A Beautiful Ending for July

We were out skiing four times this week. Conditions were excellent. Dawn had minimal wind and temperatures around 80. The water as always was warm.

We learned to slalom ski using traditional slalom techniques. A few years ago we learned the West Coast slalom technique. If you ski, you know what I am talking about. If you don't, I won't bore you with a discussion of differences. All that is really relevant is that the technique allows for very rapid acceleration and cuts. This week we were working on our use of the technique. Al tweaked his form to increase the speed of his crosses. I worked on my turns, trying to improve them while controlling the acceleration towards towards the wake. (This technique can easily give me acceleration that my hands can't handle!) We both felt very good about our progress.

July still has a half week to go, but we'll be taking the next couple of days off for recovery time. The chance of tropical systems interrupting our water skiing increases during the next two months. The weather people say the developing El Nino will tamp down systems in the Atlantic, but we'll see. The systems are so huge they only need to slide withing several hundred miles of us to bring big weather to our area. I'm looking forward to a couple of good bike rides this week. And I think I may even finish a few of my annual indoor summer chores! (Or not. Life is short, and chores are boring...)

Ski day 1: These clouds at dawn foretold the big rain event we had later in the afternoon.

Ski day 2: Clear blue skies at sunrise.

Ski day 3: Another clear morning with a very light wind.

Ski day 4: Clear sky with a gentle wind from the south.

Gear

I've gotten email asking if we use special gear as older skiers. The answer to that is a big YES. While you don't become frail just because you've reached retirement age, you are probably not as strong as you were when you were in your 20s. But you probably have more money than you had back then. For a few bucks, there is gear to help you past about any issue that comes with aging.

Your choice of skis makes a big difference. Al skis on a very high performance ski with hard boot bindings. I  would kill myself if I used a ski like that. My ski is a good intermediate ski with a soft boot binding in front and an adjustable toe strap in back. It is responsive and makes decent turns but it is a lot more stable than Al's ski. I also have an emergency back-up ski. It's a wide body slalom ski, designed for big guy skiers who are way heavier than me. Why do I use it as a back up? Well, it isn't that quick on turns, but that wide  ski really pops you out of the water like a cork for deep water starts. And, like I said, it is as stable as they come. If I'm having problems with my arthritis, that ski will let me get out behind the boat for some slow but fun swerving. (Happily, it has been a master bath wall decoration for a number of years. But it is there if I need it.)

My basic gear always includes ski goggles. First, my goggles are tinted and act as sunglasses. Second, they are a lifesaver if you fall and do a "face plant," which means your face hits the water flat and hard. Without goggles, you will certainly have a face ache, and a head ache, to beat all. With googles, you maybe get a nose and/or a mouth full of water--but no raging pain. Young skiers endure the pain of a hard fall with a laugh, usually sorry only that it wasn't caught on video for YouTube. Older skiers are happy to be skiing and never want more pain than necessary.

Clincher gloves. See the strap in the palm and the wrapped wrists?

My gloves are the most important part of my older skier gear. I wear Clincher gloves. A dowel in the finger tips is attached by a sturdy strip of webbing to the strap-wrapped wrist. A lot of people my age have arthritic hands like me. These gloves minimize strain on the fingers and forearm by transferring the pull of the handle directly to the long bones of the arm. I was told they were originally designed for young skiers who had not yet developed the grip strength needed for skiing. But, if you have arthritic hands (or if you just don't have a lot of grip strength) these gloves are GOLD. (By the way, there are several versions of these gloves made by different companies using a couple of different designs. The choice of designs seems to be just a personal one.)

Clincher gloves. The dowel  at the finger tips and palm strap transfer the pull to the  long bones of the arm.

We got out three times this week. We had great conditions. We gave ourselves an extra recovery day. Recovery takes longer as you get older. If you haven't recovered and you push yourself too hard, you just end up with an injury (sprain, strain, or tendonitis) that can mess up your whole season. So one perfect for skiing day we stayed off the lake and took a nice little road trip instead.

Ski day 1: High humidity and lots of cloud energy--great skiing at dawn, but rain later in the morning.

Ski day 2: A perfect summer dawn.

Ski day 3: 82 degrees and gorgeous at dawn.

Retirement Living in Spandex and Lycra

We retired to water ski and ride bikes. Banish thoughts of fashionable resort wear. This is a retirement focused on your time in unforgiving spandex and lycra. Not the most flattering style decision for those of retirement age, but the clothes and gear come with the fun.

Cycling actually has the best style choices for retirees. Cycling has always encompassed a wide array of enthusiasts. All ages. Men and women. There are many varieties of cycling (commuting, touring, road, mountain, etc.) and each has somewhat distinctive gear and clothing. It is pretty easy to dress so you feel not only comfortable but fashionable.

Water sports? Not so much. Gear and clothing are designed with the teen through young adult in mind. You need to get creative to find clothes and gear that work for the physique (and personal style) of a retiree. Graphic designs that are favored by college students may or may not suit the personal style of people who can remember going to Janis Joplin concerts, wore bell bottom jeans and love beads, and owned original vinyl Bob Dylan, Cream, and Jefferson Airplane albums in their youth.

There are lots of swim suits, to be sure. But the swimsuit you might love for a day on the beach, sitting by a pool, or taking an easy swim, well, that suit might not be the one you want to wear if you are possibly going to hit the water at skiing speeds. Trust me. I can tell you this from experience.

My gear is a mix of things. A board short from Billabong. Very retro-looking full coverage top and bottom swim suits. A tankini that I had specially altered to assure it would stay in place under extreme conditions. And running knickers and a long-sleeve rash guard for days that are too chilly for a regular swim suit, but too warm for a wet suit. (I cannot tolerate chilly. Or at least I don't tolerate it gracefully. Same thing.)

I would recommend my lifestyle to anyone who wants a very active retirement. Glamour? None. Fun and excitement? Lots.

And it's never boring.

A sense of humor is required for skiing as an older adult: you are going to look silly!

2nd Week of July: Still Swerving

We got skiing 3 days this week. We lost a day to the weather, another to a day trip to the Orlando part of the state, and another to a mild bug that both Al and I caught somewhere along the way. And, this being July, we spent a lot of time every day watching the Tour de France. Nevertheless, the skiing this week was very, very good.

My goal this summer is to increase strength in my knees and ankles so that I can finally improve my leans. Al is continuing his goat to improve his off side crosses. We both worked on starts this week. Small bad habits form, and it is best to work on ridding yourself of them early in the season. Little improvements work the best.

Al swerving away.

First Week of July: A Good Start

We went skiing 4 times this week. The weather at dawn has been pretty much perfect all week. We could have gone skiing every day, but then we probably would have died or required hospitalization. The body can take only so much fun.

The best day for us was July 4. It was like a present to get in our ski before the lake was filled with the holiday crowd. By the time we were heading in, the parade of boats heading to the lake had begun. The morning crowd consists mainly of small fishing boats, jet skis, and family recreational boats towing kids around on pull toys. Since the pull toy boats do circles and figure 8s to increase the chop for the kids on the pull toys, it makes a royal mess of the lake for skiing. The lake turns into a churning mess of criss-crossing boat chop. But Al and I both got in a deliciously long 4th of July ski while the lake was still perfect. Hooray!

The 4th of July. The lake at dawn is smooth as glass.