Skibiking not just for renegades anymore
2005
ANGEL FIRE, NM - When 74-year old Carl Harrand first saw a ski bike, he wanted nothing to do with it. But after his son convinced him to ride one, new life was injected into his skiing experience.
The quality of his ski life improved, because the ski bike keeps his weight off his arthritic hip and knees. "I was injured back in the Korean War and now have quite a bit of arthritis," Harrand said. And because he favored the bad leg so much, he's now getting it on the good leg.
He compared the sensation to that of beginner skiers that complain when their hips burn from the high impact workout. "After you get to a certain age, neither your hips nor your knees will last a full day of skiing, but I could ride all day."
Ski biking enables him to go faster than skiing, and it is considerably easier on his body. "Riding is easy," he said, "If you can ski, you can ski bike." The most difficult thing for him to learn was how to load the bike on the lift. But even that was easy.
Many seniors ask him, "Where are the breaks?" He replies that turning and stopping is done in the same way as skiing. Harrand advices them to use a ski bike to extend their time on the slopes, and avoid physical discomfort. "It has given me a new lease on my skiing life," he added.
The pain in his right hip and knee would flare up after only one day of skiing. "I had to take a long lunch and quit hours early." Now with the supplementary use of the ski bike, he's able to get in a second or even a third day of skiing.
One benefit of being over 70 is that seniors can use the lift for free in most resorts. His typical expenses are under $5 per day. "This weekend I packed a lunch, and bought myself a bottle of beer and a bag of Fritos". That's not too bad for three days of skiing.
He added that riding a skibike also serves for stress relief. Just this morning he was stressed to find out that he would have to pay more taxes than he was expecting. "If I go to ski tomorrow, all of this will be out of my mind."
