Two feet-plus snowfall makes for great snowboard ridn! I timed this snowfall pretty well. Leaving Albany airport late in the afternoon, I was on the last plane out of Detroit on my way to Louisville. By the time I returned to Albany on Friday, 2-3 feet of snow was for the most part cleaned off the streets and, thanks to Donna, Alix and Emily, also from the driveway. My flights were not delayed or canceled unlike most people plying the air routes during this period.
On Saturday we did the last spin class at the Old Gick YMCA with Dan. Wednesday I experienced Norm's first spin class at the New Y. Norm drew in the big crowd with about 20 participants. It was a good workout and fun to see Norm in all his glory. But, there was absolutely no ventilation in the new room, so pretty hard to go as hard as I wanted. As it turns out, I went hard enough - getting heart rates in the 155-165 for three 10-12 minute sprints and climbs. Norm is a great spin leader, he always gets you a disciplined workout even when others are trying to distract him.
But the beautiful snowfall is the feature of the week. After the total lack of snowfall so far, the blanket of snow is welcomed news for the ski areas, especially since this week is school vacation week. Since my All East Pass is blacked out on the weekends of the vacation week, Donna and I got up early on Sunday and headed to West Mountain. The conditions were ideal! The early going on well-groomed, deep packed powder provided great leverage to really dig the edges in and carve turns. Later we moved to the north side and played in deep piles of lumpy, bumpy powder. The extra effort needed to make the turns took a toll on leg muscles, so it was a good workout as well as being a blast. By the time our 4-hour tickets were up, the crowds started to get heavy. We had plenty of room to make our way down the trails and had no waits. A great decision to ride early in the morning.
Yesterday I took a vacation day and went to Killington by myself. Donna wanted to get another day of work in and Alix was busy with friends during vacation. I was leery of the crowd potential during President's Week, so drove over to the Starship Base on Rt. 4. The Starship Gondola takes you all the way from Rt. 4 to the top of Skye Mountain - about a 5 mile ride! Conditions were amazing and the crowds nonexistent. The trails I have been doing were now much different. Lots of bumps and loose snow that was not powder, but not heavy either. The Malalo rides on top of the snow without effort. Since I was not chasing a skier this time I really concentrated on making hard, sharp and short turns. Again, the extra effort to make all those turns took a toll on my legs. It was great fun though. I started at 9 am and took a break around 2:30 at Bear Mtn. Lodge. By the time I got started again, the legs were starting to be non-compliant to my demands. I went to the top of Skye Mtn. and rode down Cruise Control, Great Eastern and Home Stretch runs all the way to the Starship Base - which has to be the longest, single, non-stop run I have ever done. When I slid to a stop about 150 feet from my car I was wasted and smiling!
This is the last season of the All East Pass. American Ski Company sold off Pico, Killington and Mt. Snow to different companies. Too bad, as the Pass has been a huge value and has gotten me on two great mountains each less than two hours from home. I will have to wait and see what comes out for next year.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
A Day With Dwichael
Killington tours, spinning and ice biking rule! Paltry snow levels and ice cold temperatures predominate early February conditions. Temperatures below 10 with windchills well below -10 have forced the cycling activity inside for the most part.
Donna keeps encouraging me to accompany her to Dan's Saturday spin sessions at the Y. It has been a good way to keep some aerobic fitness and it is fun to listen to the different levels of activity that people deem 'normal.' A break in the temperature, and with conditions at the upper limit for snow depth, on Sunday I got a great workout doing the home trails for 1:20 last Sunday. The 3-5 inches of loose snow on top of frozen 1-2 inches provided tough resistance but doable biking. It was a great high intensity workout - like a long hill, or plowing though sand or mud. So, it was a good weekend of spinning and biking.
The 'bread' to my ridn 'sandwich' during this period was two tours of Killington. I hosted a Dairy Specialist from WI for the week and on Wednesday we spent 5 hours on the best that VT has to offer. It was his best day of skiing ever. We had a guide in Matt S who has skied K since childhood, so I learned some new terrain. We worked our way from Ramshead to Bear Mtn and back. Lots of time was spent riding alongside the obstacles on the Terrain Park. I even did a ride down the giant 1/2 pipe - not exactly looking like a flying tomato!
On Sunday John T came up and spent the night. We got up early hitting the Ramshead Quad at 9am sharp. We did the same tour of the mountains as I did last Wednesday, spending a lot of time on Cruise Control. We even got in a couple of runs on the double diamond under the K-1 Gondola, as John was trying to impress some women that were in the Gondola with us. John kept me entertained all day with his caffeine-induced, animated monologues and longings for female companionship. His divorce becomes final this week and he was just a'twitter. We had a great time reminiscing our days in Washington County. His office mates have dubbed him the clone of two characters in the show "The Office," and I would say they have him well named! We stayed at it all day, without any breaks, until 4 pm closing - the best day of ridn so far this year! I worked hard to keep the speed up so I could stay with John who enjoys high speed and not too many turns. It was good for improving my technique. A new wax layer and sharpened edges helped as well.
I write from Louisville, KY, where I am doing seminars for John Deere. I left Albany yesterday at 4pm and today Donna reports about 20 inches of snow in the driveway, with more coming down! I return on Friday and hope to get some powder riding in!
