How far from you and the rink you usually go to?

[skatetiludrop]

Hi all, as the rink I usually go skate will be closed for good on Monday :cry: and I have to travel a really long way to get to the new rink, I wanted to start this thread. The soon-to-be-closed rink is the best and the closest (about 10 mins from where I live) in Thailand (that's where I live by the way). I just feel sad and annoyed that it has to be closed and that I have to travel so far to the new one so please make me feel better by sharing your experiences of travelling to and from the rink. By the way, this new rink will take me about an hour to get there, anyone has worse?

[triple twist]

Takes me 45 minutes without traffic. up to an hour and 15 with lots of traffic.

[sue123]

that depends. one is about 5 minutes from my house, open only on weekends or school holidays. i had a dream the other day that they said they were going to be open every day, and i was all excited, but then they said the ice wouldnt' be available. :?: that makes no sense though because all it is is an ice rink. but i was also an incredibly good skater in my dream.

the one that i go to when i'm at school is about 20 minutes away by car, if i leave from my dorm room. if i go to that rink from home it's about an hour drive, no traffic.

The rink where i take my lessons at is about an hour 15 minutes to an hour and a hlf on the train and bus. To drive there would probably be only about 35 minutes, but the parking is mad expensive. So i sit on the train and then get on the bus. Course, now that hte winter is coming, the buses are going to of course slow down and not show up for a long long time, but c'est la vie. you do what ya gotta do.

[backspin]

Daily practice/teaching rink is 45 minutes in the summer, 1 hour in the winter. So a 1 hour practice takes a total of 3 hours of my day.

Once a week, I drive 1 hour plus up to 30 more minutes to get to the rink where my coach is for my lesson. On the occassional week when I decide to take a second lesson, I drive 1 1/2 hours to another rink.

There, do you feel better? I skate 5 or 6 days a week, & have been doing so for 10 years now! 8-)

ETA: My dream would be to be able to afford moving closer to the rink!!!!!

[Melzorina]

My rink is about 35 minutes away by train. Although last week when it was extremely windy it took me an HOUR! I almost missed my lesson!

[CanAmSk8ter]

Synchro rink, non rush-hour: 30 minutes
Synchro rink, weekday AM during rush hour: 40-45 minutes
Afternoon rink (home rink): 25 minutes

There are rinks with fifteen minutes of my house in either direction, but one I don't like (too crowded sessions with beginners who have no concept of right-of-way) and the other one is ok in the morning (I skate there sometimes before school) but it's more a recreational rink, several of my friends who are novice-senior level have had management give them a hard time about stupid things (one of them was looking for extra ice before Nationals and was basically told "we're not interested in having high-level competitors on our sessions:roll: ) so I avoid that place in the afternoons.

[KatieC]

My usual rink through the winter is about 20 minutes away, the Wednesday morning rink is a 1/2 hour drive. Summer rink is also a 1/2 hour drive. I actually have at least 3 rinks closer to home, but I am happier with the folks I know at my usual rink. I know several people who regularly drive 45 minutes or more to get to their favourite rink.

I'm sure it must be disappointing to have your local rink close. They become our home away from home.

[NoVa Sk8r]

My rule of thumb is that if the drive to get to the rink is longer than the time I'll be on the ice, then I won't go! :P

Luckily, I'm within ~30 minutes of 6 rinks. (My 2 singles and pairs training rinks are 12 and 20 minutes away, respectively.)

[Michigansk8er]

I'm only 20 minutes away, but I have several friends that travel 1.5 to 2 hours each way to skate.

[jenlyon60]

about 9 miles...takes about 15 minutes at 6AM in the morning, 20-25 minutes in late afternoon.

[GoldSeals]

The rink here in North Miami closed for good last May.It was a 5 minute ride for me.There are 2 other rinks which each take about 45 minutes on a sunday morning to get to.During the week it can take over an hour in traffic to the same rinks.
Regards,GoldSeals :)

[luna_skater]

Synchro - 10-15 min, depending on traffic.
Fall/Winter lessons - 30min, 45 if there is an accident backing up traffic, which happens often.
Spring/summer - 10 min.

