About site: Informal Sports - Kicksled Primer

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Title: Informal Sports - Kicksled Primer Introduction to the sport with history, sled models, photos, and technique. Summer kicking devices also included.

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KepopasKicksled PrimerKicksled club Ketkupolkka, Helsinki 1987-1999Introduction to kicksleddingPlaces for kicksledding Road traffic Outdoor paths Ice kicksledding Kicksled racing Golden age 100 years ago Kicksled renaissance Kicksled Traditional kicksled Modern racing kicksled Kickspark Kicksled runners Normal runnerSnow runner Ice runner Grinding Equipment Footwear Clothing Training Technique Fitness Summer kicks Wheel sled Scooter Kickbike Kicking Seasons Kicksledding in 1915 Top
Introduction
Kicksledding is physical activity for the new millennium. It is a pleasant and environmental-friendly sport for everybody. Snowy and icy winters offer unsurpassed possibilities for kicksledding even in areas without any specific sports facilities. Kicksled is a traditional means of transportation in Nordic countries. However, its significance has decreased as the use of motor vehicles has increased. Furthermore, many roads and streets are sanded and salted to increase the traction of wheeled vehicles, reducing the suitable places for kicksledding.

White Christmas in the past ... and nowadays (Suomen Kuvalehti 30.11.1963)Although kicksledding is still part of everyday life in Nordic countryside and small towns, there are no books on the market presenting kicksledding as a fitness activity. This compact primer is written in order to guide beginning kicksledders as well as general sports enthusiasts by introducing the most important aspects of kicksledding from its proud history to available equipment.The primer might give new insight also to an experienced kicksledder. One can learn faster kicking techniques and training tips. In addition, the guide helps to find suitable conditions for kicksledding. In the past it has often been more easy for new ideas to spread from west to east than to the opposite direction. Also kicksledding has moved from Scandinavia first to the east via Finland. In Russian (finski sanki) and in Estonian (soome kelk) kicksled is called "Finnish sled".The kicksled conquest of the whole world is now beginning from Finland as the new millennium starts. There is no less reason to believe in this than in Santa Claus. Top
Places for kicksledding
Kicksledding fits perfectly in Finnish nature. You can kick in a variety of surroundings, on lake and sea ice, on outdoor paths or on ploughed roads. You can find places for kicksledding even during mild winters when snow is scarce. On bare ice or icy cross-country skiing paths you can gain astonishing speeds with a kicksled. Kicksledding is often a more convenient alternative for skiing or skating, especially in suboptimal winter conditions. Roads and streets
The practicality of kicksledding depends not only on weather but also on the local roadkeeping practice. Like all users of winter vehicles with gliding surfaces, kicksledders are difficult customers for the authorities responsible for the maintenance of streets and roads. Main objectives of wintertime road maintenance are facilitating traffic flow and preventing accidents on slippery surfaces. From the viewpoint of a kicksledder there is a conflict between the two objectives, as sand and salt used for increasing friction effectively hinder kicksledding on the same surfaces.According to Finnish legislation the obligation to prevent slipperiness on pedestrian lanes and sidewalks cannot be neglected in city areas. However, after snowfall and changes of temperature incurring melting and freezing it is often possible to kicksled also in densely populated areas. Now and then you might encounter sanded or bare streets, but they only provide diversity to the workout as you must carry the sled for a while or simply push harder.

In many towns one can learn kicksledding early (photo Anne-Maria Vierikko).Maintenance of roads and streets does not bring plain trouble for kicksledders. On the contrary, without proper ploughing of roads kicksledding would be much more difficult. Furthermore, automotive tyres and pedestrian shoe soles help to pack the snow hard, which is optimal for kicksledding.When you go kicksledding in road traffic, you should remember that according to Finnish legislation you are a pedestrian. You should kick on the pedestrian lane; in absence of one you should use the left side of the road. When it is dark, good reflectors are an obligatory accessory that you should never forget.
Outdoor paths
Icy ski skating tracks and hard-packed pedestrian paths are most suitable for kicksledding. Near cities and towns there are usually plenty of prepared outdoor paths. Such routes you can find mostly near towns and villages, often in urban neighborhoods. One or two laps around the park with a kicksled is a superior alternative to walking or jogging in slippery conditions. Especially in Southern Finland the paths might be most of wintertime in such a condition that a kicksled is the safest and most practical fitness equipment. In any case, you should check the current suitability of the paths for kicksledding each time before you start. One ought to keep in mind that the wintry outdoor paths are meant primarily for XC skiers or motor snow scooters. When the tracks are soft, kicksled is not necessarily the best possible vehicle for driving on them. When the ski folks populate the tracks in huge flocks, it is perhaps not the best idea to rush with the kicksled into the middle of commotion. In snowy conditions you can attach plastic skis under the normal steel runners. They are not expensive and improve the glide also when there is sand or bare ground under the soft snow. Ice Kicksledding
The unique rugged maze of islands and waterways of Finnish seacoast and inland waters gives outstanding possibilities for kicksledding.

