Commuting - alternate modes of commuting ...

... mainly rollerblades is what I am toying with right now.

Any thoughts - experiences anyone ?

Being the wannabe athlete I am, I have been thinking of a good way to transfer the cross country skiing experience that I have become used to (and enjoy immensely) here in Norway, to the decidedly snowless streets of Brisbane. The closest thing I can come up with is rollerblades (with some sort of staves to push myself along with as well).

I thought of a pair of roller ski's, but at upwards of AUD500 a shot they're a bit pricy (I'm getting a bike for the bulk of the work - that's gonna clean me pretty much out).

so there's my question, what is anyone's thoughts on rollerblading as a form of commuting. My cmmute is gonna be c. 20km one way so I am guessing, for the first few months at least, I will take a bus half the way and skate the rest, or is 20 not too far to skate (I know it kills me on a pair of ski's :)).

NOTE: I will of course be riding my bike 3/4 of the time, do not see this as an attempt to userp the place of a bike in a commuters arsenal :D - just thinking of something to break up the monotony.

Colinl

when i was in Portland and only had about 5km to work i used to commute maybe once a week by rollerblades... and i currently do 10km a few times a year.

compared to biking i think the main difficulty is that you need a better road surface - wider section or road and less able to ride on cobblestone or gravel or old beat-up asphalt - plus rain/snow is much more challenging on blades than on a bike... i wouldn't like skating regularly on the shoulder of a busy road where i would feel ok cycling.

yeah, i think 20km on skates is pretty long... depending on lights, that's about 1 to 1-1/2 hr on a bike and i guess 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 on blades...

on the plus side, blades work really well with public transit as they're small -- actually i have ones with removable chasis so i can take them off and then they're basically like hiking boots just with a metal clamp on the bottom - but for casual attire in the office they work fine.

otherwise, shouldn't be too much different concerning lights and sweating and all...

Try running. Get a good backpack, with a waist belt and sternum strap. Bus it to work and run back.

I do this a couple times a week. I bus to work and about half way back, leaving a 10-12 mile run.

As for little used commuting vehicles, I have often thought that I would like to give a unicycle a try. They are small enough to carry on a bus or strap on a backpack.

If I lived a little closer (a mile or two) I would try a pogo-stick, just to get a rise out of my neighbors. The effort would be worth a good laugh.

regards
Dan