Rhone – Lake Bodensee Skating Holiday

Many people enjoy walking and cycling holiday vacations. Why not skating?

Guided by qualified skate instructors we will roll between 20-40 km per day along smooth paths. Pittstops will help to break up the routes giving you the opportunity stop a take your skates off and finish after the distance that suits you.

Opportunities will present themselves for bathing in lakes or lakeside swimming pools and to stop for refreshments by the waterside. You may need it. Average temperatures will likely rise to 30c at this time of year.

Switzerland’s lush climate makes it very green all year round. Some follow railways, canals or the perimeter of the lake passing through lush green meadows, woods and farmland to every now and then reappear near to bathing venues or lakeside cafes.

We will also travel along the banks of the Rhine in the Rhine valley where the magnificent Swiss Alps will be visible on either side.
We will stay in a beautiful and typical hotel in a natural surrounding environment in the lakeside town of Rorschach. Rorschach is on Lake Bodensee.

We will visit typically European towns and villages in the area for shopping or sightseeing trips – or just more skating if you prefer?

Interested? Find out more at Skate Escape

I took the ICP level 1 course with Asha (also of Skatefresh) in September 2006 along with a varied group of half-a-dozen friendly skaters ranging in age between 20-something and 50-something. Starting on a Friday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon this was both a fun and a challenging weekend, in which the participants experienced for themselves the excitement of learning many new skills thanks to Asha’s well-honed and inspiring teaching. Her enthusiasm for both skating and for teaching were quickly transmitted to the class of would-be instructors, as on Saturday morning in front of the Albert Memorial we were taken through the ‘teachable skills’ and ’additional skills’ which we would later need to demonstrate. The rest of the day was devoted to learning in detail how to teach the basic skills for beginners and advanced beginners.

I confess we were all quite tired by Saturday evening when we retired to the library of the ‘Vic’ (our  famous skater-friendly pub) to do the theory test – despite the familiar and convivial surroundings this for me was the least happy period of the course! However the real moment of truth arrived on Sunday morning when we were each examined in turn whilst giving a group lesson to our fellow students. Our skating skills were tested in the afternoon. The atmosphere remained fun, friendly and mutually supportive throughout, which helped us all to perform at our best. Retiring once more to the Vic, we eventually received our results – all had passed, but it was certainly not a ‘walk-over’ or even a ‘skate-over’! Now I am looking forward to passing on basic skating skills to beginners to foster the recreational and sporting activity which we all love…

Alastair Johnston

Adult Skate Purchases
Your Decathlon skate purchase entitles you to 1 hour of free inline skate  class, with Skatefresh, London’s most respected and experienced skating school.

Whichever option you choose, you need to book in advance by following the normal booking procedure on the appropriate class page. Please make sure you tick the Decathlon option when asked, ‘How did you hear about Skatefresh’.

You can choose which ever group class level is appropriate for you and you can attend the first hour for free.

If you are a beginner, we have 2 beginner groups to choose from: They are both aimed at the complete beginner, the only difference is one class is on 1 day and the other is a course over 3 weekends.
Half Day Beginner class (11am – 2pm) in St John’s Wood or SkateSchool 3 week beginner course
in Hyde Park.

The other groups you could join are Improver and Intermediate level, again the first hour is yours for free.

After your free hour of class you are free to leave, but we encourage you to ‘stay and pay’,  paying only for the remaining hours so you get the maximum benefit. Often people are only starting to ‘get it’ after an hour of class time.

If you choose to attend the 3 hour Half Day Beginner class, 11am-12pm is your free hour. If you wish to stay on from 12-2pm the rest of the class will cost £30. You can pay this to your instructor on the day if you decide you would like to continue or when you book if you know you’d like this option. Full details of the Half Day beginner classes to be found here: Half Day beginner. Skatefresh provides skate hire for adult classes so do bring along any friends who dont have skates who can try it out for the class. They also need to book.

