Training Log Archive: CleverSky

A little loop around the cemetery. Chilly morning (~27 F) and still fairly windy. I intended to run as soon as I woke up, since I'll be traveling later, but it was over a half-hour before I could drag myself out the door. One patch of treacherous ice in the back of the cemetery.

I drove past Fort Pond, where I skated last Saturday, and it was 100% open water.

C • So now you just need cold e... 2

WBSE, In The Dark. High 20s F,and breezy even in the woods. Considerably longer than I had planned, but that's okay. The intent was to do the south half of the challenge loop, but after I acknowledged that I had missed the main trail crossing (again), I found a tack trail and followed that deep into a bunch of laurel. My pace dropped to hiking, and I kept a surprisingly straight line until I hit a surprisingly unfamiliar trail, but that led me in short order to a familiar trail, and then it was a short trip back to the car. There was still some snow, a lot of ice, and a lot of standing/running water that I spent a bunch of time pussyfooting my way around. Give this one a while to dry out before I go back.

Rattlesnake Hill, well ahead of the rain and just ahead of The Dim. Put out a little more effort tonight.

Rattlesnake Hill, In The Dark. No ice left. Off trail for a bit in the middle.

Gilchrest T, In The Dark. Got out there before the witching hour. Edges of the road were getting a little slippery from refrozen meltwater.

Sunday River, with Nancy. 13 lift rides before a lunch break.

And 10 more lift rides afterwards, including the three magic carpets. I think Nancy said we hit all of the lifts except the T-bar (which may have been available only to racers.

One highlight of the day was when we were recruited to take a couple of three year olds (out of a large bunch) up a chairlift. They came equipped with big handles on their backs, which were very useful in several regards. The little boy sitting next to me wasn't too bad, but the little girl on Nancy's side was like a bag of overcooked spaghetti

Another highlight was when a guy on the lift with us looked at my equipent as and asked, "So, how long have you had those skis?". And my reply was, "Oh, these are my new skis!".

The last remaining rock radio station, the one I listened to as a teenager, just went off the air, the frequency having been bought by a Christian network. So long, 107.3 FM.

C • Was that WAAF? 5

Fort Pond. First I headed toward Monomonac, but I could see from the conditions on a pond in Ashby that it was going to be snow-covered. So I headed back home and went to Hickory Hills, but that was snow-covered as well. I knew that Bare Hill Pond was ice, so I started going in that direction, but then it occurred to me that Fort Pond was closer (and on the way). I didn't know if there was any public access, so I googled it, and found out that in all the years I've been driving past this spot, including nearly every day on my way home from my current job, I had never noticed the public boat ramp that was right in front of me. (Maybe it wasn't always there?)

First a lap around the lake without the sail to see what the ice was like and to chat with the fishermen (I think I saw four out there), then I sailed for a while, then skated a little more when there was a lull, then sailed some more. Parts of the lake had scattered shell ice (no problem to skate over), but the north section was absolutely perfect, with the skates able to move over it almost noiselessly. The breeze was erratic and gusty, but never too strong. I experimented with jibing, and worked out a way to do that much more smoothly than I can tack. Near the end I was moving toward shore at high speed, and in the process of coming about I had a spectacular wipeout. No big deal, I just slid on the ice, but it was a little breezy just then and I had to chase the sail a few meters.

First time skating on this pond, but I'm glad that I know about the access now. It's not that large, but it's deep, and tends to freeze a little later than other lakes, so sometimes it will have good ice when other ones that froze sooner are covered with snow.

Beautiful day, bright and sunny, temp in the mid 30s F. Looks like I got up to a new PR for speed, reaching almost 22 mph (35 km/h) at one point.

C • https://blog.gaiagps.com/th... 2