This blog covers travel suggestions and ideas by Keith and Heather Nicol. Most of our travels deal with outdoor activities like hiking,sea kayaking, cross country skiing, alpine skiing and other activities. We also enjoy traditional music and cultures. We have written over 800 articles in various magazines and newspapers. We are frequent contributors to Ski Trax and Saltscapes Magazines. Keith Nicol has also written 2 books and has a popular you tube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/k2nicol
These roller skis have 2 rear tires for extra stability
We like cross country skiing since it gives a great workout for your legs and arms and it helps you stay aerobically fit. During the fall we try to get out and do some roller skiing since the actions of skating or striding on roller skis are so similar to real x-c skiing that you can shift into winter mode very easily when the snow flies. Roller skis are not just for racers or ski fanatics but are useful for anyone that wants to get a good workout and improve their skiing at the same time.
Practice without poles to improve balance
A great new idea from Jenex roller skis (http://www.jenex.com/) is a roller ski with dual rear tires which are more stable than regular skis. We have been testing a pair for several weeks and find that they would be very good for beginning roller skiers. They also have pneumatic tires so they can handle uneven roads and even gravel on the pavement. This makes them a good choice for many roads in Western Newfoundland which are decidedly on the rough side. The only down side from what we have seen so far is that they are quite heavy. But as long as you don’t plan to race on them this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. They even come with brakes so that you can slow yourself down if you find that you are going too fast.
Obviously pavement is a lot harder than snow so you should wear a helmet and gloves at a minimum. Some skiers also wear shin and elbow pads. We like to use roads that see little traffic and when striding keep to the edge of the road. It is useful if several skiers are roller skiing to put out signs alerting drivers to slow down. Lastly keep to fairly flat sections of road so that you don’t get going too fast. The last thing you want to have happen is to take a bad fall that keeps you out for the real ski
season. Below are 2 videos showing these roller skis in action.
