We started driving up Friday night. About halfway up we stopped at a rest stop and set up our form of a camper. For the most part we were all pretty comfortable. At 4:00 I turned on the car for some heat which turned out to be a mistake since it woke up the whole crew. After potty runs and a resettling Lucy, we got up at 7:30 and drove the last hour up the Hafjell which is just north of Lillehammer.
It is just absolutely beautiful country here in Norway. At the resort we got our tickets, looks at the stands, got some free bike caps, and watched a few downhill racers jump their bikes 30 feet.
Once that was done we went on the ski lift to the top of the mountain. The kids really liked it but were hesitant about climbing on the lift.
At the top we found a nice play ground and let the kids play for a while.
The Pringles were well received by all, but especially James. If you want to hear the full story you can call me.
Coming back to the start line we saw all the women's elite racers warming up.
From there we hike up the ski slope to a prime spot on the course. This is Lucy and my preferred carry method.
Being a world championship the racers are in their national colors instead of team kid. That made it easy for the kids to have someone to root for.
The kids were awesome fans and awesome sports. As things warmed up and lunch approached we hiked back down to the start line and got some hot dogs, hung out under the shade of the GoPro publicity truck and watched the race on the bigs screen. As the women came in for the finish we walked down to watch a Canadian win and an American take third. Maddie was thrilled that an American got Bronze.
I tried to convince the kids that we needed to stay for the men's elite race, but to no avail. I have never seen my kids so adamant. Leaving out we took a couple of beautiful parting shots. The kids were especially impressed by the helicopter.
Apparently it was a long day.
Janet was thrilled to send us off as it was as close to a day off as she'll see for the next year. I know I have some awesome memories and so do the kids.
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Birkebeiner:
For lack of a better place to post this video, here it is. This is at the start of the Birkebienerittet. I got a Garmin Virb, but didn't manage to get a mount for my bike in time for the race so all I could film was the start. I had hoped to show off the ski jump down hill section coming into Lillehammer last week.
