How to dress poorly for cross-country skiing?
A first cross-country ski trip
After 2 years of selling cross-country ski clothing at the Laval boutique, I finally took my courage in both hands and decided to try this famous sport for which specialized clothing is not very popular. Sportive Plus in Laval, I finally took my courage in both hands and decided to try this famous sport for which the specialized clothes really don't look hot. Now I understand much better why these clothes are so thin! It's hot and you sweat like there's no tomorrow, even at the speed of a train.
My friend has been cross-country skiing since he was 6 years old, he's a regular and has reminded me several times not to overdress. "You'll see, you'll be warm!" he tells me. He even advised me to bring a second change of clothes for the return trip. Meanwhile I replied: "You, dress more warmly because you will see that I will not go fast. You should
really lower your expectations because I'm not a great sportswoman like you."
The famous morning finally arrived. It was a beautiful day, the temperature was -5°C and I, who was used to hiking, dressed as if I were going for a walk:
1. my thermal long underwear in merino wool 250
2. with a pair of Touring Ull softshell pants
For the top, I cover myself well (and what a mistake) with :
3. a thermal long underwear merino 250
4. a jacket then,
5. a quilted and the whole under
6. my OR Carbide shell
In addition, I had brought me as an extra a quilted jacket without sleeves, a polar , a thermal long underwear Totem C , 2 toques , a merino wool neck warmer 250 and so on.
I was really afraid to freeze! I was overdressed and after a few minutes I realized how overdressed I was. The expression "shoemaker's shoe" was going to apply to my situation much faster than I thought. Within 5 minutes of our departure, I was hot!
My sidekick wisely said, "You always tell your clients. It's normal to be cold for the first 10 minutes. After that, if you're still cold, then you can put a jacket back on and at least it will be dry!"
Well, with my hard head, I kept my jacket on too long and regretted my choice. With the effort it took less than 15 minutes and it was all soaked. And that's when I started to get cold.
End of story, dry clothes were waiting for me in the car and I changed. I opted for my Totem C wool underwear wool underwear from Sportive Plus and just my shell over it .
For the bottom, with my little thighs freezing, I was surprisingly fine with my warmer layers.
Once I was dry, dressed as if it was 10-15 degrees warmer than the thermometer, we headed out to complete our second loop and now I had a blast!!!
As the Scandinavians, inventors of cross-country skiing, say, there are no bad temperatures, just bad clothes!
NB: I would like to communicate a thank you to the very nice staff of the SÉPAQ of the park of Oka and to the person who recommended me to arrive early to recover my rented equipment.