Is it dangerous -- that is, extra-slippery -- to skate through puddles? I have a real phobia about them: For some reason I think that if I hit one, my blade will lose contact with the ice and there I will be, Jesus-like, suspended by water until -- un-Jesus-like -- I slide, fall, and turn into a pile of wet workout wear.

Well, it probably depends on how deep the puddle is! :p
I think we all probably avoid puddles, though. In my case, it's not because I think I'm going to slip, but because I want the puddle to freeze and I know that skating through it isn't going to help it freeze. I hate falling and ending up in a puddle, though. Blechh. . .

I don't worry about puddles that are obviously not deep - if you can see the ice underneath, it's probably okay. Don't worry about hydroplaning, because you actually skate on water normally. It's physics: the friction of the blade on the ice melts the ice slightly, allowing the blade to glide on a cushion of water.

Years ago, I remember skating at a rink where the coolant lines were actually frozen IN the ice. (You could see the tubes running across the rink.) Once, one of the lines broke, creating a hole in the ice that filled with green/grey coolant. We had a cone there for weeks until the leak spread down the line and made a ditch in the ice. The rink ended up doing an early meltdown to fix the ice before a big tournament date. Unfortunately, the melt was right before a huge figure skating competition, so we all had to scramble for ice time at other rinks.

The hockey player/manager claimed it was "Those d*mned figure skaters making holes in the ice!" Regardless of how it happened, the moral of the story: don't skate through funny-colored puddles. They could be coolant breaks or "Yellow Ice." Yuck.

__________________

Puddles are just fine. Obviously the ice is a bit warmer where there are puddles, but that just means it has more friction (ice that's too soft feels "sticky" and is slow to skate on, ice that's too hard allows you to go faster, but is more slippery and you can't trust your edges as much...).

I have fallen in puddles on numerous occasions. Last summer at a big rink there was a puddle at each end where the hockey net would go, and of course I happened to trip myself right before it so I went sliding backwards through it, getting soaked and making a huge splash which set the rink manager laughing hysterically at me. HMPH!!!

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

The only thing dangerous about puddles is falling in them! I did that once, going at top speed on crossovers, was leaning so far and got down so far in my knee I couldn't get back up. I literally created waves. I could wring out my skirt, and I had to go home and change! I didn't trip because of the puddle, but it certainly wreaked havoc on my plans for that day.

The extra water won't make you fall if you just skate through it, it won't make your blade lose contact with the ice as Isk8NYC explained - we're technically not on the ice anyways. What's probably more slippery is super-extra-hard ice that you can't get a grip in. Wet ice is actually more grippy and grabby because your blade can cut deeper into it.

Are you SURE you arent skating at my rink?

the ice was thin enough that a little boy falling over (common occurance) and hitting hte back of his blade to the ice ruptures through the ice and into a tube... spurting lovely yucky stuff everywhere...

And no, they didnt close the rink down, just patched it up and they havent melted it down yet.. we still have to skate over bumpy yellow ice

__________________
--------------
-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

I used to love puddles! When I first started skating indoors (a LONG time ago) the rink had an amonia refrigeration system and every hot day in the spring, the ice would start to melt. The ice looked just like a mirror - it was BEAUTIFUL! You could skate for hours and not see a mark on the ice. (Just don't fall unless you are wearing a bathing suit!)

__________________
Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Skating in the rain can be a lot of fun, and the puddle areas are extra smooth. I agree that falling in a puddle is no fun though! The only problem I've encountered is that I've occasionally caught my blade in a deep puddle. It's not so bad as catching your toepick, but it can bring you down if you don't react quickly.

__________________

Is this not a good time to mention that hubby has been known to deliberately slide belly first through puddles?

__________________
--------------
-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

Ah, takes me back to the day I got my first pair of skates. After the floppy leather rental boots, with toe-picks filed off, I took about 2 strokes, before I caught the toe-pick. Down the end of the rink is a window. On a hot day it used to melt a big puddle. This was of course, a very hot day. My toe pick trip sent me into a belly slide all the way through that huge puddle.

The rink manager offered to file my toe-picks off. Thank goodness I listened to the little voice inside which told me they were probably there for a reason, and declined his offer.

__________________
Karen

I skate - therefore I am