2004 April

The youngest member of the Norwegian National Team, Espen Harald Bjerke was not able to live up to and reach his own expectations this season. He is disappointed by his performance and how he raced, but will make changes and is promising that he will “prove something” next season.

Ah yes, spring in the Midwest; glorious days filled with high winds, cloudy skies and rain on a fairly consistent basis, not to mention, temperatures ranging from 30 — 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Waiting for the onslaught of hot, humid summer days, spring here in the Chicago suburbs is a great time to do a little cross-training and relax.   Sipping coffee on the day after Easter I read Torbjorn’s account of how he spent his...

Lahti is a party town. This town goes out at midnight every day of the week. There is shouting and revelry on the snowy streets at 4am. There is bar after bar on every block, and they are inevitably full, and loud and smoky. Can it be like this all the time, or is it only for the World Cup weekend and other big events? Something tells me in Lahti it is all the time....

The Top Ten Signs of Spring in Northern New England Compared to many other sports, cross-country skiing requires considerable attention to the weather and a general sensitivity to changes in the seasons. For example, knowing when winter is over can be crucially important. This awareness allows you to: Add “structure” to your race skis with a few last-minute “spring denial” workouts on dirty, wet, melting trails with several pieces of snow showing through the rocks;...

Just the train from Milan up to Germany was a ten-hour ride. But the views were excellent. The big Italian valleys are patterned with row after row of grape vines some thin as a finger others thick as trees. The air is heavy, a near permanent haze that is humid and sticky and which lays a misty veil over everything. Italy is old and new, run down and newly painted. A hotel room can lack...