RoadSkater.Net - Comments for "world level"

Yes Philly has a Strong Skate Crowd

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Hey. The email list for Philly is landskaters and they're on yahoogroups.com. There may be more recent setups of course, meetup or facebook or whatever, but for a semi-private email based one, yahoogroups is not bad. The Philly Freedom Skate and later iterations have been great fun, and I'll be back when I have the bucks.

Your city's skating scene

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Your city's skating scene sounds great - is this still going on? Maybe I could take a long weekend there, both skating and dragon boating....

Only a Majority Vote Required for New 2016 Summer Games Sports

In reply to Inline Skating Roller Speedskating Tries Again for 2016 Summer Olympics wIth Golf, Baseball, Softball, Rugby 7s, Squash, Karate:

There's news about the two new sports that MAY be allowed in the 2016 Summer Games...first hints will come in mid-August...

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said on Friday the executive board will analyze the seven applicant sports and then propose two at an IOC meeting in Berlin this summer.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-03-27-3983495423_x.htm

Also, it could be easier this time, and I may have missed a crucial detail...

Rugby sevens, squash, golf, karate and roller sports were each considered for inclusion in the 2005 vote but none met a required two-thirds majority. Since then, the system has been changed to require only a simple majority for addition of new sports.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-03-27-3983495423_x.htm

I still think other sports have the advantage based on past votes, but this is a good step, the reduction in the level of majority required for new sports to get in.

Funny! I thought I'd be First to Post but Hours Later...

In reply to Shani Davis Tops US World Cup Speed Skaters. Inliners Jennifer Rodriguez, Heather Richardson, Chad Hedrick Skating Well.:

I was still writing and looking for streams and such. Thanks for posting in case I hadn't seen it in the right sidebar news section. Did you see any of it? I've been watching the earlier meets on the notebook via universal sports. Good stuff. The Overall was good. I've seen most between bouts of sleep. There's a 500m with Chad Hedrick and if you just watch the first 100m it is an awesome thing to observe. Maybe more notes later. Good stuff indeed. Next year I need to follow this more closely. I looked over it early in the season but didn't find the video. If we have video, even online, even full broadcasts later, OK. I'll follow it.

Good start for Shani

In reply to Shani Davis Tops US World Cup Speed Skaters. Inliners Jennifer Rodriguez, Heather Richardson, Chad Hedrick Skating Well.:

Gold medal and world record in the 1500m, not bad...

Messed up sports parents

In reply to Champion Inline Speed Skater's Dad Gets Six for Juicing Son:

To me this seems more like hard evidence of the absolutely sinful way some parents insist on their kids playing a particular sport, or even doing well in a particular subject in school, which may not be either the kid's forte or passion. I'd love for all parents guilty of disdain when their child doesn't excel in the parent's chosen sport (football, baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer, etc.) to do 6 years' time.

"Bad choices"

In reply to Champion Inline Speed Skater's Dad Gets Six for Juicing Son:

"I have made some bad choices." GMAFB. Wearing blue socks with brown pants is a "bad choice." Washing your car when the weatherman forecasts rain is a "bad choice." Ordering fish on Monday is a "bad choice." Taking a date to a Chuck Norris movie is a "bad choice."

"Bad choice" doesn't begin to describe what this low-life creep has done to his son, and to the other kids skating with his son.

How Many at Philly...

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Hey Phillyskatergirl...how many skaters would you say there were at the Philly Skate earlier this year (2007), as a rough guess? Just curious.

Only going up the museum steps...

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Nope, not backwards! But it is great to watch some of the skaters fly down them! I am not that insane :)

I am glad you enjoyed past Philly skates! And thank you for making the trip up here to be a part of them as well!

When I finished the 52 I doubt I could have survived much more! The 87 sounds crazy to me but I will do it within the next two years. Hope to see you at the next one! Hopefully I will bring some friends as well to join in with the fun!

Took me long enough to write....

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Yes, the Philly Free Skate was great and I was thrilled to be a part of it. I just started skating with the Landskater club in 2006, a little after that year’s Freedom Skate so I missed it. :( Skating with the Landskater’s club is also filled with great people, many that skate strong all winter long. I am looking forward to a fast winter skate season!

