Well damn, I thought I was getting the hang of XC skiing but I found out the hard way today that I am not quite there yet. Even on my brand new Fischer’s I looked like an ungraceful, blundering fool. Instead of the smooth swish, swish of the skiis gliding effortlessly across the snow, it was more like swish, slap, slap, ugh, swish, whoah, swish, slap, and then a stream of expletives spiting from my mouth as I bounced across the snow on my butt. Then I just had to sit there, patiently waiting, looking as if I had meant to fall, until the other more graceful skiers swooshed by and I had enough room to roll myself on my side, fumble on the ground until I figured out how to get one ski untangled from the other, and then stand up so I could once again start the dance all over. Not one to give up so easily, I’ll be back out there tomorrow giving it another go, and hopefully the conditions will be in my favor, allowing me to ski a little more smoothly than today.

-Meredith

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

CHECK THIS OUT!

Anyone want to join me?!

-Meredith

Here’s how it goes in Ft Collins - one day it’s almost 70 degrees, and several days later we have serious snow on the ground.  Enough to put a stop to riding outside…for awhile.  Enough to make me sick of the trainer already, especially since I don’t have the huge, big screen TV that I sat in front of for so many hours last year.  And enough to finally make me break down and go cross country skiing.  I say “break down” because skate skiing and I have not had the best relationship in the past, but rather than log more boring, painful hours on the trainer on Sunday, I decided to give it another try for sanity’s sake.  I know from previous, albeit limited, experience that I don’t have a natural knack for what the Norwegians make look so damn effortless, so I thought it was best to start the day off with a proper lesson.  Phil, my knowledgeable instructor and yellow-jersey wearer in “American Flyers”, was fantastic - in 2 hours I learned more than I had in the previous 3 or 4 times I’d tried it.  So, I was ready to hit the trails with Ben, and lo and behold, I was more or less able to keep up.  For an hour and a half, there was not one swear word spit out of my mouth, one pole angrily tossed into the woods, or one 10 year old-like tantrum thrown.  Nope, Ben didn’t do one thing wrong - you know, whatever I can’t do is always his fault somehow. But no, this time I was cool, calm, collected, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!  And maybe 20 years from now, I’ll be the one out there who is making it look easy, or easi-er I should say.  Now, if only there were tracks closer by so that I could keep my cardiovascular system pumping and my skills sharpened on a more regular basis.

Haka and Kohi, my 50lb babies, love the powder too!

-Meredith