ND7 and Out.

ND7. And out. Took advantage of my final day in beautiful Lillehammer by getting in a killer two hour run. That included a "Move the Rock" session of climbing the steps at the Olympic Ski Jump. I lost count at 400 when vision started to blur and hearing went mute. You will see the MTR video in a few days as I need to clean the house, empty the trash, clean gear and pack for the walk to the train station in the morning. Did a test run on my shopping trip this afternoon and I made the all uphill return in 40 minutes, so I am confident that I can haul my big blue gear bag and Timbuk2 backpack in 35. Train leaves for Oslo at 06:18 (costs 248 Kroner or 40 bucks) and takes a little under two hours. Flight to Newark departs promptly (!) at 11:25. A three hour layover in Newark (yuk) and the last leg into Seattle arriving at just before nine. Should give me plenty of time to catch the train, the 10:55 ferry and with any luck at all I will have four hours of sleep before our 0530 session in the House of Pain Wednesday morning.

This is final post from Norge. It was a blast. I think we did some nice things to push the CompuTrainer agenda here, giving Ole some sales ammo and getting in a five hour epic ride, of which the video seems to indicate that another primo RCV is soon to follow. I was told that this years race, all 15,000 slots sold out in 66 on-line seconds last year. Demand? Or you can buy the RCV for, let's see, about 498 Kroner. After being here all week and seeing the event and the absolute splendor of this area, I highly recommend BOTH.

My sincere thanks to everyone who helped out along the way. Tusen Takk.

Pix: The legend of the Birkebeiner depicted as statue in town square. It is great story. Two views from the top of the ski jump, Shopping on the main street.

RCVman out. Skoal.

Mt. Washingto Hill Climb Video and rest.

Norway Day Six, ND6. As my friends are slugging it out in Penticton and Louisville today, I sit in the little hammer and take care of myself. After Ole and Tia's departure at 0630 for Malaga I checked e-mails and promptly returned to the warmth and comfort of my room. My lower left side was asking in a most earnest manner if this might be the long awaited and oft neglected day of rest.

And it was to be. The run and step climb to the top of the Lillehammer ski jump can wait till tomorrow as I seek harmony, balance and restoration. It has been a long couple of days, we worked hard, we stressed the musculature and we tested our endurance. And now the need for recovery.

I was reading one of Chuckie V's rare, yet poignant, blog posts the other day and he was on the subject of rest and recovery. A topic we discuss with regularity as well. He says that the difference between pros and ams is in the ability of the former to rest like professionals, and the latter, well, like amateurs. So today, I am recovering like a pro. No run, no spin, no bike, no hike, no overlord resistance training and no swim, certainly no swim.

Between video work and reading I got in a nice long stretch. After some domestic chores and more RCV design, I sat in meditation, a practice while once a daily occurrence is now a whenever time permits (non) activity. Another of those pesky details where the body, the mind or the spirit sends subtle notices that an absence is noted and attention required, action necessary. You can pretend not to notice, or ignore, or cover up, but eventually being deaf to these signals will cause the body to assume command and shut the system down in order to get the recovery time it needs for repair, maintenance or upgrades.

Today was all three. If I was in Hawaii I would end this beautiful day with a hot bath and some fresh papaya. I am in Lillehammer, Norway, so it will be a hot shower and a salad.

Tomorrow we run the steps and I will feel like an Olympian. Or a Viking. Or just a refreshed and recovered day older version of me.

Oh yeah, here is some of the video work I accomplished today during the recovery phase. Five minutes from the legendary Mt. Washington Hill Climb we shot last Saturday way back in Gorham, New Hampshire. One should schedule a day of rest after these 7.8 uphill miles.

Birkebeiner Video

All over. Another wild weekend spent on the trail of adventure, excitement and real racing action. We wrapped the 2010 Birkebeiner last night after three solid days out on the course. Thursday was 80 miles filming on the dirt bike, Friday all 56 of the course with the vest-cam, live, and yesterday was highlight b-roll film and expo work. Ole and I shared a Hansa pilsner afterwards and concluded that it was time well spent.

