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Sunday, 6 March 2005 - Waubashene And Bust
that saturday night i walked to the mountainview ski hill. they were holding their first ever 24-hour ski marathon, and only the second such race in ontario. about 50-60 people in teams of 3 to 6, plus 3 solo skiers, skied from 12 noon sat to 12 noon sun.
half the chalet was a sleep zone and half the chalet was food and restoration. joan macmillan had asked me if i could help out in the timers' booth with her sat night from 9 to midnight. it was a blast -- not only to spend a few hours with joan but to be outside under the stars with skiers coming by every few minutes as they skied a partly hilly 7-1/2 km loop.
i had so much fun i went back to help joan with the 9 am to noon shift the next day. talking to the exhilarated sleep-deprived skiers that morning was cool. laurie holman-ross talked ecstatically about skiing on the golf course at 3 in the morning with the stars above...
all the skiers were amazing, when i stop to think about it. like many on a 4 person team, kate anderson was able to ski only 7 loops, but that's still over 50 km, or 30 miles!
tim bourri was the top soloist, who clocked 29 laps in
24 hours, or 218 km! here's a teeny pic of tim finishing lap 28. nice banana pants, tim!
ryan coots, another soloist, started off with the fastest time on saturday: 22 min and 38 sec. on his second last lap, after 23 hours of skiing, he clocked 22 min and 22 sec, as if he were still as fresh as a daisy; then he went out for one last lap of 23 min, 15 sec!
all the skiers finished before noon. the last was jacob macmillan, racing to finish before the 12 noon deadline.
i want to ski next year, and do this 24 hour marathon. i have no distance or speed ambitions. i just want to be able to ski loop after loop at whatever pace for as much of 24 hours as i can. i think distance skiing and cycling go well in hand.all totaled, the skiers skied 2580 km, enough to ski to halifax, regina, or miami.
i was so pumped that after my 1-1/2 h dance class that afternoon , i went for bike ride to 'downtown' waubashene at 4:30. made it in 45 min. my proudest achievement is that i didn't stop for nothing and didn't dismount for any hills, though man i really really wanted to. coming back into midland, my chain jammed in the front gears, so badly that i couldn't free it. so i walked tha last bit, and by the time i got home. that night, my back tire went flat from a chip of pink quartz.
i've fixed the tire, but it's been *so* cold i haven't been able to ride again. like larry and barbara in _miles from nowhere_ my goal is to ride every day, no excuses for weather. even if i go around the block. but icy roads and other safety factors are paramount.
i rode to waub because my first goal is to cycle to honey harbour and back. i've never been to h.h.
i'll keep you posted.
bp