How I Crush The Dreaded 'Winter Blues'

Well, the final couple days of October are upon us. For those in Canada (and many other places a good distance from the equator), any final hopes of that rogue warm and sunny day have passed us by.

I find the first frost of the season can be a depressing time, especially with the prospect of being stuck indoors for four months. Long gone are those sunny Sunday morning bike rides through the country, the warm evening runs with the sun still high in the sky, and of course basking the in rays by my backyard pool. While there is nothing I can do to enjoy my pool in November, there are many ways I keep both my fun and my cardio rolling from the first colours of fall, through the depths of the winter freeze, right until the flowers bloom next spring! Here are my favorites:

Winter Running / Cycling 

Running in near freezing (or even sub-zero) temperatures basically has two important rules. Layer as needed and avoid the ice. You can’t run in a winter jacket, but you will be surprised how warm an active hoodie over top of a long sleeve running shirt will keep your core. Throw on some running/cycling tights for your legs and cardio-friendly hand and ear protection and you will be surprised both how warm and agile you are on the road/path/trail. Equally as important is to ensure your route is free of ice patches. Cycling is dangerous below zero, but very doable in November with the right gear. Get out and explore your neighbour from the perspective of winter! 

You don't even need to leave your neighbourhood to seek outdoor fun this winter!

Snow Shoeing

The pastime I discovered last winter and one of my favorite outdoor actives. If you can hike a trail in the summer, you can snow-shoe it in the winter. I would argue that the experience is even better than hiking as the touristy crowds that plague many popular parks and trails over the summer months are long gone come the first snowfall. It is also much cheaper than other seasonal sports like snowboarding or skiing for beginners to get into. The winter scenery is beautiful and it is a fantastic workout. Check out a previous blog post all about my love for snow shoeing.

A brisk November right to the Toronto lakeshore

Indoor Workouts

If you are anything like me you understand that working out indoors during a beautiful summer’s day is a waste. Last winter I signed up for both an affordable boot camp and a spin class through my local rec center. The winter can be cold, dark & depressing and there is no better way to keep your fitness and spirits up than good ol’ physical activity. The structured classes make you less likely to bail and your spring self will thank you for the head start on the new season’s goals!

Wintery, winery snowshoeing

Caribbean Vacation

You can’t let winter go by without some serious relaxing. There is nothing comparable to boarding a plane in -15C and getting off it at 30C. Do yourself a favour a book an all-inclusive resort. For as little as $700 per-person you can be lounging seaside with all of the included food and drink you can handle. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic is one of my favorite spots for quality and overall value, but there are plenty to choose from in the DR as well as Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Aruba etc. Here are some tips on booking the perfect all-inclusive vacation.

What the DR is all about! 

Mike @ Palms & Pints

@palmsandpints 

Wine & Snow Shoes!

Before winter in southern Ontario met it's timely end about a week ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to try something unique. After a nice evening spent in Niagara Falls, we headed to rural wine country, Ontario for a snow shoeing adventure. 

I wouldn't call myself a wine connoisseur by any means, but to say I enjoy my wine would be a bit of an understatement. This winter also saw me uncover a new love for snow shoeing, something I picked-up out of necessity to fill the 3-month void where running is rather uncomfortable and inconvenient. After doing a bit of research looking for some winter trails in the Niagara region, I stumbled across the Thirty Bench vineyard snow shoe tour and wine tasting. Needless to say I booked us a spot without much hesitation. 

The tour was at a fairly gentle pace to suite the needs of the group of young and old, fit and... well, getting fit! Our guide was exceptionally knowledgeable about the wine as well as the vineyard's history. She also provided a quick but useful tutorial for anyone new to the sport. We sampled about 6 wines in total, mostly white. I'm a red drinker but I enjoyed the exposure to various whites and I think it may have somewhat converted me! 

After the tour through the various plots of the property, we were given the chance to explore on our own for a little bit. I used this time to test out my "snow shoe running" techniques, using the rows of vines like they were lanes in an Olympic event. This is not as easy as it looks... actually it does not look particularly easy.

The tour was concluded with a delicious bowl of Moroccan cauliflower soup whilst sitting around a little fire in the great snowy outdoors. 

I highly recommend the Thirty Bench snow shoe tour for anyone in southern Ontario wine region whom enjoys wine or the winter outdoors (preferably both!)

Here are some of the best moments I captured from the afternoon: 

The wife and I getting ready to roll. 

Sampling a delicious white wine (Riesling) amongst the beautiful winter vineyard setting

Chardonnay post marking

Enjoying the day

Time for a run!

Wood Post Riesling - my favourite wine of the day.

Mike @ Palms & Pints 

@palmsandpints

Winter Weekend at the Falls

Having spent my entire life in the Greater Toronto Area, I have been to Niagara Falls more times than I can count. When family and Friends from abroad came to visit they were always eager to see either the iconic Toronto focal point, the CN Tower, or the world’s most powerful waterfall located just about an hour down the Queen Elizabeth Way.

In my adult years trips down to Niagara have been fewer and further between. Maybe I took this wonder of the world for granted, or maybe it’s one of those things you can only see so many times. However Niagara Falls is so much more than the falls themselves. The city is home to two world-class casinos, there is a plethora of fantastic restaurants, a brand new outlet mall and even the kitschy tourist trap known as Clifton Hill.

My wife and I decided to spend a night at the falls during a recent winter's weekend as a chance to see the falls in their partially frozen state (something, in my years of visiting the falls during the warm summer months, I had yet to experience).

