(Mis) Adventures in Mushing

Yesterday we ran the dogs on the rail trail from Boscawen to Franklin and vice versa. It's a unique trail because it parallels the road, so there are lots of opportunities for pictures and videos. The weather was mild, and there were so many friendly people (on snowmobiles and in cars) who were enjoying watching the dogs! They all got in a solid 10 mile workout, and it was definitely a learning experience for me! 
The first thing I learned is that Asa is a really lucky guy. Both runs that he went on behind Nova were clean and mostly uneventful. Mine was not.
The second thing I learned was not to hook a female dog in season right behind male leaders. It turned every little issue that normally would be simple into a tangle that I had to run up and fix! Poor Mia - she couldn't help it, and I suppose Cenz and Rupp couldn't either, but it meant a lot of stress for me trying to catch that whip sled as I could never get back to it fast enough, and it would end up flying by me! I did catch it though! Except for that one time...good thing I'm a runner!
The third thing I learned was that when being dragged - get a knee on a runner. It hurts, but from there you can pull yourself up. 
The fourth thing is that although she will laugh first, Nova will then do everything she can to drag the team to a pause when you start to roll because although you did get a grip on the sled as it flew by, you didn't get a knee on and lost your balance altogether! 
The fifth thing is to not let the rope between sleds have any slack in it before take off. The force that a team of 10 dogs can throw into those harnesses is awesome. But painful when it jolts your whole body once that slack is gone. Wow though. So awesome to feel it!  (Not gonna do that again.)
These misadventures are what I need in order to learn this sport. I might be a bit crazy, but I loved it. Even if I was silently cursing our support crew for not coming to my rescue!  But, if he had, that would have meant I had failed. I didn't. We didn't.
Nova was exhausted from running 30 dogs, constantly monitoring them, and making all the decisions, so we both were thrilled when Ed drove to our favorite pizza shop. It has never tasted so good.