The recent thread about a snow machine mounted in a rink sent me down memory lane about outdoor skating conditions.

I did all of my ice skating outdoors before I saw my first real rink in my twenties. By default, there's usually lots of snow associated with outdoor skating. However, it doesn't get that cold anymore to freeze ponds and lakes, and I haven't skated outdoors for years.

I've always wondered how far I was able to skate outdoors. In the '60s I skated from a boat launch area to a beach area at Dillon Lake near Zanesville, Ohio. Using Google Earth, I was able to retrace my path and calculate the distance. I skated 2.84 miles from the boat launch to the beach. That's a lot further than I estimated back then!

Of course I had to skate back to my car, so my round trip (in figure skates) was 5.68 miles.

If you've done outdoor skating, how far did you manage to go?

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Bill Schneider

15 miles on rollerblades, does that count?

I've only ice skated outdoors a handfull of times (once on a pond as a kid, a few xmas shows on postage stam-sized fake holiday rink setups as a teenager, and a few times on a full NHL-sized outdoor rink in the area), but never on a river or canal.

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That's probably even MORE effort than ice skating because friction is higher.

How'd your wheels hold up? When I used my PIC skates outdoors on a paved bicycle path, the inside edges of the wheels were worn away in just 5 miles.

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Bill Schneider

There was an area across the street from our house, way before the ditches were dug, that would get a lot of water. It would freeze up and you could skate the whole length of the field. It was nice, all along between the field and woods would be a wide area of ice. Sometimes it would actually go into the woods and there would be a pond-like area. Most of the time, we would head over to Mitchell's farm and skate on his cow pond. If the bull wasn't out. If the cows were in the field it was ok to head on in. If we didn't see them we just had to run faster and get to the pond before the bull did.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I've skated the Rideau Canal in Ottawa (whole length back and forth) in figure skates.

Kay

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I'm thinking about doing that. How did your figure blades hold up? i've skated once on Lake Maleren in Sweden and found my blades were all cut up afterwards because of bumps in the ice.

Man- I'd love to do the Rideau Canal. The idea of that just seems so fun.

I couldn't do it in hockey skates (that's a concussion waiting to happen- hockey skates are terryifing) but I think I would have to rent a figure skate. Mine don't have room for socks! And I really think I would want some. (plus the blade issue)

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Yeah, skating outside+good blades=bad for them.....

I used to fall from hitting leaves, twigs, etc. but the absolute worst was when the ice was soft when the weather warmed up and we used to fall through! We were in shallow areas, it was never more than knee-deep....but when you had to muck out and then get the mud off your skate then trudge home and clean up, thaw out, etc it was ucky.

I'm still trying to figure out how my dad sharpened those skates with a hand-held file.

You guys really had fun going over canals and such!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

We actually had enough cold weather here in Maryland last winter to freeze the local ponds, so we accepted the fact that we'd need to sharpen our blades afterwards and went out. No great distance involved, mind you, the pond being not more than a hundred feet or so in diameter. (And yes, this was after a safety check with ropes and spotters...)

Hmmm...picture doesn't link in...

There were lots of small ponds where I grew up, so we would go skating, but nothing of any great distance.

A local park had TWO ponds (with a connecting waterfall) that had flags and safety ladders. It was kind of silly to skate there since the same park had a HUGE outdoor ice rink steps away from the edge of the pond, lol.

I remember when I stopped enjoying the pond skating - the same year I started skating at the rink regularly. My then-bf was playing hockey on a pond with some friends, so I took my Hyde skates and noodled around a bit. I went to a spot that had dark-colored ice. Staring up at me, frozen in the ice, was a big dead fish! Ewwwwww.... I lost interest in pond skating right then and there.

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One year when I was little the bay on LI sound near my aunt froze solid, and we went skating on it. I didn't travel far, but it's the only time I've ever been on wild ice.

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It's all about the dress!

I haven't a clue - all my ice skating as a kid was outdoors, around Cascade Falls park, a few lakes and some iced over tennis courts. I never skated on ice indoors until I was an adult.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

That's nothing compared to the "oysters" found in the hockey boxes at the indoor rinks! Ewwww too!

I recall looking for live fish through clear ice. Never did see one though.

Sounds like more people skated outdoors than I expected.

My favorite outdoor skating times were crystal clear nights with a bonfire on shore. There was a "kissing cove" in one finger of the lake where the weeping willow trees bent over the ice and touched from both shores.

