Hello From Hayward

Here are the warm blooded Woodbuts out for the weekend in the land of snow and cold. Here you will find us, with Henry Mullen, on the streets of Hayward Wisconsin awaiting the start of the Birkie Family Fun Race. The only real impediment to the fun here was the 10 degree starting temperature. Our toes were getting pretty cold waiting around out there. Owen and Henry did a 10k double loop around the downtown and nearby golf course. Joel, Neal and Brenda did the 5k single loop of the above course.

Had we only known then that the temperature for the big races the next day would continue to plummet. Starting temp was definitely subzero on Saturday morning. Joel got a bit of frost bite on his chin and cheeks, just adding misery to the already grueling 51k race/ski marathon. Brenda had a fun and successful first run at the korteloppet--short course of 24k. Korte means short and loppet means race.

The story of the birkebeiners goes like this: Back in Norway about 1200 CE, there was a lot of trouble between the people that lived there. Some liked the King, Haakon, others liked the other guy. His dudes were called the Baglers. When Haakon died in 1202, he left behind a little baby and the other guys wanted to kill Prince Haakon Jr. The Birkebeiners were on Haakon's side and they made a historical trek  through treacherous mountains and forests, taking  two-year-old Haakon Haakonsson to safety in Trondheim. Norwegian history credits the Birkebeiners' bravery with preserving the life of the boy who later became King Haakon the 2nd.  The fun part of the American Birkebeiner is that there is always a trio, two guys and a lady with a baby strapped to one person's back that ski the entire 50+ k race course. They do it in burlap sack looking clothes and on wooden clunky old skis that look like they were made in 1202. They of course are elite skiiers chosen for the part so they can whiz by the participants and make them feel really crummy about their own physical abilities when passed by a dude in rags on wood planks with a fake baby on his back.

Here is a famous painting of the Birkebeiners whisking Haakon Jr. to safety.

To finish off the story of cold and skiing, I will add historic eating. We stopped in Cumberland, WI on the way home. To the Corner Bar we went to eat a ginormus basket of all things fried. This was a first for all but one Woodbut, Brenda had been here before and partook of this basket. Here is the photo of only a part of what we ate for lunch post-Birkebeiner.

Yes, fries, onion rings, mozzerella sticks, jalapeno poppers, mini corn dogs, mushrooms, shrimp poppers... all of that fried goodness is stuffed into that mound of orange. I believe that even that bread on top was fried in some way. We ate it all, our poor arteries.