We drove to Zurich, flew to Oslo, took the train north to Lillehammer and a taxi to our apartment. We were very surprised with our apartment as it’s much bigger than we expected and has a great view of the Lillehammer valley.
We walked down early morning to the bus station to meet Ray and Heather at bus 262. We rode up to Sjusjoen Skisenter which is at the top of the last hill of the Birkiebeiner. It’s basically 15 kms down with one steep long part that if it’s fast the pros hit 70km. The ski network is huge (2000 km around Lillehammer alone)) and there’s a very cool app. called Skisporet.no that shows real time grooming, web cams, wax selection, weather conditions etc.. for all of Norway. Around Oslo there are 2600 km of groomed trails. Skiing is a way of life here!
The Boys Arrive!
Paul Bush, Dave Sherrard and John Burke arrived on Tuesday evening. I finally was able to present them with their team Canada accessories that I’ve been carrying with me since we left Ottawa.
Wednesday morning we woke up to about 25 cm of new snow with snow expected to fall all day! The boys went up to Sjusjoen today so that they could ski the last 15 km of the Birkiebeiner trail. Ross even found the way to ski right back to our apartment! So cool!
I decided that I needed a recovery/rest day so I walked down to the beautiful main street of Lillehammer and explored the shops. It’s called Storgata and is lined with beautiful low wooden buildings. It’s pedestrians only and quite spectacular, even in winter. I also picked up groceries for dinner at the KIWI grocery store and wine at the “Vinmonopolet” which is the alcohol retail monopoly.
Heather and Ray came over for dinner and we all had a great time!
Today, we’ll go for a ski and actually ski into town to pick up our race kits!! Waxing is also on the agenda. It looks like the weather will be perfect for wax skis, not skins which makes me very happy. It may even be a sunny day!
A Nordic Skiing World Loppet Tour 