Stance Width and Pole Alignment

In message , Adrian D. Shaw
writes

OK I'm a cyclist. Or I was, don't do so much these days. But since you
asked...

It's completely different. With cycling:
a) your contact point with the ground is not likely to slip unpredictably
(unless you're cornering too fast or in the wet)

Or off-road, or even cycling on refrozen slush!

b) your balance is greatly aided by two large gyroscopes (the wheels)

I don't think they function as separate gyroscopes. On a moving bike if
you lean to one side you swerve that way rather than fall over; the
same's true of a half-competent moving skier.

Cornering on a bicycle is therefore stable unless you're a really bad rider and
afraid to lean into the corners. Provided you're looking where you're going,
and aren't going too fast, you will not fall. Guaranteed.

Only if you're cruising at fairly high speed. Much real cycling is done
at speeds too low for that to be true. I was 19 when I first learnt to
ride a bicyle so I do remember it: it's much harder to reach basic
competence on a bike than on skis because you're unbalanced so much of
the time.


The same can't be said for skiing. The line your skis take around a corner
is not 100% predictable, unlike a bicycle wheel. Therefore small adjustments
to your weighting and stance will have to be made. Even the best carver
won't do a perfect carve every time; snow doesn't behave like a road.

The slalom racers I've watched practicing were turning more precisely
than you can on a bike, and much faster.
At the opposite end, skiers can stay upright without difficulty when
they're barely moving - it's really hard to do that on a bike.

--
Sue ]

'3 years of stem plough '

Nothing back seat about it, I just stay relaxed, but poised, with loose
legs, C of G over the balls of my feet, stance about as wide as I
normally stand, letting the skis run their curve.

Unless I have to foot steer on steep slow stuff when you need a tighter
radius, other wise I tighten the turn by using more edge.