Evolution

Our sport is a baby when you think of things.  Inline Speed Skating as we know it is only about 20 years old.  By our own rules, inline speed would barely be out of the Junior division.  So we're still at a point where our sport is evolving right before our eyes.  And we all get to see it, but today in class we're going to look back at some of the biggest changes of the last 20 years.  Obviously training has evolved, and countries have gotten better, but that's in every sport.. We're talking specific to our sport.  So kids, who think life as always been this easy, pay attention.

SKATES:

Well obviously one of the things that has come the furthest in the last 20 years is the skates themselves.  20 yrs ago we had boots that felt like that came up to your knees, and you're only  way to tighten them was to just tie them tighter.  These were bad times indeed!!!!  And lets be honest, for the most part a lot of them were really ugly.  Fortunately for all, things got better, buckles were introduced, along with lace covers, and some where along the lines boot makers got a lot better at making skates no look like clown shoes.  Today boots are stiffer, lighter, tighter, better looking, and just way better...UPGRADE

Next we go with the frames.  Originally these things were pretty much just chunks of medal, that with wheels on them. I'm not sure if there was much strategy besides putting 5 wheels in a line.  Soon things got better, frames had some actual design to them, and then they got shinier!!!  So for a few years we pretty well designed frames, that looked pretty good, but you pretty much had 2 choices... stiff and heavy or flimsy and light.  Now there's super light frames that are stiff, all kinds of different materials and you can pretty much get anything you want when it comes to a frame.  There was also a few failed attempts at clap frames, they came..lots of people paid lots of money for them.. and then they were gone.  One more major change was the mounting system from 195mm to 165mm frames, allowing the frames to be lower to the ground when one more things was changed.......

Wheels wheels wheels.   Oh how far we've come.  I remember putting on my first pair of inlines with 5 72mm wheels.  I thought these were the fastest things ever created by man.  Soon there after there was a jump to 76mm and then quickly after to 80mm.  Now we got stuck here for like 6 or 7 years.  Different formulas were made, but the next major jump was the HUGE jump to 84mm.  Yes at one point 84 mm wheels were looked at as too big(some people even wore 82.5mm).  The first practice I wore them, my coach and I had to discuss if they were going to be too big to turn and accelerate indoor.... ah we were so naive around that whole Y2K time.  Around 2004 two things happened that changed the sport completely... We went from 5x84mm to 4x100mm.  Sure at the time we thought they looked silly, but boy did they roll.  And we liked rolling so they got to stay around.  The other big change was the inserts in wheels.  People had tried "dual density" before, but this is was different... it actually worked.  Soon after, every where you went you saw people bouncing wheels, and flexing wheels in weird ways, inserts were there and we were hooked.  But only for so long.. .b/c we wanted more.  We said if 84mm were better than 80mm, and 100mm were better than 84mm, we decided bigger=better.  And poof 110mm wheels were made.  After a little arguing with the guys that run the sport, 110mm wheels were legal, and here we are today.  

**ps... there are also rain wheels, but I'm more of a stay inside when it rains kinda guy.. so I don't really know much about them, but rumor is they're pretty good.

Technique

Ahh kids, the next thing we look at is the evolution of skating technique.  You see in the early days, inliners didn't have their own technique, they had no one to learn from.. we basically had a combination of quad skating and ice skating.  People began to learn how to go faster, people sat lower, and then there was Chad.  I wasn't there, but from what I've heard Chad Hedrick comes in with this new "double push" and changed the way people skated forever.  Now people could use their edges to create more speed, and suddenly the inline speed skating world had double push fever.  But lately something crazy has happened.. the double push talk has kinda died down.  All the top skaters still use their edges and body weight to go faster, but the super deep double push has died down.  The most awesome thing about our sport, and basically any sport, is who ever is on top is how you're supposed to skate.  So we follow the leaders, which ever guy comes in with something a little bit different and wins, that's the new trend.  So every year we continue to evolve, or maybe it's de-evolve, just depends on who's on top at that time.

