I didn’t ever think I’d say this, but I miss the snow. ❄️
I’ve struggled to like winter for years. It wasn’t until I discovered running and cross country skiing and later, fat biking, that I came to enjoy winter. I needed to keep moving and stay warm. But those activities require snow, and we’re getting fewer and fewer snowy days.
Our Australian relatives visited over the Christmas holidays, hoping for snow, but we had to drive them far enough north to where they were making snow so we could go tubing.
I know that in the grand scheme of climate change and environmental disasters, my personally missing snow is small potatoes.
But still, I may need to find a new approach to winter physical and mental health.
Cross country skiing and fat biking friends, how are you coping?
Yes, it may be brutally cold and relentlessly grey, but we’re halfway to spring. And I suppose that is true, but the thing is, it’s not really spring that I’m craving.
I’m not even craving a trip south to warm weather. I know, who am I even?
It feels weird to say this, but what I’m craving is enjoyable winter.
What’s my winter ideal? Sunny, -5, and snowy. That weather, of which we’ve had none so far, is perfect for hiking, dog walking, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, and fat biking.
All of the photos accompanying this post are from sunny winters past.
This very, very grey frigid gloom might be our new climate norm, and I know there are bigger, scarier reasons to care about that, but right now, I’m just desperately missing the bright sun on the white snow.
How’s your winter going, if it’s winter where you are?
An aside: I just had some Australian relatives visiting, and I’m very aware that it’s not winter everywhere.
You’ll see that there aren’t actually 24 here. That’s because most of the 24 were about the fall but they seemed more September and October to me. By November most of our coloured leaves have fallen. It’s all stick trees against the grey sky with cold rain here. I’ve never been to Norway but I like the idea of visiting Norway. I’m intrigued by the idea that November reminds someone of Norway.
Here’s my ten item list of things that will help me make it through November. This year I started early with the lights, the daily gratitude practise and pretty much the rest of it too.
Each year it seems I start my new year’s resolutions earlier and earlier. This year it’s November 1.
All the bright lights!
Books and a anti-SAD lamp on Sam’s desk at work
Exercise with cheerful music
Grover’s Monster Workout Video
Furry blankets to go with all of my knee pillows
Brown and white dog wearing pink fur coat, sunglasses, sitting on a bright pink sofa
Today I am grateful for visiting cats to keep me company, neighbours with good signs, and bright fall colours which brighten darker days.#gratitudepic.twitter.com/Q7O6jJaQmW
I read this while recovering from knee replacement surgery and loved it. Looking for more ….
November 1 is the new January 1
Resolutions
Friends and family
So those are my ten tools to combat November sadness and gloom. What would you add to the list?
I guess an obvious one is getting outside when it is sunny but I’m not even sure there are sunny days in November. If there are I promise that I’ll get out and bask in it.
I was glad to hear women athletes speaking out against calling the strands of hair women athletes wear outside their helmets “slut strands.” It’s never landed on my ears in a way that sounds self-affirming. Instead it sounds like it’s mean teasing or shaming. Sports culture can be pretty bro-like. But I’m not a snowboarder and snowboarding culture is pretty removed from my world.
“The women’s snowboarding events have come to an end at the Beijing Olympics, and anyone who watched is likely forever changed by all that big-air bravery and beautiful group-hug sportsmanship. Not to mention the winning hair-strand game. As even the most casual viewer may have noticed, pretty much every woman competing in a snowboarding or freestyle skiing event rocked the same look: strands of hair pulled out of their helmet to frame her face — strands that stay where they’re put, beautifully, no matter how many 360s or double corks she executes. Cheekily known as “slut strands,” they’ve been the look on the slopes for many years now, embraced, no doubt, since the sport had always been dominated by men.”
Image from TikTok
Now not everyone dislikes the term. Here’s the slut strand society‘s definition and defense:
“Slut Strand (N.) :Two strands of hair commonly used by the ladies of skiing & snowboarding to express femininity under all dat gear. No, they do not make someone a slut. And no, we do not support slut shaming. They are of comparable importance to your bindings themselves, a true staple to the lifestyle. We’re here to embrace em.”