My transition? I always had rec skates since I was 12, but I only used them here and there. Once I started skating with the LS group regularly in 2006, I ended up skating about 3-4 times a week. When I first came out with the LS group, I had an old pair of K2 78mm skates. They were old and I ended up getting a new pair, the K2 Athena model in 2006 with 84mm wheels. I used these skates a lot and was able to get some amazing speed on them. I then found out I was a speed junky and ended up treating myself to the Lightning TF 100mm skates. I found these hard to use right away and ended up purchasing a 90mm pair of Aero Rollerblade skates. Ebay was my friend… let me just say that! I really like the 90s and still use them even now, especially for city skating. I enjoy having a variety of skates, kind of like shoes... it depends on my mood what I want to do!

As far as moving up to the speed skates, I ended up scoring a pair of bonts and the first 10K race I did after a friend suggested I should try it. This friend also talked me into buying the bonts. I didn't like them at first, but after using them a bit, I started to love them!

After I got the Bonts, I started skating a lot more to get use to them and decided to go for the NYC marathon. I think I did my first 26 miles in early August and thought I was going to die. I just kept up with it and didn’t give up. The NYC marathon was a blast! I really enjoyed the 42K race and am looking forward to it next year as well. I have to say it was a great feeling to be a part of some huge pacelines going downhill! What a RUSH!

So that is pretty much my history. I am also taking it a step further and bought a 110 frame for the Bonts which are great! I am loving them for outdoor skating and can't wait until it gets warm enough to use them more.

Also, I just started doing indoor speedskating. It was suggested that I do for it to help my outdoor skating. I have done two races so far, and am getting more confident in the technique. It's hard but I am starting to love it almost as much as the outdoor skating. (I also have another new pair of skates for this :) )

If anyone wants a suggestion on how to transition up, just stick with it and set small goals! I tend to focus on one thing at a time when I skate and I do not give up until I figure it out or find someone that can help me. Also, have fun doing it! If it's not fun, try another type of skating!

I am looking forward to seeing where everything goes! I am still not sure about the 87 miles A2A.. I may just try to beat my time for the 52!

And when you got to the top of the Art Museum steps...

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

...You did the backwards, 'flying down them' thing, right? I enjoyed reminiscing about skating in Philly at the beginning of your A2A story! We've been to several Philly Freedom Skates. I LOVE Philly (on skates, in the summer, with a group of happy friends). I'm sure those downtown sprints and fartleks got you well on your way to being the speedskater you are now.

When you started speedskating back in July, what did you do differently to reflect that? New boots? Speedteam? The 87 is a whole new ball game. Pretty hellish, but a lot of crazy fun.

As a resident of Metro Atlanta and semi-aprr skater...please accept my hearty thanks to you for making the journey down here (to win the 52!) and becoming part of this incredible event.

my feet aren't healed either

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

But it was all worth it and gives me an excuse to buy new boots.
You're already thinking about next year. Very nice.
Congrats!

You Won the Women's 52-Miler, Right? 87 Next Year!

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Hi and thanks for your A2A story. Yes being around the Landskaters is a huge benefit, and being in Philly is a dream! It's a great place to get in some hills and cityscapes, indeed. The Philly Freedom Skate (Philly Skate Jam one year, Philly Free Skate last year) is great stuff with incredible logistics. They know their routes and how to make the most of their skate patrol volunteers. Amazing.

You took the Women's 52 platter, right? I think that's you there in the photo with the silver dish. My big platter was only at dinner!

Congratulations! What a thrill it must have been to realize you had a great finish time and that you were first among the women in the 52. The 87 is really hard and I bet you can't even finish! It is so hard you probably shouldn't try. Actually it's only 35 miles more. No big deal, right? It'll be fun to see which you choose next year.

Could you tell us how you made the transition from rec skates (what did you have, k2, rb, Salomon?) to your speedskating setup (did you go to speed boots or just change frames, and to what?). We have some folk reading who are wondering how you make that shift. And suggestions? Thanks for sharing. Please tell us more, like your story from the NY100K.

Re: A2A Video

In reply to Athens to Atlanta Roadskate A2A 2007 Inline Skate Video:

Great job with the video and the pictures,Blake. They captured the event quite well. I am using a mac with Firefox for my browser. Played smoothly. As far as my favorite picture, I would be hard pressed to pick only one out, from the smiles on everyones face you could tell they were all having a good time. Sorry to hear about the mishaps, but at least the skates didn't get stolen also. Thanks again for the writeup and bringing a little bit of the event to us who couldn't go.

Funny snapshots up on Peter's site

In reply to Peter Doucet Represents Canada and Inline Skating: Pan Am Games, Brazil:

Peter Doucet has been posting some miscellaneous snapshots from various events through the years, and has some funny ones up right now on his site...including one of Blake, post A2A 2006, in mid-recline on the grassy knoll.

