Greetings nordic skiers and nordic ski enthusiasts too!
Another year has come and gone and the aged yet more refined Nordic Dave must admit he's had a bad case of Birkie Fever. The North American Birkebiener is the race you think
about on a hot July evening while going up a dusty trail, sweating profusely, dreaming of cold and snow.
Thousands of skiers descend upon the snowy cold winter wonderland in the north woods of Wisconsin creating a circus atmosphere that has come to the small towns of Cable and Hayward. The locals grateful as their cash registers come alive in what is otherwise the dead of winter. Wisconsinites' worship this event as if it were Mardi Gra's and the Boston Marathon all wrapped into one large slice of cheese. Mom's, Dad's, Grandma and Grand Dad and all the little kitties converge upon the spectacle as one or two of them in the FAM have thrown down the gauntlet and vowed to battle the Birkie and the 50k of relentless hills from Cable to Hayward. Regardless of what kind of physical shape they are in, they will brave the elements and hopefully brag to others back home that they conquered the Birkiebiener Trail by merely finishing it, sometimes in truly epic struggles many hours after the fastest skiers have gone home for a beer and a nap. Alcohol is the pre race diet for many of these hearty midwestern weekend warriors upon which they exhort the most trivial facts in high pitched Wisconsinite accents for everyone to hear whether you need to or not.
Nordic's traveling partner on this adventure? NATURLICH, the indefatigable Yodel Boy auf Deutschland. THE YB admittedly has his own case of Birkie Fever. Of course
the YB and ND are always observant of local customs and protocols and especially the lack of which can make for great entertainment while waiting out the pensive days and hours before race time. YB had many questions regarding these American northlanders
much of which his older twin had difficulty explaining especially in the food service area.
Specific requests were made in excellent english for certain food items & always created a stunning surprise as to what the YB received in return. Nordic finally counseled the YB to no longer ask "WHY" things were so very bovine when dealing with the local inhabitants.
7,500 skiers have signed up for this bad boy, the mood before race day for the dynamic duo was pensive but calm when not entertained by food service workers. Meanwhile nordic had a few things on his mind as well. Like 4 years of mediocre results and it just happened to be the "Big Guy's" 21st Birthday weekend, a.k.a #13 and the wonderful memories they bring and how much he is sorely missed.
Nordic's entire ski inventory begged to go on this trip. Each pair jumping out at nordic...
"pick me"..."pick me"....Yes nordic talks to his skis and they talk back to him. Nordic is the
"ski whisperer" . Nordic was looking for some cool confident skis that knew how to get the job done. A fitting tribute that the Madshus/Norwegian skis were the final choice. Anyone who knows the 1000+ year old history of the original Birkebiener trek, the equivalent of something like the 4th of July, can appreciate the next moment when nordic came face to face meeting the greatest nordic skier of all time, Bjorn Daelhie just prior to race start.
As usual old nordic exhibited panache and tried to make a joke. The polite champion smiled and maybe chuckled a bit.
Yes the prologue to nordic's adventure story has been long and fitting of such a race that causes curses and to swear never to return yet Nordic is back for his 8th time, the YB his 5th, Birkie Fever......
At the gun, the YB prefers to jump hard to the front, establishing himself with the lead skiers in the elite wave of 200 skiers. Meanwhile, Nordic is at the back starting slowly
and methodically working through 100 skiers in the first 5k before we enter the woods.
The first 22k are very hilly with plenty of skiers mixing it up feeling good, looking good.
Nordic has learned to notch it back a bit and let others show their hand. Nordic has diabolically fast skis and just swings along watching many of the lads hammer. Past halfway point plenty of effort expended yet the crux of the race is many kilometers ahead. On every hill a young buck will race Nordic to the top. Nordic lets him win this individual hill. Nordic wonders what is the point, do they think they are in a log rolling and or beer chugging contest?
Somewhere around 30 to 38k, legs are cramping and the body is talking back to Nordic.
Nordic slams energy drinks and gels as self doubt from 4 previous races creeps in.
A few quick looks at #13 on his skis are like an energy jolt that no fluid or gel can match.
He realizes someone else is along for the ride. The attitude adjustment is complete and just in time as Bitch Hill looms before Nordic and the 15 skiers following him. Bitch Hill is a
show stopping wall at 41k that will light up any pretenders and hangers on. A cruel fact Nordic knows the hard way. Time to rev and rev hard. Where are these young bucks who wanted to race up the hills in their imaginary log rolling contests? Like a "masked avenger"
from super hero comics that has eaten spinach, Nordic is powering up with elan. Bitch Hill?
The bitch was spanked.....
There are two long climbs left and 8k to go. The race is very definitely on! The final climbs and rollers V2'd with panache as those in chase have surrendered into V1 mode
somewhere off the back. The frozen lake appears to ski across, Nordic eyes the next group ahead, they can be caught. Stragglers from the group ahead are picked off and passed. The town of Hayward and Main street looms ever closer. High cadence yet legs and body screaming to stop if Nordic can just catch.....The race is over skiing up Main Street to a large crowd of spectators. Old Man Nordic smiles he's not sure what place he has finished, he really doesn't care at the moment, he just knows he skied a complete race and is satisfied. The memory in July will be a good the fever momentarily satiated.
Nordic later found out he finished 86th overall and 3rd in his age group. Meanwhile the YB has also had an excellent adventure in 43rd place with his own tales to tell of elan and panache.
Since last year's Birkie, much has changed in Nordic's life. Nordic did note the sequence of events that have transpired starting with Ian Harvey reigniting Nordic's fever on last year's plane ride home the day after the Birkie as he mentioned something about power to weight ratio's that can be equated to the size of your butt. By no small coincidence Ian, due to a season ending injury, became Nordic's personal valet at picking up and dropping us off at start and finish this year. This was a huge favor Ian did for his friends eliminating the stress of the crowds and normal procedures as he had access through security points. The YB estimated that it was easily worth 20 places in the race results.
A fitting end to Ian's instigations of creating the fire within. We are told by wise men
that there are no coincidences in life, I believe them.
Stay tuned for more exciting and fascinating stories as told in the Nordic Dave Adventure Series.
