Tag Archives: canmore nordic centre

The boy learns to ski

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So, it’s not entirely true. He already knew how to ski. But his downhill skiing has improved dramatically this season. Cross-country skiing not so much, as we haven’t gotten out doing much as a family. He has been doing the Jackrabbits junior skiing program though, which he really enjoyed – a group of 6-8 four-year olds out wandering the trails and playing games: He’s also been heading to ski lessons at Sunshine Village while Alex works. End result? He can now happily ski green runs! We went out for a ski together, and it was so much fun that my … Continue reading The boy learns to ski →

The February of warmth, melting snow, and suspicion

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When we weren’t sitting around eyeing weather forecasts suspiciously (“Surely it’s going to get cold again some time soon?!”), much of February was spent riding bikes from the left of frame towards the right: The Prospector trail in Exshaw was alarmingly dry… and we spent more time trying to get the boy to pedal his trail-a-bike. And going on random explorations (in-between working on renovations… which are, by the way, a fantastic way to eat up every moment of your spare time). There was some more skiing, as we gradually came to terms with the fact that there might not … Continue reading The February of warmth, melting snow, and suspicion →

January catch-up

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So, time has been escaping from me – somehow it’s the end of March now, and I have posted no words or images here since January. Possibly I no longer exist. In an attempt to fool you though, here are the some of the things I claim to have done in the rest of January. Banff Mountain Madness Relay – The relay had been wildly shortened thanks to the un-seasonal melting of the Bow River, but we were still out to defend our honour as reigning champions. Sadly our first relay member crashed badly on the horrendously icy slopes of … Continue reading January catch-up →

Grizzly Ultra race report

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At 50km, the Grizzly Ultra is barely an ultra-marathon. Which just goes to show how perspectives change – when you’ve started hearing all about other people who are out doing 300km+ trail races, 50km barely seems any sort of distance. Which isn’t the best mind set to fall into. Despite having the best of intentions when I signed up for this race, I managed to yet again fail to train properly. I definitely got in a lot of long, slow runs, but apparently that wasn’t enough, and I really did need to get in some more shorter runs that actually … Continue reading Grizzly Ultra race report →

24 Hours of Adrenalin 2014

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Another year of riding with one of the teams from work – Go Team! After all the setting up, and excitement, and hoards of lycra-clad fools running in bike shoes, it was back to the same old rhythm of sit and wait. And cheer. And eat food. And catch up with people. And get ready. I was up third in the team order this time round. The weather was ok. A bit warm and dusty during the day, but a little rain late in the night and early in the morning settled the dust down. By the time each of … Continue reading 24 Hours of Adrenalin 2014 →

Rundle’s Revenge – The Iron Donkey edition

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Rundle’s Revenge – mountain biking a 12.5km loop on Saturday, and trail running the same loop on Sunday. Up at the Canmore Nordic Centre. I did it back in 2012, and completed the “Half Donkey”, with 50km of biking and 25km of running. Apparently that wasn’t hard enough, so the next time round I signed up for the Full Iron Donkey. 100km of biking, and 50km of running. Just on the verge of being impossibly stupid, yet attainable. In 2013 the race was cancelled due to the floods, and I heaved a massive sigh of relief, as I was in … Continue reading Rundle’s Revenge – The Iron Donkey edition →

The Grande Tour of the Nordic Centre

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The Grande Tour of the Nordic Centre started off as a vague idea I had, that I should really ski all of the trails at the Nordic Centre. And that it should definitely be possible to ski them all in one day. And then I went and mentioned this idea to a couple of fellow lunatics who considered that this may well be a worthy thing to attempt. When it came down to it though, the day we had chosen had the unfortunate problem of TOO MUCH SNOW. It is something you feel terrible complaining about, but it really makes … Continue reading The Grande Tour of the Nordic Centre →

Winter begins

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SNOW!! SNOW, MAMA, SNOW! Shall we go and ski up that hill? Skiing Frozen Thunder On Saturday it started snowing. And the Moosling wanted to ride his bike to the park. Snow biking – nurture or nature? Snow! Out on a snow biking expedition on Sunday The Moosling tries some powder skiing, while Alex rides around on the Moonlander Then I went out for a run. There were hoards out on the Nordic Centre single track, although Long Road to Ruin was less well trodden than EKG. Our prolonged autumn season is now over for good, and any fun on … Continue reading Winter begins →

The Grizzly50 Ultra

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A year ago, the Grizzly 50 was my first ultramarathon, the first time I’d run further than 35km, the first time I’d raced further than 21km. In the intervening year I’d run the Frozen Ass 50 (on sealed trails in Calgary in the middle of winter, a terrible idea), and the Powderface42 (held at the Canmore Nordic Centre due to flood damage around the actual route). I’d been signed up for a couple more 40-50km trail running events, both cancelled due to the floods. But by now the idea of running a long way on trails was no longer slightly … Continue reading The Grizzly50 Ultra →

24 Hours of Adrenalin 2013 – Team Work Hard, Ride Harder

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First lap, the onslaught of bikes that follows the Le Mans start 60% of team Work Hard, Ride Harder, lazing around and waiting for our fearless leader to arrive back with a smoking fast first lap time My first lap, pushing up through the meadow There was at least one little black bear roaming around the course, I never saw him though Second lap, around 8pm – late enough to carry lights, not late enough to need them Finishing up my third lap at 3am – managed to snatch a few minutes of sleep between then and 6am, when I … Continue reading 24 Hours of Adrenalin 2013 – Team Work Hard, Ride Harder →

The not-Powderface 42

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A long long time ago, Alex and I thought it might be fun to sign up for a 42km trail race together, the Powderface42 in K-Country. The flood had other ideas though, and the race ended up being relocated to the Canmore Nordic Centre. Less effort to get to, but not very exciting when we’d been looking forward to running new trails. After some indecisiveness we decided we may as well run it anyway. The course involved two laps that reached all the way out to the end of the Nordic Centre and back, with a particularly cruel section of … Continue reading The not-Powderface 42 →

Chariot multi-sporting (walking and skiing counts as multi doesn’t it?)

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So, today I tested the theory that I could stroll with the Chariot to the Nordic Centre carrying my ski gear; switch wheels off, skis on, attach skis and boots to me, ski a loop, then walk home again. It worked! The hardest part of the workout was pushing the Chariot up the hill to the Nordic Centre through all that slush.   Nearly there now (it’s a 3.5km walk)     Canmore Nordic Centre… January… 8oC!     On the snow, ready for transition     Transition complete, now to put skis on and away!   We ran into … Continue reading Chariot multi-sporting (walking and skiing counts as multi doesn’t it?) →

bike park squirrel was not amused

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He sat there looking at me for 20 seconds, then chattered loudly and ran away with his pinecone.     And just to prove it really was in a bike park:     Ok, even that shot doesn’t look that much more bike-parky. Rest assured, there were more log rides, and some jumps, and a see-saw. And a 10km single trail loop that started out fairly smooth, but then seemed to get rougher and rougher as you went round it. My hardtail and I are petitioning against the excess of pine tree roots around Canmore. Also perhaps the rocks.