The Long Drive Home

The sun leaves a chilly shadow of the X-C.com Caravan as I drive around Winnipeg's Ring Road

I'm in Winnipeg this morning, a crisp -33C ouside. With the windchill factor, that makes -44C! Should be a fun demo tonight...ha.

I can finally see the end to another long winter...This long drive home from a month in Eastern Canada will include a few pit stops along the prairies, and if all goes well, I should be home by the weekend.

I have to admit that my motivation for skiing/work goes downhill pretty quickly when I travel so much, not to mention the minus bazillion temperatures we've had this winter...I'm desperatly missing some ski time on snow.

After a short break (and hopefully lots and lots of skiing). I'll head to Nationals which will take place at the new Callaghan Valley Nordic Centre (near Whistler). Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I'm actually looking forward to the week because it should be quite competitive. From what I've heard so far, the US Ski Team is coming, a few Euros and of course, our own contingent of Canucks -

Counting the days now...

Believe or not, I actually enjoy driving. The big redneck Dodge and my satellite radio makes my long trips (10,000km in the last month) quite manageable. The other component of driving that I really like is the time it gives me to think, kind of like when I train. These days, I've been thinking a lot about my future and how to regain a bit of control over this passion of mine. The goal for this year was to scale back my involvement with the technical side of the team to focus a bit more on the promotional component of the program. Unfortunately, 'letting go' of my little 'baby' hasn't been that easy and work has seemed to be busier than ever. Frustrating.

The biggest issue of course is money. Money to pay for a full-time technician, money to let the program roll on its own...money, money, money - And discipline to say NO!

So where does x-c.com go from here...I've got lots of ideas, but no firm plan yet.

I've still got 15hrs of driving until I reach Canmore...so I'll think about it.

Thanks for listening-

pv