Amazing Race Day 2 - Biking with One Shoe

         There were enough bikes and helmets for everyone, so we packed our bags and got ready to go. To determine the order of departure we'd done an activity answering questions about local beavers, and Tomimaru and I had come in second, 1/2 a point behind Sofia and Bjorn. However, when we were getting the bikes ready Sofia's wasn't working so Tomimaru and I snuck through and left first again. It was a 10 kilometer bike back to the giant sword, where we would receive more information from Marianne about our day.

        Quick story: My hiking shoes had been bothering me the day before--when we walked 11 kilometers--and when I put them on that morning, I almost started to cry. There's something poking out in the side that was killing my ankle, and it hurt a little without the shoes but was unbearable with them on. I had anticipated this problem and packed my sneakers into my big bag, but I hadn't anticipated that we'd spend the whole first day walking. We weren't getting our other bags until the end of the second day, so I had to figure something else out quickly.

        I ended up building a shoe of sorts. I started by putting my hiking boot sole and the woolen sole that Marianne had given each of us into a wool sock. I put that sock on and put a plastic bag around my foot. I then put another wool sock over that, and what do you know? I had a shoe! (Sort of). It felt a little funny walking around, but it was tight enough that it stayed on, and the two soles kept my feet from feeling the ground. Plus, when I was biking, I forgot I was only in one shoe!

        The road to the Sword was nearly all downhill. Unfortunately it started in a dark and cold area where the roads were covered in ice. I'm a pretty decent cyclist, so I was completely shook when I hit the ice and was thrown off of my bike. I was totally fine, and got up laughing, but I can't even remember the last time I fell off a bike, so that sort of threw me off. Turns out I wasn't the only one who struggled there, because Tommaso and Valeria both fell in the same spot. (I had lost my water bottle in the fall, and when they fell they saw it and picked it up for me!)

        It took around half an hour to reach town--the tiny little town in the middle of nowhere--and when we arrived, we received a few quick tasks and questions from Marianne. After completing them, we received a text that made us want to end our journey right where we stood:

        Essentially, we needed to cycle on the Barnevandrersti to the next destination--the town of Konsmo--20 kilometers away. We knew from experience that the Barnevandrersti was not exactly bike friendly, and we also knew that it began with 2 kilometers straight up one of the biggest and steepest hills I've ever seen. We passed by Heiden and Ananda as we headed for the hill (interesting since they'd been the fourth team to leave) and made our way to the path.

        The first two kilometers took Tomi and I two hours. We walked the bikes uphill, over roots and rocks, through the mud and snow. Marianne had said that this wasn't technically a race, so we weren't so worried about speed. In the moment, we had no idea why the bikes were necessary. We paused every 20 feet or so, taking longer rests when we needed them. Tomi and I decided that we'd take a lunch break at the top, but the top never seemed to appear. (When we chose bikes that morning, Eric--against everyone's advice--had chosen a large bike with huge wheels, so whenever Tomi and I were feeling down we would bring that up to remind ourselves that at least we weren't hauling that thing up the hill).

        Finally we came across a cute little cabin with a porch and table that seemed to be calling us. We set the bikes down and enjoyed a long, idyllic lunch at the cabin. Since I'd lost my bottle, we had to share the little water we had, and knew we'd need to find somewhere to get more soon. Overall, we were in pretty good spirits. The bikes were rather annoying (city bikes, so even when it was flat it was very difficult to ride), but we kept pushing each other and helping one another out. Eventually, we heard voices, and Ananda and Heiden appeared. They ate lunch with us, and we all started off together. 

        After just a few minutes more of walking the bikes uphill, we realized why they might be useful. We'd hit a road, and the path seemed to continue along it. There were more houses and cabins there, and when we saw one with a car, we decided to knock and ask for water. A man opened the door, and was so excited to help the crazy foreigners that had taken bikes on the Barnevandrersti. He filled our bottles, and Heiden gave me his empty gatorade bottle to fill and use. The man was so nice, and even offered us burgers! (Biggest regret of the entire trip was saying no to that). When we asked to take a picture with him--one of our photo assignments--he got out a selfie stick and took a picture. It was a really wholesome interaction, and seeing the road ahead gave us all a bit more energy.

