Merry Christmas! (and Christmas means there is only one week until I am in Minneapolis...)
Norwegian Top 10 (in no particular order):
1. Bareback horseback riding. Yes, I have now officially ridden a horse. Without a saddle. And Ive learned that horses are very different than bikes.
2. My cousins. They speak better English than I do.
3. Norwegian Jul Services. I couldnt understand a word. I tried to sing, luckily it was loud so no one heard me butcher all the words.
4. Pepperkakke: crunchy gingerbread cookies
5. Saft: concentrated sugary juice drink
6. Norwegian Christmas Dinner: we had traditional roast lamb, chicken, potatoes, cooked vegetables and three courses of dessert.
7. Touristy Norwegian trolls. I got one for Christmas! They bring good luck.
8. Norwegian bike paths. There is a path on the side of every single road. I think that they run the length of the country.
9. The air. Its actually clean here.
10. The words GOD JUL. (MERRY CHRISTMAS). Sounds like gooo yoool.
and maybe a 10.5 - I think that Im going skiing in the mountains tomorrow. yay downhill!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Land of the Vikings...
Im in Norway, and Id say that its one of the most beautiful countries Ive ever visited. I flew in on the 18th from London. The plane landing was beautiful - the Haugesund airport is right on the coast. As we cruised in to the airport, I snapped pictures of the rocky little islands and watched the mountains in the distance. The rocks are bare and rugged - very similar to the Scottish highlands. There isnt any snow here, but its pretty darn cold. The sunlight situation is also a bit interesting. The sun doesnt fully come up until about 10am and it starts to disappear again at around 3pm. Therefore, Ive got a short amount of time during the day to get some sightseeing, running and bike riding in.
Now no blog entry would be complete without me raving about how great the riding is here, but really, its amazing. A trail system starts about half block from my relatives house and it winds up and down and through a forest covered mountain. The trees are absolutely covered in moss and there are lots of streams and lakes in the area. Every now and then I hit a waterfall. Im using a really fun steel frame bike that my relatives let me borrow. Im very grateful to have it, but let me just say that a rigid bike on these trails makes for some very rubbery arms and an exceptionally sore bum.
I went to Bergen on Wednesday with Solvi, and on the way there we got to stop and see their horses that they keep in a stable about 30 minutes away. I am not around horses often, and the size of their heads always surprises me. Its about half the size of my body. These animals are huge, and they were hungry. The little horse nibbled on my hand when I fed it. After the horses, we continued on to Bergen and drove onto a ferry to cross the fjord to get to the city. I hadnt ever been on a ferry before, so the experience was a lot of fun. I turned into a real tourist and climbed onto the upper deck to take some pictures. It took about 40 minutes by ferry to cross to Bergen - and Bergen is hands down the prettiest city I have ever been too. Everything was clean, stylish and manicured. The Norwegians have impeccable design style and the buildings werent overdone or gaudy. The city was perfectly laid out next to the Bryggen, or harbor, and the whole of Bergen is tucked inbetween seven mountain peaks. I took the Floibanen (a train-lift thing) to the top of one of the mountains to see the city from the top. It was well worth it. I did some drawings and a little bit of hiking, and left the top before it got to dark to see everything on the descent.
My relatives have been wonderful. The first night I stayed here it was my cousin Selinas birthday party and I was invited to partake in the festivities. Selina turned nine, so she had a little party with her friends and then afterwards all of the adult relatives came over for small dinner and cake. Now when I say cake, I MEAN cake. There were four of them. One chocolate with chocolate frosting, one with chocolate and mashed peanuts, one a traditional Norwegian cake with meringue in the middle and another with a graham cracker crust and a smooth gelatin top with blueberries and raspberries stuck into it. Needless to say all of the cake didnt get eaten that night, so weve been eating cake for the past week. But back to the relatives, I met too many people to remember all of their names, they were all very nice. My cousin Benedicte who is 21 has been inviting me out with her friends. A couple of nights ago we went to a cafe on the harbor and sat outside with drinks underneath heat lamps and blankets.
So far its been wonderful, and today I think that I will be going to a viking museum and maybe for a cruise on a big shipping boat out in the ocean... well see!
xoox
steph
Now no blog entry would be complete without me raving about how great the riding is here, but really, its amazing. A trail system starts about half block from my relatives house and it winds up and down and through a forest covered mountain. The trees are absolutely covered in moss and there are lots of streams and lakes in the area. Every now and then I hit a waterfall. Im using a really fun steel frame bike that my relatives let me borrow. Im very grateful to have it, but let me just say that a rigid bike on these trails makes for some very rubbery arms and an exceptionally sore bum.
