Decisions, decisions...

My last few outings to the rink have been fought with a number of "crash and burn" incidents.  Some of the falls have been minor annoyances but others have left their marks.  No new broken bones (yet) but some mornings, apres-skating, find your old diarist feeling every bit his age.  Most of the falls have come from biffed jump landings but one particularly nasty fall was the result of clicking blades together while doing alternating back crossovers down the long axis of the rink at speed.  All this has your diarist searching the archived posts on the skating forum for hip, knee, and tailbone crash pad recommendations.  It appears the best choices fall (haha) between Skating Safe's "Ultracrash" gel pad technology and the D3O pads marketed by Se_Ku.

Ultracrash pads seem to use the same gel technology that one sees with Silopad ankle protectors.  D3O appears to be sterner stuff with typical applications being bullet proof vests for law enforcement officers, protective gear for moto-cross riders, etc.  One of the drawbacks for male skaters attempting to use Ultracrash pads is that we generally don't wear tights and tights are important for holding the pads in place.

Ultracrash pads must be correctly placed and once positioned must be held in place for maximum protection.

Female skaters rely on tights to  keep the pads from moving.

The D3O pads on the other hand are available both as separate pads like the Ultracrash products or sewn into a pair of shorts.  Se_Ku lists men's extreme training shorts that have D3O pads sewn in to protect both sides of the hip trochanter region and a separate butt pad for protection of the coccyx..

Se_Ku's training shorts for men.

Neither product line is inexpensive (the training shorts are $205!) but both are cheaper than a hip replacement.  Both companies also offer knee pads at eye watering prices.  But, again, compared to the cost of a preventable injury they've got to be worth it.  So don't be too surprised if you see an old male geezer skater who looks like he's got a butt the size of a Metro bus .  This may not be the chicest look to go out on the rink but it has to be better than stuffing vast quantities of bubble-wrap down my shorts--and much better than an injury.  Does anyone have any other ideas or feedback on these products?

Trying to answer ice skating's persistant mysteries.

There are a couple of things I may never understand about this ice skating lark.  First off, why do Zamboni machines have headlights?  What's up with that?  Does it ever get dark 'n stormy inside your rink?  Mine neither.  And nope, no on-coming traffic either.  I may never figure it out.

Your basic Zamboni Model 540.  Why the headlights???  (I've discovered that the Wells Ice Rink in College Park offers Zamboni driving lessons--I may be unable to resist!)

The other thing, and I've got to come to grips with this one soon, is whether I'm destined to jump and spin CCW like 90% of the skating population or be one of those weirdos that go CW.  Right now I'm in that unenviable situation of jumping CCW but preferring to spin CW.   Both my first grade teacher (the Sainted Miss Monaghan) and Kelly, my current free style instructor very much want me to be a "righty".  Thanks to Miss Monaghan's insistance I write with my right hand rather than my left, which was my first choice as a primary schooler.  At about that time I also acquired the tendency to kick a ball with my right foot.  So, at age 66, with a dominant right arm and leg you would think that it's a forgone conclusion that I'm fully programed to go best in the CCW direction.  Not so!  My natural tendency seems to mark me as a CW kinda guy; for example both my CW forward outside and inside 3 turns as well as my CW Mohawk are much tidier than my CCW counterparts.   Kelly tried and tried to get me to do two-foot spins CCW and I can't get two clean revs try as I might.  However, in the meantime I've started doing Waltz jumps to the left and when I attempted one to the right it just didn't want to happen.  Being stubborn I tried another one to the right only to biff the landing.  My reward for that effort was a knot on my right knee about the size of a golf ball--almost as effective as Miss Monaghan's ruler.  The swelling has gone down but it still wakes me up at night.  Last Thursday Kelly watched my pathetic attempted spin and said "Well, maybe you should try it to the right after all."  I did and was immediately rewarded with a clean spin of 3 revs (6 revs are required to pass this little element).  For the moment it appears that I'm stuck in "confused and conflicted" mode. I hope my left and right brain hemispheres kiss and make up...I need a decision!  Soon!

Headlamps!  Really!

On other news fronts, diaristdaughter successfully passed her Pre-Alpha, Alpha and Beta ISI tests the other night.  She's on the road to Gamma--Woo Hoo!

"Some day, Orville, man too will fly"--in which your diarist reacquaints himself with aviation.

Last night was lesson night for your diarist and diaristdaughter.  Oh, and one other young fem about the same age as dd joined us.  Interestingly, adults other than the pair of us tend to come and go and to my way of thinking don't get their money's worth from a series of lessons.  But I guess that's their business and when they don't show dd and I get a semi-private lesson at a deep discount. 

