Pristine skate lane, Simon and my sore arse

Pristine, untouched beautiful grooming . . . finally.

Got out for a skate ski on Monday while the temperatures were still warm and the snow was reasonably fast.  I must have just missed the groomer leaving Gameline because I had some fresh skate lanes for my entire ski up to the turn off to Champlain.

I doctored this photo so you could see my skate stride.  A flat ski is a fast ski.

Simon says, "See Simon go, go!" Yes, you are seeing double.

I met up with Simon near the base of Pinks.  Simon is very new to skate skiing.  In fact he's been on the boards for less than a dozen skis, including three days of lessons.  Not only is he taking to skate skiing like a duck to water, his height and leverage naturally help his stride and he's got some supremo fitness to boot.  Despite having somewhat better skate skiing technique (only based on the fact that I've been doing it longer - it certainly isn't a natural skill for me!) Simon still managed to drop me on the Pink climb as I had to stop to catch my breath.   What's more is the fact that he's signed up for the 29  Gatineau Loppet later this month . . . this English limy is a nutter for sure.

The Gatineau Loppet

Yes, I know.  This IS a bike blog of sorts.  I was on the trainer yesterday.  My mind hates the trainer.  My arse hates it more.