30 days to the Birkie - can you feel the excitement!?
"Hat The Horrible"It all started ages ago around 1209 when a young heir to the throne of Norway, Prince Haakon, was smuggled over treacherous (and snowy) mountains in an attempt to save his life. Two birch-clad men had to climb and ski up and over the mountains carrying the toddler to safety (which they did successfully). The men were known as Birkebeiners; men who fought for the king and wore armour made of birch (birke in Norwegian) bark. Although known for their bravery and strength, the birch bark armour always seems a bit of an 'under-kill'. I mean, these guys fought with axes and swords, right? It reminds me of this cartoon:
Jump ahead a few years and we have the North American Birkebeiner which takes place in honor of the historic version every year in Hayward, Wisconsin. The race starts in Cable, WI and stretches over a hilly 54K course to finish down the main street of Hayward. If you missed the Olympic games at Lillehagen, this would be a close second.
As far as I can tell, korte translates to English as "brief". And I think lopet mean race or run. So the Kortelopet means brief race. And we all know how I feel about that description of a 23K race - or "recreation ski" according to event promoters.
Did I exercise today? No, I had a teacher appreciation luncheon that took up time. I think I will follow PJS' advice tonight and try some yoga before I exercise and see if that makes a difference. I may even get some video stuff on here. We'll see.
And by the way, my outdoor thermometer IS broken. It is still reading 40 degrees and here is our local weather. Too cold to ski, right?
Hat Specs (it's not done yet):
- Dwarven Battle Bonnet
- US 8
- Cascade 220
8 comments:
Yep - disturbing.
Definitely bringing the video camera to the Birkie.
Looks like the weather for the weekend and next week will be nice for skiing, even if today wasn't. Your training pattern sounds just like me! Remember when I rode my bike to Chicago? Yeah, I barely trained and really regret it.
ㅠ.ㅠ Don't pull a Sonja for your Birke!
You have certainly found the right headgear for the event...;-D
Kortelopet (Korteløpet) means "the short race/run"...although 23K is hardly a short run- and as I've mentioned before, certainly not recreational!!!
Please tell me you are wearing that hat for the run... the plus side would be that no-one would know which spandex clad rear was yours....thus dodging Guinifer's threats of video camera action!.... plus women look way sexier with beards and pleated mustaches dont you think?
Hey, at least you'll look fierce in your spandex. :-)
I'm so making these for the family! I bought the pattern a month or so ago and just haven't gotten around to it yet. Love yours and the history on the race :)
The hat is awesome!
That's just crazy talk. More power to ya, lady!
:O)
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