An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

Dressed for cold, windy weather Yes, today was one of those occasional days (maybe once every other year) when there's enough snow to ski the W&OD trail. We just got about four inches of snow (the forecast was 6-10), which is about the bare minimum to ski. It was also enough to close the Federal government yesterday and give us a telework option today. I would have gone out and skied first thing this morning but it was a soul-cleansing five degrees with wind gusts to 40 MPH when I got up. I went outside at 6 AM and shoveled the walk but had to retreat indoors pretty quickly. By 11 AM it had warmed up to a fun-loving 16 degrees, was sunny and the wind had dropped off somewhat, and so I bundled up and headed for the trail. I drove the couple of blocks down to the park, where I strapped on my skis. The field at Madison Manor Park was nearly pristine, but the W&OD itself was a mess of tracks and footprints. Biking in foul weather has become a thing these days ...

I wasn't going to do a blog for this outing except ... 1. I wanted to make note of the fact that I had indeed kayaked in January (my goal is to get out at least once every month of the year), and 2. I thought of a cool title and couldn't let it go to waste. Wednesday night at midnight David came banging at our bedroom door. He had just come back from his first Cisco networking class and was freaked out. Intensified classes can be overwhelming - this one was a five hour session and there was a lot of material. We told him to get some sleep and that we'd talk about it the next day ... which almost derailed my kayaking plans, since that was what was on my agenda for after work on Thursday. Fortunately by the next day David was a little more relaxed and so I was able to go out paddling. Tom and I had advertised the trip on the CPA forum as an Ice Pirates outing but only he and I showed up. Still, we had a very pleasant paddle. We had the river completely to ourselves; n...

Winter kayak pool sessions have started at Lee District Rec Center. As always, the first session is as much schmoozing as rolling as kayaking friends see each other for the first time in months. I was pleased with my rolling - not as rusty as I expected. Basic Greenland roll was quite reliable (on-side) and almost there (off-side). Bracing worked well on both sides. Successfully did a few butterfly rolls. Chest sculling has gotten a little weak. After the pool, I went out for coffee at Grounded with Rob, Nelson, Caroline, Ian and his son, and a couple of others. A pleasant surprise - live music at the coffee house (unexpected on a Sunday morning). And then home.