Or maybe you prefer a different hairstyle altogether!
Found on reddit, image from TikTok
What do you think? Pro or anti the term “slut strands”? Commentators on the blog suggested some alternatives: Power Strands or Sister Strands. Which do you prefer?
So you bought a bike during the pandemic–Welcome, welcome to the club!
And you’ve been riding for fun and maybe commuting, but it’s starting to get dark and cold and you’re wondering, what next? Do you keep riding? Do you ride year round?
“Just because it’s sub-zero, doesn’t mean you should give up your commute. Commuting can be a great form of motivation during the cold months as you have a goal: get to work on time. It’s a lot easier to convince yourself to ride 40 minutes to your office on a cold day, as opposed to going out for a 40 minute ride.”
“Put on your final layers or gloves when you are walking out of the door. Especially when you are waiting on other people or tinkering with your bike, it’s all too easy to put on all of your warm layers and still spend several minutes inside heating up. Even though you might feel ok, moisture is accumulating on your skin. You likely won’t notice that you are sweating, but you will feel colder during your ride.”
Regular readers, family, and friends know that all bikes make me smile.
I love my road bike. I love bike commuting. I love bike holidays. I used to love riding on the track at the velodrome. Whee!
Basically riding a bike puts a smile on my face and makes me feel like a kid again. For Tracy, it’s swimming. For me it’s riding a bike.
But not all of my bikes get me smiles from other people. People yell at me on my road bike. See here and here. I’m never sure what it’s about really, the hatred of cyclists–is it the clothing?–but I only hear about it on my road bike.
What bicycling feels like every single time!
So I’m smiling on my road bike but aside from other cyclists, I don’t get that many smiles back.
Other bikes of mine though do merit smiles from pretty much everyone and gather lots of attention from people out and about. I’ve written before that my Brompton is not an introvert’s ideal bike. It’s cute. It’s pink. I even bought a pink sparkly helmet to go with it.
And I think I look approachable riding it, wearing regular everyday clothes, not going too fast.
Pink bike, pink helmet
The fat bike is the same.
So many smiles.
I think it’s partly that fat bikes are so unusual looking. It’s partly that I’m smiling in the snow.
People love to stop and ask questions about the bikes. If you have questions, by the way, feel free to ask in the comments below.
The bikes themselves are playful. They’re very easy to ride. They aren’t technical like mountain bikes can be. The fat tires will roll over almost anything. Yes, you can end up in deep snow off the packed trail but at the end of day, it’s snow you’re falling in.
In the woods I love how quiet they are. I had imagined they might be loud, crashing through the forest. But they’re not. You can ride and hear the sounds of the woods, the birds, and forest animals.
I started this spring. Swimming last year was so much fun I couldn’t wait to start this year (I live in a coastal village). I read a bit; I listened to some podcasts. I found one of my climbing friends is an experienced freshwater swimmer; I asked her lots of questions. COVID-19 was on so I was looking for excitement close to home this spring.
In late April, I started getting in and out of the water. I had a good few months of swimming through the summer and as late as October (the ocean stays warm longer than lakes do). I went back to dipping in and out of the water in November, and now (mid-December) I’ve even resorted to a wetsuit.
I remember swimming in lakes in Saskatchewan as a kid–the water was cold enough to produce blue lips in August. But here, in the North Atlantic ocean, I’ve been learning about whole new levels of cold. There’s ankle-aching cold (coldest); there’s shooting-nerve-pains-in-the-hands cold (a little less cold—that’s an existing vulnerability); and there’s a neck-cramp cold (almost swimmable). Above the neck cramp temperature, I can stay in the water and swim.
These are all November – December photos. Mind you, it’s Nova Scotia (not Saskatchewan), so November – December can still mean +9C.
That doesn’t sound like much of an advertisement, does it? The thing is, it’s a very satisfying experience. Hugely refreshing. A mood lifter. It makes an enormous difference if you tell yourself on the way to the water: ‘I’m really looking forward to an ice bath.’ (You don’t have to believe it when you say it.) It also helps to refer to swimming in lakes and the ocean the way the British do–as “wild swimming.” (Doesn’t that sound wonderful?)
