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This week's tip:
What To Pack in Your Skate Bag
By Nicole Begg
Nicole Begg
When I travel to a race, I often carry nothing but my skate bag. But that’s not to say I travel light.
Over the years, I’ve learned that it pays to carry more than the basics: skates, helmet and skinsuit.
I don't always need these extra items. But more often than not, they save the day.
Here's my skate bag checklist. I hope it comes in handy. And if there's anything I've left out, feel free to add it in the comment section.
Nicole’s skate bag checklist:
- Skates
- Helmet
- Gloves: I wear racing gloves to protect my hands.
- Skinsuit
- Spare skinsuit because zippers always seem to break on race day.
- Disposable poncho, raincoat or large plastic rubbish bag. It’s a good idea to have something you can strip off and forget about just before the start on a rainy day.
- Thermal underwear top: I don’t like to be cold!
- Spare parts for my skates: bearings, spacers, axles, bolts and buckles.
- Small bottle of racing oil: Sometimes my bearings need a few drops of lube to get them spinning freely before a race.
- Two spare wheels: You never know what will happen during your warm up. One time, I hit a patch of tar and had to replace a couple of gummed up wheels before the start.
- Rain wheels: I carry a full set of MPC Storm Surges pre-packed with bearings and spacers.
- Water bottle: Not all races have water stations or enough of them. So I tuck a small water bottle in the back pocket of my skinsuit.
- Spare socks
- Power gel: I take one just before the halfway point in a marathon.
- Spare laces
- Safety pins for race numbers: Sometimes the organizers run out.
- Strapping or duct tape: I’ve used strapping tape to hold my axles in place on a faulty frame. I’ve seen strapping and duct tape used to secure broken straps and to secure race numbers.
- Tissues. More often than not, the toilets run out of paper before a race!
Nicole Begg is one of the world's top female inline speed skaters. The 23-year-old New Zealand native is currently leading the World Inline Cup with second place finishes at Valencia and Rennes and a fourth place finish at Incheon. She has earned 11 medals, including two golds, at the World Championships and has twice finished second in the World Inline Cup. She is a member of the X-Tech team and the daughter of Bill and Cheryl Begg. Bill is one of the top inline coaches in the world and the author of the Inline Planet's Ask Bill Begg! column. Cheryl is a former world champion quad speed skater.
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