How long does it take you to go to the rink?

[sampaguita]

I started the "How often do you skate" poll a few weeks ago, and think that this is another interesting question (I should have asked this before LOL). I  commute for an hour to the rink, and thus skate only 1x a week.

So how long is your commute, and does this affect how often you skate?

[davincisop]

I live 10 minutes away from my rink, unless there is traffic on the interstate.

[fsk8r]

I'm just under 15min away if I go before people get up, however it turns into closer to 30min in traffic. This is my main training rink. My synchro rink is now somewhere between 30-45min away, although I used to do synchro at a rink which varied between 1hr 15min to 2hr 30min away depending on traffic. I'm loving the switch!

[Clarice]

My home rink is about 15 minutes from my house, more if there's traffic.  But if I want to train with my ice dance partner, one of us has to drive a little over 2 hours to the other's rink.

[sarahspins]

One rink is 29 miles, the other is 38.  It takes about the same amount of time to get to either one, usually about 45 minutes, but it can be longer (MUCH longer) if there is a lot of traffic.  I usually leave about an hour before I want to skate so that I have time to warm up and get my skates on once I get there.

I do live a considerable distance out of town though

[AgnesNitt]

there are 3 rinks within an hour's drive of me.

Meanwhile, there's a perfectly good abandoned rink no more than 10 minutes from me. It still has its floor, refrigeration station and everything.

[momomizu]

3 rinks near me.
one(year-round) is a 15 minute drive but i have to take the bus...and no buses go along that route.    (and its my favorite rink except for the coldness)
the next (year-round) is about 20 minutes from me....by car. buuut, i have to take the bus, totalling about 1 and a half hour bus ride plus 1-2 mile walk. (2nd fave because its not as cold as first rink, but its smaller)
the last(winter only) is about a 25 minute drive, and no buses go there. 

there's also the mad far one...45 minute to hour car ride. no buses even go CLOSE to it!

[Elsa]

Mine are:

5 minutes - my early morning, really cold practice rink with the spiders and bugs that crawl out on the ice to die - I deal with the bugs because I don't want to get up early enough to get to one of the other rinks by 5:30am.  The rink isn't that old, but maintenance is poor.  It's kind of sad.

15 - 20 minutes - my practice rink - my fav - They have the best ice availability, and a great facility.

30 - 40 minutes - my lesson rink - my next fav - it's an older building with a great rink, but their availability isn't good.  I'd be willing to make the drive if they had more sessions that worked for me.

I live in MN though - I think most people in the Twin Cities metro have a rink that is 5-15 min from them - though we all seem to travel somewhere else.

[Sydney]

mine is about 20 minutes away! maybe 30 minutes if there is traffic. 

[Skittl1321]

The mall rink is a mile from my house.  Parking takes more time than driving.

[KillianL]

My rink is about 10 minutes away if I go at oh dark thirty, before work.  After work, thanks to the distance from my office and traffic, it's more like a 1/2 hour drive.  There are an assortment of other rinks in the area, all within 30-60 minutes drive (depending on traffic!!) and I don't routinely visit any of them.  But I'm so fortunate to have so many options in my area!   

[karne]

Mine's 20 minutes on a good day, 45 if I'm coming from uni through the peak hour.

[Qarol]

I cannot imagine driving for an hour to get to the rink. When I skated in high school, my parents picked a house 5 mins from the rink. That was luxury. But now that I'm an adult skater living on my own, I'm about 30 mins exactly, give or take a couple of mins. However, I've joined the synchronized skating team at the other rink across town this year. That drive is about 45-50 mins.

[AgnesNitt]

This question got me thinking and I went over a map. There are actually 7 rinks an hour's drive from me. The demand is enormous.

I'm getting even more annoyed at the abandoned rink 10 minutes away.

oooh but on the other hand I found two rinks with mid-week evening publics. Hooray!

[ls99]

35 min typically.

Got to the rink about 10:30 this morning. I was the only one there the entire hour and a half. Ice smooth as silk.

Played with inside and outside edges. Large figure eights.