Track 

At the world championship level this has been HUGE.  In the early 2000, we were introduced to the track coating, and the rule that tracks could no longer be parabolic(well except this year, but shhh).  Suddenly the multiple lines and passing lanes disappeared, and one rule was adopted.  Protect the inside!!!!!  You get to the front, and if someone is going to beat you, you make them take the long way around.  Doesn't really make for the most exciting racing ever, and a lot of times when you're racing you feel like you're in a cage.  You know you can go faster, but to try to move up means stepping out of the pack.  And if you do that and you don't get by, suddenly you're pinned on the outside and you get shuffled back.  Maybe the racing is a little bit more boring.. but wow coating makes it fun to grip!  Plus times are way faster.. ex. 6.9 second flying 100 meters. 

That was a quick little history lesson, but like I said earlier, our sport is young.  In 10 years all of the stuff we see today will probably be looked at as ancient.  Personally I would really like to thank evolution, b/c when you're super tall, it was terrible to skate on 80mm wheels.  Who knows where we'll finally end up, maybe on one giant bike wheel per skate.  Just know that we're still at the early stages, and a lot more will change, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Powerslide

I know I know, I said my blog got too commercial before, and now i'm writing something about my sponsor.. It's different, just ignore my hypocrisy.


You ever look back and think "how did i get here?"  It's been less than a year since I joined the Powerslide race team and it's been such a blur.  I always knew Powerslide was a huge company, but to be honest I was originally just super pumped to be skating with some guys I really respect in Scott Arlidge and Kalon Dobbin.  Next thing you know I'm traveling all over Europe, meeting tons of people, and involved in the development of products that are going to help evolve the sport I love.  A year ago I was coming off of a back injury and one of my worst seasons ever, and these guys were willing to give me a chance.  I didn't tell them this(shhh), but I wasn't even sure how competitive I could be... So, when I won the NSC last year, I was happy for myself, but also happy to win for the Powerslide Team.  And Powerslide really is a team.  When I showed up in Europe last year, I knew the guys, but not like they all knew each other.  And they all treated me like I had always been one of the group.  It was the same thing when a group of the Powerslide Korean team arrived, they all were just welcomed to the family.  There was a group of Germans, Swiss, Colombians, Koreans, French, Kiwis, Belgiumese(Sorry Ferre, got no clue how to make your country plural, I know thats not right but it looks funny so i stuck with it), and little ole me traveling all over Europe(How could I leave out DANISH, sorry Stefan).  I'm sure anyone who saw us outside of the races scratched their head when they saw us.  And everyone was treated the same, regardless of how many races they'd won or lost.  The Powerslide motto is "We Love to Skate" and hanging out in that group it's so apparent why.. All we did was eat, sleep, skate, and talk skating(and sometimes sing, but that's a completely different story).  Like all the time we're talking about skating.  Every meal its, "hey remember this race" or "you got lucky this race".  It was just a group of 20+ people with one major thing in common, we all love to skate.  One of the funniest things I've ever seen is a French guy and and Korean guy trying to speak English together, because it was the only language that had in common.  This year at worlds, anytime one of the Powerslide guys won a medal, the rest of the team was all happy for them, regardless of nationality.... even if they were in the same race.  It's so much fun to be a part of a team that really enjoys all of the sport, and wants to help it grow.  Powerslide refuses to stay still, and continues to do work on things that will make this sport faster than it's ever been.  So, basically the moral of this story is; there is no way I could not do my blog with out thanking the company and the team that helped make this past year so amazing.



PS. In completely unrelated news, special congrats to my buddy JR Celski for breaking the world record in the short track 500meter at a world cup.. 39.93... even if you don't know a thing about short track, that just sounds fast.