I went to Bergen on Wednesday with Solvi, and on the way there we got to stop and see their horses that they keep in a stable about 30 minutes away. I am not around horses often, and the size of their heads always surprises me. Its about half the size of my body. These animals are huge, and they were hungry. The little horse nibbled on my hand when I fed it. After the horses, we continued on to Bergen and drove onto a ferry to cross the fjord to get to the city. I hadnt ever been on a ferry before, so the experience was a lot of fun. I turned into a real tourist and climbed onto the upper deck to take some pictures. It took about 40 minutes by ferry to cross to Bergen - and Bergen is hands down the prettiest city I have ever been too. Everything was clean, stylish and manicured. The Norwegians have impeccable design style and the buildings werent overdone or gaudy. The city was perfectly laid out next to the Bryggen, or harbor, and the whole of Bergen is tucked inbetween seven mountain peaks. I took the Floibanen (a train-lift thing) to the top of one of the mountains to see the city from the top. It was well worth it. I did some drawings and a little bit of hiking, and left the top before it got to dark to see everything on the descent.
My relatives have been wonderful. The first night I stayed here it was my cousin Selinas birthday party and I was invited to partake in the festivities. Selina turned nine, so she had a little party with her friends and then afterwards all of the adult relatives came over for small dinner and cake. Now when I say cake, I MEAN cake. There were four of them. One chocolate with chocolate frosting, one with chocolate and mashed peanuts, one a traditional Norwegian cake with meringue in the middle and another with a graham cracker crust and a smooth gelatin top with blueberries and raspberries stuck into it. Needless to say all of the cake didnt get eaten that night, so weve been eating cake for the past week. But back to the relatives, I met too many people to remember all of their names, they were all very nice. My cousin Benedicte who is 21 has been inviting me out with her friends. A couple of nights ago we went to a cafe on the harbor and sat outside with drinks underneath heat lamps and blankets.
So far its been wonderful, and today I think that I will be going to a viking museum and maybe for a cruise on a big shipping boat out in the ocean... well see!
xoox
steph
Thursday, December 13, 2007
I like this:
This is from the new Iowa women's team. I like numbers 1, 4, and 8. I'm not on this team, but don't worry Billy, I won't fire you.
Would you like to be a Punk Rock Woman? Simple... just follow these steps:1. Train and race so hard you sweat, vomit, and bleed lactic acid.
2. Stand tall, stand proud, and be a leader in your sport.
3. Fire your coach and do it on your own.
4. Do it harder, better, and faster than the person next to you.
5. Host a race to benefit your cycling community, not its governing bodies.
6. Earn the win, and give your victory to a teammate.
7. Honor the finishers and call out the quitters for what they are.
8. If she defeats you, make sure she went through hell to do it.
9. Demand something better for yourself and all other women.
10. Never settle. Never settle. Never settle.
Number 10 also sums up my life. I've just realized that in my collegiate career, I've started out at a different college three years in a row. And this summer I'm thinking about moving to Seattle. Eh, Kari?
School is over...
Monoprinting in life room...
Five minute warm-up drawing...
Bad photo, final drawings in ink wash and tea stain...
A term's worth of work...
And since I'm done... I ride...I found a sweet Chequamegon-esque road today in the countryside, screwed around for two hours and spun back. By the end of my workout tomorrow, I'll have ridden a good 15 hours this week. A bit of time in the weight room puts me at 17+... This makes me happy.
So does thinking about buying a new cross bike, shoes, pedals and aero wheels. My xmas present to myself... maybe I'll actually buy a track bike too, since mine's a loaner from the Stewarts...
Good luck to everyone at XC Nats!
So does thinking about buying a new cross bike, shoes, pedals and aero wheels. My xmas present to myself... maybe I'll actually buy a track bike too, since mine's a loaner from the Stewarts...
Good luck to everyone at XC Nats!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Green December
This post is for all my Minnesota cycling friends. I love you, and I hope this gives you ...hope.
Woke up this morning, looked out the window. The sky was BLUE! Here, this is very much a rarity. Seeing blue sky is like like seeing sapphires in a coal pit - so I decided to take advantage of it. I GU-ed up my water bottles, packed some food and headed out for a four hour ride. I took the normal route out of the city, riding west on Great Western Road. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing remotely western about this road, but the Scottish are obsessed with cowboys and and old western movies so I guess its appropriately named. After I battled some Sunday morning church traffic I was in the country and free to roam...
This is one of my favorite sights. About an hour riding out of Glasgow, a massive lump of land just rises out of a field. If you look closely, there are a bunch of sheep and highland cows in the foreground. Before I leave I might go and try to climb it.
So on I went, through a bunch of small little parishes and more fields and more puddles. The roads are thickly lined with hedges or ancient moss-obscured stone walls. To make things more interesting, there aren't any shoulders. But I've found that the motorists are polite and considerate, and they just wait until they can clearly see that there aren't any cars coming and pass in the other lane. Because the roads are often curvy for a very very long time, you get a pile up of vehicles behind you. Then the cars start rely on you to wave them by. I often think about what would happen if I accidentally waved a motorist into oncoming traffic... its obviously a SERIOUS situation, but somehow, it comes up funny in my head and I start giggling... revenge of the cyclists!!!