Cycling and Speedskating

In reply to Imagine Winning World Championships in Speedskating and Cycling in the Same Year...Twice:

Some of our ice skaters went to an intense USS skater development camp in Marquette last year. The young skaters were put through the same type of training and diet programs as our national team members. The program included serious cycling, running, plyometrics, dryland, and other "fun" workouts like sprinting up and down dunes (ugh - running in sand).

Our local summer workouts include two cycling workouts each week. I have been cycling at higher cadences and doing sprints to increase my foot speed on ice starts. My training program include cycling at least once a week too. Plus, cycling is just a fun cross training option.

Tyler Hamilton and Tom Danielson

In reply to Tyler Hamilton wins Mount Washington bike race:

The report on Cyclingnews has a lot more about the event. It points out that it's a charity ride and is "very emphatically a non-sanctioned event" so the ban wouldn't apply. It also notes that the climb attracted more attention when Hamilton rode it in 1997 and took six minutes off the record time. And that current Discovery up-and-comer Tom Danielson punched his ticket to Europe by knocking almost another minute off Hamilton's record time in 2002.

Apparently it's quite a brutal road. I'm impressed that it took him over 50 minutes to go 7.6 miles. That must be pretty steep.

Silver Hill Road and Cobb Parkway

In reply to How do the US10K Classic Hills compare to Silver Hill at A2A?:

A couple of points come to my mind:

I think the uphills are comparable to skating up Silver Hill, were you to do that for some sick reason :-). Silver Hill is a much further downhill than those on the US10K Classic, approximately 3/4 mile for SH and just less than 1/2 mile on some of the US10k hills. I believe the steepness is about the same. The speed is slightly less on the US10k's hills because they are shorter. You pick up alot of speed on Silver Hill because it's in 2-3 steps. You go down a ways, pick up speed, then - whoop - you go down more and pick up even more speed, then repeat, on Silver Hill.

To me it seems that I'm not going as fast on the US10k classic's downhills as on Silver Hill, because Cobb Parkway is like a runway, it's so wide, and void of cars in both directions, with businesses flung far either side. Silver Hill falls through a posh residential area on a two lane road, with a turn enough in the road to obscure your view of oncoming traffic for a while at the top 1/3 of the hill. Therefore, due to the narrower road and possible proximity to a motor-vehicle or other skaters, it seems faster (and sometimes scarier) to me. So I guess I'm not sure if I am actually going faster on Silver Hill or if I'm reacting adrenaline-wise to the danger aspect.

Boy what a complicated answer! I think if your only problem on fast downhills is the unpredictability of other skaters in front of you, you won't have a problem on the US10k because you have loads of room to miss people. If you're still worried about your own speed wobbles, however, this would be a great event to perfect your downhill stability and boost your confidence before A2A.

To get some idea of Silver Hill, you could check out one of Blake's movies,

http://roadskater.net/movies/d2a2004.mpg

which captures the idea of the 'steps' I mentioned. When you see the "Limited Sight Distance" sign in the movie, with Mark Nash of Grayson, GA in the red shorts & red helmet, that's just after the very top of the hill. We pick up speed and not catch him, then it looks like the hill is leveling off, then it drops down again at the 45 mph sign, and we still don't catch him and you think it's leveling off again, and whee down it goes again even more after that. I thought we were gonna cream 'im, but Mark was as steady as he could be! On the US10K, the hills are pretty much just like any other huge steep downhill you've done, just within the safety of a closed course. It'll be an even greater experience if you're able to keep up with all those indoorsy-types!

Welcome, plus contacting a member

In reply to Saskatoon athlete breaks world record:

Hi and welcome! Feel free to post outbound links as part of a topic, perhaps summary comments as well, but thank you for your courtesy.

Also, if you would like I will edit out your email address there and members can contact you through your contact tab in these ways...this needs testing if anyone wants to say hi to jim!

view/people/member list
view/people/members by points
http://roadskater.net/index.php?q=user/jim-w

Please share your knowledge when it feels good to do it here, and please share news of your creations as well, Jim, as we are all building skateybikeywebs these days and cross-traffic is good!

World Roller All-Ages Female 24-Hour Solo Record

In reply to Saskatoon athlete breaks world record:

This is a world roller speedskating record for all females, regardless of age. It is a solo record, rather than the pack drafting which is more common. For this and similar records, the ability to skate fast is less important than the ability to organize all the administrative details which give some evidence that the skate was as claimed.Inline Planet has more discussion. If anyone wants more information, ask me (japc@execpc.com).

