100 Minutes of Skiing in Itasca State Park on December 22nd

When I finished my grading for the semester on December 20th, Enrico surprised me with a very special Solstice gift--a mini vacation to Bemidji to go cross-country skiing, without kids. I had a meeting on the 22nd, but we were all packed, so he pulled up to Minard Hall on the NDSU campus at 12:45, and we left.

We got to Itasca State park around 3pm and were out on the freshly rolled trails by 3:30pm. It was warm, just under freezing, and we headed out on the trail for the headwaters. The snow was fast and the scenery was beautiful. I just loved looking at the majestic spruce trees all around us. We were the only skiers out on the trail, so we also enjoyed the quiet and solitude. There was a glorious sunset over Lake Itasca, and then we decided we should head back to the car. But first, we took a twin selfie, or "twelfie," as Enrico dubbed it.

Heading back was more tiring than skiing out, and by the time we got close to the Visitor's Center, we were dragging a bit but were rewarded by seeing the first star of the night just as we arrived.

The Visitor's Center is open as a warming hut all night, and there was a fire in the fireplace. We changed out of our sweaty ski clothes, got some water to drink, and sat on the comfy couches for awhile, enjoying the fire. It was a lovely outing, but Enrico had planned more for our evening. He drove us out north of Lake Bemidji to Turtle River, where he had made reservations at the Chophouse. Every Thursday is "date night," and they offer a special price fixe menu. Here is the first course:

It was a great dinner made even more delicious by our post-ski appetites. 

Winter Solstice Sunrise Ski

This morning I got outside when the moon and stars were still out and headed to the river. The temperature was 27 degrees above, so the snow was fast, which felt great to skate ski upon. I went all the way to Lindenwood Park without stopping, joy springing up in my heart. On the way back, I saw a little movement in my peripheral vision--a rabbit, I think. This caused me to look in the woods, and I saw this little nest by the trail: 

Amazing how delicate grasses can form a home for birds.

I skied on, playing with different techniques, remembering again how to ski in different ways and listening to how my body feels as I change it up. It was a still Solstice morning, and I kept going back and forth on my trail until I saw the sun come up. It was really beautiful, and made me feel blessed.

Happy Solstice, everyone!

Fresh Snow and Sunshine!

December 17, 2016

If I ever need my dog to stick by my side, all I have to ask is, "Do you want to go skijoring with me?" He will follow me everywhere--downstairs to get my ski boots, upstairs to get my hat and gloves, to the bathroom for one more pit stop before heading outside. When I get his harness off the hook by the door, he always stands in the exact same spot by the door and bows down his head, so I can slip the harness over it. He then lifts his right paw, so I can thread his leg through the harness and repeats this on the left side. When he sees me put on the skijoring belt, he knows departure is imminent, so he begins coming down the stairs. I check the time--9:40am. It is a few degrees below zero and there is a slight wind--the online forecast says ten miles per hour.

But once we step outside, all I notice is the glorious sunshine and fresh snow from last night's clouds. It is lovely! I cannot wait to break a new trail.

Fresh snow and sunshine--hurray!

My muscles are sore from skate skiing yesterday, so I am happy to amble along at a leisurely pace using classic technique. We saw only one other dog (with his two people) the whole time we were out. Noko, who, up until this time, had not been pulling at all, now suddenly pulled the line taught and showed what a mighty pulling dog he is. I appreciated his energy and helped us along with some vigorous double-poling.

Something new I'm doing with our trail this year: I've found a place where we can go up the dike for a bit to get some uphill skiing into our routine. I have also made the trail curvy, to get more kilometers out of our route.

We are both terribly out of shape, and whenever we go fast, we have to take a short break to catch our breaths, but that is okay. If we do this everyday, we'll be feeling stronger soon.

Returning home on our new trail

Thursday, December 8--First ski of Winter 2016-2017

It was a very warm fall--I continued eating out of my garden until Thanksgiving, which was wonderful, but I wondered when we would ever get enough snow for skiing. Finally, on December 7th, the rain turned to snow, and we got a dusting of snow. The grass was still poking through, but I decided to get out my rock skis anyway and go for a little skijor with my dog. Another reason to get out early was that I wanted some footage for my video submission to Alt for Norge. I was pretty impressed that I was able to film myself with my iphone. The quality is not the greatest, but this gives a tiny glimpse into my first ski of the season. Noko was VERY happy to be out skijoring again, even though we only went for about 25 minutes. 

