Bryant in Norway

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Oslo, day 1


In front of the "world famous" Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo.  It was so warm today (+10) that I wore my "Arnold for Governor" t-shirt skiing.

bt

that is a very big jump

cereal boxes

I guess that this is the Norwegian version of "Flutie Flakes".  I hope it's good; I have two boxes of the stuff.
breakfast of mushrooms

poster

Find Bjorn and win a prize.
DaehlieLoppet

tailgate

I skied the Holmenkollen 50km course today (the race is 3 16.7km loops!).  There were all sorts of these little pits dug out along the course by spectators.  The Norwegian version of tailgating, without the fat guys with painted chests?

bt
hot butts in the snow

Morning fog

The scene before skiing on day 2.  It was better than day 1, because the sun was not out to turn the snow into slush.

Note:  people here speak VERY good English - an example:  I was screaming down a hill today, and a woman coming up made a strange move in my direction.  I shouted (to myself, I thought) WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?.....and was reprimanded on the return trip when I passed her - "watch your language, please".  SORRY! (really)......

bt

grey skies
Frequent r.s.n poster Terje Mathiesen, shown admiring my Sony Vaio Picturebook computer.


internationally known orienteer and skier Terje Mathiesen
I didn't know they had Ikeas in Scandinavia!
big box store by the side of the road

Day 3  

 In Lillehammer now.  I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick "weekender".

Lillehammer gives a hearty "OL-byen" (?) to sknyski as he rides into town. (photo taken with Canon Powershot S110.  Tripod: copy of Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's My Country" which this Republican bought only because it was one of the few english books he could find).

a big friendly sign
Lillhammer from across the lake.  I'm not sure where they ran the downhill event, since there's not much of a hill there.  Wait - I vaguely recall that they had competitors take a run, climb back to the top, take another run, and add the two times.  Both skiing and math skills, as well as one's ability to run uphill in two ton plastic boots, were tested in this event.  (trusty Ford Focus rental car shown at left of photo)

Lillhammer

A fender bender on the E6 heading to Lillehammer.  I did not cause this by shooting pictures while driving 100kph.

bt

always remember to keep the wheel side down

Race Day


Here is the staging area for the race.  Because the
normal start area was a big puddle, we had to stampede up to a start line further on the course.  At this
point, I was sure that I had the wax "dialed in".

many people and many bags of equipment

Waiting for the start

Waiting in the holding pen to be let loose for the stampede to the starting line.  I'm smiling because I KNOW that I have the perfect wax.
smile

Wherever you go, triple-A is there

You know how when you (those of you who ski) buy a tube of klister and it has that black plastic scraper in it?  And 20 years later, the black plastic scraper is still in the box? (I think they multiply)  Well, I had three boxes of klister with me, and no black plastic scraper.  So my AAA card got the call when disaster hit on the course.

bt
The card works in more than just car emergencies

just missed the wax....

ok, maybe I missed the wax by a bit......ok, maybe by
A LOT.  Ho-lee cow.  On the climbs the trail was lined
with people doing that one-ski-over-the-other-scrape-the-snow-off-the-bottoms
thing.  I was no exception...

smeared klister everywhere

weigh station

weighing the pack at the start.  everyone has to carry a 3.5kg pack during the race.  this is supposed to represent the baby King Hakkon (sp) who was ported to safety by some (considerably swifter than me) Norwegian folks, a long time ago (apologies for my lack of knowledge of Norway's history).  Had it been
my job to port the kid to safety, we probably would have been caught in the first couple of k's and the king would now be working in a sweatshop in Malaysia sewing something for Nike.

men weighing packs
Finally, a comment on the price of things in Norway. A bottle of coke, for instance cost me 20kr, or about $3.  FOr a bottle of coke.  If you ever plan to go to Norway, make a budget and double it.  No, triple it.  And then take out a home equity line.

You, too, can pay $60 to fill your car (ask me how!)

At right, the offending bottle of Coke.

american drug habit





Ranking Name Club Startnr. M1 M2 M3 Time Medals Completed
Class: M35, (Menn 35 - 39 år) Makstime: 03:59:50
290 Tolles, Bryant
10236 00:46:51 02:22:31 03:26:23 04:13:28 0 0