Training Log Archive: igoup

It appears that our power and heat are on for good (I hope). With melting and refreezing the roads are getting worse.

I went for a run down at WR. A north wind made 26F feel quite chilly. However, it was certainly warmer than the weekend when there were much more people out. I saw just 2 other runners/walkers. I think the fun/novelty factor has worn off for most people. I enjoyed being out though and took some photos.

The power came on overnight for about 4 hours and so underneath all the layers of down I felt like self-combustion was a possibility. Had to strip down. However, it was off again when we woke up.

Dallas Tour de Ski Day 3. My watch was off for part of the outing so I've added in an approx for the extra time and kms. We received another couple of inches last night. I quit working early and left Lisa in my office still working. I was able to skate down the quad and classic up the quad. All the sidewalks and roads were still well covered so I could keep moving pretty well. Ran into a student from last semester and we chatted. Jokingly chided a family for parking their car on the trail. Temp was in the high 20s and I got super sweaty. It was fun carrying my skis to and from the office just because of the novelty.

Out of desperation to feel clean we poked a hole in our Covid bubble and went over to Kelly's for a shower and dinner.

Now home we have power and heat. Spoke to a neighbor and it turns out it has been on most of the day. Hope it stays that way.

We are lucky that Winter Storm Uri has for the most part been an inconvenience and I hope it stays that way. People's homes and businesses have pipes bursting that is making things even worse. IIt looks like we are escaping that. So, knock on wood and i hope I'm not jinxing us by saying that I'm having a blast. No classes, I ski everyday and I smugly zoom around town in my Subaru.

We returned home at 5 to find the power out again and the temp = 42F. Unfortunately, our plan A for staying at Sam and Gingers went bust because apparently grandchildren have some sort of priority. Ridiculous. Plan B ended up being a trip to Ft Worth to stay with Pat and Karen. The drive over was a bit stressful; TX drivers cannot handle winter, or rain, or really anything but hot. But once there it worked out well.

The trip home was much easier except that two trips in 24hrs have Birkie and Hayward pissed. The house was 42F and without power so we dropped them off and went to SMU. After lunch we came home, sealed up the living room, and tried to see if the gas fireplace would warm things up. Alas, the open chimney just sucked air from the rest of the house and warmed the room by only 2F. It's really only a decorative fireplace and so we just turned it off, sealed the fireplace back up, and saved ourselves the worry of CO.

Late afternoon I got back on the skis at Tennison Golf course. It was a bit of a maze of drifty areas and snowy-grassy areas. But there were plenty of stretches of consistent but slow snow. I tried to mix in some skating but the edging pushed through to the grass too easily and it was better just to stride. All and all, a great time.

We got about 90min of power later in the evening. Time enough to clean some things up and take a shower. We climbed in our sleeping bags and under the covers around 8:30 when it was again 42F. We read and reminisced about numerous backpacking trips when we were hunkered down for many hours due to storms, ice or snow. Good times.

No power so I figured we could either be cold inside or cold outside, while at least outside I would be physically active. We took the classic skis over to FPH where much sledding action was underway. It was 7F with a refreshing breeze when we started. The sun did come out and that was nice. I got plenty warm except for my exposed face and had a blast going up and around and up and around, etc. Pretty rare treat for Dallas.

Alas, the power was still out when we got home and at 2pm it was 43F inside. Lisa and I have escaped to SMU, which somehow has power. If we are still cold and dark when we get home, we are headed to Sam and Gingers place, along with Birkie and Hayward.

19F, windy, snow, slippery roads.

I had hoped that the snow would hold off and I could roller ski in the morning but that was not the case. Bundled up and headed out for a ride. Cold and windy by Dallas standards. I skipped normal cycling "aero" clothing and went baggy and with boots. It would have been nicer to swap to some flat pedals but I didn't feel like spending the time in the garage.

I paused on the bike trail overpass to watch cars slide down or spin up Garland road. I also took a break and flag pole hill to watch sledders. The coverage is still pretty slim and I was impressed how fast they were going on the ice grass.

I felt pretty confident with my traction and so got moving along. However, I learned that the south side of the lake (down wind) was much slippery. I learned this while fishtailing and then landing on my left side. Luckily, the result was only some minor cosmetic scrapes on the Ibis and a very slight headache.

There were a few people out running and walking and a total of 4 other cyclists. Not too bad.

Easy.

Visit Bobby and Kinetikchain. OW!!

Lisa and I went for a walk at Rowlett Preserve. About 75min.