My rink in my hometown was less than 5 min away. Those were the days!

[starskate6.0]

Hi all, as the rink I usually go skate will be closed for good on Monday :cry: and I have to travel a really long way to get to the new rink, I wanted to start this thread. The soon-to-be-closed rink is the best and the closest (about 10 mins from where I live) in Thailand (that's where I live by the way). I just feel sad and annoyed that it has to be closed and that I have to travel so far to the new one so please make me feel better by sharing your experiences of travelling to and from the rink. By the way, this new rink will take me about an hour to get there, anyone has worse?

I have had the pleasure to visit your beautiful country but I did not get to see any ice rinks except the show I was in at the time.
I wanted to skate as a kid but the closest rink was 600 miles away and all I could do was watch you all on a black and white TV.
Now Im only 50 minutes from my rink here in the states. I wish you the best of luck. :D

[_back_layback_]

My coach lives and works in a different city from me (we can't move until the summer), so about 3 times a week I travel 2-2.5 hours one way 8O. But once I get there, its worth it. The other days of the week, it takes me about 10 minutes to get to the rink... I used to work with a coach there, but as of about 3 weeks ago, I don't. I have been going to the coach in the other city for a while though, and like it alot. :D Just don't like the car rides... the things we do for skating eh? :giveup:

[fadedstardust]

I used to drivd 3 hours and 15 minutes to my rink everyday. It took the life out of me, but I did it for a long time. I now only drive about an hour each way to the rink, and it's a perfect length away from me. I don't like living too close to the rink, it seems like being an hour away, you can get home easily even when you're tired, but you're far enough away from any politics, snarking, and all that stuff going on. The rink is its own little world far away frm my home, and for me that is the absolute best mental mindset for a training center to be. By the time I get to the rink, I'm ready to go. I like my hour to myself mornings, actually. Not so much in the afternoon traffic, but it's not that bad.

[jazzpants]

I'm 20-30 minutes (non rush-hour) away from THREE ice rinks (one of them being my home rink) from home. And 45 minutes from my weekend rink and another rink in the area which I rarely go to (b/c it's not in a safe neighborhood...)

[Terri C]

My main rink is 15 minutes in good to no traffic, 20+ if people forget to drive.
There is another rink that is 10 minutes away from me, but it is not regulation size and VERY COLD,so cold that I call it the meat locker.
There's a third rink that is 45 min away, but I rarely go there because of traffic issues.

[pennybeagle]

Count me as another one of the 45-90 minute each way crowd (depending on traffic, lights, railroad crossings, and weather). It's 35 miles each way, but not all highway driving. I spend WAY more time in the car than on the ice.

[manleywoman]

I'm 7 minutes from one very nice rink, as far as the ice facility itself, and it's super cheap ($5/hour). But I can't stand how they run their sessions: kids doing triples on the same ice as babies with helmets and jeans learning crossovers in the corner. I tried to skate there for a while, but got sooooo frustrated playing human dodge ball that I didn't skate well there. Also the parents there drive me crazy, and the coaches teach terrible technique from all I've witnessed. I wish their skating program was better so I didn't have to commute as far (and could sleep in later!), plus save some $$$.

Now I drive 25 mins non-rush/50 mins rush hour to a rink in the burbs which is more expensive ($9/hour). But frankly the sessions are better, the people are nicer, the coaches are amazing and I'm surrounded by serious skaters of all levels who train hard. I accomplish more there, and for me that's well worth the extra time and money.

There are tons of other rinks too in other 'burbs all about the same driving distance away, but I don't skate at those rinks too frequently. I really love mine!

[love2sk8]

I'm about 12 mins away from my home rink, but I used to travel about 40 mins to one rink, and 1-1/2 hrs to another

[NickiT]

I'm really lucky as I live just 3 minutes away from the rink!

Nicki

[Casey]

Less than 10 minutes to my home rink, which I love a lot and visit often, with hard ice and the not-so-hot zamboni that doesn't smooth the ice as well as one might hope...

45 minutes to an hour to a rink farther north, which I occasionally visit on Wednesday nights...only 3/4 size and much more crowded, with softer ice that gets rough quickly.

