Vigu Nordic Skating 1

It was finally time for another Vigu (the Wilderness and Nature Guide eduction of Axxell) course, Nordic Skating 1. An attempt two weeks earlier was cancelled due to the lack of ice. This time the conditions were ideal, though. It had been very cold for almost two weeks and very little snow. The course was also moved to the Turku region, because of the better ice situation here, which suited me fine.

Lakjärvi in January

Finally. After a long wait the winter arrived, at least temperature wise. The snow is still missing, though, but with positive thinking this might not be so bad after all. It means that opportunities might open up out on the sea ice instead, at least if the current conditions continue. The temperature also meant that there was absolutely no reason whatsoever not to go on an overnighter. After some modern communication (like Facebook) three other people would join me: Toni, Bomba and JJ.

Snow version of the Salsa Mukluk

It seems like the winter is finally arriving. The weather forecast shows colder temperatures and snow for a week, which means that the trails will soon be nice and hard after several months of wet misery. Hence there is no reason not to make the Salsa Mukluk more winter capable.

Misery training

During the misery overnighter a few days ago, Toni mentioned that he was going to do a longer (> 8h) training ride on Monday, because he needed the training for Rovaniemi 150. Since I will also participate in the race, that implicated that I also needed training. In fact, I need it a lot more than Toni, who does commute 40 km a day with his bike. The weather was somewhat suboptimal, but there comes a point when it becomes stupid to just complain about the lack of the winter. This is the weather we have and there isn't no alternative but to accept it.

January Misery

It was time for the first overnighter of the year, despite the miserable conditions outside. The best thing that could be said about the weather was that it didn't rain much. Rather depressing, when everyone just wants snow and cold temperatures to get rid of the wet darkness. Still, an overnighter is an overnighter and I needed some training.