The skating stride is long, rhythmic, a left-right, left-right swing that sends me zipping across the icy skein atop Lake Morey like a pendulum in slow motion. The air bites at my face and stings my nostrils. The day is short, the shadows long. There is no heat coming out of this sun.
Then again, if I were looking for relative comfort I would be skating circles down at the local rink. Instead I am cruising along a snow-free loop more than 4 miles long, a ribbon of ice cleared just for skaters.
No crowds, no youngsters threatening hip checks, and no buzzer shrieking that it's time to change direction. It is just I, my dog, a distant shoreline dotted with sleeping summer homes, and mountain views to live for. This is a glide backward in time.
The sport is Nordic skating, one of the oldest recreational sports to come to northern New England, in at least a moderately organized way. Popular in Scandinavia for centuries, it is cheap, clean, simple, and grand.
Nordic skating, loosely defined, is outdoor skating on natural ice using long blades to smooth the ride over bumps. The skates come in various configurations, including a free heel "combo," which allows the participant to choose skates one day and cross-country skis the next.
Spearheading the back-to-basics Nordic skating move- ment is Jamie Hess, 54, of Norwich, owner of Nordic Skater, a local skate and ski shop.
"I don't play hockey or figure skate. I get bored skating in circles," Hess says. He is a Cape Cod native who grew up skating on ponds and lakes. Hess traveled to Sweden a decade ago and fell in love with "point-to-point" skating. There, entire communities go cross-country skating.
And if the Swedes can find camaraderie and health on long blades, then so can New Englanders, Hess figures.
One product of his dream is the Lake Morey loop, a 4 1/2-mile path at the doorstep of Lake Morey Resort. The resort helps maintain the path for what has become a small growth industry. In 2004, the resort hosted an inaugural "Skate-athon" day on the lake and 80 people attended. Last year, the number had mushroomed to 300. Last month, almost 700 people showed up for the Skate-athon.
More than 2,000 people receive e-mails from Hess, sometimes daily. His passion for the sport is never far below the surface. An example from this season includes the following:
"My friend [William Tuthill], who brought his family to Dewey's Pond last weekend, just sent me this story that I'd like to share with you: