Following tradition.

Well I've killed the dentist bug with a ski pole but it seemed to take a toll on the body. Nothing dramatic but just enough to make my skate ski attempt on Christmas eve day look pretty pitiful. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to jump back with two feet into a technique that even on a good day I'm missing a thing called grace. It didn't help that I got to the valley a little later than I should have, The trail grooming that was probably spectacular a few hours earlier but for me it was feeling like a sheet of ice and I was on dull skates. The extra slipping and sliding caused my body to expended more effort than normal just to stay vertical. Can we say out of base HR zone, only if you're not huffing and puffing.

I did make my way on to an expert trail which seemed to have scared the masses away and got a few km of smooth and fast, of course this was after I got to the top of the hill. New trails on the west side that brings you to the top of Horseshoe Valley. Let's just say it felt like I climbed K2 by the time I got to the top. The downhill, just like on a bike took just a fraction of the time of the climb. It's just not fair. 15 km of shuffling at unwanted intensity before calling it a day. Much to do, all that timed allowed, my body was pretty happy with that decision.

Round 2 brought out are usual Christmas Day ski or snowshoe to tire the dogs, build and appetite etc. It was a slightly smaller group this time just having my brother in law Rick and myself with just 2 dogs in chase. Yes, the same Rick that skied naked, there is a different dress code for those people that live on the border of the nation with in a nation. Today he stayed fully clothed. We headed out to do the big loop of Awenda Park. It's been a while since I've done this loop and after Shannon's and my visit there just a few days earlier I got to see that they still randomly groom the trail.

With Rick training for the Canadian Ski Marathon he strapped everything but the kitchen ski to his back. Obviously you know that me being the endurance efficiency junkie on a mountain bike that it transfers over to the skiing, yep not carrying anymore than I needed, dressed perfect, the perfect wax etc etc. Yep, I pulled away from Rick pretty quickly. I will give credit where it's due though, carrying a 35 pound backpack would slow me down also. Not much but enough. This was good for me also, kept myself in that hr I should be. That one that helps build an appetite for Christmas dinner. Of course having the Molly Monster and Mom's dog chasing meant I couldn't slow to much. Yes that dog that had the broken leg was setting a great pace.

Except for the ungroomed section around the lake the trail was in pretty good shape, Some good base miles put in and 19 km added to the winter slip slide count. There was a mini race where Rick figured that if he blocked the trail with his skis and swung his poles wildly that I wouldn't be able to get ahead of him. As he found out that the skinny frail cyclist can put a throw down acceleration if need be on slippery sticks. It didn't take long for the dogs to crash and burn, we didn't take much longer to show what fresh air and turkey can do to the human species. Yet another great Christmas day. Round 3 will be starting in a few hours, who we were short today will be back out in full force today. More tomorrow.