Snow Sport England Rollerski Skills Course - October 2019

What a year since I last attended this course!

 In that time I joined Manchester Cross Country Ski Club and started semi-regularly attending the autumn/winter coaching sessions. In spring I took the plunge and bought myself some second hand SRB Skate rollerskis.

The booking process for the course had become so much slicker, as well as paper based application you could also book and pay via the Snow Sport England website.

Saturday

As a member of the club I volunteered to be one of the  many 'Gear Elves', sorting out the rental equipment for the attendees. Colin handed us a spreadsheet which had each person's name and rental requirements. Names were taped to chairs, and our best matches of equipment put next to them.

When the beginners arrived, we helped get the people fitted up with the correct equipment and try to get them a good fit. Everyone was checked that they had the mandatory protective equipment (cycle helmet, gloves) and then given access to knee and elbow pads if needed. I always go with all the protective gear I can wear, so in addition to the above I included a pair of rollerblading crash shorts in case I had an arse/pavement interface. I had so much gear on that one of the coaches affectionately (I hope!) called me Michelin Mel.

There was a course briefing, everyone was introduced to their coaches and then we moved out to the track to get started. In addition to the beginner/intermediate/advanced groups there were also groups of coaches honing their skills.

The intermediate group was assigned Dagmar as their main coach for the weekend. Dagmar is a wonderful coach - she always arranged exercises so that she could watch everyone participate and provide individualized feedback. This sounds daunting, but she was so good at highlighting the positive alongside what you could do better.

The half day was split into 2 sessions - initially we put on classic skis and refreshed ourselves on the techniques there, and then there were skate sessions. We were working on a part of the track that had a slight uphill (ok - it felt like Everest to me) so we could practice both uphill and downhill techniques. There was a tea break mid afternoon, and we went back to the club house and could choose from tea/coffee/vimto to drink and biscuits and delicious home baked cakes.

 On  the evening there was a meal at the Cottam's Field pub next to the Premier Inn. The restaurant was very busy (I think there was a cyclo cross team there also) but the food did arrive quickly and was a good way to build up the energy stores for the busy day on Sunday. There was a great atmosphere at the table, with people sharing, tips, tricks and generally offering encouragement.

Sunday

After a hearty breakfast at the Cottam's Field restuarant it was back to Salt Ayre. The first session of the day was on skate skis with a different coach, working on skate 2 and double poling. I'll be honest, this first session really confused me, and I didn't feel that it helped with my technique. I had a real crisis of confidence after this session which haunted me the rest of the day.

After the morning tea break it was back to working with Dagmar. She spent time explaining the different skate paces that we were likely to use (Skate 1, Skate 2 and Skate 3) and showing the subtle differences in timing. I took my only fall of the weekend here, when I tried to double pole, missed planting my poles and then just hinged forwards on my skis, landing on my breast bone. Oooops! No harm done in the long term, but I was shook up for a while.

We had our lunch break back in the clubhouse, where we ate our packed lunches and then it was back out to the track to do more work on classic skis.

While my crisis of confidence held me back, Dagmar was wonderful at designing drills to make us progress in this session, and tailoring our individual goals so everyone made positive steps. My happiest moment was receiving a the ski coaching equivalent of the "Paul Hollywood Handshake", a Dagmar hug! As we were being coached until the absolute last second we didn't have time to do any extra full laps of the track, but to be honest, I don't think I had the energy to do full laps of the track safely.

Wrap Up

I found this session tougher than the previous year - but it didn't put me off roller skiing and I'm booked onto the first regular coaching session organized by Manchester Cross Country Ski Club http://www.mccsc.org.uk/documents/201910_roller_ski_course_details.pdf The weather wasn't as quite as favourable as last year, but it didn't rain heavily at any point.

The home baked cakes were spectacular!

#Rollerski - Parrswood to Pyramid

This route takes you from near to Parrs Wood to near the Pyramid in Stockport (M60 J1).

Length: 3.5 km (one way)

Surface: Tarmac throughout, some sections smoother than others.

Elevation change: Less than 10m

Parking: Parrswood cinema complex has parking. There is not much parking near to the Pyramid.

Services: There is a pub (The Gateway) and several chain restaurants at Parrswood. There are no easily accesible services at the Pyramid

Public Transport : You can use the tram to East Didsbury, and access the path either from B5095 Manchester Road (#1 on the map - https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4057153,-2.2186392,3a,75y,57.14h,97.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sT8VW-n1Cey7s5VmQXVVz5w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) or  by taking the tunnel under Didsbury Road towards Stockport, at the trail junction take the right hand turn to cross through Green Pastures estate (finish flag on the map) and down a wooded path taking you alongside the school playing fields. Buses 142, 42 and 50 also go from city center to Parrs Wood.

Route Description

In general, the route is tarmac path, minimum 1.5 meters wide. It is quite heavily used by dog walkers, cyclists, runners (it's part of the Burnage park run route on Saturday mornings), so to get any good flow going you should aim early in the day. Some sections of the path are lit, but there is a large section without any lights.

It's a pleasant, mostly riverside trail.

Points 1 -> 2

The first part of trail has very smooth tarmac but it also has the most overhanging trees, so there can be a lot of leaves and twigs. There is a bike gate half way along this section, but this is passable without clipping out. After the bike gate the tarmac changes texture, but is still pleasant to rollerski on and your pole tips do grip.

Points 2 -> 3

On the way to point 2 there is a  bend and an uphill section. Be cautious of this in both directions - on the way up someone may not see you and hurtle down hill at you.. going the other way you might be doing the hurtling! If you're uncertain, clip out, it's better than ending up in the river as the fence doesn't look too strong.

