Sunday, January 10, 2010

Cross Country Skiing

Friday I got to try out cross country skiing! My friend has some old skis of his parents. He gave me a quick lesson and then I took them down to the bike trail and gave it a shot.






















It was pretty challenging. Someone had been skiing on the trail before me, so it helped greatly to stay in their smooth tracks. On the way back I tried to go on the side of the trail that is not pavement so I could get a better push off in the ground with the poles. But it was uneven and I kept falling over, so I got back on my tracks.

The trail- you can see the lines from a previous skier























Lovely retro orange














































It took me a little bit to get the rhythm down, but when I did, it was very fun to glide along. The skis made a unique sheering noise as they moved over the snow, which was kind of mesmerizing. Unfortunately it seemed that each time I started to go at a pretty good clip, I lost my balance and fell over.

A couple of views from the trail








































I didn't go very far, but it was a great workout. As I suspected, I am sore all over from the short time I was out there. My arms and most of my legs are sore. Even my toes/feet are sore, I think from the pushing off motion. It was so much fun though. It snowed while I was out there and was really beautiful (wish my pictures could capture that better). If I lived somewhere that it snowed more regularly, I would definitely have a pair of skis to have fun in the snow.

2 comments:

Butch said...

Pictures make it look quiet. If it is as it seems, then you want to be there skiing when the snow is coming down pretty hard. Not blowing. Snow falling makes a serene sound. The surrounding area needs to be really quiet though.

Butch said...

I heard you remembered having a set of skis when you were a kid. I had forgotten and truely so surprised that I don't have pictures. How did that get by me?