Observations from my first evening back in Blighty..

It's been well over 6 months since I was last in England and I've flown home to spend a long weekend with my familly. I flew into Manchester airport and was picked up by my cousin Laura who took me for a very civilised evening in Manchester.... here is what first struck me after a long stint in Norway.

1. Someone said excuse me as they entered the perimeter of my 1 meter wide personal space zone.
2. Everyone was standing behind the line at the baggage carousel at the airport and only moved within it to collect a bag. Once I had collected my bag I strolled up this 'inside lane' to avoid weaving through the crowds and was met with some very stern and disappoving looks.
3. The traffic is very heavy and the cars are move fast even though we are inner cty.
4. People disobey the traffic laws with little concern.
5. Shops were still open past 8pm - don't people go home and spend time with their families?
6. Vegetarian dishes stand proudly under their own category on menus.
7. There are tea making facilities in hotel rooms.

Skarverennet

I took part in the Skarverennet this weekend, a 38 km cross country ski race that runs every year from Finse to Haugastøl. We took the train from Bergen at 8am and we were each full of anticipation for different reasons. I knew I could make the distance physically as I had particpated in the Birkebeinerennet (54 km cross country ski race) last year but I was most worried about the waxing of my skiis.

Cross country skiis are a few cm's wide and the racing variety do not have metal edges. To be able to get some 'kick' when your skiing it is necessary to apply wax to the central part of the underside of the ski. I had, up until this race used only waxless skiis which have a rough underside which give you the same kick effect but is seen as 'unsporting' and 'unethical' by the locals. After completing the Birkebeiner last year in waxless skiis I felt I needed to gain some respect from my Norwegian colleagues... one of whom said recently 'I didn't even realise they made waxless skiis for adults'.

Waxing skiis seems to be a form of black art if you are not Norwegian as there is a type of wax for a multitude of temperatures and wetnesses and are combined in layers. At this time of year the snow is warm and wet which presents itself as the perfect klister conditions. Klister is a type of ski wax that is extremely sticky and for full effect should be smeared smoothly into your skiis, this is best acheived with your hands. See photo of local. Problems are plentyful and range from having to long or too short a wax zone, not smearing the wax smooth enough, having to much or too little wax (because most of it has ended up stuck to yourself) and of course having the wrong wax for the conditions. To complicate matters further the number of skiiers directly ahead of you on the trail can change the snow conditions which can make your waxing useless.

The waxing of the day was first a pre-prepared ski with base binder in the central kick zone and glider wax on the outer parts. Mine had been prepared for the Birkebeiner the previous year and as I had not used them they were ready to go. At the start of the ski race I applied a universal klister, suitable for +3°C to -5°C, mixed wet and dry snow conditions (fine/medium coarse) to coarse, moist snow. After the day had warmed up I then applied the Swix KR70 klister which is for warmer conditions +12°C to +2°C and when the snow has a high water content such as slush. Don't worry if I lost you!

All you need to know is the weather was stunning and the waxing was under control! We completed in 5 3/4 hours and then lazed in the sun, having a beer and watched the Norwegians swing dance in their ski boots.

Athletic events in Norway mostly attract those with great athletic prowess and tend to be quite serious affairs. The Skarverennet is different, amongst the 14,000 participants you can find people from all walks and of all different skiing abilities (huge benefit for us foreigners) but one thing I didn't see was a Barney Rubble!

Forerunner 201 Up and Running

A bit of a geeky post but I wish I'd had this information a few years ago!

I received a Garmin forerunner 201 for my birthday a few years ago from John. It has a personal training device that is worn like a watch and measures speed, distance and pace. It also claims to measure calories burned but as this version does not come with a heart rate monitor I'm not sure how reliable it is.

The beauty of the watch is being able to upload your training sessions to the PC and do sad and geeky data analysis to see how your training is improving... or not improving as the case may be. For some strange reason the watch connects to the computer through a serial cable and not usb. I bought a serial to usb converter but have had numerous failed attempts to connect it to my PC.

Using my new laptop which runs with the much critisised Windows Vista operating system I finally had succes in connecting my forerunner to a computer. I was simply directed to the Prolific website to download and install the PL2303 Prolific driver installer. Result!

I look forward to being able to provide a time estimate for the Bergen Voss.

Bergen-Voss Cycle Race 2009

On Saturday 6th June I will be participating in the 170 km long Bergen-Voss cycle road race with my Norwegian friend Cecilie.

The route follows the old road between Bergen and Voss and as shown in the profile below it is mostly a series of ups and downs. The most gruelling climbs occur up to Gullbotn and Kvamskogen, then the route follows much gentler terrain along the picturesque Hardangerfjord but still maintains the theme of ''up and down''. There follows one final tough climb up to Skjervet and then it's downhill all the way to finish at Voss.

Participation in the race has for many years has been only local but it has recently gained huge popularity. In 2008 there were 2500 partcipants - almost double of the previous year.

The ladies record is held by Elin Steinsbø Fylkesnes with a time of 4hr 43.min.16sec in 2005. The men's is held by 2 men, I assume they tied, Bo Andre Namtvedt and Vegard Øverås Lid with a time of 4hr.02.min.01sec from 1995.

I have no expectations on how long it is going to take me but I do know that I only have 2 months left to train and learn how to slipstream.. Saying that though I have only 2 weeks left to train for the Skarverennet, a 38km cross-country ski race but I'll write about that another evening.