I've talked about Crow Road before, and that's where I went again today. This time I timed it, and I was climbing for 30 minutes. I started to get a little bit of vertigo on the road today, so I had to stop looking off the edge. It was great to crank up the whole thing, I was feeling fantastic. I think that all the hours in the weight room are paying off this year.
After I got to the top, I stopped to take a picture. It had snowed yesterday, but all of it was melting quickly. You can kind of see where the road winds through the glen in the distance...
Then I hit the descent. That's when I found out why all of the riders were passing me going in opposite direction. The road was practically underwater from melting snow, and the speed resulted in a nice ice cold rooster tail. Despite the water, I put on my clear glasses and totally gunned it. I was on my mountain bike and it crushed the little snow piles... I think that I had too much fun running them over. Thankfully, my Arcteryx jacket saved me from the water (that jacket is made in heaven) and my core stayed warm until I hit the bottom.
Descending...
Still descending into greener pastures... Look you can see the snow covered highlands!!!
The final descent...
Woke up this morning, looked out the window. The sky was BLUE! Here, this is very much a rarity. Seeing blue sky is like like seeing sapphires in a coal pit - so I decided to take advantage of it. I GU-ed up my water bottles, packed some food and headed out for a four hour ride. I took the normal route out of the city, riding west on Great Western Road. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing remotely western about this road, but the Scottish are obsessed with cowboys and and old western movies so I guess its appropriately named. After I battled some Sunday morning church traffic I was in the country and free to roam...
This is one of my favorite sights. About an hour riding out of Glasgow, a massive lump of land just rises out of a field. If you look closely, there are a bunch of sheep and highland cows in the foreground. Before I leave I might go and try to climb it.
So on I went, through a bunch of small little parishes and more fields and more puddles. The roads are thickly lined with hedges or ancient moss-obscured stone walls. To make things more interesting, there aren't any shoulders. But I've found that the motorists are polite and considerate, and they just wait until they can clearly see that there aren't any cars coming and pass in the other lane. Because the roads are often curvy for a very very long time, you get a pile up of vehicles behind you. Then the cars start rely on you to wave them by. I often think about what would happen if I accidentally waved a motorist into oncoming traffic... its obviously a SERIOUS situation, but somehow, it comes up funny in my head and I start giggling... revenge of the cyclists!!!
I've talked about Crow Road before, and that's where I went again today. This time I timed it, and I was climbing for 30 minutes. I started to get a little bit of vertigo on the road today, so I had to stop looking off the edge. It was great to crank up the whole thing, I was feeling fantastic. I think that all the hours in the weight room are paying off this year.
After I got to the top, I stopped to take a picture. It had snowed yesterday, but all of it was melting quickly. You can kind of see where the road winds through the glen in the distance...
Then I hit the descent. That's when I found out why all of the riders were passing me going in opposite direction. The road was practically underwater from melting snow, and the speed resulted in a nice ice cold rooster tail. Despite the water, I put on my clear glasses and totally gunned it. I was on my mountain bike and it crushed the little snow piles... I think that I had too much fun running them over. Thankfully, my Arcteryx jacket saved me from the water (that jacket is made in heaven) and my core stayed warm until I hit the bottom.
Descending...
Still descending into greener pastures... Look you can see the snow covered highlands!!!When I finally got to the bottom I was cold. So instead of continuing forward, I turned around. I have no idea what compelled me, but I went straight up Crow Road again.
The final descent...If you can't tell, Crow Road is my favorite route. But Scotland isn't all great riding. For one, its not the Pyrenees, and its not sunny and hot. The city center is a huge pain in the ass, and any ride shorter than 2 hours is punctuated by stopping incessantly for traffic lights and pedestrians. Good news is I'm going to Norway in a little over a week, and they don't have snow! Can you say fjord riding???
Soon, I will be back in Minnesota with the snow and cold. Although it will be bittersweet I will not complain. I am way too pumped for indoor training and all of Billy's hard sprint workouts! Bring it on! And of course, jersey-zip racing with Pat. Be forewarned, I'm going to fill my Ipod with horrible rap music and bring it to practice. Timbaland...Kanye...Rihanna... yeah!!!!!!
One more thing. I'm entering Artcrank this year! Should be awesome. I love bikes.
0x00x0x steph
Soon, I will be back in Minnesota with the snow and cold. Although it will be bittersweet I will not complain. I am way too pumped for indoor training and all of Billy's hard sprint workouts! Bring it on! And of course, jersey-zip racing with Pat. Be forewarned, I'm going to fill my Ipod with horrible rap music and bring it to practice. Timbaland...Kanye...Rihanna... yeah!!!!!!
One more thing. I'm entering Artcrank this year! Should be awesome. I love bikes.
0x00x0x steph
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