LondonSkaters Speed Team - Speed Skating & Rollerblading Club in London

Gav · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:43 am Subject: I went to berlin...

So official results say 17 of us skated. Plus non-team members...

What percentage fell Smile

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

I have 24 ppl so far, and I've not got all the non LSST skaters yet. I'll post a compiled results sheet shortly.

Adam B(GMF) · Joined: 30 Apr 2004 Posts: 237

i was padded up and avoided falling - these are now my lucky pads and i'll never wash them (again)

Ray · Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 806 Location: Dagenham

I wasn't padded so I'm very glad that I didn't fall Smile

Saw quite a few fall tho'

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

Same here. I was lucky to miss two crashes, the first when my feet touched on a rough bit and I did a big swerve, enough to cause the girl behind me to gasp with shock. The second when the same girl stacked spectacularly two places ahead of me half the race further on. She took out the guy ahead of me, and I just avoided them.

roger · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 531

I was padded up, especially as I had plans for the next day.

I saw a few falls but mostly involving the people who had started in block B, but were not really up to it (Hint: a lot of them were wearing Follow Me tops).

There was only one fall in the actual block C paceline, that I saw, when about 4 bodies, including XSFred went down in front of me. I was very lucky to avoid that one, especially as I clipped some-ones sprawling leg with my non-skating leg.

There was another point where I had a really heavy jot when I must have hit a pothole - quite a shock at 20+mph.

merten · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 11:43 am Subject:

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

I didn't have much trouble with skaters of poor ability, most were more than capable enough in my surroundings. Though some were clearly not perfectly experienced with group skating and dynamics, they were still good enough.

I was disappointed to see nearly all the skaters around me refuse to let people join their pacelines. Both the follow me pace lines and the various German teams. I think maybe it's a German speedskating tradition, though I wouldn't be surprised to see other nationalities do the same. I think it wasn't very sporting, whatever the cause.

I got pissed off enough that I just synched up and stepped into a line anyway, and thanks to my hockey and streetskating they usually had to capitulate. One German dude was so upset he actually started to hit me lightly, beat the wanker though in the final sprint.

Beatrice · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:17 pm Subject:

Our mini paceline was lucky to avoid a very big crash just a few meters ahead of us - it may have been the Pack B people, it was really scary since we were skating at around 35km/h at that time. i was wearing my kevlar race protections on hands, knees and elbows, however looking at Kate's injuries (we have the same set) i realise that it could have been a bit nasty. That leads me to want to learn the "how to fall and roll" technique, maybe someone could show me this at a training session one day? I don't want to use pads though especially on knees as it goes against Eddy's "kiss of the knees" tip.

Beatrice · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:22 pm Subject:

I agree with you Mike, i experienced the same unfriendly behaviour a few times, they kept yelling at me in German, I was not bothered since i don't understand German Wink

And streetskating experience really was a bonus, as i eventually managed to jumped in the middle of the paceline anyway!

KateB · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:29 pm Subject:

Yup, I fell twice (nearly three times)
1 - caught the heel brake of the guy I was following as he did a strange step
2 - guy I was following got knocked by the guys we were passing through, and we did a joint slide
3 - nearly lost it when taking the inside line on a corner and the girl in front of me heel braked! - I hope she understood my english "if you want to take the inside line, you need to do it a lot faster"

Street skating practice held me in really good stead back there in block G/F/E - very few of the pacelines were functioning at all well unless they had a block from the same team together, and even then some v.strange behaviour

Very glad of my kevlar sliding leggings &elbows- I suspect I would have left chunks of flesh behind, and as it is I've only got a few grazes (which are, admittedly, weeping rather ferociously at present). I wouldn't want to go back to racing in chunky knee pads, but I'll keep an eye out for a compromise with a little cushioning. The elbows were great - I just have a big bruise

K

dan_b · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 2428

lemming · Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Posts: 693 Location: Reading, UK

Why so many falls then??

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

KateB · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:38 pm Subject:

IMO why there were falls at the back:
way too many people were starting in what turned out to be the wrong block, so yes, it was crowded and dangerous each time the front of a start block made it's way through the back of another. I was definitely well up block E at the finish. Plus the lack of pacelining experience meant that the skaters took up a lot more of the road than they needed to. My second fall was whilst taking the only gap between a paceline and THREE individual skaters strung accross the road

K