Loppet Report: Canadian Birkebeiner

Hey all,

To give myself a break from thinking about cycling all the time, I do some nordic skiing in the winter. This year, me and a couple of friends decided to try our hand at the Canadian Birkebeiner Loppet east of Edmonton. My friend Patrick and I did the 55 km with pack event, which is based on the Birkebeiner legend, while our other friend Mel did the 31 km event. So, my job on Saturday was to get this little guy safely to the finish line:

We had a great race. The weather was good and trail conditions were very nice. The Birkie is a very well-organized race, with aid stations about every five to six kms, meaning I never had to worry about food or water. That said, at one aid station I did have medical staff ask me if I was OK: I guess I was looking pretty bad about 43 kms into the event. I'm not a great skier, so I went in low, low expectations, but I did manage to finish under seven hours, so I was pretty pleased with that.