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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Eric Osborn
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Thursday, 01 February 2007 |
Crossing Over
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After a bizarre warm December, winter has arrived in Southern Maine in earnest. Temps have been below freezing – often way below freezing – for several weeks. We’ve also had just enough snow to thoroughly cover all the trails in the woods, not quite enough for decent backcountry skiing, but enough that the local Nordic centers have been able to groom trails. So my mountain bike has been hung up for the time being, and I’ve finally put some miles into my skis.
So this article is about why mountain biking and cross country skiing (in all its forms) are such great crossover sports. If you’re a mountain biker who thinks snow equals trainer, or a cross country skier needing a dryland trail fix for those many months when the woods are bare, it’s time to cross over.
 | | Big Al & R Squared getting some skate on |
If you’re a biker who has never skied, you’ll discover quickly how important technique is. Remember how it took you a couple seasons to figure out how to get over all those roots and rocks on your favorite trail? If you are new to cross country skiing, be patient, it will take some time to feel fluid. In my opinion, the secret to both skate and classic techniques is being able to shift your weight completely from one ski to the other. If your weight stays in the middle, you will miss out on the power and the glide you need to be fast and efficient. If you want to know more, take some lessons from a pro. They will be worth it.
Because the techniques are different, the muscles are a bit different too. I’ve heard people say skate technique is more analogous to biking, and classic skiing is more like running. All I know for sure is that the day after my first classic ski every year, the muscles on the inside of my thighs are fried from kicking my leg far forward and pulling myself up over it – not exactly a biking motion.
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Both sports are full-body, though. Various technical sources say that in cross country skiing your upper body provides 10% to 100% of your forward speed, depending on technique. If you’ve never mountain biked, you might assume that your upper body will be just along for the ride, but the soreness you will feel after a long ride and a satisfying lean-buffness you will notice in the mirror after a hard season will prove that mountain biking works your core too.
Your mountain bike technique may not help you much on skis, but your mountain bike lungs will. I don’t know which sport is more aerobically demanding. I think it’s a tie as to weather biking or skiing hard uphill makes me want to barf more.
Your mountain bike brain will also be a great asset for cross country skiing. Both skiing and biking demand the ability to react to terrain, to pick lines, to shift your balance, to carry your momentum. Just like you switch gears and body position on your bike to keep your speed over hills and through corners, you change your technique and balance on skis to do the same.
As you build experience biking or skiing, the mechanics become natural. The effort, the balance, the transitions, slip back from your conscious thought enough to let you smell the woods, enjoy the thrill of speed, feel the float as wheels or skis unweight for a moment. I imagine that this is just like what it feels like to play jazz, to have such a mastery of the mechanics of music that your mind is free to experience it as one beautiful fluid motion you can take wherever you want. This is where these sports are fundamentally similar, and why I love them so much.
Jam on.
Erik
Editor's Note:
Bikeman now has added a full line ski care products and accessories to the Winter Store. Whether it is ski/snowboard wax, ski care tools or nordic ski poles that you need Bikeman has you covered. If you can't ride, glide!
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; "click to enlarge")
; "Big Al & R Squared getting some skate on")
; "click to enlarge")
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