School's Out For Summer!

Yes, the old Alice Cooper adage comes to mind. Sidney and I are done for this school year, and the summer plans are about to become reality.

As a reward for doing a good job in school, I took her to McDonald's for lunch. First, a comment about McDonald's in Norway - it isn't like McDonald's in the U.S. at all. There are always a few menu items or ingredients they don't have. Yesterday, it was pickles. Now tell me, how can you make a Big Mac (two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun) WITHOUT PICKLES!?! What makes it worse is that fast food restaurants are the only place here we can get real dill pickles, so to not get them on the rare occasion we visit one of these places is almost devastating.


Okay, enough venting. The real reason I bring up lunch is because it offers proof that Sidney prefers free toys and trash to play with over expensive toys. Her Happy Meal toy was a Hot Wheels race car, and she used the plastic bag it came in to fashion herself this stylish hat. Yes, my child is wearing garbage with a feather taped to it on her head.

We are getting into the mindset of heading north to Svalbard. We leave Monday and will not be back until July 2nd. That means no sunsets for a week and a half. The weather up there is currently just above freezing, cloudy, but with only light wind. The ship we will be on has been there since the beginning of June, and they have reported polar bear sightings on all the trips so far. They have also seen walruses, lots of birds, and plenty of icebergs and pack ice. We will hopefully get well above the 80th parallel, and our distance to the North Pole will be less than 600 miles.

After our return, Sidney and I plan to start our driving trip through Scandinavia, the Baltics and Norther Europe, then we return to take Kimber to Denmark for her sailing trip aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl. We will pick her up in Bergen. She then goes offshore, during which time Sidney and I may go over to Scotland for a couple of days, then we will probably be doing our house-hunting trip to Houston. Sidney will then start school here for a few weeks until we return to the U.S.

The part about returning to the U.S. is very bittersweet for us at the moment, but more on that in a later post. Our next post will probably be just before we leave to go north, or just after we get there.

Update From Kimber

This is a three part update from Kimber. Part one regards my mental health, part two my physical health, and part three some funnyish moments.

My Mental Health
I have spent the last 36 hours in a tough mental place. But I am starting to get better. Part of moving to Norway was to try new adventures. These races were way outside of my comfort zone and experience. And beyond anything this physical that I had tried before. A huge challenge. I learned enormous amounts about myself, physically and mentally, and about biking doing these races. I am glad I tried all three races. Even with some of the results. I committed to riding and put forth 100%. Given the opportunity, I would do any of the three again. And maybe sometime I will get the chance. I also know now that without the wind, I could have completed the 91 km of the North Sea Race. I am saddened that I didn't enjoy it more as that was one of my primary goals. The route really could have been beautiful without the constant struggle to stay upright and moving forward. I still have a little mental work to do around that word "quit" but mentally I am getting better.

My Physical Health
I am feeling pretty beat up. Not as bad as after the accident in the Garborg race (I can actually feed myself with my right arm!!) But I am going to try to get to the doctor this week to have the infected cut looked at and see if I can get some help for rehabbing my shoulder. If I learned anything from the ankle injury in Novemeber, it is to get rehab earlier on a serious injury. After I am better Kirk and I are going to ride together before we leave so I can get more comfortable off road. There are some great places just a few minutes from the house. I look forward to exploring them with Kirk and gaining confidence, strength and ability. Maybe next year I will be as confident as I was in my second year of triathlons. Knowing it will be a challenge but having more confidence in myself.

Some Funny-ish Moments
OK so funny is a little stretch but I am trying. The first funny is about my ability or lack thereof to put my clothes on. After we arrived in Egersund, we realized the bandaging on my arm had slid off. So I had to strip down even out of my long sleeve t-shirt to re-bandage my arm and in a hurry. Kirk got me reset and I put all my stuff back on and grabbed my bike, rushing to the start. When I got there I realized that I hadn't put the suspenders in the bike shorts back on in my rush and I had to take off my jackets, back down to my t-shirt to get my shorts on right. It was very funny. Now also, the mud is a little funny. Besides my shoe coming off twice, I am not sure how I didn't face plant in the stuff. It was slippery. Blowing off the road so many times was also a little funny. At least I blew off in places where I could control my descent into the field (except the last time with the fence). Others weren't as lucky. And finally the attempt to turn a few times was funny-ish. The marshal kept signaling me to turn and his back was against a rock wall, with me headed straight for him and no control. Poor guy. I made it though with maximum effort and some luck.