45 minutes to an hour northwest to a really really amazing rink, where I've never skated and am frankly quite scared to because I'm nowhere near good enough (everyone who skates there is amazing). It also requires a $70/month membership...ahh...my long-term dream rink. ;)

45 minutes or so northwest to another 3/4 size rink, where I've never skated but might one of these days.

45 minutes east to a lovely-looking rink that I've been meaning to check out sometime soon. I've never been.

I like the home rink because it's, well, close. The one farther east might be closer to work though...need to research. I also like going to the home rink because I feel my money is contributing towards keeping it open. I'd be very upset if they had to close.

[Mrs Redboots]

In the car on a Sunday morning it takes about ten minutes - in the bus on a wet Thursday night, it can take an hour! I suppose it's about 5 miles away, perhaps not as much.

The rink we go once a month - ooh, we have a new great-niece, born yesterday (the news came through in the middle of this message!) - is 15 miles away, but takes an hour as it's directly across London from here. And the rink we occasionally go to on a Monday night is also about an hour away by car, but we go separately, and it takes me probably 2 hours to get to from door to door, allowing time to buy train tickets and catch a train. But we normally come home in the car, though!

[russiet]

I know you asked if anyone had worse, and some certainly do.

I'm of the very lucky in that the small town that I live in (Wolfeboro, NH, USA) is a summer vacation area and reaps the benefit of the money it brings in. We have a town ice arena that is only 5 minutes from my house.

Better yet, as a town resident I purchase a season family pass for the three of us at a cost of $50.00. That entitles us to all the public skates, which in the middle of the week are sparsely attended. My wife is the mid-week beneficiary of that.

I work in another town almost 30 miles away. But here again I came up lucky. This town also has a public arena and it is about 10 minutes away from work. The noon time public skate usually has 3 to 15 people there and costs me $2.

Because hockey is so popular around here, ice arenas are prevalent.

I wish you luck. Although not the same, have you considered Pik skates (wheeled). A friend of mine has them and thinks they're great. Much better than other types of inlines for figure skating moves.

[Schmeck]

Our local rink is about 10-15 minutes away, but the synchro rinks are a good 45-60 minutes each way. Now that Sectionals and Nationals are on the horizon, we're traveling to even further rinks to get ice time, at the wierdest times - like tonight Icy skates at 9:30-11:00 Pm, at a rink about 70 minutes away. We won't get home until after midnight!

[SkateGuard]

Here, I've got one for you...

I moved to be closer to my home rink in Chicago (from 45 min to 20-25 min). But I'm a consultant, so the four months before AN's last year I was 40 miles from any rink, in the middle of nowhere and working 10 hour days.

Then I get placed in Bloomington, IN. Not bad, but they have only one hour of freestyle ice--from 3-4pm. And the rink closes in March...then I would have had to drive the 50 miles to Indy to prepare for AN's. Oh, and remember I'm supposed to be doing 10 hour days.

But I just got moved to the Twin Cities. Lots of rinks and skating friends. Right now, I'm skating with a friend about 40 min from our client, but I'm switching hotels (the new one is half-price) to one that will be 15-20 min away--and good evening ice. Plus there's all that outdoor ice when it's not below zero! So it's about 5 min from any rink...hooray!

So I never know how far my skating commute will be.... :D On the plus side, I'm compensated for travelling, which pays for my skating.

[skatetiludrop]

Thanks all!! I appreciate your trying to make me feel better (or worse in some of the replies lol :roll: ) I'll try my hardest to continue skating...though I'm struggling with the :evil: axel now and have almost :giveup:

Anyway, thanks again all!!

[Melzorina]

Congratulations Mrs Redboots!!!

[Chico]

Too far on heavy traffic days. 45 min. or so in the morning with work traffic and 1/2 to go home. It has taken up to an hour on a REALLY bad mornings.