There are safety concerns. I understand it’s best to walk in instead of dive or jump. Monitor your breathing. When your body wants to gasp and you halt your breath, that’s an involuntary response to the cold. If you’re going slowly, you can re-establish your breathing before you continue. If you’ve jumped in over your head and you do this, you could drown when you gasp and take in water. Make it your initial goal just to get in and out. Only gradually start to extend the amount of time you spend in the water. When you start to do that, you should do some of your own research to learn about what’s safe and what to pay attention to in your body. Your body temperature will continue to drop for some time after you get out of the water (20 minutes, I believe)–you have to plan to get somewhere warm, get the wet clothes off, maybe even take a hot shower.
(I won’t go into the sauna options, but I have to admit I first got into water this cold in April in Geneva, at the Bains des Pâquis, where there are three kinds of heat–sauna, hammam, and turkish bath–on offer when you get out.)
I have gone in one day when there was snow on the ground, but I’m nowhere near going in when there’s ice on the water, unlike Cath Pendleton.
This post brings together two common themes here at Fit is a Feminist Issue.
Theme one is making our way through COVID winter. Winter isn’t easy for some of us at the best of times but this year hiding out indoors until it passes isn’t really an option. You can cozy it up, sure, hygge style, but you might be lonely. Possibly also depressed. Maybe both.
So along with hygge, people are recommending that we adopt the attitude of friluftsliv. Read about the latter concept here.
“Friluftsliv is a word used by Swedes, Danes and Norwegians. It translates literally as ‘fresh-air life’, and is all about embracing the great outdoors whatever the weather, being active, and immersing yourself in nature.
Scandinavians spend time outdoors no matter what season it is. For Kim Lindqvist, a volunteer with the Swedish Outdoor Association, Friluftsliv means “to be outdoors and in the air, and just enjoy it in nature. To listen to the leaves, or watch the clouds”.
Friluftsliv sounds like a good fit for the FIFI blog community. We like to spend time outdoors. We’re active. And we all want to enjoy the company of friends through the pandemic winter.
I completely agree that spending time outside is key to enjoying winter. I’ve been recommending winter biking, here and here. But the thing about friluftsliv is you’ve got to dress for it.
If you choose not find joy in the snow, you’ll have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.
OK, on to the second theme that we talk about lots on the blog. Theme two is about finding gear that fits all bodies, in particular plus sized bodies. It’s not always easy. See our post about finding plus sized cycling and hiking gear.
It’s not a far away problem. It’s an issue for some of the fit feminists who blog here, me included. See Catherine’s post and my post about the challenge of finding winter coats that fit. We’re not even particularly large plus sized people, shopping in the L to XXL range. Also, we’re professors with reasonable salaries so we’ve got the option to buy new. It’s harder still if your income means you’re trying to find discount clothing or used gear.
This matters because of the message we send about which bodies belong outside in the winter. It’s symbolic and meaningful and all that. It’s also practical. Winter (in Canada at least) means we worry about frostbite and getting cold. Spending time outside–even just walking the dog–sometimes requires snow pants, parkas, hats, mitts, scarves, and good boots.
This year, more than ever, we’re all going to have get outside and spend time with friends and family during the winter. My kids are talking about winter camping in backyard so we can all spend Christmas holidays together!
So I was thinking about these themes–getting outside and enjoying Canadian pandemic winter–and the necessity of finding the right gear, when along came these guys Plus Snow.
“What she wants to see is more of the joy that her customers share when they can finally play in the snow with their kids.
Balon said she is looking for people to model the clothes she sells. She currently uses #curvystoke to raise awareness and celebrate people who wear plus sizes playing in the snow.”
What I didn’t expect when I shared the story on our Facebook page was thanks from Mon Balon herself,
“Omgosh you guys!!! Thanks so so much for sharing this article about my business and my launch in North America! It’s not a perfect model (you have to wait about 2 weeks to get your gear) yet but I do have lots of CHOICE and lots of measuring charts and our help and customer service is unparalleled (I think anyway!) Shop Your Shape is our brilliant feature which helps you find the perfect fit if you need it https://plussnow.com/shop-your-shape/“
I also didn’t expect the flurry of readers with their own issues finding plus sized snow gear. There were a lot of comments on that post.