If you choose any of our 3 week Skateschool courses (Beginner, Improver or Intermediate, 2 hour classes once a week for 3 weeks), the first hour of any week 1 session is yours for free. If you wish to stay on to complete the first week’s 2 hour class this will cost £10. If you wish to continue for the rest of the course (and come back the following 2 weeks) this will be charged at a further £50. The full course usually costs £75. Full course dates and information here:
3 week Skateschool in hyde park

Children’s Skate Purchases
If you have purchased a pair of children’s skates from Decathlon you are entitled to a 50% discount off your first Kids’ Club class.
These children’s rollerblading lessons usually cost £10 so Decathlon customers will pay only £5.

Kids Club dates please see the Kids Club page.

You will need your Decathlon receipt as proof of purchase. Please make sure you bring it with you. You will also need to have protective gear (minimum knees and wrist guards and a helmet).

We look forward to your booking choice and getting you rolling soon.

Go to your chosen class page and choose coursedate and follow the booking proceedure. You willbe sent all the information you need.

You know that Spring has well and truly started when the legendary LondonSkate street skate kicks off every April, this year on Wednesday 18^th at 8pm, from the band stand on Serpentine Road in Hyde Park.

This Wednesday Night skate is in its 7^th year of operation (hence the legendary status) and Skatefresh has always had strong connections with this fantastic free event. In the early days Skatefresh used to provide free beginner inline skating lessons and then later we ran our ‘Introduction to Street skating’ course alongside the skate, helping countless wannabes get to grips with the basics of street skating before going on the adventure for real.

This year Skatefresh wishes the LondonSkate every success and we continue to promote and advertise this fun, energy filled, mass rolling movement.

We have moved our street skating class to the more beginner friendly ‘Sunday Stroll’, providing ‘Intro to Stroll’ workshops every 1^st and 3^rd Sunday of the month (2-4pm starting 1^st April and running indefinitely)

Wednesday night’s LondonSkate rolls on with zupped up music bike, great party tunes and beautiful London routes (different every week) to make you boogie and sing out loud as you skate through London.

Intro to Stroll would be great preparation for anyone wanting to participate in any mass street skate, in London or anywhere else in the world.

When asked “What do you do?” the most common reaction to my answer of “rollerblading instructor” is, “Wow, what a cool job”. I do feel very fortunate to have a job that involves spending time with people who are in their free time and enjoying themselves, being outdoors and getting exercise while being ‘at work’. There are some down sides of course like any job (such as a dip in weekend socialising activities and croaky voice) but the balance remains in my favour.

It is with this attitude that I enjoy initiating good skaters to the instructor process in my role as ICP (Inline Certification Programme) UK Director and Examiner. I also enjoy dispelling some of the assumptions about being a skate instructor (mainly that its ‘easy’, involves nothing more than heel braking a lot and is a doddle to pass).

The next ICP Level 1 course will be taking place in London from 20^th-22^nd April with candidates coming from Pakistan, Spain and Portugal to join a host of UK based inline skaters. The group dynamics on a course are always interesting as much work is done in small groups of 2-4 people and candidates learn by teaching each other. This leads to quickly forming friendships and a huge sense of fun within the stress of getting it right and learning properly.

Many different kinds of skaters decide they want to give rollerblading lessons. Have you been teaching your mates for years on an ad hoc basis? Do you want to earn money doing what you love? Do you think this might look god on your CV? Some want to get back to basics to help them progress with their own skating.

Regardless of their motives, all ICP Level 1 candidates share a love of inline skating and a desire to get more people involved. No one is sure what to expect which is why the preparation session a month before was devised, where candidates are shown the required skating skills and the specific level of execution needed to pass the course.

Becoming an ICP certified instructor involves a 2.5 day course plus a 2 hour skating skills session a month beforehand. Most skaters who have been through the process will admit to it being an intensive and demanding challenge, but ultimately a rewarding process.