Anyway, while Kelly was working with the two young lassies, your diarist was assigned to continue working on his consecutive back inside edges.  That quickly got boring and so I started thinking about the remaining unexplored elements in freestyle-one that need mastering to pass the test: specifically the waltz and the half-flip jumps.  For the non-skaters in the audience, both of these jumps are half rotational jumps.  The waltz jump is initiated from a forward outside edge like the related, but much more difficult Axel jump and lands on a back outside edge, while the half-flip takes off from a back inside edge, is toe-pick assisted and lands on a forward inside edge.

I have past experience with the waltz jump.  It was part of this level back in my early days on skates.  Envision for a moment one of those old cartoons on tv where the hero is contemplating a sinfully tempting act and has his angle-self on one shoulder and his devil-self on the other: 

Angel-self--You need to keep working on those back edges to the line.

Devil-self--Those are strictly bores-ville man!

AS--You should wait until Kelly can guide you; it's been a long time since you've jumped.

DS--What is this? The nanny state?! Go on--just do it, you've been there before.

AS--If you "biff" the landing this is gonna hurt.

DS--it's just like a bunny hop with just a little rotation.

AS--Well, that and there is the small matter of landing and controlling that back outside edge...

DS--Aaaa, Shad-Uppp!

Now, I'm basically my momma's good boy but I'm always open to suggestion, so I went and tried a little exploratory jump; here's the drill--get up a bit of forward speed, head up, back straight, skating knee bent, nice outside forward edge, arms and free leg back; then swing through with the arms and free leg while at the same time springing up from the skating leg's bent knee. The rotational momentum set up by the forward outside edge should carry you around for the rotational part of the jump.  The landing demands a good checked position to control the rotation as one sets down on the free leg's back outside edge.  Got all that?  Good!

I was gratified that (1) I cleared the ice (by oh, maybe a couple inches--the take off is always the easy part) and (2) controlled the landing (the part that can get a bit fraught with bother).  Encouraged by my initial success I quickly did a half dozen more at ever increasing heights off the ice.  Kelly looked up in time to watch the last few and said "Well then, since you've got the waltz jump under control why not try the half flip?"  Why not indeed?  She talked me through the set up (my choice of entries, the back inside edge from either a left forward outside 3 or from a right forward inside Mohawk).  Since my left 3 is unreliable I opted for the Mohawk entry for this toe-pick assisted jump.  Long story short, I didn't like the feel of flow between making the turn and planting the toe pick and before I could resolve that the half hour of lesson time was up.  So the half-flip will have to wait until next week--or maybe the next public session when no one is looking (at least no one with a clip board).

AS:  if you'd continued to refine those back inside edges (or at least worked on your wonky left 3 turn) you could have probably pulled off that half-flip.  After all, it lands on an inside forward edge which you have under control.

DS: Aaaa, Shad-Uppp!

Although I got away with the waltz jump I think I'd better invest in some gel hip pads--it could be a long winter if I bust something (again)...

Getting reacquainted with an old friend

While perusing the titles of ice skating books on Amazon I stumbled across a familiar sounding title.  I clicked on the link and up popped the image below:  Robert S. Ogilvie's classic figure skating book Basic Ice Skating Skills.  Ogilvie, an instructor at the Ice Club of Baltimore wrote this book in the mid-1960s at the urging of the United States Figure Skating Association.  This book is perhaps the earliest example of a modern era "how to skate" book aimed at adults and marks the beginning of an outreach attempt that continues to this day.  The USFSA wisely recognized that figure skating was not the exclusive domain of competitive youth skaters but instead is a life sport that many ages can enjoy.  This is the very same book which was the assigned reading material for students taking figure skating classes back when I skated at the University of Delaware.  I’d lost (loaned and never got back) my copy from my student days and as soon as I saw this picture of the cover slob sentimentality kicked in and I clicked the "buy" button.  My “new” old book arrived yesterday and a quick turn of the pages reveals that while the hair and clothing styles have changed over the years, the ice and the elements executed upon it haven’t changed much.  All the basic stuff is there: how to get a good boot fit, how to get up from a fall, descriptions of all the common elements such as edges, spins, turns, and jumps.  There are even a couple of short chapters on compulsory figures (this was after all, back in the day) and ice dance.  All this for a cover price of $2.50!  Text books were much cheaper back when I was a boy.  OK, I paid $7.99 for my second copy of Ogilvie’s book, which included shipping from South Dakota, but even so I consider it a bargain and anticipate a good read over several evenings.  Maybe Ogilvie can do a better job of explaining how to get a good initial push for those pesky back inside edges I'm working on. The two current books I've been reading just aren't providing the mind spark that permits that leap from written word to performance on the ice. I wonder if he's still around?  A quick internet search suggests that the Ice Club of Baltimore is long gone, but perhaps it reinvented itself as the Figure Skating Club of Baltimore, which does have a web presence.  Does anyone in the blogosphere know the rest of the story?  If so, please chime in with a comment!

