness | 1 Comment »

Biking Like the Big Kids

July 19th, 2013

Much to my amazed relief, I really am becoming a “road biker.”

LizBigKid

My early season rides with Team Chevron really helped my cycling, both in skill and confidence. We went from 20-mile to 40-mile rides before they cranked it up to serious training on much more demanding terrain. Maybe next year!

Thanks to those group rides, though, I was gently introduced to several popular local routes I now feel comfortable tackling solo: San Ramon Valley Boulevard to Niles, Niles via Calaveras Road (almost) to Ed Levin County Park, SRVB to Cull Canyon (a 40-mile round trip) and bi-weekly SRVB to Walnut Creek Saturday commutes to meet my Tai Chi instructor. According to my bike computer, my average mph and — more important — my max (downhill) speed are creeping up.  Read more... (566 words, 2 images, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

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Mastering Gravity

June 4th, 2013

Here’s a photo gallery of my introduction (finally!) to Craig Ellis’s Gravity Master(TM) Skate Brakes – patent pending. Be sure to click a second time to get the full-size images.

 Read more... (184 words, 6 images, estimated 44 secs reading time)

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Roller Derby: The Evolution of Roller Skating To Contact Sports

May 30th, 2013
Following is a guest article submitted by Daniel Stratton of the U.K., where skating is hugely popular in all its forms.

What it is and Where it Originated

Roller derby is now a popular contact sport with over 1,250 amateur leagues in various countries in the world. Basically, it’s played by two opposing teams that are composed of five members each. Both teams are placed in the same track and they must roller skate in the same direction. The object of the game is to score points by lapping any member of the opposing team and this is usually done by a jammer. The jammer or the scoring player is designated by the team and it’s commonly the strongest player in the group. Every team member must protect and assist their jammer while preventing the opposing jammer from scoring. This sport requires good planning in terms of offense and defense strategies.  Read more... (797 words, 1 image, estimated 3:11 mins reading time)

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Switching to Two Wheels

May 19th, 2013

After 20 years as a formal publication and the voice of Get Rolling, the quarterly Get Rolling Orbit Inline Skating Newsletter is going into quiet retirement.  Read more... (334 words, 4 images, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

What does this mean?

  • There will be no more mailing list and no more email announcements.
  • People who follow Get Rolling with Liz Miller on Facebook or Sk8teacher on Twitter will continue to have access to my posts there.
  • Orbit archives prior to May 2010 (when I started using WordPress) will still be available on GetRolling.com.

Posted in Liz's Journal, Skating | Comments Closed

Announcing the New DXS Disk Brake Website

May 19th, 2013

DXSMainSlider

The motto just above Alex Bellehumeur’s email contact information says:

Will it so & so it Will

Anybody who thinks a few years of delay is going to discourage this accomplished inventor is wrong. The About the Inventor page on his new web site clarifies further, “…he has a passion for solving product-related challenges, currently holding 12 patents, with 3 more pending.”  Read more... (210 words, 1 image, estimated 50 secs reading time)

Posted in Gear, Skating | Comments Closed

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