[emilayy]

it takes me about 45 minutes on average to get to the rink. if i'm in a rush or if there's not much traffic, sometimes it takes less. but if there's a lot of traffic, it can take up to an hour. i also occasionally skate at a rink right down the road (5 min) from me, but i really love my club, which is why i drive 25 miles to get there!

[Rachelsk8s]

Depending upon where I skate, it can take 5 minutes to an hour:)  I skate at about 5 or 6 different rinks, depending upon the season...usually closer during the summer (I have the summers off) and further during the "figure skating season".  But I skate at least 4 times a week, usually 5, although I'd skate everyday if I could:)

[rosereedy]

My home rink is about a 20 minute drive and same for my Saturday rink. Soon I will not be skating in Atlanta anymore.

[PinkLaces]

I live 5 minutes away from a rink, but no figure skating there.  You can only attempt on empty publics during the weekday and when school is in session.  The rink we skate at most is 20 minutes away.  If it's really early and no traffic, you can get there in 15.  We also skate seasonally at a rink 30 mins away.  DD started skating there and has a bunch of friends.  We skate there once a week in the fall/winter.

[surlaglace]

For my 10 am class on Saturdays, i leave my house at 9:20 am and i'm in my rink at 9:45am.
For my public session-pratice, i leave my school at 11:10 am and i arrive at..11:30am. It is pretty near my house/school 
But sometimes i can take like an hour because of the traffic :/

[kiwiskater]

10-15min in good traffic...who knows how long if the traffic is bad now they built the motorway to end near our house...

[Bunny Hop]

Our rink is about 20 minutes from home, assuming the traffic is okay. There is another rink about 20-30 minutes away (depending on traffic and parking). The next nearest rinks are at least 45 minutes away. I'm grateful there are more rinks in greater Sydney now than there was when I was a teenager (when I was 15, the rink where I had lessons closed down so I had to stop taking classes).

My problem commute is trying to get to the rink from work in time for our lesson. It takes me about an hour to get home from work by public transport (no parking at work, so I can't drive there) and then I have to change and get in the car to go to the rink. I usually only make the last 15-20 minutes of the lesson.

[FigureSpins]

My problem commute is trying to get to the rink from work in time for our lesson. It takes me about an hour to get home from work by public transport (no parking at work, so I can't drive there) and then I have to change and get in the car to go to the rink. I usually only make the last 15-20 minutes of the lesson.

When I used to work in Manhattan and skate in NJ, I changed my morning commute from one express bus to driving to a Park & Ride and taking the PATH train into the City.  It was a little more expensive but it made the trip to the rink much shorter and stopped the time bleed that happened whenever I went home first.  (Getting something to eat, stop at the bank, starting a load of laundry, chit-chatting with family/neighbors, etc.)

I usually took my skate bag and clothing into work, changing before I left the office for the train or changing at the rink.
(I did that mainly because I was worried about my car being robbed, but weather is always a concern with skates sitting in a car all day.)

To get to our current rink, it's a 20- to 30-minute trip, but I usually leave 45 minutes before we have to get there, in case there's traffic or a detour. Sometimes, parking is an issue when there's a swim meet or other event, so the extra time is handy when you have to search for a spot.  Plus, being early lets us warmup and put on skates without stress, and we can chat with the skaters and parents and not have to leave the ice for something we forgot in haste.

[turnip]

If I'm walking it takes about 30 minutes from home
Coming from work, about 45 mins on the bus or 30 with bus and train
If I get a lift from home, it's about a 5 minute drive

[Mainiac159]

From late Oct - early March there's a horrible rink ten minutes from my house.  It's filthy dirty and there's barely a bathroom.  I've skated there twice and hate it.

Next closest rink is open about the same time period and is 30 minutes away.  Great ice, great people, tends to be crowded but a fun place to skate.

A rink open from Sept - March is about 50 minutes away.  It's dark and depressing, and plays LOUD music over the loudspeaker.  I don't know if I'll even attempt to skate there this year. 

I take lessons at a rink about 70 minutes away, open Sept - April, every other week for an hour. 

One of the best rinks I've ever skated at is about 65 minutes away, open all year, I can skate for as long as I want if nothing else is going on.  I can scribe to my hearts content.  Not too crowded either. 

Maybe some day my home town will finally build the rink they've been talking about........