cold, wintery slalom...and wheels?

[Doug Kadzban]

i am DYING to try out more slalom and stuff, but it's cold here (talking like 24F, -6C)...plus the roads, while dry, are slightly salty.

i've searched around a bit and learned about dressing properly, cleaning loose salt off, and making sure the course isn't wet

so, would it be feasible to set up a cyber slalom course, or a little TS course in weather like this?
also, how does cold temps like this affect urethane? i run lime rear/orange front zigzags, and i was curious as to how much harder they'd seem

alright, thanks guys

[Dave Gale]

Doug,
You have to be careful when setting up cones in the "enviroment" of the season. While cyber slalom can be run at those temps and salty residued surface, you will take several un expected slams if you try and better your previous time. It's natural to try and better the prior run, and you will! Until you push the rear too hard and it isn't there....Use these months of weather to run cones at a more foregiving pace. A rythmic course of flowing turns is very suitable for staying in condition and feeling the groove. Also, injuries are normally multiplied due to your bio condition in the cold. ie: a slam in below freezing temps vs. a slam in summer weather will result in more damage because you are not as relaxed or pliable.
At least that's my experience!

[Doug Kadzban]

ah, thanks dave

as luck would have it, it snowed today, rendering all roads and sidewalks too slippery to skate on...oh well, i can still be excited, can't i?

[Claude Regnier]

1. You need to be sure of the limits of the wheels your riding on that particular day if you plan on pushing it.
2. Cones can crack in the -% weather!
3. Anything on the road surface can cause a slip!
4. It does help you stay focused on technique.
5. Listen to what Dave said!
6. Have fun & be careful, EH!

[Paul Howard]

OK, Here's my 2 Cents:
1) It's always good to be able to 4 wheel slide around cones - Always Expect the Unexpected. Learn to slosh and slide around cones, it will be your safety net in the winter and other times as well, especially at races(for the most speed, you want to avoid sliding, but better to slide and be able to control it than slam). To help this, I like to shave my front wheels significantly narrower than the rear and have squared off edges(maybe very slightly rounded or beveled) front and rear so that I have smoother 4 wheel drift slides rather than rear-only fishtail slides which are much more dangerous and usually more abrupt.
2) It's also been my experience that Abec 11 Grippins in the 88Front/84Rear combination at my 150 lbs seem to actually grip MORE as the weather gets closer to 35 degrees Fahrenheit and so they have been my preferred wheel to do big hybrid and G/S in the winter because of that. Others may have different experiences.
3) Coned wheels grip more in all situations/temparatures. If your wheels aren't coned, there's no time like the present to go out and practice (a) sloshing slidey turns at a managable speed and at the same time (b) coning down your wheels with this sliding behavior.

I'm just a lucky B-Class guy who's made it into the lower A-Class for awhile so take that for what it's worth. Good Luck and Best Wishes - Paul

[Ron Barbagallo]

Parking garages are your best friend in the winter. It's still cold, but they're generally flat and there's not as much road salt.

[Wesley Tucker]

I always found living here was my best friend for skating in winter.

Oh, winter FINALLY arrived last night. The low plunged to 38 with a high today expected of ONLY 59.

Brrrr. Good thing the Franklin stove, space heater, fire place, electric blanket, central heat and baseboard radiators are all in good working order.

I could possibly catch a chill.

[Tom Mangelsdorf]

A couple years ago we had a good hard frost overnight. The road surfaces were coated with fine white crystals. I went to my favorite parking lot and set out the cones. I figured a couple passes through and the heat from my wheels would melt a path through the frost. The first several passes I couldn't even make it all the way to the end of the course without sliding straight sideways out of the course.

But something else was happening back up at the start of the course - the first 8 or so cones I was making every time. The frost melted alright ... and what happens to melted water in the cold? Yup ... I had a polished, black-ice path forming up.

Seriously though, once I realized I wasn't gonna get any quality slaler practice in, it was A LOT of fun!