Since moving to Teton Valley six years ago I have been curious about skate skiing. As my circle of cycling friends grew it became obvious that I was one of the only serious cyclists here who does not skate ski in the winter. Many of them are accomplished nordic racers in the winter.
The final nudge came when, out of the blue, Michelle suggested that we add skate skiing to our list of activities to try and maintain some cycling fitness over the winter.
So last Friday Michelle and I jumped into a skate ski clinic at Targhee and off we went...like a herd of turtles. Eager to practice, we skated the next two days as well and we discovered muscles we didn't know we had.
Grand Targhee nordic trails...good snow, lots of hills
Skate skiing is not coming easily to me. I am not blessed with great natural balance and my tendency is to try and "muscle" through all things physical. That just doesn't work on skate skis. I have had a few brief moments of greatness where I "get it"...and then I nearly crash and reality sets back in. Ha! I am enjoying the challenge though and I will continue to absorb everything I can to shorten the learing curve a bit.
I hear you on that, I can classic along pretty well, but am tempted by the dark side whenever a skater blasts past on the fat groomed.
ReplyDeleteskating is awesome. i just learned last winter and now i just can't wait until we get some snow so i can get back at it.
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