One final note. It was still a really rough day. Thank you to everyone who has supported me going into this and who continues to support me. Thank you also to the marshals and others who helped in this race and the others. Without you, the races could not happen. And the conditions have been bad for you too.

North Sea Race

You will probably be able to tell that this is another post by Kimber. Short on pictures but long on words.


I wanted this post to be about my finishing the North Sea Race on Saturday. But I couldn't. I gave every ounce of my heart and strength and I tried by best, I truly did. But I had to quit after 60 kilometers and 5 hours of biking. Many things affected me during the race. First was the head wind. It was rarely below 25 mph and frequently gusting above 35 mph. It was always in our face or at least at a right or left front angle. Never behind us. Second, since the accident during my last race just three weeks ago I have been limited on training. So the combination of wind, lack of training and still healing from my injuries made me run out of endurance quickly. As positive as I try to be the day was completely miserable.


I blew off the road three times. The third was into a rock wall with electric fence. I also could almost not hang onto my handle bars from fighting the wind, the hours on the bike, and lack of training. Also everyone had to walk through thick mud for nearly and hour because of all the rain we had. I lost my shoe to the stuff twice. (Photo courtesy of aftenbladet.no)

I am having a hard time having quit. I am disappointed in myself. I know I made the right decision but I am good at second guessing myself. But if by some remote possibility I could have kept going for 30 more kilometers in the wind, it would have taken me at least two more hours.

For those who now me well, you know how hard it was to call Kirk to come get me. Please keep me in your thoughts as I reconcile that for myself over the coming days.

I am going to take a break from hard training for a few weeks and spend some more time with my family. I have missed them over the last two months. I haven't given up on challenging goals though. I am planning to do the half-marathon in Stavanger in late August if we are here. But I have some time to prepare for that. Also Kirk and I are going to try a little off road biking together. I have a lot to learn.

(Kirk edit here - According to the Stavanger Aftenblad, over 1800 people withdrew before the race even started, and over 4000 did not finish. I am quite proud that Kimber stuck it out for 60 of the 91 km in such conditions!)

On some positive notes- Sidney finishes school this week. We have her progress report and are so proud of all she has learned this year. She can read at a second grade level and can write very well. She still however can disrupt class by talking a lot and side-tracks easily. We will scan in the report and send it to the grandparents.

Also, the swans brought their new family for a visit. There are two gray and four white cygnet's (baby swan - gotta love Google!) We haven't gotten a picture yet but we will. We love watching our little family grow.

Vikesa

Sidney and I went to Pastor Pete's farmhouse in Vikesa for the church picnic on Saturday. Pastor Pete must have called in an employee favor and gotten some wonderful weather - it was warm and sunny!



The farmhouse itself is a renovation project Pete and Cheryl have for a weekend house. It is just the house, and the farm belongs to the farmer and is still used for hay and sheep. There are places to hike, beautiful views, and lots of places to sit and relax. I can see why they like it so much.
















On the way back from the farm, Sidney and I took a little detour around through the countryside. One of the sights was this carving of a Viking head on a hill. It almost appears to be looking out longingly to the North Sea. It is a modern carving, given to the Kommune of Time by a local benefactor. Oh, and we also encountered a common traffic hazard in Norway - sheep in the road. We didn't hit any, but had to wait on the flock to pass by.

Sidney and I had a pretty normal week, all things considered. School is not quite the same the last two weeks as the teachers are all working on reports and the students are getting summer fever. I have enjoyed the more relaxed atmosphere, and am actually looking forward to going on the school trip to Kongeparken next week. The kids will have fun too, I am sure.

Kimber arrived home Tuesday afternoon, tired but happy that her trip to Alvheim went well. The ground felt like it was rocking a bit still, but a night in her own bed cured that.











Speaking of ships, we continue to have visitors next pier over. The Olympic Zeus came in for a while, as well as a few cargo ships and smaller vessels. Just this morning, the Maersk Leader and Logger came back in.


Sunrises and sunsets have also been very nice recently. The only problem is that the times they occur are horrible! There is sunlight until almost one, and it is rising again around 4. Well, at least only a couple more weeks and the days start getting shorter again. We will be in Svalbard for that longest day of the year, but the sun doesn't set up there during the summer anyway!

Summer

School is coming to an end in a few weeks and we are beginning to get our mindset into summer mode. The weather has been pleasant, and we have enjoyed outdoor activities like playing on the playgrounds and fishing in the evenings. I've caught some cod and whiting (or maybe pollack, I am not sure) and look forward to getting a few mackerel soon.

