Winter changes...

The snow sparkles in the sun and buries the trails, there is also the cold, grey rain that makes sweet slippery roots, these are generally the two types of Winter riding here on the West coast of Canada. Some very rare beautiful days exist when the ground is free from snow and the rain has stopped for a few days, these days are amazing, dry ice crystals jump off the ground as your tyres shred over the hard, frosty trails. But you can't wait for these days you would get unfit and lazy and forget how to do anything active which probably means you would end up having no fun. I've had my share of snowy rides and cold, rainy rides, the rain is fierce and unforgiving but like any wet riding day the minute your wet your wet and as long as you can stay warm it will always be a great ride.

My problem is it's all very inconsistent and I end up riding 3 or 4 days in a row and then not getting to ride for a week maybe more, so to balance this out I've decided two things; First is to learn a new sport to keep me on my game and secondly be more productive about training. I want to increase my flexibility, mobility and strength. And believe it or not the second is proving more difficult!

Yoga was the first thing on the list of the new regime. I have always liked to stretch and I've done it the correct way and with relative regularity but just not consistently. Yoga has been preached to me so much so that I decided it was a definite 'to do' on the list of trying things and now after attending more than 10 classes I am totally hooked. I must say I was hooked after the first class but that could have be down to the good instructor, the good studio or just the good environment that you enter. It has got to be the best form of stretching and combined relaxation that there is. Also, it helps your balance, builds strength in your joints and muscles and is overall a superb workout. Try it.

The foam roller was another thing I read about everywhere and it's inexpensive. I gave it a go and also got completely hooked. A great form of self massage and you work all the lactic acid out of your muscles. For just a few minutes a day it can do wonders. Get one, borrow one, give it a go, when you find those tight points and knots in your legs nothing feels better than to have a roll. Well, maybe a massage would feel better but it's inaccessible for most.

Neither my girlfriend or I had any experience skiing, she had skied once at the age of 6 and I have never seen more than a thick heavy ground frost, not to mind snow. A lesson is the only way to begin a new sport so we called a friend and bribed him with lunch in exchange for a lesson. He was a good instructor and after a couple of runs we were in a semi state of control and linking turns together. I being the one with bigger balls was going a lot faster but in way less control, on the other hand my girlfriend who was much slower was in full control and had close to perfect technique. We ditched our teacher after a few runs and told him to go play up the mountain. Of course that's when the trouble started, two massive crashes later and surprisingly no injuries I decided to tone it down a little. I went back to the slow and steady approach learning the technique correctly before just going fast.

The next time we got on the mountain we broke ourselves in gently, ended up doing 10 runs and had only minor crashes so we called it a day and headed down the mountain to enjoyed the aprés for awhile before heading home. Skiing was definitely the better choice to learn over boarding we could progress ourselves and learn at our own pace. We will get back for a few more days before the snow melts and the bikes come back out in full force. Dont worry tho the bikes are still out but now I have some more things to do when the snow gets too much!