Chico

[Andie]

The facility I skate at most often is about 50 minutes away, on a normal day. It's 40 miles from my house. I go at least once a week.
A few of my relatives live within ONE MILE of that rink... maybe I should move in with one of them? :lol:

There are two other rinks in the vicinity that I don't go to as much. One is about an hour + 5 mins and 45 miles, the other is about 35 mins and 28 miles. The closest one is also coldest and has worse ice. Just my luck. :frus:

[LittleBitSk8er]

Hi all, as the rink I usually go skate will be closed for good on Monday :cry: and I have to travel a really long way to get to the new rink, I wanted to start this thread. The soon-to-be-closed rink is the best and the closest (about 10 mins from where I live) in Thailand (that's where I live by the way). I just feel sad and annoyed that it has to be closed and that I have to travel so far to the new one so please make me feel better by sharing your experiences of travelling to and from the rink. By the way, this new rink will take me about an hour to get there, anyone has worse?

How sad, we had that problem here recently. Our rink was open one day and literally closed the next. It took over 10 months to get it back but in the mean time, we had to travel 120 miles round trip 5 days a week. It was horrible especially with the gas prices raising so much over the summer. How has living in Thailand affected your skating since the tsunami? From the news reports, we see here (Texas) the country is literally devastated. Why is your rink closing? Our rink only reopened because of the hockey parents and figure skating parents working together to find a new owner. Many of the families, who could afford it, put a lot of money back into the rink. I am talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. I also do not know if you can find that type of support in Thailand right now. So many other financial needs to be met now. I do not know why but I never even thought Thailand had a rink. I know how dumb that is! I wish you luck in your travels.

[jazzpants]

I'm really lucky as I live just 3 minutes away from the rink!
Yes, you lucky dog!!! Then again, back when I was skating as a kid, my commute to the rink was 5 minutes... ON FOOT!!! :P (It was only a block away!)

[Shinn-Reika]

You're going to hate me, but I live on the same campus as my Rink. It's actually closer ( 1minute) to me than most of my classes are. It's also connected, through tunnels to a recreation center/cafeteria.

On the flip side, I don't have a car, so it's my only choice. I attempted to visit another rink on my bike and it took about 2 hours. Worse was that it was through country roads or major highways (both of which didn't have sidewalks). All in all it was a 6 six hour waste of time. With a Vehicle, it would be about a 15 minute drive.

[NCSkater02]

I'm 15-20 from one, and 25-30 from my other rink (from home.) When I go from work (twice a week) add 15-20 minutes.

The other two aren't much further, probably about the same as the further rink, but I don't usually go to them.

Two new surfaces also opened recently, but they are waaaaay north of town, and I don't plan on going there on a regular basis as they are well over an hour away. Don't think my coach plans on going there either.

[skatetiludrop]

Originally Posted by LittleBitSk8er
How sad, we had that problem here recently. Our rink was open one day and literally closed the next. It took over 10 months to get it back but in the mean time, we had to travel 120 miles round trip 5 days a week. It was horrible especially with the gas prices raising so much over the summer. How has living in Thailand affected your skating since the tsunami? From the news reports, we see here (Texas) the country is literally devastated. Why is your rink closing? Our rink only reopened because of the hockey parents and figure skating parents working together to find a new owner. Many of the families, who could afford it, put a lot of money back into the rink. I am talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. I also do not know if you can find that type of support in Thailand right now. So many other financial needs to be met now. I do not know why but I never even thought Thailand had a rink. I know how dumb that is! I wish you luck in your travels.

Well, the tsunami doesn't really affect my living and skating in Thailand as far as I'm concerned. It is true that the whole country is saddened and devastated by the news and the loss of many lives but things are starting to improve. Anyway the reason why the rink is closed is still unclear to me, I've heard some people talk of its not making enough money (which I know isn't entirely true).Also, the rink is situated on the top of this shopping mall and I think it has something to do with the mall renovation. All of the rinks in Thailand are in the shopping malls, including this new one too.
lol -- I don't blame you for not expecting to see any ice rink in Thailand. The skating community here is still very small, but it's growing with more and more children and parents are becoming interested in the sports (figure skating and hockey alike).