The course focuses on giving candidates a thorough understanding of the teaching model which allows for lesson planning and a coverage of all essential learning aspects, such as accurate demonstration of skills, breaking up of skills into 3 easy parts, sequencing for easier progressions, monitoring and adjusting students mistakes and providing a summary at the end.

The examination process involves 3 parts, a written theory paper of short answer questions, a skating skills test and a 15 minute taught inline skate lesson.

Many good skaters are surprised at the difficulty they encounter in trying to skate the ‘easy’ beginner skills to ICP specification. This is because ICP believes that a good demo of a skill provides a new learner with a lot of useful information, while a sloppy demo doesn’t help someone learn. This can cause problems when skills are expected to be perfectly demoed on each side (or on each leg) where appropriate. Here, even advanced and experienced skaters come to see their ‘bad side’ as a real weakness and an area of focus. It is surprising how many candidates have trouble with their Stride 2 and Spin stops due to unequal proficiency on different legs. Even instructors have a weak side, but it shouldn’t be visible in a demo!

I look forward to reporting on the progress of this years candidates and welcoming more skaters into my world of being an inline skating instructor, and earning money doing what you love.

Asha Kirkby
ICP Level 3
Skatefresh Manager
ICP UK Director

When Mike and Alison met in a Skatefresh group class, they had no idea how inline skating was about to transform every aspect of their lives. They had not only learned to skate that day, but met their future spouse.

Their love of inline skating grew as they fell in love with each other and they became Serpentine Road regulars, setting up their own slalom cups (in the days when there was only one set this was quite radical and the start of a spreading trend).

When they finally got engaged, they planned a summer wedding with skates featuring heavily in the proceedings. This YouTube link shows you the fairytale scene of them skating from the church in their first ‘glides’ as husband and wife.

YouTube Video

….ever wondered what happened to these guys after the wedding out of a skate fairy tale?

Well when we last checked on them they provided up with a great update:

Since marrying, we have skated every weekend and taken our skates with us on holidays in Las Vegas, Santa Monica and Cyprus. When we left London for Cheltenham in a moment of madness, it was skating that brought us back to London again a couple of years later. We simply couldn’t find anywhere to rival the Seprentine, and now choose our London homes based on proximity to Hyde Park! We’re found every Saturday in the same spot on the Serpentine Road and reckon that always skating (and not having kids) is the secret to a happy marriage!

Can you believe it?!! This has to be my perfect holiday! Doing what I love most, in a fabulous location. Exploring and being taught to go faster by a world class skater.

A little apprehensive of my level at first, I was a SpeedCamp virgin. Other participants were well initiated in the world of racing on skates. I was relieved though to find that skaters were at varying levels.

The skating in Mallorca in 2006 was unbeatable. Smooth tarmac and quiet roads. We went on some lovely skates – mainly through fields and open grassland, sometimes coming out by the sea.

Residence was in the friendly Ivory Playa in Porte d’Alcudia which is right on the beach and has a bar and pool to chill out by too. This is important if you’ve been taking your skating seriously. But how serious you are is up to you. I deliberately tested myself by trying to keep up with some of the faster guys (phew).

The itinerary was mostly drills and instruction in speed technique in the mornings. If you’d not done much speed work before, then recovery, D-shapes, pulling, pushing, double pushing, gliding, set down, falling…..the wealth of jargon and schools of thought attached to ‘Technique’ becomes your own language very quickly. Barry who is an expert in sports science and has a way of explaining the bio mechanics of it all in a digestible format according to your level.

The afternoons we’d go off on a leisure skate or do some filming for video analysis later on. Watching ourselves in a video review proved an extremely useful tool for learning. Barry encouraged us to pick out and analyse aspects of both our own and each others skating so that we become more aware of how we skate and what we can improve.

Since SpeedCamp Mallorca (link), I have vastly improved my speed. This is not fitness related but due to learning the how to get the most out of my stride. I am constantly aware of what my body is doing when I skate (and I also watch others closely to see what they can improve on too).

A month later I pulled off my very best inline marathon time and held my teams’ best average lap times at the Le Mans 24 hours race (link).