The decision to shoot Fridays "dress rehearsal" stands near the top of the best strategic moves we have made this year. Yesterday was a muddy mess, all day rains and a sloppy, miserable course. I saw several tougher-than-nails folks at the finish line a single step from hypothermia, shaking uncontrollably as they cupped hot soup in their wrinkled hands. Yes, there were smiles and grins, the satisfaction of accomplishment, but even those were of the "glad its over" variety.

These Norwegians are a hearty breed. Ole and Marie's stories of skiing, running, cycling in this picturesque playground paints a vigorous canvas colored with grit, gumption and energy. They would much rather go for a hike in the rain, than sit and watch TV inside. They eat good, they play hard and they appreciate and respect everything outside once the door has been closed behind them. The towns are clean, the roads devoid of litter, the air crisp. I have two days off to enjoy all this before starting the trek home on Tuesday. Today is a little 10K run out to the stadium and back and a trip to the museum. Ole, Marie and their kids are off on vacation to Malaga, Spain for a week.

I think we have all earned a couple of days off to recover.

Skoal.

ND4

Working on a YooToob video of the Birkebeiner. Should have it ready by morning (my morning). Ole's counsel to shoot yesterday was sage advice as it rained all day today. There were 15K cold and tired riders at the finish thankful the organizers had the foresight to include hot soup once the 90K jaunt was completed. We hit another RCV milestone today, something I have been wanting to do for a long time. I rendered sections of yesterdays shoot overnight and created a DVD to show at todays expo. Drew quite a crowd and everyone was impressed with the video, CompuTrainers and our techieness. Sometimes it pays to be a cycle/video/trainer geek.

Just a couple of shots from today, ND4. Video tomorrow.

The expo at HåkonsHall, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. Ole at the CT booth were we were showing Real Course Video from the course less than 15 hours after capture. They also stage a Kids race and pressure wash all muddy contestants after their rides.

ND3

ND3



I am back, in a single piece, and (now) a happy guy. Day started this AM with a 2.5 hour drive to the starting line in Rena. Then it was 56 miles of mixed rain and sun, hills and flats, gravel and dirt, minor climbs and semi-scream descents. The Vest-Cam handled all this without incident, and we are now the proud owners of the complete 2010 Birkebeiner mountain bike course. Destined to become a superb RCV.

I would mix up a little sample batch but we are trying to get video to the expo tomorrow and that is going to take me most of the night. So I will make this, the Norway Day Three, ND3, post a brief one and leave you with a few stills from yesterday and today. Ja?

Tomorrow is another shoot day as the elites, ultra competitors and Type A's, all 15,000 of 'em, take to the same course which we blazed today. The assignment is to capture B-Roll footage to mix with the RCV footage captured today. One cannot have too much video to work with has always been my motto.

And mottos matter.

ND3 and out.

Ole leads the junior national team through a CompuTrainer MR session. And the rather duffus looking RCVman about to head out for a 90K jaunt from Rena to Lillehammer.

Norway Day 2

Ole and I picked up the dirt bike early in preparation for the days shoot. The POD was to drive as far as we could, backwards, into the 56 mile course, park the car, hop on the bike, ride to the start and begin filming the course in the proper direction. That would give me a chance to get used to the bike, sample a bit of the course and see how the handlebar camera mount would be best rigged.

So off we go under threatening skies. As you can see from the elevation profile, this is not a casual ride. I find out in a hurry that riding off road is apples and oranges different than riding on. I immediately crash on a steep technical, slippery, rocky, ridiculous, insane, washed-out, glorious descent. Who put that birch tree there anyway? I am thinking that it is going to be a long day if this is only the first 5K.

The course mellows, I relax, the sheep and cows part as I pass and an hour later I get to the start. The fun begins as camera is mounted, GPS linked, breath caught, 90K, here we go.

