WEEK 47

WEEK 47 (Sunday November 19, 2006)

PACKED DAYS AT HOME

Many hours of exercise, various meetings, and exciting days full of activities for sponsors fill up my autumn days here at home. Christmas is rapidly approaching, and before we know it we’ll be leaving for another trip for training, signalling the start of the 2007 season.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m lying on my bed writing. We’ve just had a huge and thorough cleaning spree in our house, as the smallest member of our family, Petruss, has become sick. He has so-called crystallization of the urine, meaning that urinating is very difficult and painful for him. The end result is that he squirts a little here and a little there – not particularly pleasant for him or for the rest of us.

We’ll be taking him to the vet tomorrow, so we’ll just have to keep our fingers (and toes) crossed in the hopes that he gets well again quickly. And so the whole house has been thoroughly cleansed, the whole place smells clean, and both cats have had a shower. They’ve been taught to take showers right from when they were kittens, so they put up with it…even though they don’t really like it.

GOOD DAYS OF EXERCISE

Today we’ve been for a hike with Lene in the mountains around Dalsnuten. We had fantastic weather until the last 45 minutes, when we were accosted by one of these intense hail-storms which are so typical at this time of the year. With proper mountaineering clothes on, one doesn’t worry too much about the weather. It just freshens up the colour in one’s cheeks a bitJ

Regarding exercise, this week has been very good. I’ve managed to do the training on the week’s schedule and the feeling in my body has been good. We were in Oslo on Tuesday and Wednesday with various activities on the menu. On Tuesday we started out with a presentation for the employees at Shell in Dusavika close to Stavanger, about cycling and safety.

After that, we left Stavanger and flew to Oslo where we met with Shell employees at Skøyen in Oslo. First we had a nice gathering where Kenneth and I spoke about motivation, nutrition and exercise. Interest in cycling has really escalated in this group and many of them will be participating in the Birken cycle race for the first time next summer. After the lectures we did a spinning session, focusing on strength and technique whilst cycling.

CELEBRATION OF OUR GOLDEN SEASON

Last Saturday, a good week ago, both Kenneth and I took part in the cycling race Sola Open, which Sola Cycling Club puts on. It was a really muddy race, but very exciting and fun. Kenneth was in surprisingly good shape but probably started out a bit too hard, which he ended up having to pay dearly for towards the end of the race. The nicest part of this day was meeting many young cyclists who also had an exciting day on their two-wheelers despite rain and hail-storms along the way.

Saturday evening we had a proper celebration of our golden season of 2006 at the bike club house. Cyclists, people from various boards and organizations in Norway, parents, and various sponsors and supporters of our sport enjoyed themselves together, eating good food and listening to music that made you want to dance. Rogaland cycling organization is celebrating their 75 years anniversary these days, and their big year was also celebrated at the Sola Open party.

VARIOUS CHALLENGES

Apart from all that, Kenneth’s mother, Kate, has celebrated her 50^th birthday, I have had a lecture and run spinning classes at a convention at Sports Club here in Stavanger, I’ve been to Hamar and had a presentation for the board of the Coop shops, in addition to many other various activities.

On Thursday our new house project will be starting, and it’s going to be an exciting experience for everyone who is involved in it, with KleppHus leading the whole project. You can follow the project in detail by using the link on my home page, RampBo. The aim is to have a weekly update from the house building project.

We’re also looking forward to a helicopter ride to Draugen (oil platform) in a good week’s time, where we’re going to be spinning and having lectures. We’re also going to meet a group of cycling enthusiasts from Shell up in Kristiansund with the same program, and we’re looking forward to that.

Our next celebration will be with Stians Sport and Merida Norway, on the 1^st of December. We’ll be celebrating their 30 years anniversary, and it’s guaranteed to be a colourful and enjoyable occasion. We’re proud to belong to the Merida family and the representative of cycling that Stians Sport is.

Now I’m going to go and attend to our children who are lying drying on the heated bathroom floor after their ordeal in the shower. And then we’re going to make a Sunday dinner which will be quite simple today – a good salad and garlic bread with tomatoes. The rest of the evening will be spent relaxing in my easy-chair.

I wish all of you a great week of exercise both with and without a bike.

Cyclist’s greetings from Gunn-Rita

Multivan Merida Biking Team