Starting a new season with Team Birkie

Hi everyone! My name is Skylar Patten, and I’m excited to introduce myself as a new member of Team Birkie’s Continental Team. I’ve been living in the big city of Minneapolis for a month now, and I think it’s safe to say—I’m a bit out of my element!

I grew up in Park City, Utah, where I started cross-country ski racing with Park City Ski and Snowboard after moving from Salt Lake City in sixth grade. I’ve been on skis since I could stand, mostly alpine at first, until cross-country skiing started to grow on me in middle school. By the end of my second year as a U16, I knew I wanted to pursue skiing seriously and started looking into college programs. I was recruited to Michigan Tech in 2020 after taking a gap year in Sun Valley. I spent five years at Tech, using my COVID year to complete an accelerated master’s in Materials Science and Engineering, which I’ll be finishing this August.

Joining Team Birkie is a huge step and a big change. After spending the last 12 years in towns with fewer than 15,000 people, the Twin Cities—with 3.7 million residents—it’s a whole new world!

Unfortunately, my season was derailed this past November due to a serious back injury—a bulging disc and stress fractures in my L4/L5 vertebrae. Resulting in me missing an entire race season, one that I had hoped would be my best yet. It was heartbreaking. But with the support of Team Birkie, I’ve made steady progress this summer and I’m incredibly motivated to come back strong this coming season.

I’ve now lived in Minneapolis for about four weeks and completed my first full training block this weekend. While I’m still limited in my training, I’ve been doing most of it on the road bike—which could be worse. I love biking. It’s a great way to build early-season fitness. Riding in the city is definitely different than what I’m used to, but I’ve enjoyed slowly figuring out which roads to ride and which to avoid. That said, I always look forward to the Birkie group rides where I don’t have to plan every turn or worry about being on the wrong roads. We’re gearing up for a century ride tomorrow—right in the middle of what’s shaping up to be one of the hottest weekends. Safe to say I’ll have bike jersey tan lines for the next year.

I’m now up to an hour of running and 45 minutes of classic roller skiing, which feels amazing considering I had nerve pain just walking a few months ago. I’ve been fortunate to work with Pete Dickinson, who has been incredibly generous in remotely guiding my physical therapy. I’ve also started seeing Cara Battles at Precision Performance Physical Therapy. She’s been great at helping me identify and correct the muscle imbalances caused by my injury. It turns out my stabilizing glute and inner core muscles weren’t firing the way they should, but we’re making progress.

One thing I’m particularly excited about is using the ski treadmill at Pioneer Midwest. I believe poor technique last summer and fall played a major role in my injury. I knew something was off, but it’s so much easier to make immediate adjustments on the treadmill than by reviewing video after the fact. I’ve been using it once a week, and I’m already seeing improvements in my technique—and my back is responding well.

I really can’t wait to return to full ski training. The road biking here is great, but the roller skiing might be even better. The sheer number of bike paths in Minneapolis is insane. I think I could roller ski all summer and fall and still discover new routes. Granted, they might be farther and farther from home each time—but they’re out there!

It’s also amazing to be in a place with so much going on. There are so many random events and places to check out—from car racing to massive pencil sharpenings! And so many lakes! I’m still getting used to how much water there is in the Midwest.

(injured) Group ride OD