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Bill Schneider

The Rideau is very well maintained for outdoor ice. It is flooded nightly and a sweeper comes through and smooths it. It is not rink ice though and has a lot of cracks. Most ppl wear hockey skates, supposedly b/c they handle the cracks better. My husband wore hockey skates w no probs. I did not notice any damage to my blades. It was a great exp. Someday i would like to skate the canals in Holland.

Kay

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(re: inline skates)

From the little inline I've done, you get much longer glide and much faster speed on wheels. Harder to stop and turn too. Scary at top speed when a car or curb gets in the way.

I bet some of our Great Lakes (northern US, and Canada) friends ice skate forever.

Long track speed skaters go miles and miles at car-like speeds even on ice.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

I haven't skated that far on outdoor ice but the best outdoor skating experience (well my only outdoor ice experience on natural ice actually) was at Chateau Lake Louise in Canada. They make quite a good sized rink complete with amazing ice castle in the middle and even have a mini Zamboni to keep it in good shape.

The rest of the lake was covered in about 2 foot of snow so you couldn't skate outside the cleared area.

Did make a bit of a mess of our blades though - mostly in the getting on and off process at the lake edge.

My rollerblade wheels are fine, they hold up well if you keep them properly rotated. They're soft and made for outdoor skating. Your PIC skates probably have harder wheels that are made more for skating on smooth surfaces (wood floor, polished concrete, etc), that's part of what allows for spinning and footwork. I have outdoor wheels for my quad skates but I've never tried this particular path on those. I don't think I'd like them for long skates, they have cheapo bearings and are really slow (the outdoor wheels are pretty much just for when my roller derby league does parades and other public appearances, we dont' want to trash our good indoor wheels and bearings).


I think they allow skating on part of the Erie Canal in Rochester NY, I think the Fairport area. Has anyone done that? I lived there for a year but never went, I had chronic back issues and had surgery in December of that year and wasn't fully back to normal until mid-February, so pretty much any winter outdoor fun was out of the question that year. (Sarah S where are you ?)

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

When I took up skating as an adult--ten years ago--we were having a cold winter, and I skated for about a mile (each way) on the river near where I live. It was thrilling. The best moment came when a flock of geese flew over my head. It felt almost like I was flying along with them.

Johanna

That actually depends opn the surface you're skating on and how good of a skater you are on the ice versus on rollerblades. I skate a paved (asphalt) path if I'm outdoors and it twists/turns, has (pretty mild) hills, and the pavement is not terribly smooth. I can easily cover the whole length of a rink on one push on ice (and on roller skates/rollerblades on a polished concrete or wood skating surface), but I can't go that far on one push on rollerblades on normal pavement like this.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Johanna... from the old RSSIR newsgroup!?

I remember your video (I think it was yours?) showing the geese flying away! That was years ago now! I remember in your video that you raised your arms like you were going to fly away with the geese. There was such a sense of joy in that action.

Yes, outdoor skating is getting back to the roots of skating, and is more about getting somewhere because of the distances. There's a sense of wonder and discovery when skating outdoors.

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Bill Schneider

Yes, same Johanna, still skating.

The video sounds lovely, but it wasn't me. Maybe the power of my words made such a great image.

Johanna

Good to see you here!

You're right - I looked up the old video and it was Jeanne D. from the old RSSIR group who made it.

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Bill Schneider

That makes sense. I wonder if she is still skating.

I hope so. From what I saw in all her outdoor skating videos, she had some talent.

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Bill Schneider

Once, when I was teaching an entry level kayak class in a pond, with lots of wildlife (fish, birds, bugs, water lilies, algae, etc., living and dieing in it, going to the bathroom in it, etc.) a young lady asked me if the water was sterile.

I tried not to upset the customer, but answered her honestly. I didn't mention the bacterial counts were high enough that swimming was disallowed, but I'm not sure she if she was altogether favorably impressed.

Like camping outdoors, and asking if the ground is dirty.

Not everyone enjoys communing with nature in outdoor sports. That's OK.

Many indoor ice rinks have very high air-borne mold and fungus counts (moisture + heat from lighting and sometimes heaters), enough to give problems to some people with asthma. Some people fall and bleed on the ice. And people share rental boots, transfering all kinds of pathogens. I've seen flies struggling while frozen to the ice. Ewwwww...

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