Tour de France 2006 Live Video Live Audio in English

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

As many know I'm not participating in Cable TV so I can afford the Cable Internet, which is more important to me and RSN. This means the sporting events can be a challenge, but I'm really enjoying a combination of things right now to follow the 2006 Tour de France.

I get my video feed by watching Radio Television Luxembourg:

http://www.rtl.lu/tele/livestream/index.rtl?live=high#cf

If you have trouble connecting (if you join the coverage late in the race this could be the case), You can try Serbian television (this may interfere with, or mix with, audio from Eurosport.com below, and the video quality is not as good as RTL):

http://www.rts.co.yu/rts2uzivo.ram#cf

Simultaneously, I'm able to listen to English-language audio from Eurosport.com, who offers several languages in fact, and a nice array of other sports at times as well:

http://www.eurosport.com/eurosport/mc_vid20993.shtml

For text, I'm liking Eurosport.com and cyclingnews.com:

http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2006/livefullpage_mtc129669.shtml

http://live.cyclingnews.com/?id=latest

These links won't be right for every stage, but you'll probably be able to find them by going to the home page. Hope this helps someone at home or work to be able to enjoy the tour!

Tour de France and Google Earth, Maps, Patinar Brasil

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

If you haven't checked out Google Earth yet, here's a good excuse. Google Earth, to oversimplify, is like a 3D version of the http://maps.google.com and http://gmap-pedometer.com stuff we've been using here to share skate routes.

The TDF routes are available in Google Earth format at this link:

http://services.google.com/earth/kmz/letour2006_us.kml

You'll need to download and install the Google Earth program at this link if you haven't already:

http://earth.google.com

There's also a link near the bottom of the rsn classic site

(http://roadskater.net/index.htm),

above the list of recent visitor's cities, that will show a few recent visitors on Google Earth when clicked. That resource (geo visitors) and another one

(http://www.gvisit.com/map.php?sid=47a3bd88c0eefe4814f125b7802c0ccf)

that shows the last 100 hits that it catches on Google Maps (not as cool, but cool). I look at these as a sampling, as I know from server logs that much is missed by these. They both miss many hits and one doesn't scan overnight it seems, but while they are neither complete nor foolproof, they provide some interesting info on the reach of your comments and rsn's photos. It seems some outreach in Brasil would be worthwhile, and perhaps we could even find sister skate cities or something and get some of these folk to come to Tour to Tanglewood in exchange for visits to their skate festivals. It sounds like a nice dream (or gol!).

Tour de France Stage 1: camera AND paper hand

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

After hearing Thor's TDF interview pre-Stage 2, I take by inference that he was hit by the camera (or the arm holding it) and also, just after that, cut by the green hand. I have only seen one recap of Stage 2 so far, so I don't know what happened in any detail, but sounds like a great race is shaping up. More later. I'm enjoying the interviews on velonews.

There will probably be some changes at least for finish lines with some double fencing (just guessing), and I feel sure that at least Thor will try to avoid riding along the extreme side.

By the way, please vote in our meaningless absurd polls! There are several, and I've put them into a book for easy voting.

Tour video highlights

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

Good work on the digital forensics there Blake! I've just been watching the OLN feed on cable--repeatedly, since it's on just about around the clock. Being able to access net video is pretty much hit or miss for me right now with the unstable situation of my PCs, and probably not worth me fussing with it. But I certainly do appreciate your comments and analysis. And it was great to see Thor back out there and mixing it up again today.

I'm wondering if the emergency medical guy might have had him lay down in order to get his arm elevated and keep the bleeding down. Just seeing him on the ground I assumed at first that he mnust have crashed or collapsed. But seeing it again, he actually looked pretty calm and alert, a little winded maybe but clearly paying attention and doing what he was told to do.

Per Zabriskie, yes CSC took a lot of heat for leaving him lying on the road in the team time trial, and while wearing the yellow jersey even. Things are a little different in a TTT, and I guess they knew that he wasn't a serious GC contender. (Or perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy in the event.) Many felt that it showed a lack of class and respect for the race to leave the yellow-jersey wearer on his own to ride home bloodied and battered

And some have noted that Zabriskie is a man of few words, often a very difficult interview. I get the impression that he tends to be ironic in what he says, sarcastic even, and that he's bright enough to recognize that this will often be taken wrong in a brief soundbite. But he won't bother with the usual things that athletes are expected to say, so he tends to not say much.

Not so surprising about that "greatest Tour de France rider" list. I've been seeing a lot of economics lately and realizing what idiots we tend to be about making absurd comparisons and then taking them seriously. We mouth the words about "apples and oranges" and yet we do it constantly.

