Stroller Skating For Those Who Can Not Be Away From Their Babies Long Enough to Skate Laps

roadskater's picture
Submitted by roadskater on Tue Jan 4 2011 3:06am
0

I'm glad to support specialized exercising opportunities, since I engage in a fringe sport, but sometimes I simply fail to understand. I do understand wanting to skate with your child, if they're on skates and you are too, and they are skating and not tethered to you.

I'm not sure what seems so great about skating while pushing a stroller. Certainly this is not an experience the child would see as any different, so it is for the parent. That's not bad, as long as it's safe, and that's not up to me to decide. So I support it but don't get it. 

I don't understand rollerdogwalking either, or rollerstrollerskating. They seem to be less safe for the human in control and especially for the dog or child not in control. Also rollerdogwalers tend to use those extender leashes and I do think those are a really bad idea for everyone but the dog owner. 

Maybe I just had a wrong idea about these or I'm just too boring. But really, as long as they're not hurting someone else, great. So here's your chance for ice stroller skating two Thursdays this month in Raleigh. For more info, see also...

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/goaskmom/blogpost/8753166/

Stroller skating set for two Thursdays in January - WRAL.com (blog) -


Stroller skating set for two Thursdays in January
WRAL.com (blog)
If you were planning on going stroller skating at downtown Raleigh's Winterfest, you have just two days to go in January. ...

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Comments

eebee's picture

Guilt and taking the path of least resistance

Submitted by eebee on Tue Jan 4 2011 2:45pm.

If I access my pre-skater memory, I come up with these thoughts:

  • People want to skate, whether they have learned to, or not. Those who have not learned how to skate yet still lace up the boots and go for a spin, in the hopes that something will click and they will instantly acquire the skills. So the magical idea of skating keeps rinks going. 
  • As the writer points out in the article, the stroller stabilizes the novice skater (but probably hampers the adept skater). Leaning into the stroller bar eliminates the beginner's unease of teetering either too far forwards or backwards. 
  • On pavement, stroller brakes provide more instinctive stopping than skate-braking, since most people can ride a bike. Not sure how effective that'd be on the ice, though - it might be like trying to stop your car when driving during an ice storm (apply the brakes and keep sliding!).
  • When beginning skating, you can feel like you're flying, but to everybody else your movements resemble a listless shuffle. I remember being asked by a couple of track speed-walkers back in 1999 when I practiced endless swizzles around the parking lot: Are you actually getting a workout doing that?!
  • The stroller won't call you five minutes before your workout to say she can't make it to your house to babysit. Sometimes dealing with machinery is easier than dealing with people.
  • As the fluffy articles keep telling us, skating burns large amounts of calories, so twenty minutes here and there should get us into shape, right? But twenty minutes might not seem worth the trouble of procuring a baby-sitter, and again, the stroller doesn't argue/sulk/give you a guilt trip. 
  • The kids are confined/strapped in, so their fingers can't get sliced off with a skate blade. Mother's guilt: alleviated.
  • It is a giant leap from tottering behind a stroller to being able to skate properly or get a great workout from it, but I am encouraged that these Moms are at least moving around outside in Winter. I don't think it'll make skaters out of any of them but I'd love to be wrong. 

Most interesting to me in the video was the ABB ad on the rink barriers! When I build my next GOES weather satellite, I'll give them a call. 

roadskater's picture

Oh Yeah I Should Add I've Skated With Stroller Rollers

Submitted by roadskater on Tue Jan 4 2011 11:38pm.

Having said what I did about stroller rollers, I must add that I've skated in the Greensboro Country Park with a very talented and in-control stroller roller who probably could have out raced me at any distance beyond 10 feet or so up to several miles. Said stroller was a special jogger type and said roller was taught to skate many other things probably, as he's an A2A veteran way sub-7-hours. I know it was great for him to get out to the park, and the limiting factor was mainly that his passenger saw the playground each lap and preferred to go there after a lap or two. So yes, I have been around at least one stroller roller who is highly skilled, and I'm sure some of these in the article above are way talented. So again I support their efforts and hope they'll convert to skating along side their stroller passengers in future sessions on ice and on wheels.

I like that thing about the babysitter as a good explanation for how it makes sense. Also the spouse, if there is one, can be a factor, and an offer to go away and take the baby might be more well-received it is true. Most things that get people up and moving are good I guess. And there's nothing so wrong with wanting to do fun stuff with your loved one(s) now, is there? Sharing the road or rink is good. 

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