Happy New Year!!

January 8, 2008 on 4:56 pm | In Snowboarding |

There is no better time of year to go for a few drinks with your friends in Aviemore than over the festive period. There are always a lot of interesting nights and this year was no exception. It is nice to see the legendary Woodshed Bar, at Coylum Bridge Hotel, back to full form and even better to see live music playing there especially when it is the local band The Starlings who played in the Woodshed on the 24th to kick off the festive season. It was a great night attended by many local faces and everyone was in the festive mood. As well as getting to see ‘The Starlings’ the lucky crowd got a sneak preview of the Roxy Snow film ‘Labour of Love’.

As well as catching up with my friends over the festive period I got the chance to get out in the chilly highland air. As well as the customary walks around Loch an Eilan and Loch Morlich with my family I took a run up past Ryvoan and Bynack Stable and all the way up to the Barns of Bynack. I had never been all the way up there before and am glad to say that the view was definitely worth it, although it was a bit chilly at the top!! We actually cheated a bit and rode our mountain bikes up to the Bynack stable then ran the rest of the way. It was a good way to do it as the winter light was already fading when we got back to Loch Morlich.

After the festive break I headed out to Morzine for a few days of training in preperation for the next competition, the European Open, which kicks off in Laax, Switzerland next week. Hopefully the rest and recuperation along with the nice bit of dryland training I got in will see me in good stead to start the new year with a good result.

Lesley McKenna
http://www.chunkyknit.com
Professional snowboarder, film maker and ambassador for Visitscotland. All sorts of outdoor sports from skiing to mountain biking and now mixes her time on the Snowboard World Cup Tour with time in Scotland doing these sports.