Simon says

Tuesday, January 28 Not sure how long this Byron, Churchill, Dovercourt loop is but it's relatively pleasant and a little under 30 mins.

Sunday, January 26 And then Chris made a truly delicious brunch afterwards:

Saturday, January 25th A P3 loop, 60 mins. Much milder which meant a mix of new snow and wind scoured ice. Much better off the Parkway. Beautiful scenic shots at the Pink lookout:

Saturday, January 25th Another jog with Francine. 30 mins ish.

Friday, January 24th Ten days ago I skied with the Wednesday night group. Then the family got sick, we stopped sleeping, Ottawa went into deep freeze and all forms of exercise were cancelled. So this was a tentative return to activity. Still below -20 but me and Francine survived.

Wednesday, January 15th, 2014 After some mild weather and melting, conditions were remarkably good and fast.  Same ski as last week, very nice skiing.  I am developing my signature peameal bacon and brie sandwich to heat on the fire.   Did I mention that I am eschewing alcohol until Paul's Dirty Enduro in September?!  So far, so good but I have developed an exemption system with Chris, my abstention partner, that will allow for some leeway at certain events during the year.  Five exemptions is the current agreement.  I'm drinking a lot of coffee in the meantime.  The good news is that despite continuing sleep disruption, a moderately sub-par diet and the winter sniffles, I do feel better on the ski trails and I am fairly sure that the drink-free regime is contributory.

Starting to think about a base for half marathon training. Just thinking about it.

Monday, January 13, 2014 An after work outing up the 5?, past the Champlain turn off and back on the Parkway. Very fast as it is still really mild. Just over an hour.

Sunday, January 12, 2014 The January thaw left us with a weekend of no skiing and no skating. Little was left to do but go for a road run, the first in a long while. Francine has a new training collar which makes her a much easier training partner. And the we all headed to the pool for our regular Sunday afternoon swim. No skiing... No skating... Mid-Jan heat wave... Well dressed swimmer...

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 The regular Wednesday is back with very fast snow and a nice night. My 16 skis are put into context by Darius having completed 42 days straight and Dejan clocking 20 something before getting hit by a stomach virus. I'm still very grateful that my family allows this folly.

Sunday, January 5, 2014 The canal opened on New Year's Eve this season which is really early. We bundled the kids into the chariot on a snowy but mild morning and stopped for refreshments which of course included our first Beavertails of the year. Yum.

Today was one of those days where motivation was lacking. Conditions were good, milder than the last few days but still with a bitter wind and around -11. Snow was reasonably fast in places and I skied the Parkway from P3 to the Champlain turnoff then back to the bottom of Pink before taking the 5 back to Gamelin. About 80 mins. No pics today. This is a wonderful sport but there is no easy gear (which may be why I love it!).

I know I'm a little obsessed with the weather but this is too cold.

Brrr...

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 Happy New Year! This was a early afternoon ski where the temperature hovered between minus 18 and 19 with a brisk breeze up higher. But the sun was brilliant and the trees were glorious with their icing sugar dusting. Chris Roy and I did P7 to Western hut on the 1 and back via the 1B and Champlain lookout. Stunning. At the junction of the 1 and Penguin. Shilly Shally. The trail down to Western. Western overlooking the Ottawa valley.