Which is better, a hug or a piece of candy? Our language permits us to ask the question, but it doesn't follow that a unique and unambiguous ordering must exist. What are the Systeme Internationale units for Tour de France rider greatness? Taking a survey is guaranteed to produce an answer, but that doesn't mean that it's a valid answer or that you'd even get the same answer if you took it again.</rant>

But yes, Indurain does seem to get left out of the discussion a lot, and he was the big name about the time when we started really paying attention. Was he the first to win five in a row? (Too lazy to go and look it up.) And a big plus for me was that I'd bought a Pinarello bike just before he started winning Tours on them. I did a nice 50km solo ride on mine last evening, in fact. He seems to be a pretty quiet, non-controversial type, and maybe that's hurt him in the legacy department.

Tour de France 2006 Stage 1 Hand or Camera

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

Wow. Just looking in over the internet much later, I can say the first apparent hit was not the green paper hand. I reached this conclusion after looking at olntv.com magnified video because I couldn't believe the cardboard cut would do that (but maybe it would at over 40 mph).

Yeah that Landis gig in the Prologue was like the stuff of bad dreams...arriving late at the Tour de France and hearing those beeps as the seconds crawl by.

If you look at the oln video that just shows the incident, you can see that a person (I believe a man or a very well grown woman) with a blue shirt with a white stripe on the short sleeve is holding a camera up and out away from himself (or herself), elbow downward. The wide strap appears to be wrapped around the spectator's hand as a small digital video camera might.

In any case at about 11 seconds into the "Thor Hushovd (NOR) Slow Motion Replay" the spectator's elbow smacks into Thor's shoulder, collarbone or arm at about the same time the camera appears to smack him on the side of the helmet or head. The camera, or another, then spins as it drops into the course. As one who has tried to photograph and video bicycle racing with home quality equipment, it's a tough job, and you're likely to not see a thing live, and maybe not in digits on the laptop. But really, this is as predictable as it is horrible.

The mountain climbs are scary many ways, one of which is what year will a nutcase pull out a long blade as they go by? I sure hope Thor can make it back, but wow there was a lot of blood from the camera or possibly still the cardboard hand, or whatever it was after the finish that's not even on tape. Perhaps he was just dizzy and fell after the finish.

Meanwhile velonews has some good video interviews with Robbie McEwen, George Hincapie (brief but interesting mostly from expressions), and Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel (this over four minutes and interesting).

Cycling news has a recap of Stage 1 too...a bit quirky getting it to work but a nice brief summary. If anyone finds longer summaries on the net please let me know!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006//tour06/video?id=tour061

Very nice to have 2 US of Americans in the top trio. It'll be nice to see if CSC can thoroughly abandon Zabriske like they did last year as I recall it in one of the team rides (just my perspective from my own warped view) after he brought them much attention early.

Oh and velonews has an uncomfortable video of Zabriske being asked about the ejections where he seems either very unused to being interviewed on anything other than the day's race, or in the dark about it all, or wanting to say something but feeling not able. His answer "not necessarily" to questions about whether this was an injustice is a bit hard to parse, but it's a tough question in a million possible ways. Still interesting.

Back over at olntv.com, there's a poll asking who's the greatest Tour de France rider, with the following choices...

Jacques Anquetil

Lance Armstrong

Bernard Hinault

Greg Lemond

Eddy Merckx

Marco Pantani

Did I miss something? I would have thought Miguel Induráin would be on that list? Does anyone know why he'd not be there, and does anyone know all these riders well enough to say a bit about them without having to do research?

Tour de France

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

It's already a very strange tour. Half of the top contenders and two entire teams eliminated the day before the prologue, which is won by this Viking who's supposed to be just a sprinter... Floyd Landis's strange mishap at the start... Odd botched sprint at today's finish... Then the yellow jersey wearer collapses to the ground with blood spraying from his arm like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and we're told that it was a really bad paper cut. (Some reports now say that he was cut by a fan's camera, which is still odd but makes more sense I guess.) And Jimmy Casper is French. Who knew?

Yes, too bad about Vino. I've always liked him. He's a fighter and always ready to attack, and he's had some really bad breaks. Now Cycling News is reporting that he and some of his Kazakh backers are planning to buy the entire Wurth team. But with his luck I wouldn't be surprised if that fails to pan out too.

I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow.

Tour de France Web Video Resources

In reply to Tour de France 2006:

Here are some more links for tdf coverage.

If you have any live audio or video resources, please list them on roadskater.net!

http://olntv.com/tdf

http://velonews.com/vntv/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/tour06/video/