First Pair of Rollerskis

by Brian Olsen
July 31, 2006

In the spring of sixth grade, my dad and I drove from our home in Bloomington to Finn Sisu in Saint Paul. We were going to buy my first pair of rollerskis.

It was ten years ago, but I vaguely remember that in the previous winter, I was cruising around on skis in the Bill Koch program at Hyland Lake Park. I think that I actually learned how to skate ski on waxless skis! On the final Sunday of that program, someone was handing out brochures for a training group called Minnesota Valley that would start in June.

I had become really excited about skiing at this point. I'm not sure why. I wasn't that great at it. In my first race ever, at Baker Park, at age 12, I don't remember having such a stellar result that someone walked up to me and said, you know, "you have the talent to become an Olympian!" The comment was probably, "maybe you should consider skate skis for a freestyle race next time."

Regardless, I was really excited to be going to Finn Sisu to buy rollerskis. They seemed like the coolest things. No one else would have these things. We met Ahvo, who still owns the shop, on a lazy spring afternoon after school. He asked me my ability level, and I said, "I'm alright, I guess." He suggested the Marwe combi rollerskis; my dad and I probably thought, "Sure, that sounds great." The entire ride home, I spun the wheels and admired how the front ones ratcheted to provide "kick." Our car had barely stopped in the garage before I was outside, helmet donned, flailing my best down our suburban side street.

Ten years later, I still have these combi rollerskis. I use them now for classic training because I prefer the way they are balanced. Just last year I replaced the wheels for the first time - nine seasons of roads from Minnesota to Norway to Utah to... Last month, I replaced the shafts for the first time. These things last a long time!

Three years into Minnesota Valley training, at age 15, I bought my first pair of Marwe skate rollerskis. Combi skis were great for me starting out. Honestly, how could I justify buying skate rollerskis when I was still skating in the winter on waxless, fish-scale skis? But eventually, both skate and combi/classic skis were necessary.

From that day in May 1996 when I first strapped those neon yellow combis, I couldn't keep off of them. I was never very motivated to go fast on them, but instead, I wanted to see how far I could go. I'd see how many loops I could do of the Hyland Lake Park paved loops - this was before they were paved nicely. I rollerskied around my block, I rollerskied home from school, I rollerskied on vacation. It took a few years to go an entire summer injury-free, though.

Now I am comfortable enough rollerskiing just about anywhere. I've mastered the slalom turn for steep downhills, the rocking "snow" plow for intersections, and the grass bailout for emergencies.

There is no better training in the summer than a pair of rollerskis.