During wintertime the waters are for remarkable periods covered by sturdy ice but not by much snow. This kind of conditions occur most often during early season as well as after milder weather, when the snow on the ice has melt and frost has made the ice surface hard again. At seaside one might not get suitable conditions until late winter; sometimes they won't come at all. Kicksled has traditionally been an everyday vehicle for moving around in the archipelago and lake areas. Already in the 19th century they experimented with kicksled couriers taking care of the archipelago post traffic. Steel runners made kicksledding even more popular, as ice was the optimal glide surface. Still today many fishermen use the kicksled to get conveniently to the best fishing places. Perhaps even too conveniently, because use of kicksled is forbidden in winter fishing competitions.Skating on natural ice has become more and more popular during the past few years. With a kicksled you can enjoy the glide on the ice plains at least as comfortably. On natural ice one usually encounters cracks and uneven areas that might even require walking. In such conditions a kicksledder passes a skater easily by merely gliding or carrying the sled.

On several occasions during each winter one can find dozens of smaller ice arenas on small lakes and ponds, for instance, in the Noux national park area close to Helsinki. A training tour carrying a modern lightweight sled from one lake to the next one, viewing the scenery above and below the cliffs and rocks, brings gains to both your physical and mental health without any perceivable pain or strain. Is the ice strong enough ?When kicksledding on ice, you should always be prepared to the possibility of ice breaking under you. The circumstances might vary substantially within a small area from hour to hour. You should be especially cautious close to currents and on sea ice.Learn to observe places with weak ice. Water coming from a sewage pipe, creek or brook can make the ice above it bristle. In general, the ice close to the shoreline is often ambiguous because of weeds, buoys, shore bank, rocks and other features breaking the ice surface.If you kicksled on a river, it is worthwhile to deduce how the currents flow in the riverbed. In the bends the strongest current is on the outside. Hence, there is the weakest ice. In a river flowing normally the strongest current is in the middle.There are plenty of currents also in lakes and sea. Straits, sounds and tips of peninsulas are places where the ice is often remarkably weaker than elsewhere. In such a case you'd better portage the insecure area carrying the sled on dry land. Although you might get an impression of hazardous locations by looking at the shoreline, the shape of the bottom remains hidden. Every shoal, rock or ridge makes the ice thinner. For instance, a big rock might direct a current or warmer water from the depths closer to the surface. The effects can be very local, just ten meters from safe ice you can find yourself plunging.The quality and durability of ice is naturally different during different stages of winter. Freezing up happens always in phases. Shallow shores, inlets and bays freeze first, after which the ice cover eventually spreads towards the wider and deeper waters. There are many climatical and physical phenomena accounting for the formation of ice. The most significant are temperature, wind, cloudiness, snow cover on ice and water currents. Ice gets thicker fastest during a frosty windless starbright night. Clouds, on the contrary, retard the evaporation of warmth into space.Snow is effective insulation, therefore snow-covered ice gets stronger much slower than snowfree ice. Abundant snow masses may push the ice under the water surface. In such a case the water arising above the ice mixes with the snow forming slush that freezes into porous and fragile gray ice. The carrying capacity of gray ice is only ca. one half of pure black ice. The effect of wind is quite contradictory. Wind propagates evaporation that hastens ice formation. On the other hand, wind might raise waves that keep wide waters open long after the more sheltered places already have got their ice cover.Wind openings might be extremely hazardous. Especially after they get covered by a thin ice lid, it might be almost impossible to differentiate them from the surrounding safe ice. Similar openings can appear also on top of deep valleys, where the warm bottom water rotates upwards and pushes the cold surface water away.