Many people have returned year on year as this kind of lifestyle holiday can be highly addictive.

Further info:
Linda@skatefresh.com
Tel: 07906 449 437
Website:
http://www.speedcamp.ca/mallorca_2007.shtml
Or email Barry direct on:
Barry@breakawayskate.com mentioning the skatefresh website.

You may remember the adventures of British skate boarder Dave Cornthwait who
 completed his record breaking skate across Australia. Its took him 5 months to skateboard from Perth to Brisbane (via Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney).

Some of us know Dave personally as he’s part of the slalom skateboard crew whouse the Beach end of Serpentine Road. 

He only changed wheels 5 times during the 5 months but wore out 14 pairs of shoes! Like rollerblading, skateboarding uphill can be very tiring and Dave said these were some of his low points during the skate. But the constant support throughout the trip by local inline skaters, boarders, cyclists and pedestrians were his constant highlights.

Dave was interviewed by Richard and Judy, in his first TV interview since returning to the UK. Please help support Dave’s tremendous efforts and donate what you can to his chosen charities. We at Skatefresh always look forward to seeing him at Serpentine Road in some inline skate classes. You’ll know who he is, he’s the guy with one calf bigger than the other!

Check out Dave’s website for TV reports, personal blogs and diaries and fantastic footage from his epic journey. What are you going to do when you are tired of your job?

Board Free

From the streets to the skate park – the first instalment of Louise’s skate park diary

Back when I was at uni, I took my inline skates and headed to a small skate park in Hyde Park, Leeds. Two of the local youths taught me a couple of basic manoeuvres and I loved it. But then, after a nasty fall that destroyed my trousers and my pride but not much else, I never got around to going back. In July 2005, with the arrival of Debs from a skate school in Australia, I finally had an excuse to get back in there and give it another go.

As a skatefresh instructor I am obviously a fairly advanced skater so it was a bit strange to be a beginner again. However, with Debs’ watchful eye it didn’t take me long to get my courage. Pretty soon I found myself standing over the edge of the 4ft mini ramp on the coping (the metal rail) trying to get the courage to ‘drop in’. This involves rolling over the edge, into the half pipe, then going up the other side. I couldn’t believe it but I made it, and without falling too.

After a bit of practice I got the hand of rolling out the other side, like all the cool kids do, instead of scrambling out in a very uncool fashion. Unfortunately, now I’m hooked. The adrenaline you feel from riding in the skate park is just brilliant. You push yourself just out of your comfort zone every time but you get amazing rewards for it. I’ve been watching Debs in the park and she drops into the 12ft vert ramp with ease. That’s what I’ve decided to aim for. One day that will be m

Graduating from the mini to midi

I’ve been going to the skate park (Bay 66) for a couple of months now and I’ve even started dropping into the midi ramp (6ft). The principle is the same as the mini ramp but it starts to get scarier as you get higher.

Recently, I’ve been skating in the street course area of the park a little more. I’ve even managed to get enough speed to clear the funbox in one jump. This is a ramp up, a flat bit across and then a ramp down and I can jump on the way up and clear the middle flat bit. It looks pretty cool if I can manage a grab in the middle too.

The great thing is that we’ve started a trend. There were always a few inline skaters there but it is mainly skate boarders. However, the other night we had loads of us down there, about 15 of the regulars from Hyde Park. I even helped the beginners with a few tips on how to pump in the ramps (building up speed going backwards and forwards in the half pipe).

My latest trick is learning to stall. This is going up to the coping and then instead of coming out of the ramp you stall on the coping and drop back in again. It’s the first stage before you can learn to grind something.

I sat on the edge of the big vert today and looked down over the edge. It is SO scary. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to drop into it. It just goes straight down. Maybe one day…

Be brave and just go for it

Wooooohooooo! I did it! Today I stood up on the edge of the vert (12ft) and I dropped into it. It was an amazing feeling. I soared up the other side, turned round and came back down and had a massive grin on my face. Of course, I climbed straight back up and did it again.

