An offroading experiment with Jenex V2 Aero 150s

Looking for a change, I took my Aero 150s over to Tilden Regional Park
this afternoon to try out some of the fire roads. I had tried this
before when the ground was still wet; I figured after weeks without
rain conditions should be better.

My experiences were mixed. The skis were great on flatter / gently
rolling dirt stretches.

The main problem was that the steeper hills are also the areas with a
lot of exposed rocks, uneven surfaces etc. Much more than on snow, if
I stopped on a steep hill it was practically impossible to get moving
again. I also found that if I landed on anything less than a perfectly
flat ski, which was pretty much necessary to V1 up some of the hills,
the ski could slide out from under me.

There were also some spots where the only section of trail free of
debris (mostly eucalyptus leaves, branches and seed pods) was a
single-track. If I poled on the ski that was in the debris, and landed
my off-leg on the clear section of trail, I could V1 up these but even
doing that my skis ground to a halt a couple times. I also felt like I
was so busy looking for the clearest spot to land the ski that body
position, ankle flexion etc. were all over the place.

After about 45 minutes on the trails I did some repeats on a couple of
short, steep paved hills--this was nice b/c after the resistance of the
dirt path it felt like my skis were flying.

Basically, the skis are pretty good off-road as long as the terrain is
fairly flat / rolling. Obstacles on the trail etc. limit the hills I
could climb; hills that would have been easy on pavement or snow
brought me to a stop when covered with rocks & debris.

Derick, I tried that here in the Penninsula, too (Ranch San Antonio).
Just too much loose gravels and small rocks, not fun. I was able to
push through in all places, but it was not skiing. I felt sorry for my
rollerskis. Actually, when the trail was covered with leaves it was a
bit better.

The "geology" of CA is not right for offroad rollerskis. Just too much
rocks, loose sand and dust. In the east, we have dry mud and packed
sand which was a blast to ski on.

Derick: I have tried my 150's out here in PA with similar mixed
results. The biggest difficulty that I had, though, was clearance. On
hard-packed dirt, even a tad muddy, I was ok but this part of PA is old
mountains and seriously rocky.
Anytime that I crossed a stone that was a bit more out of the ground
than - I guess it's about 1.25 in - bam! The skate would stop. Too much
of that spoils the continuity of a workout.
Pete