FWIW, I've been inline skating with poles since the late '80's ... you've got
to find bigger hills to climb with inlines. Yeah, the downhills are fast, but
the time going down is shorter, then right back up the next climb, you can keep
your HR up plenty. We picked out some long loops (~25km) in the country, going
clockwise to minimize road crossing. Also look for roads that lack stop signs
at the bottom of the downhills, sure saves on $$ replacing the brakes. With
practice, you can skate down just about anything doing slolom turns, or in
unfamiliar territory, walk in the grass (or snow banks in a low snow January).
There was only one hill we wouldn't go down ... Tans Road ... long, twisty,
blind turns. Made for an excellent climb, but just too risky for a decent on
blades ! =

jw
milwaukee