how to going though barriers in the city

[seb4fun]

Hi

after years in the city i'm still not comfortable to go through pavements and other cackles near sidewalks. When i'm going to cross a street, most of the time it's okay but if i find out a small barriers/pavement/hole on the ground just near the sidewalk i'm just afraid to fall down !
maybe jumping over ?

do you have any tips for that or video link / Tutorial ?

thanks

hardware:
- atom roadhogs wheels or Miami 65mm 80A
- rolline blaster plate

[Tarninou]

Hi.

You probably still do that but just in case: you can pass through those things with your feets "offset" (I don't know if that word is correct here). I mean, with one foot forward and the other one behind. Not on the same line, for exemple, left foot left/forward and right foot right/behind.

It 's more stable like that and helps.

[PRFunky]

When I skate outdoors, one of the things I run into alot of being in a city
is those knobby metal plates about 2 foot wide by a foot and a half long
that they put in for wheelchair grip on corners. Anything really bumpy
like that absolutely sucks on skates. What I generally do is float one foot
forward over and lift the back foot over the instant I'd put the forward
foot down. I'm six feet tall so, long legs, not too difficult a manouver. If I'm
going much faster, then I generally jump those with both feet up at once.

[seb4fun]

Originally Posted by Tarninou

Hi.

You probably still do that but just in case: you can pass through those things with your feets "offset" (I don't know if that word is correct here). I mean, with one foot forward and the other one behind. Not on the same line, for exemple, left foot left/forward and right foot right/behind.

It 's more stable like that and helps.

yes indeed it's my favorite workarround, staying low and one foot forward
the point is: what if the first rollerskate stop suddently / lock because of the barrier on the ground, will i fall down ?
because of that question in my head, i use my stoppers and "walk" over but it's efficient only with small speed, so i slow down and the risk of locking increase !

infernal loop

[seb4fun]

Originally Posted by PRFunky

When I skate outdoors, one of the things I run into alot of being in a city
is those knobby metal plates about 2 foot wide by a foot and a half long
that they put in for wheelchair grip on corners. Anything really bumpy
like that absolutely sucks on skates. What I generally do is float one foot
forward over and lift the back foot over the instant I'd put the forward
foot down. I'm six feet tall so, long legs, not too difficult a manouver. If I'm
going much faster, then I generally jump those with both feet up at once.

do you mean as a pendulum ?

[BigFoot]

Cracks, barriers, and holes, oh my! This adds new meaning to the term “mean streets.” I would add leaves, bottle caps, broken glass, dirt/mud and bad pavement. Bad, broken pavement is possibly the worst because sometimes occurs in long patches - too long to jump over or get through without being slowed to a stop. And when you lose your forward momentum, you’re screwed. It’s like you said, the risk of locking goes up. You lose control and might hit the ground. I have always thought it interesting that I never fall at cruising speed; only when I am stopped or nearly stopped. And BTW, I always seem to fall in front of a crowd of people. WTF? So embarrassing.

Jump Over. Little jumps work. I use this all the time. After awhile you don’t so much jump as hop or foot lift over things. If it’s very small, I just lift the front wheels and roll over it. I’m not good at big jumps, AKA, big air, hang time. The big ones hurt my legs and are tricky to complete. I see people jumping over trash cans, so I suppose you could practice this and make it work. It’s just not for me.

Walk Through. Walking trough obstacles is a good choice. I do this a lot. Walking in skates is hard, though, and I think there is a mental adjustment, too. After zooming along at an enjoyable rate, you don’t want to suddenly stop and walk at a pace of 10-inch per step. What’s more, I think that I look frightened, unsteady, nervous, and unprofessional when I walk on skates. I try to look cool, but I still feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. But sometimes that’s what it takes. Attitude is everything. I tell myself to just get through it and move on.

Roll Through. So the way I roll through these crappy things is to assume the “squat & lean back position.” Getting small (squatting) makes you a little less top heavy and a little less likely to tip over. It’s not a deep squat, it’s more like the defensive back stance in a football game: arms out to the side, knees and hips slightly bent, feet shoulder width apart and staggered, chest slightly over your feet. If this sounds too complicated, it’s not. This is the position people naturally take when they think they might fall, like when they are out hiking and step on a loose rock. You get low and throw your arms out. You are in a “ready” position, ready to lean and correct your balance. And if you fall, you won’t bounce as high because you are closer to the ground. Also remember to lean back in your “ready” stance. When your wheels hit the crappy stuff they will rapidly slow down or stop, and everything above your skates will keep going forward. Having a slight backward lean will counteract this. You will prolly need to adjust the angle of your backward lean in response to the amount of slowdown. The balancing system in your brain can make these adjustments in nanoseconds (remarkable), but at the time it will seem like everything is in slow motion. Ha.

