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First find a long incline with a good run-out,
lots of bailout possibilities, free of rubbish, traffic, etc. Always approach
your practice hill from the bottom up! This way you choose how big a bite you
want to take.
Second, skate a little way up & go down. If you
feel good with that, move up a little higher, go down, move up, etc. When you
find the point on the hill where you start to feel you are only just in control
- position B - mark it with a rock or something & work to or below this point,
doing descent repetitions. When you are ready push yourself a little higher on
the slope - position B1 - & go beyond that position. The purpose of this exercise
is to build a skill foundation gradually.
You definitely want to avoid getting in over your
head & getting thrashed on a big hill. Then you have not only to learn new
skills, you have got to overcome hill phobia as well!
Time for an anecdote, to make my point:
Sometime ago some of my skating pals
& I rented skates with
a whole group of our other friends who did not have skates. We went over to a short road
that was nice & flat so that everyone could practice their skating. After maybe 15
minutes of zooming back & forth on that stretch of asphalt, we decided to take the whole
group down to the wide open space behind the gym.
One thing we forgot about: the only way to the gym was
downhill on the main road. As the group turned onto the road (some on the pavement, grass,
others hanging on to the better skaters) one skater started rolling down, ever so slowly.
By the time she was pointed fully downhill, she was already going fast enough to be beyond
her control level.
She continued accelerating for 20 or 30 yards, calling out
for help. The road went by a hut, so there was no grassy areas nearby. Nothing was nearby
for grabbing. I saw what was happening & sprinted to the main road & then down the
hill after her. I had to get her to grab my arm, and then I stomped on the brake. After a
few seconds of brake screeching, we finally stopped.
Okay, happy ending, no one hurt & all that. The point is,
it does not take much to get out of control when you are going downhill. My friend was
probably only going 10 mph, but when you feel out of control it seems like 50mph.
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