Skating

Last Sunday, I went at Norrviken to do some ice-skatin.
Norrviken is not an ordinary place, it's a lake! After the "yeay, I'm going ice-skating on a lake, it's great!" moment, I listened the recommendations of experimented people:
- Warm clothes (two pairs of warm socks, tights, trousers, ski trousers, polar jacket, coat, hat, gloves and scarf);
- A backpack with a waterproof bag in which you put a second set of clothes (underwears included), just in case the ice would broke and you would be wet;
- A pair of ice sticks (following picture) around your neck to get out of the water (cf previous point), with a whistle if possible.



That was the basics. Normally, there's a pist made by a machine, and if the ice is thick enough to support it, it should also support people, but there's still a risk. If you still have some doubts, there are lots of marks ont the ice, showing that it's always moving...



About the skates, specific long skates are highly recommended, or at least hockey skates. If you're a Melu-like, you can use artistic skates (lended by a friend) because you don't know if the shop will be open.
WARNING: I don't recommend it AT ALL! Those I had were a bit to tight for me (it hurt like hell), and there are not made to skate straight ahead. Skating a bit fast means also a lot of effort, compared to long skates. Finally, regular skate shoes are not dissociable from blades, so you have to bring your regular shoes with you or walk with them from the car...



We didn't choose the 14km long pist but the 1.5km one, and it's great because I was not really proud: not stable (not used to skate), not fast (artistik skates) and feet hurting like hell (tight shoes).
Once finished, we bought two hot dogs and warm chocolate ^^