Ski Triathlon Day

Me and my new classic skis from Finn Sisu

It was ten above and sunny today, so I decided to do a ski triathlon. First, I got my new classic Yoko skis and classic boots on and got on the newly groomed trails along the Red River to Lindenwood Park. I then walked over the bridge to Gooseberry Park, where I have been skiing in my own loop on a regular basis this winter. I zig zag back and forth up the hill, descend at the entrance to the park, and then ski in my relay race field (four parallel tracks). After skiing everything in a few times, I skied back, passing my house and going all the way to the dog park, where the trail originates. Tracks were in great condition! This took about 90 minutes.

Then I went back to the house and switched into skate boots and got my old Fishcher RCS skate skis. At first, it felt awkward. I was using some new Madshus skate boots I bought at Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis last weekend. The boot is significantly stiffer than my old Rossignol skate boots. Also, I have only skate skied once this winter because i have been training to do the Birkebeiner in classic technique this year. Soon enough, however, my body adjusted, and soon I was flying over the snow (or so it felt to me). I have MISSED skate skiing. It is so fast and rhythmic. I did the whole trail once, stopping a few times to stretch a bit because my hips get a bit tight when I have not been skate skiing regularly.

For the third part of my triathlon, I went home and got into my recreational ski boots and grabbed our waxless skis. I put on the harness and got Noko and his harness. We then skijored out to the rocks and back on our own little trail that I have been skiing in all winter. I skied for a total of three hours, using three different ski techniques. I was quite tired at the end!

Best part of today's ski--the SUPER SPARKLY snow. There was one part in Gooseberry where it looked like little stars were floating just above the surface of the snow. It looked magical! The photo does not do it justice, but hints at the beauty.

30 Days of Biking update

I'm keeping up with the biking, but not the blogging, so here's a recap:
April 2nd--rode to and from work. Seeing the sun rise on the way in is just so much better from a bike than from in a car. I can feel the sun on my face. The ride home was chillier than the ride in. Cold front coming in. I tweeted about my ride home:
Bare branches, brown ground, 
Oil trains leaving North Dakota-- 
Season between winter and spring. 
Riding my bike home.

April 3rd--no work today, so I just took Enrico's bike to the bikeshop for a tune-up.
April 4th--rode on the bike path with Enrico and Noko. I got to see, for the first time, how Enrico exercises Noko on the bike. I'm too scared to do it myself, but they have a good routine going. Noko ran further because I was with them. Here are a couple of photos from our outing.

April 5th--Easter. I stayed home and cooked and ate all day. I SHOULD have gone for a bike ride, but didn't. 

April 6th--Biked to work this morning. It is a holiday in Fargo--very little traffic. On campus, there was a wild turkey strutting around. Wish I had remembered to bring my phone so I could snap a photo. I rode home on University. Chilly. Love riding my MB-0, but I need to ride a bike with racks so I can carry more stuff. Enrico wanted me to grocery shop on the way home, but my backpack was already stuffed. 

30 Days of Biking

I signed the pledge to ride my bike every day in April this year. I heard about 30 Days of Biking from my friend Barb Kelly, who lives in Hayward, Wisconsin. For every 30 pledges, they donate one bike to Free Bikes for Kids. Super!

April 1st was warm and pleasant in Fargo, so it was a great day to start biking to work again. I decided to use my Bridgestone MB-0, which had been repainted last fall by Larry at Great Northern Bicycle Company in Fargo. I didn't have my rack put on it, so after carefully packing my bike bag with everything needed for a day at NDSU, I had to repack everything into a backpack. I wore my work clothes, since my commute is short and flat. This photo doesn't show it very well, but my beige blazer matches the paint job on my bike. I had to wear a scarf to protect against a slight chill in the air. My leather ski gloves and a helmet completed my outfit. I just tucked my pant leg into my sock, since I couldn't find any of my straps to keep the pant leg out of my chain.

I appreciate how the City of Fargo has created bike lanes on several major roads. Riding in the bike lane on 12th Ave N saved my bacon today. As I passed a cross street, I saw a large SUV coast through a stop sign while the driver  was looking down at the cell phone in her hand. I'm glad I wasn't in the crosswalk, but on the road, otherwise we would have had a collision. I prefer not to ride with the car traffic, but counterintuitively, I have found it to be safer than riding on the sidewalk because I always have these kind of near-accidents as I ride in the crosswalk. Most drivers don't stop at the stop sign, but cruise right through the crosswalk to the corner. 

First day of riding went well--no problems!