Road skating is the
sportSport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
of
skatingThere are several varieties of skating:*Ice skating and various sub-forms:**Figure skating**Ice hockey**Speed skating**Tour skating*Roller skating and various sub-forms:**Artistic roller skating**Freestyle slalom skating**Aggressive inline skating...
(inline skating or
roller skatingRoller skating is the traveling on smooth terrain with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation...
) on
roadA road is an identifiable route, way or path between places.
s, much like
road cyclingRoad cycling is the most widespread form of cycling. It takes place primarily on paved surfaces. It includes recreational, racing, and utility cycling...
.
Roadskaters often skate in tight packs, drafting each other and sharing the lead, which allows a pack to travel faster than an individual skater. The individual members of a pack use comparatively less energy than the lone skater traveling at the same speed. Even the lead skater in the pack enjoys an advantage from the drafting skaters behind.
While gliding downhill, an inline skater in a tucked position can achieve speeds that exceed the speed of a tucked cyclist.
Road skating is the
sportSport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
of
skatingThere are several varieties of skating:*Ice skating and various sub-forms:**Figure skating**Ice hockey**Speed skating**Tour skating*Roller skating and various sub-forms:**Artistic roller skating**Freestyle slalom skating**Aggressive inline skating...
(inline skating or
roller skatingRoller skating is the traveling on smooth terrain with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation...
) on
roadA road is an identifiable route, way or path between places.
s, much like
road cyclingRoad cycling is the most widespread form of cycling. It takes place primarily on paved surfaces. It includes recreational, racing, and utility cycling...
.
Roadskaters often skate in tight packs, drafting each other and sharing the lead, which allows a pack to travel faster than an individual skater. The individual members of a pack use comparatively less energy than the lone skater traveling at the same speed. Even the lead skater in the pack enjoys an advantage from the drafting skaters behind.
While gliding downhill, an inline skater in a tucked position can achieve speeds that exceed the speed of a tucked cyclist. This is due to lower wind resistance. The rolling resistance is similar for a cyclist and a skater — it is only when actively skating (i.e., in the skating stroke) that the skater incurs greater resistance. Skating is roughly 50% slower than cycling on flat ground.
Skaters routinely achieve downhill speeds of 60 km/h, similar to cyclists. Compared to cyclists, though, skaters particularly suffer on uphills, when the drafting advantage disappears.
A skating paceline going down hills may easily achieve speeds faster than a cycling paceline of equal length. The reason is that the road skating paceline has a much more efficient draft effect. The draft effect in road skating is superior for three reasons:
- each skater can be much closer to the person in front of her, whereas each cyclist is limited by the distance of the wheels;
- each skater gaining inertia energy
In physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law...
from being in the draft can translate this energy to the person in front of her by maintaining contact (usually by placing a hand on the lower back of the person in front); and
- the skater has much less equipment-related aerodynamic drag than the cyclist.
Cross training
Skating (especially road skating) is much more like cycling than running in terms of the muscles employed. Cyclists and skaters commonly participate in each other's sports as cross-training. Runners often switch to road skating due to injuries associated with the impact of running. Many skiers use road skating for off-season and pre-season conditioning as well. In addition, skating is an excellent cross-training activity for a wide range of other sports due to the lateral (side-to-side) motion involved in the skating stride.
Drafting
Road skating in a pack has some common rules that most skaters follow.
Such rules include skating in single file except when passing or moving
into the back of the pack, rotational "pulling" in the front of the pack
to shield the rest of the pack from the wind, and signaling about road
conditions, hazards and alike to skaters in the back of the pack. Single-file skating in a pack is mostly dictated by the need to minimize the
impact of air resistance on the pack, thus shielding from the wind
behind the back of the first person who is "pulling" the pack. "Pulling"
is associated with up to 30% higher energy exertion; thus, it is
generally accepted that skaters rotate through "pulls," allowing for
equal energy exertion through the pack. A skater who has finished
"pulling" steps out of the pack and slowly moves into the back of the
pack. The skater in front of the pack has a better view of the road
ahead and points and calls out road hazards (holes, cracks, water
puddles, cars, etc.).
Street skating
Street skating is the practice of
roller skatingRoller skating is the traveling on smooth terrain with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation...
(commonly on
inline skates'Inline skates' are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which are configured with two front and two rear wheels, inline skates have two, three, four or five wheels arranged in a single line...
or quad skates) in groups on public roads. Street skates can be formal affairs, with prespecified routes, marshals and, at times,
policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
escorts or ad hoc gatherings of like minded individuals.
There are organised street skates in a number of cities around the world. Some of the largest are in Paris (the 'Pari Roller'),
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
and Berlin. London also has an active street skating scene and a smaller scene can be found in Nottingham.
Friday Night Skate
A Friday Night Skate (often abbreviated to FNS) is a group skate occurring on Friday nights, a common night for a street skate in many cities throughout the world.
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