Uncanny

So regulars will know I am looking into taking my Nordic Walking to the next level.

Nordic skiing on snow in the UK is a bit tricky, mainly due to the general lack of snow, but you can buy roller-ski’s that emulate the same characteristics of the various types of skiing.

Now, before I go off and buy a set I want to make sure I can get on with roller ski’s, so I contacted a UK based Nordic/Cross Country ski organisation: Rollerski, where I spoke to Iain Ballentine, who in turn pointed me to the London Region Nordic Ski Club and a chap called Paddy Fields (the Chairman).

It turns that Paddy Fields lives in the next toen to me, they practice weekly in my town, and they used to practice around the lake where I do my Nordic walking, so he knows exactly the terrain I’ll be skiing on.

Funny how these things work out.

I’ll be meeting up with him soon to give roller skiing a go, and then seeing where that leads (to more skiing I hope… or hospital!).

The next step…

I’ve been Nordic walking now for almost two years. The fitter I get, the less calories I burn on the same treks.

I add weights to my ankles, I put weights in my back pack and for a while the calorie burn goes up… until my fitness increases and the same treks once more give less of a burn and I find the exercise easier.

The latest push I am looking at is full Nordic skiing. Of course in the UK the thick snowy woodlands are a little scarce, so I’ll have to go with roller skis….

There are several makes and types available, from road racers to all out off roading – and that’s where I’m looking. For my woodland trips I need a good off road roller ski.

I have three options at the moment: The Skirollo Diablo, the Powerslide Nordic and the Skike. Each has its own pro’s and cons and each is significantly different from the other. The Skike and Powerslide are more like in-line rollerblades, where as the Diablo is more of an out and out wheeled ski for dirt tracks and a more authentic Nordic cross country ski.

Some have ski bindings, some accept any shoe, some have the shoe built in. Some have a brake, some have two brakes… some have no brakes…. Some are long, some are short… it depends on where I want to go, and what I want to do with them…

I figure I’ll take a one day course before deciding and get some expert guidance… which I shall of course pass on to everyone here, at TWA2LB.co.uk.