With rinks starting to trim their hours for summer, ice time is starting to get scarce.

I've been thinking about dragging out my old rollerblades and going to the park after work for some exercise.

Is this a good alternative?

I do about 10 miles a day 4 to 6 days a week during the summer. It keeps my stamina up and my leg muscles in shape.

Plus it does help to keep the weight down.

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This is a little OT, but ever since I started figure skating I've gotten really bad at roller blading...I could go backwards much better than forward, and it was kinda hard to keep my balance. The grip with the ground was so much stronger...it felt weird! lol And I used to roller blade pretty well..I first learned x-overs on them and how to skate backwards. Has that happened to anyone else?

i always use this method...it helps maintain the muscles (or build them) during the summer while your off the ice

I've heard that it's great cross training, and I know from experience that kids who have roller bladed don't push with their toe picks even the first time on the ice.

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Personally, I think roller skating is much more fun, with a disco ball and everything!

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I find roller blading much harder on the legs than ice skating. The last time I wore my roller blades (for about two hours), the next day on ice skates my toes felt like they were in the air. It was weird. I do hope to roller blade with my son (who will be 8 in two days - how did my baby grow up so fast?!) in the nearby state park this summer.

While my regular lunch-time skating rink does close during the summer, there are two other rinks within 15 mins of work and at least 3 more within 15 mins of home (including my club) that are open over the summer. After seeing some of your discussions about how long you have to travel, losing summer ice, etc I feel so lucky.

In the summer, I use picskates on an outdoor roller rink in a park. They feel a lot like ice blades, but not exactly. I find them very useful for basic skills, stroking exercises, etc. I guess it depends on how daring you are and your level of comfort.

The same park has a very nice paved trail that I use for distance skating on quads. I do not have basic inlines. For me the quads are different enough that they don't confuse my muscle memory. I also do not try anything artistic on quads. I skate about 5 miles 3x/wk.

Kay

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