Hugh P wrote:

world cup ski trails are roller-ski trails underneath) I don't think I
ever saw an adult roller-skiing in a helmet; the only significant
injury I heard of there was incurred on roller-blades, which are far
less stable at high speeds (and it would not have been prevented by
helmets or pads). Of course, not crashing entails judgment about the
kind of roads you ski on: if you are scared of hitting a stone then
you are probably not skiing well anyway - that was why I started
wearing a head-lamp for night roller-skiing.

If you do an advanced google groups search on rsn, you'll find a few
years ago Jay T fell on his noggin rollerskiing and broke his jaw and
whatever else. One of those bad pole plant episodes, if I recall right.

A few contributors to this thread have suggested that, "If you are
scared...," then something's wrong. First of all, anyone who does high
risk work knows that when you're not scared is precisely when you're
most likely to get hurt. It's that controlled fear which keeps one
alert for danger. With rollerskis, one of those dangers is rocks. Yes,
depending on the ski wheel size, speed, angle of contact and use of a
fender, a rock can definitely bring one down. So can a small twig,
as small as about 1/4" x 1" long. To the extent that rollerskiing is
not just exercise but also an attempt to improve one's form (technique,
balance, speed), then progressively challenging those fears is
essential for improvement.

rm