Today is "styrkeprøven" - the great strength test - the Tronhjem - Oslo bike race (but you can also start from Lillehammer, Hamar or Eidsvoll).
http://www.styrkeproven.no/en After all the training (over 3000 km since Easter), and all the packages with bike equipment that have been coming in the mail every day, Tor Idar ended up having to cancel because he got my bad cold. It was really too bad. The weather has been perfect with the wind at their backs the whole way. I biked to work tonight - finally, first time in weeks! - and it was cool to see all the teams biking past. At the Stange station the support car for a German team had lined up boxes with clothes and refreshments in 2 long rows, just as I went by the team turned in to fill up their bottles etc. In Ottestad people had set up their lawn chairs along the road waiting for the Ottestad team to come. At 9:30 pm, when I passed by, there was already a big crowd of fans at the gas station, though I thought the team wasn't expected until about an hour later. They are planning to stop there for the coffee/cola/honey brew that is supposed to give them the energy to make it the rest of the way to Oslo (another 100 km or so), ETA about 3 am.
We are both getting over our colds now, so Tor is planning a bike race to make up for the one he missed: Jotunheimen rundt. It is only about 430 km but as an individual, rather than team race it is just as tough: Tor Idar expects to finish in about 18 hrs.
http://www.jotunheimenrundt.com
Here is Tor Idar preparing to go on a training ride in the new jersey I gave him for his birthday!