$2.50 for a large format paperback text book.  What price would you pay to buy back your youth?

"We've arrived at the Delta Quadrant, Captain..."

The ISI's delta patch

But I wanna tell ya, getting through that last spacial anomaly was hell...  I actually passed this little landmark a week ago but the rink office didn't have a patch on hand so I decided to wait until I could post a pix.  When I arrived for last night's lesson Kelly, the young woman currently stuck with being the instructor for the small collection of Thursday night adult groupies, handed it to me as I was going out on the ice.  Since delta level is the final level of the beginner series I suppose I should pause and take stock of the last few months.  Basically, after being away from the ice since the late 1970s and discounting the five months lost to a broken arm, your old diarist has gone from near zero charisma to delta level skating in roughly six months.  At this point I'm back to where I was in my University of Delaware days--working on Freestyle 1.  If I can stagger ahead and pass FS-1 I'll actually be a tad better than I was back then since I didn't get the chance to test out before leaving UDEL.  In some ways I think I'm already better now than then.  I may not be as flexible and have less strength now but I'm more attentive to instruction and am smoother on my blades compared to then.

So, what's plan?  How far up the freestyle ladder do I want to go?  Probably not very far.  I'm guessing that I'll top out at FS-1 or perhaps FS-2.  There are valuable skills in those levels to acquire such as inside pivots, cleaning up my back edges and learning the simpler dance step sequences.  The half rotational jumps encountered in the low level freestyle classes are probably about as much "aviation" as this old geezer needs to explore--I can't afford too many more broken bones and my initial goal was not to get to the point where I can throw down double Axels but rather to rejoin the ranks of creditable, graceful skaters who enjoy the ice and don't pose a hazard to others out for a bit of fun.

And to a degree I've achieved that goal: a few weeks ago I came off the ice during a busy weekend public session to tighten the laces on my skates.  The rink was heaving with several birthday party loads of small unpredicable kids, many pushing EZ-skater contraptions.  While I was busy with my laces one of the moms watching the kids (but not skating herself) said to me "I've been watching you--you're a good skater".  I looked up from my skates and replied "thanks, but you're confusing good with entertaining"--my skating is probably very entertaining to watch, particularly when I'm flirting with the ragged edge of disaster, which is oh, about 90% of the time.  Kinda like watching NASCAR and waiting for the next fiery crash.  I went on to point out that there were some ten year old girls currently out on the ice who indeed are good skaters and my goal, if I live long enough, is to maybe get almost as good as that!  Struggling to extract herself from what was probably becoming an awkward conversion, she said "well, you're, hmm, very stylish".  I thanked her and returned to the ice. Stylish! Me? Really?!  Having conquered my initial goal of being good enough not to do bodily harm to others out on the ice, let's see if I can "style" my way towards the next goal which is to get over FS-1 and then attempt to learn a few of the simpler ice dances.  It remains to be seen whether I'm musical enough to skate in time to music.  I hope so!  Anyway,  I've got a hell of a lot of patching, smoothing and cleaning up to do before that.  Seeya out there.     

A work in progress

Last night was the finale of the four lesson September mini-session at our rink.  While neither diaristdaughter or your old diarist advanced a level, we both improved from where we were back in August.  At this point I'm working towards the ISI's Delta level and can do all the elements in passable form if I'm fully warmed up.  That fully warmed up thing is not an option during group lessons.  You stretch a bit during the few minutes before your group is called onto the ice, the coach lets you have a minute or two to shake the sillies out of your legs while he looks at his clipboard and then it's show time. 

To pass Delta one must demonstrate proper form for inside and outside forward edges started from a T-position, do right and left forward inside 3 turns, do either a lunge or "shoot the duck", and finally show off your best bunny hop.  For the non-skaters in the audience, a "hop" is a non-rotational jump.  On a good day I can do all the above, but an honest assessment is that I can't yet do them at the drop of a hat with the flinty-eyed, take no prisoners elan required to pass.  To steal a line from Chief Dan George (from the movie Little Big Man) "Sometimes the magic happens and sometimes it doesn't".  I'm confident that with more practice and coaching the magic will happen by the end of the next series of lessons which kick off next Thursday.  Mike has conflicts during Thursdays in October and I similarly can't switch to the Saturday lesson time so we shall see what perspectives a new Thursday coaching personality will bring to the table over the next seven weeks.