I’ve come to the conclusion that when you ride the park there are two voices in your head. One says “don’t do it, don’t be stupid, you know it will hurt”. The other says “go on, just go for it”. If you stand on the edge looking at the drop the first voice starts to get louder and louder and eventually, it wins. If you want to skate that ramp and become an aggressive inline skater you need to listen to the second voice and just go for it.

Before I stood up and dropped into the vert, I had to do it from a sitting position. This took me ages. Weeks in fact. I just couldn’t get up the courage. But then, one week, with everyone willing me on, I just thought “it’s now or never” and went for it. OK, so I crashed and burned in the bottom but I knew I’d had my knees too straight and it hadn’t hurt so I got back up and tried again and this time it worked. I was so happy and it took me much less time to get the courage to stand up and drop in.

So now I have a new goal. I want to get good enough to teach people how to skate people in the skate park. I need to learn some new tricks but one day I’ll be good enough to help Debs with the lessons.

One more thing I should say, a lot of people think aggressive skating is really dangerous. There are risks involved but if you wear a helmet and aggressive padding (great big pads including elbow pads) you can really cut down the risk of serious injury. I’ve had my share of bumps and bruises and so have my friends but aggressive skating doesn’t seem to be much more risky than the average street skate.

Hope you can join me and Debs in the skate park soon.

Saturday 16th December 2006. Central London. 350+ Skating Santas.

Did you see us go by? Were you lucky enough to be part of the best Xmas spirit event London had to offer? This was the finale to a fantastic year of street skates run by London’s dedicated teams of marshals and skaters, providing safe skating for hundreds of skaters on London’s street skates. London has more official street skates than any other city in the world. The Wednesday night skate www.Londonskate.com, the London Friday night skate and the Sunday Stroll (both at www.lfns.co.uk).

The Santa skate was a fun, fundraiser for the LondonSkate as for years the Wednesday night skate has run as a free event, with costs coming out of organizers pockets. The £10 entry fee to the Santa Skate (which gave us our Santa suits, hats and beards) will help provide walkie talkies, batteries, fluoro vests and of course updating the brilliant mobile music bikes (and music backpacks). A huge thanks to Anya and Pope for their massive input as well as of course all the marshals from all skates whose efforts, skills and fitness are appreciated by all.

‘What is it you are doing?’ is a common question from spectators of the street skates. We are using the city in a way to promote skating as a viable health and fitness option for adults of all ages and walks of life. The police are informed of our routes and our marshals are well trained and experienced at guiding the skate safely through the streets of London causing as little disruption as possible. Skating in London’s parks is severely restricted, so street skating is a way of getting lots of miles under your wheels, as well as being a great way to see the city.

As Manager of Skatefresh skateschool I am not a regular street skater as I am usually running our popular ‘Intro to street skating’ course and am always teaching during weekends. However, this means that when I do go on a street skate I am overwhelmed by the positive attitude of all skaters, the friendliness and sense of community we all share and the sense of wonder we impart to non-skaters watching from the pavements. The Santa Skate was indeed a spectacle to behold. At the front Rudolph (aka Roger) led the sexi reindeers where Skatefresh’s very own Linda was to be seen dancing and prancing. Behind the reindeer Santa’s sleigh (aka the music bike) was decked out with pressies and followed by the mass Santas. The lack of Santa’s traditional big belly is testament to how good skating is for you!

All along the central London route, Saturday shoppers were aghast at the sight. I have never seen so many cameras taking pictures in all my life! Why does skating bring out such astonished reactions? Is it the sense of innocence that we associate with skating and then the contradiction that this skating group are obviously not kids! Who knows. What I do know is that a lot of happiness was spread, and hopefully more people will consider rollerblading as something they could do in the future. If you don’t believe us, why not try our 5 week Beginner to Street skater course which promises to take you on a street skate by the 5th week. Now there’s a challenge for a new year’s resolution!