ME VS THE BIKE

"You would be so good on a bike"  "Why don't you ever ride a bike?"  "You should really be training on a bike"... I've heard this stuff for like 10 years.  I never gave into the pressure before.  Don't get it wrong I've ridden a stationary bike, even borrowed a bike and rode a few times.  But I've never actually had my own bike and trained on it consistently...UNTIL NOW

  So, I finally buckled and went out and bought a bike.  Step one, go to the store.. talk to some guy who's explaining 100 things, only problem is he might as well be talking Chinese b/c I don't understand anything.  I just say yes, have a bike and I'm on my way.  So I spent the first few days riding around, practicing clipping in the pedals, to try and avoid being that guy falls down when he stops.  The other major problem i had to get over was trying to drag race every single car that goes past me.  I get really competitive and assume the car is going to get tired and let me win.  That never happens...

  So after a few days of getting ready and preparing I was ready for my first hard ride.  Well not too hard, I was planning on going out to a local park and riding like an hour and a half.  Before I start you have to realize in my head with everyone telling me "how good I would be", I had pretty much anointed myself the next winner of the gold jersey in the Tour de France, if not 2013 at least by 2014(Yes, I realize it's yellow, this is the humor.. you gotta be witty to read my blog).  So I'm off.. and being the adventurous person that I am, I decide I'm going to jump on this bike trail and go.  By the way no one ever told me bike trials sometimes are just roads with a sign pointing the direction you should go.  And sometimes, apparently, you can miss those signs and what was planned on being an hour and a half ride can turn into around a 3 and a half hour ride.  Yes, I got lost in a city I've lived in forever.  Also, I was unaware that oddly enough I live in an mountainous region, always seems so flat in a car.

 Good news is, I made it home and didn't fall over one time at a stop light trying to clip out.. Those were about the only points for me.  The bike pretty much won the battle though.  My legs are wrecked, and I think I've decided that I might not be ready for the 2013 Tour.  I don't have a GPS or anything on my bike, but I'm pretty sure that I traveled at least 300-400K today, so that was good.  End of the story though, I can't believe how addicting riding is.  It's only been a few days, but every time I get finished I want to jump back on the bike(well mentally, my legs aren't working great right now).  Hopefully that last for a while, b/c I'm really enjoying it....


***quick notes.. I just wrote 2 blogs in 2 days.. that will prolly never happen again, so don't get used to it...also, not all of my posts will be silly, but they all won't be serious either(obviously)... and finally, in like one day people from 11 countries read my blog.. this internet things is pretty cool, who knew....

First blog in a long time

Whats up everyone..

    I haven't had a blog in like 2 years, and I decided it was something I missed.  If I miss it you may as, "why did you stop writing a blog in the first place?"  Well long story short, it kinda got a little too commercial and just wasn't that much fun anymore.  So, I got bored with it, left it alone and moved on.  Well, today I decided I was gonna start back up, and POOF here's my blog..

  Alright before I start there's a few waivers you have to read, my blog my rules.  First off, I can't spell, and if you wanna read my blog you're gonna have to get used to that(punctuation and run on sentences also, sorry).  Next I know a lot more about skating indoor than I do outdoor, although I've come a long way with the whole outdoor thing, I've been skating indoor like 24 years now(oh man I'm old).  Also, I'm slightly opinionated, or so I've heard, but if that's not a reason for a blog what is.... And lastly, I can't remember what I blogged about before, and what I just wrote in my head and never published.  More than likely I'm going to write stuff similar to what I've already written, apologizing in advance.

   Ok, lets catch up on what's happened in the last 2 years, the short short version.  I was lucky enough to sign with Powerslide Racing, which has been absolutely amazing for me.  They gave me the opportunity to do things in this sport I've never done before.  The NSC which was just starting when I ended my blog, is about to start it's 4th season, which is great, since most people assumed it would only last a year.  Team USA has fallen from one of the top teams in the world, to a country that struggles to get medals.  Inliners continue to chase the Olympic Ice skating dream and leave our sport behind.  I've gotten a chance to travel all over the world, and gotten older and hopefully slightly wiser.  And i'm sure there's a few other things that have happened, but who can remember it all...

  I'm gonna try and write what I think, and hopefully you guys read it.  Not making promises on how much I write, but I'll check in as much as I can...