I feel better about the return and try to compromise the clutch/throttle operation with the stabilization of the Canon. I can see from the viewfinder that it is going to be a serious challenge in post to removed all this unwanted shake, jiggle, vibration, bounce, bump and lens trauma. But we are getting it captured and there are stretches of sun drenched spender that I am confident will inspire upon mastering and debut. I do not crash on the return, powering up the spot of my initial carnage with what I feel is Steve McQueen like aplomb. I am hearing Sheryl Crow and seeing The Great Escape. The engine whines. I somehow am able to hang on. Thank God there is no barbed wire out here (and I am not being chased by Germans). The plan is to film all 56 miles as base, and then go out to the half way point tomorrow, during the Friday test run (some 8,000 riders in addition to Saturday's 15,000), shoot highlight vid and then ride the second half with the vest-cam. Then, come Saturday I will get to the start in Rena and ride all 56 with the vest-cam, most likely it is now looking, in the rain. That will give us three days of filming and we should be able to assemble the entire course as RCV. Worst case scenario, highlights of the above.

Today we are shooting interviews at the expo and of the CompuTrainer Multi-Rider school at which Ole coaches. I hope to get in a run prior to that effort and re-charge and calibrate cameras, cards, batts and gear. The rains are on their way, we need to shoot whenever possible before water and mud make it impossible.

Ole and Maria are superb hosts. Ole's house sits on the hillside overlooking the lake, about a mile from the Olympic Village. I have dined like a king for two days and we have had many discussions on riding, training, CT, MR, RCV, coaching, travel, politics (I can't help it) and all the finer points that encompass and define the quality of life.

They got it goin' on here in Lillehammer. I really like this place.

I think after looking at some of the video, you will too.

Birkebeiner'n elevation profile. Ole and moto guy help load the bike. The half-way point. Dirt, lake, cows and cam. Olympic Village from across the lake.

Norway Day 1

Time for a quick update as we prep for tomorrows shoot of the legendary Birkenbeiner 56 mile course from Rena to Lillehammer.

The update is mostly a rant on Continental Airlines and their Boston operation. Massive lives at the counter with two (2) self check-in terminals. The line just to get bags checked and a boarding pass was two hours. By that time the TSA line had dwindled from thousands to hundreds and I was able to switch planes and make my connection to Oslo with nano-seconds to spare. I even opted on the run to skip grabbing a sandwich because of time, a decision I was later to regret.

My seat was in the last row of their aging 737 fleet. We are talking cramped here. Knees to chest cramped. So tight that one cannot do any computer work because there is no human way to tilt the screen so you can see. Laughable. Two hours of the seven hour flight later, the surly flight attendant plopped down a cardboard box on my tray. It was my dinner. Sometimes a special vegetarian order is a good call, this time, not. OMG. They made no bones about this being absolutely the cheapest fare available, worse the wine was horrid in a plastic bottle and $6. Yo, Continental, seat 40D has spoken!

Sometimes when I get on this rant, I quickly lose sight of the fact that they are providing transportation to another country and that I should be happy to have such a service. After all, I could book steerage on a steamer and get here in four weeks, with dysentery and wanting to die. So yes, thanks for the lift, and please remember, that a nice gesture outside of the trip would go a long way to getting my business again. I am thinking about paying the price to transfer to SAS for the ride home. A good meal, some leg room to work or sleep, and a nice complementary bottle of shiraz (like the good old days) is worth a $300 change fee?

YES, it is. Seat 40D has spoken again.

A couple of shots from Lillehammer, Day 1. The train stops less than 500 meters from the terminal and 1.42 hours later I was met by Ole Knudsen, our Norway rep and captain for SAS in Lillehammer. He asked me about the flight and just rolled his eyes when I told the tale.

I guess seat 40D gets talked about.

A small rainbow on the misty train ride North. Site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. Ole's place is about a click away.

More tomorrow as we try to get in some video work of the course between rains.