History of the Birkebeinar
The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (Old Norse: Birkibeinar; Norwegian: Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or Birkebeinerne (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propaganda from the established party that the rebels were so poor that they made their shoes of birch bark. Although originally a pejorative, the opposition adopted the Birkebeiner name for themselves, and continued using it after they came to power in 1184.
Today, the Birkebeiners are popularly celebrated for having escorted the two-year-old Haakon Haakonsson, an heir to the Norwegian throne, to safety from Østerdalen to Trondheim, a long and perilous journey through treacherous mountains and forests. This is commemorated through Birkebeinerrennet (cross country) and Birkebeinerrittet (mountain bike)
Today, the historic event of the rescue of Haakon Haakonsson is honoured in Norway by three annual sporting events, a run, Birkebeinerløpet; a mountain bike race, Birkebeinerrittet; a cross-country ski race, Birkebeinerrennet and, beginning in 2012, Landeveisbirken, a road bicycle race. Common for the bike and ski events is the requirement of carrying a backpack weighing 3.5 kg as a remembrance of the child the Birkebeiners had to carry on their journey. The bike and ski events start in Rena and all three events finish at Lillehammer.
My Motivation
When I got to Norway, a coworker invited me to race the Birkebeinerrittet at the end of August. At first I was hesitant but I changed my mind in April when I decided I needed a challenge for motivation.
Although a 56 mile ride is not a big deal, taking it off road in a race setting against Norwegians with 4500 feet of climbing pushed me to prepare seriously.
I started doing a lot of research about training and finally came up with a training plan. Since April I have been preparing earnestly. My training is mostly built into my commute since I can ride about 1.5-2 hours per day without taking away family time. The only interruption to my training was the fire in Reykjavik.
The Course
Here is the course profile I put together for my GPS from various maps of the course. Click on elevation to see the elevation profile.
Gearing Up
The beauty of running is the lack of gear. The beauty of cycling is gear. Carbon fiber frames, suspension, titanium, clip less pedals, carbon fiber soled shoes, 200 gram helmets, windproof jackets, high tech shorts, chamois creme, and GPS bike computers. I read about bikes and gear the way gear heads read car magazines. For all the cool gear, the bike is king and I love riding my Cannondale, 29er carbon fiber hardtail.
Course Recon
Janet, Rissie and the kids went on a trip to Copenhagen this weekend on a cruise ship. This gave me some free time. After work on Friday I drove up to Rena which is about 120 miles north, rode for 2.5 hours and drive home coming in exhausted at 1:00am.The more important part of the trip was my recon of the first 25 kilometers of the course. I wanted to see how to gauge my effort for the first climb. The climb just kept going. It was about 15-18 kilometers of climbing. Then I descended down a long, steep and sometimes technical descent. The 15 minute descent took nearly 40 minutes back up with a little bit of walking. I am more prepared and psychologically ready now that I know what to expect.
It is a beautiful and remote course mostly on fire roads through Norwegian sheep country. My favorite part were all the sheep and their sheep bells. As it started getting dark the sound of the sheep was actually a little spooky.
The Freedom of a Bike
A bike is freedom. By turning my legs in circles and I can explore so much, make by body stronger, and develop a greater personal identity. I am a father, husband, son, brother, facility manager, foreign service officer, American, mormon, and right now I am a cyclist. I love who I am and I look forward to being a Birkebeinerittet race finisher.
Next year I think I'll shoot for more races, drop some kilos and set more ambitious goals, but for now I am content with what I am doing.