One might find openings also in the middle of thick and durable ice. Note that the backpacks are fastened to the sleds against safety instructions.During hard frost you can hear the ice making thunder-like banging sounds.They can seem quite frightening in the beginning. The sounds are created as the ice gets colder. Ice volume decreases and it begins cracking. In smaller lakes such cracks are usually thin fissures that don't cause major problems for a kicksledder. Nevertheless, the cracks might expand and become extremely dangerous especially on sea ice.During thaw the sun begins to make ice more fragile. Thickness does not anymore guarantee ice safety. The ice crystals remain only loosely attached to each another. There are no cracking sounds acting as warning signs. You should stop kicksledding on ice ultimately when the ice starts getting dark. On the other hand, white color is no guarantee for ice durability even during springtime.Saltiness is the most important difference between sea and freshwater ice. It makes sea ice become fragile more easily. Furthermore, sea currents bring warmer water from the depths melting the ice from down below. Be prepared for plungingOn the basis of the previous lesson you can never be quite sure of the durability of ice. Therefore you ought to be prepared for a swim in chilly waters always when you are ice-bound. Ice studs are utterly necessary standard equipment around your neck, because without them it might be too difficult to pull yourself from an opening to durable ice. In addition, it is good to have a rescue rope. A handy trick is to attach a weight to the rope, shove it loosely into a small bag and throw it keeping the free end in your hand. The sound of a whistle can be heard farther than plain shouting, so you should have one ready for use besides ice studs. Even such a modern gadget as mobile telephone might prove amazingly useful, if you pack it watertight. If you have ice studs around your neck and other people helping you up, then the biggest danger is not drowning, but freezing after getting up from water in wet clothes. You should be aware of this especially in cold and windy weather on natural ice far from human residences.A professional rescue suit would be optimal, of course, but it is too warm for kicking. However, spare clothes packed in a watertight bag make your rucksack a floating life-saving aid. A normal plastic bag is too fragile. A garbage sack is slightly better, but the best alternative is a sturdy canoe paddler's equipment bag.The rucksack should have a waist belt, because otherwise it might rise up to one's neck when plunging. You should not attach any equipment to your kicksled, they might float away or sink with it.It is extremely difficult to raise your sled up without any support while struggling in the water, because it makes you sink down yourself. It is better to let the sled go if you cannot push it immediately onto the ice.Shout for help or use your whistle if there are people nearby. Break the ice with your hands. Use your ice studs. Try to get into a horizontal position by swim kicks. The best direction is back where you came from, or towards the shoreline if it is close.After you get up roll to more durable ice. Go inside or change spare clothes immediately. In chilly weather you might like to go on dry land away from the worst breeze in case the shore is within a reasonable distance. Otherwise your touring partners can form a human windshield around you and help in changing.In short, you should keep in mind at least the most important golden rules for an ice kicksledder:Don't go on the ice alone or at dark. Keep your ice studs ready. Practice their use beforehand.Pack a spare set of clothes watertight in a rucksack.Look, listen, be alert and prepared for surprises.There are guidebooks written for tour skaters, in which the safety aspects are handled in detail. You can apply the same instructions also while kicksledding on ice. Top
Kicksled racing
Kicksled is popularly familiar as a transport vehicle for elderly people, school children and ice fishermen. As race sport, on the contrary, kicksledding is quite unknown, not least because of relatively small number of participants. However, kicksledding is a traditional and challenging form of athletics that requires diverse talent and tough sport-specific training at top level.

Golden age one century ago

Back in 1906 kicksledding was considered one of the three most significant winter sports in Finland besides cross-country skiing and skating. According to Ivar Wilskman, the father of modern Finnish sports life, kicksledding had acquired the relatively widest spread.Kicksledding has thus a solid athletic background. Already in 1882 a sports newspaper in Stockholm reported a vehicle that could be kicked forwards. In Sweden the most prominent kicksled enthusiast was captain Victor Balck, a member of the first modern Olympic Committee and good friend of baron de Coubertin. He founded the world's first kicksledding club in 1889 in Stockholm.The first kicksleds were introduced in Finland contemporarily. In 1891 the first Finnish club was established in Oulu. Founder of the club, colonel Edward Furuhielm arranged races within the military and promoted the use of kicksled also on soldiers' holiday trips from the garnison to their home areas.There were road races on different distances. The most famous long-distance races were arranged in Sweden, for instance, on routes Stockholm-Uppsala (best time A.Holm 6.51 in 1891) and Stockholm-Södertälje-Stockholm (6.02.46). In Nordic Games, the biggest winter sport festival in those days, kicksledding was introduced in 1901. All winners were Swedish (1609 m 5.55.8, 2500 m 8.55.4, 5000 m 20.53.2). On another route in Stockholm someone had kicked 5000 m already few years earlier in time 18.42. Nevertheless, an amazing world record 14.15 was made in Oulu a decade later. Astonishingly, however, kicksledding never became a major championship sport.