One of the commentators was Richelle Olsen who owns outdoor wear she bought from Plus Snow.
Here’s Richelle modeling her gear.
Richelle: “All my current wet weather gear is from these guys, they don’t just do plus snow gear, but they do plus outdoor gear in general. Love that they celebrate that adventurers come in bigger bodies 💚 Plus Snow – Plus Sized Snow Gear. Plus Outdoor.” Writes Richelle, “Here’s one extra pic of our group of body positive adventurers, near the Tarkine, at a place called Cradle Mountain.”
I asked Richelle if I could share the photos and she said yes.
Thanks Richelle.
Here’s what else she had to say:
“I’m in Tasmania, an island off the south coast of Australia. I lead body positive adventure trips for Escaping Your Comfort Zone 2-3 times a year, and each time I go a few days early and just drive and see where I end up. This time I ended up in this prehistoric rainforest called the Tarkine, in the rain, camping amongst giants with no one else around.
I’m wearing the Raiski Fuchu R+ Women’s Longline jacket in size 22. I love it because it’s super long and covers my butt, its slightly stretchy and is reliably waterproof after days of constant rain in Tasmania. It’s from Plus Snow – Plus Sized Snow Gear 💚💚
Fun fact: The Tarkine Wilderness Area is one of the last undisturbed tracts of Gondwanan rainforest in the world, and one of the highest concentrations of Aboriginal archeology in the Southern Hemisphere. This place, which remains largely as it was when dinosaurs roamed the planet, is currently at the mercy of destructive logging and mining. There’s an amazing short film about this called “What if running could save a rainforest?” Featuring a good friend of mine, Nicole Anderson, who is a doctor, ultra runner and passionate rainforest protector”
Are you a plus sized snow loving person? Are you planning to get out this year? Where’d you buy your gear? What counts as essential for the snow loving activities you do?
FWIW, and in case you’re wondering, this is isn’t a promotional post. I didn’t know Richelle or Mon prior to sharing the story on our Facebook page.
I loved all the snow and the sun and the smiling faces.
We’re going into this winter knowing it’s going to be hard. And I find regular falls challenging. See here and here and here. Oh, and here! It’s a bit of a theme on the blog and in my life. Lol
The reporting about winter in the time of COVID-19 is gloomy and hard to read.
See A Canadian coronavirus winter is looming — and it could ‘amplify loneliness’: “But winter is coming and, according to experts, so too is the accompanying seasonal woes. And this time, it will be “amplified” by the confines of the coronavirus, according to Roger McIntyre, a psychiatrist and professor at the University of Toronto. An epidemic of loneliness long preceded this pandemic. And just by the nature of winter, people are less likely to come in contact with others. It’s a realistic concern.”
Since March, Canadians have been told to stay apart to stop the spread of the virus. The ability to be outdoors has provided safer alternatives to exercise, recreation, commuting and dining, among other things. In the winter, those options will dwindle. Experts have warned the risk of transmission also increases indoors.”
So what’s my plan? Because it’s clear that I am going to need a plan. I’m trying to remind myself of all the things I like about winter. I’m fending off anticipatory sadness with thoughts of snow biking and winter camping.
So far my plan has four parts but the fourth is still a bit sketchy and needs the details filling in. There’s time.
First, more time outside, including winter riding.
Second, I’m bringing home my SAD lamp from my university office and I’m going to use it in my home office.
Third, I’m following Catherine’s advice and getting a small warming fireplace for my deck so I can visit with friends outside even during Canadian winter.
Fourth, I used to joke about Canadians who went south in the winter. The truth is though between riding in Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina for the past number of years (I’m not even going to check to see how many!) I’ve become one of those people. It’s only ever been for a week at a time but this year that won’t happen at all. I’ve already booked some time in a yurt for winter outdoor sports. And I’m still scheming about what else I might do.
Suggestions welcome!
How about you? Are you in a northern climate heading into what looks like a long, lonely winter? How do you plan to keep body and spirit moving?
