Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I rented fat bikes from Kamikaze Bikes in Collingwood and took them to Highlands Nordic. The bike trails cross the ski trails in a few places and we've been very curious to follow them! The conditions report said it was 3.5 out of 5, with soft snow on top of the escarpment.

The first section was super fun. The rental bikes - Trek Farley 5.0 with 27.5 X 4.5 tires - were perfect on these well-packed, relatively flat trails. Then we started to climb. When the snow was well-packed, that was still OK. Then it started to get soft and it was hard to keep the bike rolling in places.

If we put a foot down, it would usually land beside the narrow groomed trail and drop more than knee deep in powder. Usually, this pulled the bike down on top of us. It was hilarious - at first - and very hard work.

There were some lovely sections on top where the trail was firmly packed. The descent from Larry's Glacier to the Chalet was excellent. We ran into a guy we'd noticed earlier since he had a Trek Farley carbon bike, a team jersey and obvious skills. He said it had been "brutal" on top but he was enjoying going back and forth on the last part of the trail. So we didn't feel quite so bad. It was our second time on fat bikes and I would still rather ski or snowshoe in winter but we'll definitely rent bikes again - maybe when the trail report is 5/5.

It was the best of times...









It was the worst of times. :)

Wonderful ski on the Kolapore Wilderness Trails. It was mostly sunny with a bitter wind but we were dressed properly as long as we kept moving. Our packs were full of extra layers that we never needed.

We decided against Northwest Passage because of the open areas where the wind would reduce the fun factor. We skied Kolapore Church across to Marc's Folly to the summit of Mount Dhaulagiri for a lunch break (time deducted). Then we continued across to John's Portage, Kingsway and out to the Kolapore Church parking lot.

We'd planned more but whenever the wind gusted, the deciduous forest creaked loudly. There were plenty of dead trees and branches waiting for an excuse to fall. Aside from that, it was perfect. In 3 hours, we met about a dozen people on one of the busiest weekends of the winter (Family Day).

Excerpts from my homemade Valentine from 'Bent. :)

Beautiful dusk ski with my Valentine before the Highlands Nordic buffet. Nice to catch up with Goose and Coach LD over dinner and pig out on desserts including chocolate-dipped strawberries. Not bad for $20! :)

Unbelievably, it's the first time this year I've skied at Hockleycrest but it's their 53rd day of skiing this season! It snowed all day until mid-afternoon so the groomed tracks were partly filled and some trails had only been rolled before the snow started. There was one open field where I couldn't see the rolled trail so I wallowed slowly through the powder. I'm not complaining - it was awesome!

It's such a fun little trail network. It would be great for ski orienteering but it would be limited to people who are comfortable classic skiing on narrow trails without hitting trees on downhill curves. I don't think we could cover our costs.

Added a little extra distance/time for a loop where my GPS wasn't on.

AdventureDog had an X-ray for his sore elbow today (kaCHING!) and I got the call to pick him up after his sedation had mostly worn off.

Turned out my car battery was dead. Weird but no problem - I'd take 'Bent's van. Oops, forgot that 'Bent drove A-Dog to his appointment this morning so his van was at the dental office.

So instead of the lovely midday Hockleycrest ski that I'd planned, I skied into town to get the van and pick up our boy. The vet noticed a couple of spots that might be mild arthritis but really nothing much to explain his limp. The X-rays have been sent on to a specialist for further review.

Time deducted for a conversation break with some hikers.

I harnessed up the mighty BazingaDog and took him for an easy, hilly snowshoe bushwhack through Palgrave West on this beautiful, wintry day. He is so strong that things could have gone very wrong if we'd seen any exciting wildlife but luckily, there were no major incidents. Well, there *was* the deer poop he rolled in, which meant I had to scrub him, his collar and his harness when we got home. Oh BazingaDog, you're such an animal.