A more steady downhill leads you to a road section that is the access road for Vale Farm. There is generally very little car traffic on this part of the road so you do not necessarily need to clip out. The section alongside Vale Farm's horse fields is not lit, you don't get street lights back until the river crossing to Edgeley. At the trail split, continue straight under the M60. The path gently heads upwards.

Points 3 -> 4

Just before the junction for Kings Reach industrial estate there is a section of pavement that has been damaged by tree roots. Some parts of these could be large enough to 'beach' a rollerski.

Continue along the path, past the new office buildings. The final tricky bit of trail is just before the end, where it dips down , turns to the left and then climbs to the information board. It can be hazardous as people are travelling quickly in both directions and the corner can hide this.

Snow Sport England Roller Ski Skills Course - October 2018

What do you do if you love cross-country skiing but don't want to spend all of your time on holiday re-learning your balance and skills? Well, the lottery winner's answer is to go and move to Finland to get an extended season, but for  the normal person, your main options are to take up a 'sister' sport that you can do the rest of year (such as ice skating,roller blading) or to do roller skiing which attempts to give you skills and strength to get the most from your limited snow time (and also - it's a sport in it's own right).

I tried rollerskiing 6 years ago on a similar SSE Rollerski course based in Hetton in the north east of England. It was a miserable rainy weekend (not their fault - normally I call the North East 'Blue Skies Country'), I wasn't physically fit enough for it, and none of it clicked for me because I'm just that bit too un-coordinated to pick up new activities quickly.  I handed my rented equipment back early on the Sunday after failing to move more than 10 feet in skate style and pretty much vowed never to try again.

However, since then I've started some complementary activities (ice skating, using a Nordic Track machine) and had a few more ski holidays.  I'd been idly googling and started to follow Manchester Cross Country Ski Club on Facebook. Manchester Cross Country Ski Club http://www.mccsc.org.uk are a year round club, offering summer roller ski tours, telemark coaching at Manchester's indoor ski slope and during autumn/winter/spring regular coaching sessions on a private cycle track. I spotted the SSE course coming up, and thought, why the hell not?

Booking on the course involved contacting the course organizer (Colin) and filling out a form detailing my skills level ( I selected beginner, as my previous attempt had been such a disaster) and whether I needed to rent any equipment. Popped it in the post with my cheque, and a little while later, got an email saying my place was confirmed.

The course was a 1.5 day event. It started lunchtime on Saturday, and then all day on Sunday.  It was held at Salt Ayre Leisure Centre in Lancaster, which has a private, mostly flat cycle track.

Saturday

On arrival I was greeted, and my rental equipment allocated. This was done in a really slick manner, as they had put name signs on the wall of the building,and put our allocated skis and boots, making it easy to find 'your' things. Unfortunately they didn't have any boots in my size, so rather than try and pad out the too large boots with socks I used my own Salomon classic boots for both days. I was using a pair of Marwe combi rollerskis.

We had a briefing meeting, introducing the coaches and the facilities and then we were off! There were 8 in the beginners group, ranging from complete beginners who had never been cross country skiing before, some who had some downhill ski experience, some who had done roller blading etc.  Our coach was Martin, who was very friendly and encouraging. He was assisted by Rosie who could top up Martin's instruction by going one on one with us.

Saturday was mainly about classic rollerski, so we were issued with shorter poles and off to a private, mostly flat area we went to start our learning.

First we were introduced to our skis, how to put them on, how to stand on them safely and also how they had a ratchet on the front wheel to allow you to simulate the push off that you get on classic cross country skis. Using the grass to brake was covered very early on. Safety equipment is vital for rollerski - while a fall in snow is no fun, a fall on pavement can be really damaging. We all had cycle helmets, elbow and knee pads. I had an extra secret layer of padding as I had padded impact shorts on, as I had them already from taken some hip hurting tumbles ice skating.

Then there were numerous exercises to help build up to us having the correct technique. After several hours we were let loose on the main track and I managed a full loop, way more than I ever managed the last time I tried.

There was tea/coffee/vimto in the athletics clubhouse, so we could take much needed tea breaks to get our breath back.

On Saturday night there was a meal at the Cottam's Field pub, adjacent to the Premier Inn where a lot of the course attendees were staying. The meal was well organized (always a challenge for a restaurant to get 20+ plates of food out in a reasonable time) and it was so good to relax and chat to people.

Sunday 

After a sturdy breakfast at the Premier Inn, a drop into a corner shop to pick up a packed lunch, I was back again at Salt Ayre.

Today was about (mainly) skate style so we were issued longer poles as this style requires them to be a bit longer. The organizers had a table with our heights, and the calculated required pole length for us ready so it was pretty much just handed over in seconds.

Back to our square, where we learned how to push off with the inside edge by doing 'scooting' exercises. This is where I think my ice skating came in useful, as the action is very similar. Everyone was making great progress though, especially considering the varied backgrounds.

Every exercise put another piece of skills puzzle in place until by lunchtime we were able to skate up and down the car park. After lunch we learned how to do something I have never managed on snow, a step turn!

Then we learned some methods of getting up inclines, and some of the different skate + pole techniques.

By the end of the afternoon I was able to skate around the circuit, but I was definitely running out of steam by the end, when even Colin couldn't motivate me to do just one more lap!

Wrap Up

As you can probably tell, I had a great time at this session. The coaching definitely helped me get from zero to (not quite) hero! I was lucky in that the weather was dry (and on Saturday, sunny!) and barring a few YIKES moments,  I didn't have any fear inducing moments or major tumbles.

I'm going to continue my membership of Manchester Cross Country Ski Club and I'm definitely going to drive up to Preston and do some of the autumn training sessions. Hopefully I'll run into some of the people from this course.