Like so many things in skating, these techniques work better with practice and repetition.

[rufusprime99]

Originally Posted by Tarninou

Hi.

You probably still do that but just in case: you can pass through those things with your feets "offset" (I don't know if that word is correct here). I mean, with one foot forward and the other one behind. Not on the same line, for exemple, left foot left/forward and right foot right/behind.

It 's more stable like that and helps.

Another word for that, that I normally use is straddle. One foot in front. In some cases on the foot in front WITH the toe lifted. With luck, and a wide straddle, the front foot will be over the rough spot before the rear hits it. Then shift some, or all of your weight to the front foot after it is past the rough spot.

Hate those wheelchair rough spots. Forget it. I'll step off or up, a curb to avoid that.

[seb4fun]

Originally Posted by BigFoot

Cracks, barriers, and holes, oh my! This adds new meaning to the term “mean streets.” I would add leaves, bottle caps, broken glass, dirt/mud and bad pavement. Bad, broken pavement is possibly the worst because sometimes occurs in long patches - too long to jump over or get through without being slowed to a stop. And when you lose your forward momentum, you’re screwed. It’s like you said, the risk of locking goes up. You lose control and might hit the ground. I have always thought it interesting that I never fall at cruising speed; only when I am stopped or nearly stopped. And BTW, I always seem to fall in front of a crowd of people. WTF? So embarrassing.

Jump Over. Little jumps work. I use this all the time. After awhile you don’t so much jump as hop or foot lift over things. If it’s very small, I just lift the front wheels and roll over it. I’m not good at big jumps, AKA, big air, hang time. The big ones hurt my legs and are tricky to complete. I see people jumping over trash cans, so I suppose you could practice this and make it work. It’s just not for me.

Walk Through. Walking trough obstacles is a good choice. I do this a lot. Walking in skates is hard, though, and I think there is a mental adjustment, too. After zooming along at an enjoyable rate, you don’t want to suddenly stop and walk at a pace of 10-inch per step. What’s more, I think that I look frightened, unsteady, nervous, and unprofessional when I walk on skates. I try to look cool, but I still feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. But sometimes that’s what it takes. Attitude is everything. I tell myself to just get through it and move on.

Roll Through. So the way I roll through these crappy things is to assume the “squat & lean back position.” Getting small (squatting) makes you a little less top heavy and a little less likely to tip over. It’s not a deep squat, it’s more like the defensive back stance in a football game: arms out to the side, knees and hips slightly bent, feet shoulder width apart and staggered, chest slightly over your feet. If this sounds too complicated, it’s not. This is the position people naturally take when they think they might fall, like when they are out hiking and step on a loose rock. You get low and throw your arms out. You are in a “ready” position, ready to lean and correct your balance. And if you fall, you won’t bounce as high because you are closer to the ground. Also remember to lean back in your “ready” stance. When your wheels hit the crappy stuff they will rapidly slow down or stop, and everything above your skates will keep going forward. Having a slight backward lean will counteract this. You will prolly need to adjust the angle of your backward lean in response to the amount of slowdown. The balancing system in your brain can make these adjustments in nanoseconds (remarkable), but at the time it will seem like everything is in slow motion. Ha.

Like so many things in skating, these techniques work better with practice and repetition.

thanks a lot for this great and useful feedback !

Most of the time, when i go through i notice that the difficulty was really below my expectations (easier than expected), so i will pratice again and again, increase my confidence and stay vigilent to avoid any injury

[Tarninou]

Originally Posted by rufusprime99

Another word for that, that I normally use is straddle. .

Thanks for the word, english is not my motehr tongue, I sometimes say with long phrases what should take a word.

[JorisKB]

Just keep your weight on the back wheels, that way if something get in the way and block them you will be thrown on your front wheels and get over it.

[seb4fun]

Originally Posted by JorisKB

Just keep your weight on the back wheels, that way if something get in the way and block them you will be thrown on your front wheels and get over it.

thanks i'm goint to test that