[skatetiludrop]

Sorry, I wasn't finished yet...
I really hope to see these sports in Thailand go as far as they can get. Some of the skaters here are really talented and with more support and push from the government or whatever, I'm certain that these skaters will be able to earn their places in some of the major international skating events ;)

[kayskate]

Less than 10 miles. All highway. Never so close in over 10 yrs.

Kay

[Figureskates]

A 5 minute walk.

[twokidsskatemom]

7 to 10 minutes to our home rink,25 to the one in town, maybe 30 minutes to the one at the college
But then about 350 miles or so to the next one....

[stogba]

80 miles away
I practice in the morning and have my lesson at night.
Occasionally I'll get there twice a week.
Not the best but it is better than nothing!

[Thin-Ice]

When I started skating, we had a small rink in our local shopping mall.. a 10 minute drive away if I hit every red light. :)

It closed many years ago.. :cry: so I started traveling to the next closest rink... 40 minutes away with no traffic.

Then my coach decided to retire so I changed coaches. New coach was willing to teach at that rink one week, if I would skate at the rink closer to her the following week. Distance to that rink 50 minutes. :lol:

When she became pregnant she didn't want to skate at EITHER of those rinks.. so we moved to another rink, 75-90 mminutes away (depending on traffic) from me but 5 minutes from her house. :roll:

Skated there for 3 years.. then rink management changed and started charging OUTRAGEOUS prices for the coach to teach there.. so we moved to another rink.. still 5 minutes from her house.. but now 2-2/12 hours from mine, depending on traffic. 8O

So I travel to that rink twice a week for lessons, but practice 3 other days a week at the rink that is "only 40 minutes away".... which now, oddly enough seems "close".

But I also skated on a Synchro team for six years.. and that rink was also 2 hours away and even that seemed reasonable at the time.. after all, it was only once a week (but my sixth day skating each week).

To be honest, I'm not sure REASON actually has anything to do with this sport. If any of us were REASONABLE people, rather than obsessed, would we be spending this kind of time and money to go someplace incredibly cold in the dead of winter, so we could throw our bodies around on a hard, cold surface on sharp, thin blades? :lol:

My condolences on the loss of your rink! :cry:

[fadedstardust]

When I started skating, we had a small rink in our local shopping mall.. a 10 minute drive away if I hit every red light. :)

It closed many years ago.. :cry: so I started traveling to the next closest rink... 40 minutes away with no traffic.

Then my coach decided to retire so I changed coaches. New coach was willing to teach at that rink one week, if I would skate at the rink closer to her the following week. Distance to that rink 50 minutes. :lol:

When she became pregnant she didn't want to skate at EITHER of those rinks.. so we moved to another rink, 75-90 mminutes away (depending on traffic) from me but 5 minutes from her house. :roll:

Skated there for 3 years.. then rink management changed and started charging OUTRAGEOUS prices for the coach to teach there.. so we moved to another rink.. still 5 minutes from her house.. but now 2-2/12 hours from mine, depending on traffic. 8O

So I travel to that rink twice a week for lessons, but practice 3 other days a week at the rink that is "only 40 minutes away".... which now, oddly enough seems "close".

But I also skated on a Synchro team for six years.. and that rink was also 2 hours away and even that seemed reasonable at the time.. after all, it was only once a week (but my sixth day skating each week).

To be honest, I'm not sure REASON actually has anything to do with this sport. If any of us were REASONABLE people, rather than obsessed, would we be spending this kind of time and money to go someplace incredibly cold in the dead of winter, so we could throw our bodies around on a hard, cold surface on sharp, thin blades? :lol:

My condolences on the loss of your rink! :cry:


Yeah isn't it great how when you start driving 2+ hours to a rink, the 45 minute away one seems like it's right next to your house? Hah.

[Thin-Ice]

Good to know I'm not the only one who feels that 45 minutes is "close" to home.

My "NORMAL" (aka non-skating) friends all say "Why don't you change coaches and just stay at the closer rink.. or take up another sport closer to home?". :roll:

All the SKATERS just nod in the common knowledge they're not the only ones who are obsessed and willing to drive that far. And MOST understand why I don't want the challenge of breaking in a new coach. Interesting no one on this board even SUGGESTED that!