Kimber is offshore on Alvheim. She's been there since Thursday afternoon and will return Tuesday. She is conducting training, as time and conditions allow.

Sidney and I are going out to Pastor Pete and family's farmhouse in Vikesa this afternoon for a barbeque. It is a nice area south of here and is a nice place to hike or just relax. I am looking forward to a nice burger from the grill as well.

I am currently planning a trip for Sidney and I after our trip to Svalbard, but before the Denmark trip in July. As it looks right now, we plan on driving across to Stockholm, then ferry to Helsinki, another ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. We then will drive down through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to Prague, Czech Republic, before heading into Germany and short visit with the folks there. We will then, time permitting, go through Luxembourg to Normandy, then up through Belgium, The Netherlands and Denmark before returning to Norway. While it will be quite a long drive, it should be a great experience. We will have about two to two-and-a-half weeks to do it. More details to follow!

A Beautiful Hike at Bru

The weather was absolutely fantastic yesterday. There was a very light breeze and only a few little clouds. The bright blue sky made the water on the fjord and sea a beautiful turquoise. We took full advantage of the nice day and went out to an island north of here and hiked just outside the village of Bru.

Getting there is part of the fun. There is a tunnel dug under the sea that has an 8% grade and descends to 233 meters below sea level before coming back up again. It is about 7 kilometers long. Once out, you take some very narrow roads out to a farm. From there, the hike is along some relatively well-marked paths out to the sea and back.



The main attraction of the hike is the installation artwork along the way. There are several permanent sculptures, carvings, and other attractions taking advantage of the natural surroundings along the way. Here you can see "The Nest"and "Now". Local artists built these things a few years ago, and the farmer that owns the land agreed to keep it opened up for everyone to see.



The walk takes you through sheep pasture, and there are sheep in various stages of wool growth and physical size along the way. Most of the pastures are separated with stone fences that look ancient.


Speaking of ancient, we also went to another of the villages (Aamoy) and saw some ancient petroglyphs from the pre-Viking era. There are 3000-4000 years old and document what appears to be sea voyages. There are four such sites open to the public here, but we were getting close to dinner time so we just visited the one.

We had a wonderful dinner of grilled steaks and potatoes last night. We ate on our patio while looking out at the fjord. While we were there, we saw the swan family out swimming near the island across the way. The have their new brood now, and there appear to be five or six little ones!


Kimber is feeling much more normal a week after her bike wreck. She still doesn't remember the incident, but is able to think much more clearly and go through an entire day at a normal pace. Thank you to everyone who has kept her in your thoughts, and a special thanks to Marc, his family and his department for the flowers - they are beautiful!



We've had a couple of recent visitors to the pier. One was the Siem Aquamarine, a brand new ship that came in to have the A-frame taken off. Another was this little cargo vessel, the Molo Trader that came in to either pick up or drop off a small shipment. The crane ship is currently not here, but we did notice that one of the first visitors we saw here, the Boa Deep-C is currently involved in the BP sub-sea work to stop the leaking well. Our best wishes go out to all those involved in or affected by the incident.

The Loss of a Loyal Friend and Repatriation

First, this is a rare post by Kimber. And it is unusual to put these things in the same post.


We have said goodbye to a dear loyal friend. Alex, our dog of 16 years, has died. We knew it would only be a matter of time before this day would come but it doesn't make saying farewell any easier. Alex was the best dog ever and one of the hardest things we did was to leave him when we came here. We left him with a great friend and he maintained his "retirement" with Michelle who loved him as much as we did. Alex was the best dog anyone could have. He was loyal, playful, obedient and loving. And he looked like a puppy for all of his 16 years.

The second part of the post is about our pending move. We also knew our time in Norway would be temporary. We will be moving to Houston sometime after September 1. So our mission now is to do as many more things as we can before then. I will be taking on a Process Safety Coordinator position supporting all of Marathon's international assets. It is really a great opportunity and means I will continue to support Norway. We will post more details as we learn them.

Last an update on me. I tried to go to work today but it was still too much. My head is still not quite well enough to stay up for too long and my right arm is still not very functional. I am getting better just not at the speed I would like. I still hold out hope to do the next race in three weeks. My legs are OK but obviously it is good if I can hold the handle bars of my bike. And I need to maintain my legs.

Thanks to all for your well wishes and thoughts as we go through all these transitions and trials. Our friends and family keep us together.