Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Spirit of Winter

Cold
In a fit of ambition, and in keeping with the Spirit of Winter and the New Year, I found myself at a sporting goods store in the next town over, buying cross country skis. Not only did I get skis - I also purchased boots, bindings, and poles, which I understand come in handy for this activity.
As you may have guessed, I am not exactly a ski bunny, having been cross-country skiing just once before in my life, and downhill skiing, only two or three times, all back in the day when I was a young gazelle and leaped from peak to peak as if I had wings on my little cloven hooves.

This purchase is uncharacteristic for another reason, and it is that I have found that New England winters make me shamelessly slothful in terms of most activities and certainly exercise, particularly outdoor exercise. I like to wait until it is above freezing before stepping outside to do anything, and from the New Year until the end of Mud Season those temperatures can be few and far between in my neighborhood, thereby crimping my style. As I think I've mentioned, there are something like thirty-nine layers of clothing and winter accessories that must be donned before one can step outside comfortably once it is below freezing; exercise is thereby all the more challenging, bundled up as one is, to Michelin Man proportions.

Cross-country skiing, however, does not require all thirty-nine layers of clothing not least due to the fact that it is terribly vigorous exercise and one heats up quite quickly. We've been out skiing every day since, weather permitting, and now are actually a little sad that snow is melting; it is only January - I suspect that it will snow a time or two again before Mud Season, this being a Central Massachusetts Snow Belt, and whatnot. I can hardly wait to be out slithering and careening down the trails in my two light weight layers!
X-country Ski Cam