        Tomimaru and I got along really well, but we also didn't talk very much, besides giving words of encouragement and the odd commiseration. I'm good friends with Heiden and Ananda, but I knew that I would go absolutely crazy if we stuck with them for the rest of the journey. As soon as we saw the road, Tomimaru and I decided to hit the gas (or the pedals I should say) and get away from the others. It worked really well, and after a few minutes the other group was far behind us. We biked for a little while on the road, so excited to be off of the path, when suddenly the blue dots curved right up a hill into the woods. 

        Hauling the bikes through the woods again wasn't ideal, but eventually we hit a road and were able to cycle. The blue dots became quite scarce, so every once in a while we needed to stop and check the map. There was a gorgeous lake that we biked by, and as we were going I noticed something on the ground. Marianne's lost mitten! She had done the trek the week before to make sure it was doable, lost her mitten on the way, and promised extra points to anyone that found it. It really smelled so Tomi washed the mitten in the lake. 

(You can sort of see my one shoe, one sock-shoe in this picture)

        We probably biked for another 10 kilometers during that stretch, and were feeling really good until we hit a crossroad, where the blue dots forked in two directions. Of course, Marianne had told us in a previous text which way to go, but we were tired and unsure so we FaceTimed her to ask. We headed to the right, and to save anyone else confusion, texted the groupchat to let others know which way was correct. All was looking good until we hit the woods once again. 

        Tomi and I carried the bikes up and up, taking breaks and eating some of our snacks as we went. Finally we hit the top, but that didn't make it much easier since the path down was nearly impossible to bike on. It really sucked walking the bikes, so Tomi and I biked as often as we could. Every single downhill, or flat stretch we attempted to bike, often to no avail. The pedals would get stuck in the rocks, or the snow would stop the wheels. Going down that hill was some of the most dangerous biking I've ever done, because I had to be constantly on the break, with my pedals evenly off of the ground. 

        After passing through yet another farm, we had to cross a busy road to keep to the path. We both assumed that the road led to town, and contemplated taking it rather than enter the woods again, but there was something enticing about The Dark Path (as it's been dubbed by NLC), and we were determined to do it the Barnevandrer way. The tree cover was really thick, but the path was decent, so we biked straight down. As scary as it was, it felt safest when I let go of the breaks and simply let momentum take me. Absolutely terrifying! 

        Reaching town after 5 hours on the road felt amazing! We ended up in a little park, and even messed around on the bike track while we waited for word from Marianne. (We'd learned our lesson and stopped in the town this time). We were directed to a small cabin where we waited for the other groups. It was pretty chilly outside, and I was glad to get my big bag and a full change of clothes. The cabin--really more of a shack--wasn't very warm either, so I spent most of the evening either stoking the fire or snuggled up in my sleeping bag. 

        Since we were first, we got to choose where we slept. There were only two beds downstairs, and three mattresses upstairs. There were also some blow-up camping mattresses that Marianne had left with our bags. I chose one of the downstairs beds because it was in the room with the fire and I was freezing. Tomimaru chose one of the mattresses upstairs because it was the only one that fit him. We arrived around 5, and Ananda and Heiden got there around 6:30. There was no electricity so we lit candles for light. 

        The local store closed at 8, so we decided to go shopping and see what we could get for dinner. Each group was given 200kr (20 bucks) to share for food, and we knew we needed at least dinner and breakfast. After such a long day, Tomi and I decided to splurge. We got a giant pack of hotdogs, buns, ketchup, fried onions, and a big bottle of coke to split. It came out to exactly 100kr. Perfect! Sharing Tomi's grill stick, we roasted the hotdogs in the oven and enjoyed a cozy (if a bit chilly) evening. 

        Tommaso, Valeria, Eric and Alina arrived around 7:30 and got food as well. We were all wondering where Bjorn and Sofia were, because they had apparently taken a wrong turn and gone a much longer way. They didn't arrive until 8:30--we left the hotel at noon that morning--and were very tired. Ananda and I ended up sharing the tiny bed, each in our sleeping bags. Sort of like a can of sardines. It had been a long day, and everyone was ready for a good night's sleep. Not quite possible with Tommaso's loud snores echoing through the whole shack, but unlike the upstairs, at least my room was kind of warm.