Diaristdaughter meanwhile has made good progress towards moving from being an ice tourist to a creditable skater in just four lessons.  She can now snow-plow stop and swizzle like nobody's business and is taking those first hesitant forward crossover steps.  This puts her streets ahead of any number of peeps who make up the "target rich environment" which is a public session.  Quite an accomplishment for someone with just four lessons and a few practice sessions under the belt.  

Raimo Ahti goes to the ice rink

Now that the weather is turning a tad cooler and my right hand grip has improved to the point where I can manage the right hand brake lever and shifter I decided to blow the cobwebs off of poor old Raimo see if cycling to the rink was a realistic option.  Readers of my other blog are already acquainted with Raimo, my Raleigh Team Professional Replica.  Others may read his story here.  Although my town, Bowie, Maryland is blessed with a hap-hazard collection of bike trails there are two major highways which stand between your diarist and the ice rink:  Route 50, a six lane inter-state and Route 197, a two-lane county road that also expands to six lanes at just the point where I'd need to cross it.  Fortunately the powers that be were forward sighted enough to provide a pair of strategically placed pedestrian bridges over those two roads.

Now I've lived in this town for almost 30 years but for one reason or another (too hot, don't want to arrive at the rink drenched in sweat, too cold, too wet, etc., etc. etc.) I've never explored those two bridges to see if they have stairs or the more cyclist-friendly ramps.  I don't plan to go by bike every time I head to the rink, but it does take one car off the road and the 30 or so minutes of riding should nicely warm up my legs by the time I get there.  By automobile the ice rink is 4.2 miles from my house.  I suspect by bicycle it will be a tad further as the bike trail tends to wander.  Can this trip be made without your diarist getting horribly lost or squashed under the wheels of a large SUV?  Let's find out.

I say, Guv'nor, which way to the ice rink?

There are several different ways to get to the closest branch of the bike path system but I decided to cut through the housing development and ride past Belair Mansion, the gem of the City's Museum system.

Quite an impressive brick pile for little ol' Bowie.

We want the branch going towards Bowie Town  Shopping Center. W. B. &A. stands for Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis.  This is part of an east coast "greenway" of rail-to-trail conversions which once completed is supposed to go to the moon an back.  You can read about it here.

After a mile or so we come to the overpass which will convey us safely across busy Route 50.  On the weekends everybody and his brother are zooming down 50 to get to the Delaware and Maryland beaches.  This weekend was no exception.  I have no idea why they put that post in the middle of the path.  The path certainly isn't wide enough for a car and the post must be a PITA for riders of recumbent trikes.  Additionally, posts like that could spoil you whole day if you carelessly whang into one on the downhill run.

Looking at route 50 from the center of the overpass.  Why is it that Japanese car dealerships always have the largest American flag?  This one is fluttering proudly over a Toyota franchise.

Carrying on, the bike path dumps us onto Northview drive, the road which takes us to the rink.  But how will we get to the overpass that avoids our second obstacle, route 197?  When I google-mapped this route things got a teensy bit fuzzy concerning this point.  Something about cutting through a parking lot.  Hmm.

Ah Ha, after being forced to ride either on the pavements or the road, the bike path magically reappears at the perimeter of this parking area.

And there's our overpass.  No stairs to climb--yippee!

Time to start stomping on the peddles.

Traffic doesn't look too busy in this shot but I'm still glad to be cruising over route 197 and its attendant cars than darting among them.

Once past route 197, the bike path disappears but  Northview Drive calms down and is a leafy two lane street with heavily enforced speed restrictions due to the nearby school.  On a bike I don't have to worry about this little fellow or his twin brother on the other side of the road.

The yellow gate up ahead marks the entrance to Allen Pond Park.  The park is also the site of the ice rink.

Here we are.  Easy as pie.

The park backs up to this small pond.

The pleasant, shady setting offers a number of picnic areas complete with BBQ pits.

There are also play grounds and ball fields.

Paddle boats are available for a small fee.

There's a storm coming so I won't hang around and skate today (postscript: after I got home BIG thunderstorms rolled through Bowie and we lost electricity until the next morning).  Before I leave I'll look for a safe place to lock up Raimo.  This railing looks promising but what's that sign say?

No Bicycling!  I thought this was a progressive town!  I'll have to look into this since there's no bike rack near the rink.

So, bottom line, it can be done.  I'll investigate the bike security issue and also take a look at backpacks so that I can carry my skates and skating paraphernalia next time.  Raimo's bike computer had a dead battery so I didn't get an estimate of the distance, and because I stopped to take these pix I don't have an accurate sense of the amount of time the journey would take but I'm fairly certain that if I allowed a half hour's time that would be sufficient. Yes, there are a few hills along the path and although some are steep enough to sting the legs, all are mercifully short.  Besides, the idea is to warm 'em up before I lace 'em up!