By Lauren Hefferon
Each year at our annual retreat, the Ciclismo Classico team gathers to celebrate the past year, set goals for the current year and envision the future. This year, due to tons of snow, we stayed close to home and enjoyed a delightful day of planning in Arlington center in a sun-filled room in a local church. We were very excited to have senior guide and R&D manager Enrico Pizzorni and European Operations Director Davide Marchegiano here in person for the very productive week.
In addition to our planning day, our team (plus CC advisor and VIP Tom Fortmann) enjoyed a cross-country ski outing to Great Brook Farm . It was a lovely morning with perfect snow and just the right temperatures. I am very proud of the whole team who swooshed down the lovely trails together with Davide in the lead and Enrico, always with his "guide" hat on, swept the course. Great job to Joe Luchison, Andrew Conway, Christy Mraz and Marco Mastrolia whose are beginning skiers but glided beautifully. In total we skied about 6 miles through the forest and woods of Carlisle, MA.
The following weekend, four Ciclismo donne (women), Patria Lanfranchi, Lauren Lasky, Valentina Rugiero and I, hopped in the Ciclismo van and made the journey north to Craftsbury, Vermont where they joined over 800 skiers (including world class athletes) to race in the epic 25 km Craftsbury Marathon . I chased down my eleven-year-old daughter, Valentina, who skis for Eastern Mass Bill Koch league and hopes to be 1st in New England this year. I never caught her but now I am on a mission. The conditions were ideal: perfectly groomed tracks, temperatures in the low teens and snowflakes falling gently throughout the whole morning. Valentina took an hour off her time from last year while Lauren Lasky came in 3rd in her age group. Ciclismo Classico annually sponsors this exciting cross-country event and each year gives away a free Ciclismo bicycle tour to the luck raffle winner drawn from the pool of the long-course participants.
On Sunday, we headed South to Bolton, Vermont where the pace was more relaxed at the Women's Cross Country Ski Day . Over 200 women of all ages and abilities learned classic and skate techniques in clinics taught by world class women cross-country skiers. Our instructors included Olympians Dorcas DenHartog-Wonsavage , Leslie Krichko and Trina Hosmer, who founded of the event. Personally, I learned a lot about weight transfer and the advice and skills drills really work. With record snowfall, this is the ideal year to get out and give it a try. If you want to get started, check out the NENSA website .
Glistening snowflakes, abundant bonding, laughter, a sea of colorful hats and awesome brownies are a few of my fond memories of this wonderful weekend! Thanks Ciclismo ladies. Next up: The Bretton Woods Marathon at the incredible Bretton Woods cross-country center in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Meet us at the races!
