On The Trail

IN THIS ISSUE...

• Publisher's Message
• Tree Veins
• Until Next Time

Publisher's Message

Welcome to the fifth issue of On The Trail! The Inline Skating Center will publish ten issues of the newsletter from now until the end of October covering a wide range of topics about inline skating on marked trails.

In today's issue, we're going to introduce a tactic you can use when you need to skate over one or more tree veins that cover the entire width of the trail.

Tree Veins

Sooner or later on the trails, you'll encounter tree veins. The roots of nearby trees can cause the pavement on some trails to heave upward, which leaves a series of sharp, horizontal bumps in your path. Sometimes, you can skate around the tree veins if they don’t run along the full width of the trail. Other times you will meeet up with veins that cover the entire width of the path.

In addition, the veins can consist of three, four, five, or more rows of bumps. In these situations, you need to adjust your skating to compensate. Here's how!

To skate over top of a series of tree veins that lie in your path:

1. Pump your brake to reduce your speed in half when approaching the tree veins.
2. Drop into a staggered stance with your right skate out front.
3. Keep your hands out front or to your sides for balance.
4. Coast over the top of the veins, one at a time, and keep both skates firmly on the surface of the trail.

There is no need to stride and glide or turn on your skates when you’re in contact with the veins. Doing this may result in one or more of your wheels being grabbed by one of these sharp bumps, which can throw you quickly out of balance.

Instead, just ride over top of the bumps and make any corrections to your lateral balance on the fly in case you get thrown to the left or right, or to your fore/aft balance in the event that you get thrown slightly forward or backward.

Until Next Time

When you're out rolling on the trails this season keep an eye out for tree veins that can sometimes appear out of nowhere. Always look 20 to 25 feet ahead. If you spot a series of tree veins in your path, quickly drop into a staggered stance and glide over top of the veins, one at a time, without lifting your skates off the surface.

In the next issue, we'll show you a tip you can use to skate up and over roadside curbs like a pro.