Modern renaissance

After many decades of stagnation race kicking started again in 1980's. There are races both on roads (also called terrain) and on ice. The distances vary from 200 m sprint to 100 km ice race. The most famous games are the annual Ice Kicksled World Championships in the small town of Multia that gather hundreds of participants of different age groups both in competitional and recreational events.The most famous kicksledder of modern times is undoubtedly Hannu Vierikko, whose long suite of victories was broken only after 11 years in 1998. There are races in many countries, besides Scandinavia also in Central Europe and North America.Race velocities have improved substantially in 100 years. Besides kicksled development the main reason is that nowadays the record attempts are made on swift natural or prepared ice.

Alpo Kuusisto pushes away from Ville Vickholm towards the victory of Multia Ice Marathon 1998.The suite of Hannu Vierikko's ice track records after season 1999 is still quite impressive. (200 m 22.6, 2000 m 4.18.8, 10000 m 21.48, marathon 1.33.30). In March 1999 he lost the 100 km record to Ville Vickholm in Victor Balck memorial race in Kuopio.On ladies' side each distance has its own record-holdress (200 m Annika Renvaktar 26.5, 2000 m Anu Heikkilä 4.59.5, 10000 m Reetta Matsi 26.55.8, marathon Päivi Leppäsalmi 2.01.33, 100 km Hanna Markkula 4.50.22). Hitherto no records have traveled outside Finland.In road races (also called terrain races) the velocities are usually much more human. 10 km might take more than 30 minutes even for a top kicker in slow conditions. As record hunting has become more and more intensive, the popularity of road races has decreased. However, many kicksledders still consider races on hilly and curvy Finnish country roads the salt and pepper of kicksledding, although they wouldn't invite the salt truck for a visit on the race morning.

World's elite thrusts into 10 km road race in Vihavuosi 1999.Top
Kicksleds
Traditional sled models
The kicksled originates from Northern Scandinavia, most probably from J�mtland. It got its modern structure in the end of 19th century, evolving from a water or timber sled that could be pushed more easily by elongating the runners backwards. The glide and durability was improved by applying iron coating on the underside. A horizontal handlebar was attached to the vertical supports for pushing stability. Thus the Swedish-style race sled of late 19th century was a sturdy and swift wooden beauty.

Sketch by Edward Furuhjelm illustrating a race kicksled published in Sporten magazine, Helsinki 1891.In 1900 technician Oskari Terhi from Salo built the first known kicksled with iron runners. The kicksleds of early 20th century were quite similar to the present-day standard sleds, although stiffer and heavier. The vertical supports were tilted backwards in order to improve manoeuvrability and to give the kicking foot more room in the front. As the roads gradually became better ploughed and hard-packed due to increasing traffic, the runners could be made more narrow. This decreased weight and facilitated steering even further.The basic construct of the standard kicksled that everybody knows today has thus not been modified almost at all during the century. The manufacturing technology has been modernized, however, and all the sleds on the market today are made by only few big factories instead of village craftsmen of yesterday.Still in 1960's the total annual production in Finland was about 100 000 kicksleds by five separate companies. Nowadays it is about 20 000 pieces that all originate from one factory, ESLA in Koura, Ostrobothnia. In Sweden and in Norway it still has remarkable competitors.Kicksled is a pleasant vehicle in the sense that it is practically maintenance-free. Tightening bolts and nuts is actually the only check required from time to time in order to keep the sled in kicking shape. Modern race sled
When race kicksledding started to revive in 1980's, quite normal standard sleds were used in races. However, as velocities increased on slippery ice circuits the most enthusiastic competitors began pondering how to make the sled faster and sturdier. The first step was to make the kicksled stiffer, because the standard sled becomes instabile at high velocities. Stiffening can be made simply by lifting the tilted supports to vertical position. This meant actually returning to the golden ages of late 19th century.Top stability can be achieved by making also the runners of stiff material. In that case, however, turning becomes difficult. A standard runner is flexible enough to allow an experienced kicksledder to descend curvy village roads fast but safely.On slippery ice the standard runner slides easily sideways. In order to improve lateral grip you can sharpen the runner. However, a better performing combination of glide and grip can be achieved by using a more narrow runner. This brings us back to the problem how to make the runner stiff enough.The problem was solved in 1993 by Rauno Pylv�l�inen. He constructed a kicksled in which a ultra-narrow (

Introduction	to	the	sport
with	history,	sled	models,	photos,
and	technique.	Summer	kicking	devices
also	included.

http://www.potku.fi/kepopas/kepopas_eng.htm

Kicksled Primer 2008 August

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Introduction to the sport with history, sled models, photos, and technique. Summer kicking devices also included.

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