Editorial - No-Good November

For most cross country skiers, the end of October and most of November is useless. This is especially true when you attend a post-secondary institution in Southern Ontario.

You want to train after school? Do it in the dark with the sketchy dude drinking beer by himself on North Campus. You want to rollerski? Wear a vest and a light, or some crazy soccer mom from the suburbs will have you as a hood ornament for her Acura MDX. You want to ski? To &*%$ing bad – it’s Southern Ontario, probably between 5-10 degrees and raining and cold, but with no real hope of snow. Want to go out of town to ski? Tough – you have classes and midterms, or if not, a bunch of lazy jabroni’s on your ski team who say they don’t have time to drive 10 hours each way to Quebec. So what are you left with, you ask?

You’ve come to the right place.

Last year, the UW Nordic Ski Team pulled off a pretty solid November session that involved a figure eight loop, a bunch of shovels, and a shit ton of enthusiasm.

In previous years, we’ve rocked Westmount G and CC with minimal snow, which is more fun that you might think, unless you’re a G and CC member, in which case, those were not my ski tracks on your greens.

But if you’re still without snow in the middle of November, there is really only one activity I can truly recommend to avoid a complete and utter skiing meltdown.

A trip to St. Jacobs Market.

That’s right, eating. Who cares how much ass your workout sucks when you can come home to awesome (and cheap) Mennonite bacon? Or those sausages that you know are legit, because they cut them off a 200 foot roll for you when you buy them? How about 20 lbs of potato’s for $5 from a guy who is still covered in dirt from the field where he dug them out of? Fresh bread? Apples? Or maybe a Sherpa jacket?

November – the month to come home from your miserable, rainy, cold, dirty, not-quite-snowing, school-work-talk-filled hell of a workout and settle into some good food, and not moving for at least an hour. Get it in ya.