Donna keeps encouraging me to accompany her to Dan's Saturday spin sessions at the Y. It has been a good way to keep some aerobic fitness and it is fun to listen to the different levels of activity that people deem 'normal.' A break in the temperature, and with conditions at the upper limit for snow depth, on Sunday I got a great workout doing the home trails for 1:20 last Sunday. The 3-5 inches of loose snow on top of frozen 1-2 inches provided tough resistance but doable biking. It was a great high intensity workout - like a long hill, or plowing though sand or mud. So, it was a good weekend of spinning and biking.
The 'bread' to my ridn 'sandwich' during this period was two tours of Killington. I hosted a Dairy Specialist from WI for the week and on Wednesday we spent 5 hours on the best that VT has to offer. It was his best day of skiing ever. We had a guide in Matt S who has skied K since childhood, so I learned some new terrain. We worked our way from Ramshead to Bear Mtn and back. Lots of time was spent riding alongside the obstacles on the Terrain Park. I even did a ride down the giant 1/2 pipe - not exactly looking like a flying tomato!
On Sunday John T came up and spent the night. We got up early hitting the Ramshead Quad at 9am sharp. We did the same tour of the mountains as I did last Wednesday, spending a lot of time on Cruise Control. We even got in a couple of runs on the double diamond under the K-1 Gondola, as John was trying to impress some women that were in the Gondola with us. John kept me entertained all day with his caffeine-induced, animated monologues and longings for female companionship. His divorce becomes final this week and he was just a'twitter. We had a great time reminiscing our days in Washington County. His office mates have dubbed him the clone of two characters in the show "The Office," and I would say they have him well named! We stayed at it all day, without any breaks, until 4 pm closing - the best day of ridn so far this year! I worked hard to keep the speed up so I could stay with John who enjoys high speed and not too many turns. It was good for improving my technique. A new wax layer and sharpened edges helped as well.
I write from Louisville, KY, where I am doing seminars for John Deere. I left Albany yesterday at 4pm and today Donna reports about 20 inches of snow in the driveway, with more coming down! I return on Friday and hope to get some powder riding in!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Spinning Necessity
Winter has finally arrived in full force. Last Saturday's ice biking was followed by another Sunday afternoon snowboard session at Mt. Snow. Followed on Monday with another afternoon ice bike on the home trails. However, spinning at the Y has been needed to keep aerobic conditioning and to work on the 8 pounds I need to lose by the end of March.
The Sunday afternoon-Mt. Snow routine has worked well two weeks in a row. I get there around noon and a jump into an empty parking space right next to the $10 premium spots; get suited up at the tailgate of the Outback, and take the short walk to the lift line. This Sunday the lines were very full. I went to the slow lift and got to the top to take a leak at the summit lodge, then headed off to the Caritina area. Lines were less full. A nice feature of riding solo is that you get in the Single Only line and go right to the front. So, waiting in line was never more than a 5 minute break in the action. I liked the trails in this section of Mt. Snow. They were less crowded and had good loose cover to ride over. Eventually I worked my way back over to the main lodge and alternated from doing the Summit run to the other quad. I was feeling very comfortable going over the bumpy steep sections at high speed towards the end. A very good day.
Monday I worked at home in the office and planned the day around a 2-3 pm start of riding the home trails on the Epic. The conditions were ideal with just a couple of inches of dense snow and ice and weather in the 20's. My anticipation was rewarded. I like these trails best under these conditions. The wet spots are all rock hard and the icy, muddy, rutted areas add some technical difficulty to what is ordinarily either smooth or muddy. I stayed out over 90 minutes and got another great workout, despite my legs being dead from the weekend.
On Wednesday and today I went to the Y and spun with Donna in Dan's class. So, a good week of January-February ridn!
The Sunday afternoon-Mt. Snow routine has worked well two weeks in a row. I get there around noon and a jump into an empty parking space right next to the $10 premium spots; get suited up at the tailgate of the Outback, and take the short walk to the lift line. This Sunday the lines were very full. I went to the slow lift and got to the top to take a leak at the summit lodge, then headed off to the Caritina area. Lines were less full. A nice feature of riding solo is that you get in the Single Only line and go right to the front. So, waiting in line was never more than a 5 minute break in the action. I liked the trails in this section of Mt. Snow. They were less crowded and had good loose cover to ride over. Eventually I worked my way back over to the main lodge and alternated from doing the Summit run to the other quad. I was feeling very comfortable going over the bumpy steep sections at high speed towards the end. A very good day.
Monday I worked at home in the office and planned the day around a 2-3 pm start of riding the home trails on the Epic. The conditions were ideal with just a couple of inches of dense snow and ice and weather in the 20's. My anticipation was rewarded. I like these trails best under these conditions. The wet spots are all rock hard and the icy, muddy, rutted areas add some technical difficulty to what is ordinarily either smooth or muddy. I stayed out over 90 minutes and got another great workout, despite my legs being dead from the weekend.
On Wednesday and today I went to the Y and spun with Donna in Dan's class. So, a good week of January-February ridn!
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