We started things off by taking a nice stroll across Niagara Parkway, admiring  the postcard-worthy views of both the Horseshoe and American Falls in their glorious part-frozen, snowy state.

The half-frozen American Falls, with the City of Niagara Falls, NY in the background 

The majestic Canadian Horseshoe Falls

From there we headed up Clifton Hill where you will find a colourful, kitschy display of pop culture. A wax museum, a ferris wheel, an arcade and even a giant Frankenstein on top of a Burger King. We didn’t spend much time on Clifton, as it is easily one of the largest collections over-priced establishments you will find anywhere, but the uphill walk was refreshing and provided a few great photo op’s.

The kitschy charm of Clifton Hill

No shortage of activities (bring your wallet)

Ripley's Museum - A Clifton Hill institution

At the top of Clifton Hill we settled in for dinner at Antica Pizzeria, a great pizza place we try to make it to anytime we are in Niagara. Then it was off to try our luck at Fallsview Casino.

First opened in 2004, Fallsview Casino is about as close as you are going to get to a Las Vegas super-Casino in Canada. It is massive, chic and loaded with Vegas-style extras like boutique shopping, several restaurants including the classic all-you-can-eat buffet, a performing stage and much more. On a Saturday night the casino was expectedly packed and many games were hard to come by. I initially tried to get my hands on some digital roulette (prefer that over the standard table roulette which requires some etiquette), however there were no terminals available, and plenty of people circling waiting to grab anything that did open up. We decided to switch our attention to the slots and digital blackjack where we lost a combined $40, an acceptable “cost of entertainment” for non-gamblers such as ourselves.

Fallsview Casino would not be out of place on the Vegas strip.

Using our Player’s Advantage Card (the Casino’s loyalty program) we were able to earn free parking at the casino’s underground parking structure. Since our hotel was only about a 7min walk from the casino, this saved us the $20 the hotel wanted to charge us to park for the weekend. 

Niagara Falls is rightfully one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and it doesn’t have to be expensive either if you do the right research. There are plenty of mid-week hotel deals available through sites like Groupon or WagJag, and sometimes they even include meal, attraction and/or gambling incentives. The falls are beautiful all year round, the dining options plentiful, and you can always find some action at the 24-7 casinos. There is a little something for everyone in Niagara Falls. 

Here is our review of the Radisson Fallsview Hotel. An affordable and conveniently located home base for your Falls trip.

View from partial fallsview room at the Radisson

In my next post I'll get to the 2nd portion of our winter getaway weekend. Touring a winery by snow shoe!

Mike @ Palms & Pints

@palmsandpints

Snow Shoeing - Winter's Cardio

About 5 years ago I discovered the joy of running. At first it was all about fitness as I was terribly out of shape and looking to lose some weight. By the second or third year however it became more about my passion for the sport, the love of the outdoors and the desire to be in the sunshine on anything from a crisp April morning to a sweltering July afternoon.

Proud of my first medal at one of my first running events

While my running evolved over the first four years, one thing stayed the same. I did not run in the winter. Something about the temperatures dipping below 5C just turned me right off the sport and had me indoors until the following spring. This winter, however, I was able to put that behind me and run right into the depths of January and February. This new found love of cold weather activity sparked a new interest which made use of the snowy, slippery terrain; snow shoeing. 

It started by chance. Early in the winter a buddy had bugged me to try cross-country skiing with him. I did... and I hated it. I had trouble staying on my feet and even when I could I must have looked like a drunk flamingo. He saw my struggles and recommended we try something with a lesser learning curve for the rest of the afternoon, so we strapped on some snow shoes and headed for the trail.

First snow shoe adventure near Barrie, Ontario

Fast forward two months and I now own my own pair of snow shoes (Atlas 9-series), and have been out on many adventures both back-trail and urban. My first big run was High Falls trail in the southern tip of Algonquin Park's panhandle. Great views of a mostly frozen river/waterfall and beautiful forest scenery. Algonquin is one of my favourite places to visit, and the snowy winter setting puts a fresh spin on it.

Beautiful frozen scenery

High Falls Trail - Algonquin Park 

Moose sighting after leaving the High Falls trail

Not being able to 'get away' every weekend however has forced me to track down some great urban snow shoeing. I explored the parklands of my own neighbourhood here in Mississauga and while there were no wild life sightings, I had myself a great view of a passing GO Train. I feel as though you don't really know even your own neighbourhood unless it is explored outside of a car. In the summer this can be done on a bike or even on foot, but in the winter time snow shoeing is a fantastic option.

Loving my Atlas snow shoes

Many chilly Sunday mornings have been spent with my father-in-law in Brampton trekking across several city parks. We cruise through thick powdery snow that boots alone wouldn't dream of, passing by small half-frozen duck-filled ponds. These trips even include a bit of urban exploration checking out an abandoned highway overpass which had been decommissioned since the closing of a quarry many years earlier.

Urban exploration - a decommissioned highway overpass

Out exploring, even on the coldest of winter days

While snow shoeing doesn't offer the adrenaline of snowboarding or downhill skiing, it is a great (affordable!) winter sport for those looking to explore nature, see their own local park from a new perspective or even just keep up with that outdoor cardio in the harsh Canadian winter. Just remember to layer up!

Ducks!

Note - For those who like to track progress I highly recommend the Strava app/site. It is great for running, cycling and even has an option to track other types of movement like snow shoeing. 

Mike @ Palms & Pints
@palmsandpints