Embrace it, enjoy it and most of all smile.

Congratulations!

Whatever you decide to do, book immediately. Lodging in both Eidfjord and Gaustatoppen is limited, and so are car rentals.

If your "crew" does not mind staying behind in Gaustatoppen, your plan is sound. However, they are really missing some of the most spectacular parts of the course - in particular, the fjord, the climb to Dyranut (including the waterfalls at Voringfoss) and the Hardangervidda are incredible. Your support crew would be missing a lot by staying up at Gausta the whole time...which is pretty, but not the best part.

I'd think the kids and your mom would want to see Eidfjord and the scenery along the way. My initial reaction is that you should have two cars and grandma and the kids would not be doing race support on race day, but rather watch the start, and T1 stop maybe one or two places along the way, and then see you at the finish hotel. That said, the drive from Eidfjord is no joke. It's a narrow road with no shoulder, and if they're trying to do it on race day with limited visibility, rain, a bunch of cyclists, it's not a place for a timid driver.

Congratulations!!
You will have a blast (and be in pain :-)

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the race or Norway.

Congrats! This was my third attempt and still an "I'm Sorry" e-mail.

Probably for the best with other family trips planned.

Best of luck to you. Please post after the race next year.

---

Brian

Great feedback, thank you! We are enjoying the challenge of logistics. The prospect of taking three generations of our little family on a European Racecation is already creating quite the ripple of excitement.

Scott

Thanks Halvard. Here is the Question of the Day: What are your top three places to visit with a 14yo boy interested in his Norwegian heritage? Bonus points for any cross-over into Viking lore.

Scott

Depending on what city you are flying in and out of, if your son is interested in Viking a trip to the Viking museum in Oslo is the right place.
http://www.khm.uio.no/.../viking-ship-museum/

I will recommend that your family can experience the fjords. Fjords are unique to Norway.

I need to know a little more about what your son like before I can come up with any good/bad recommendations.

Thanks Harvard. I will get back to you on the points above.

At the moment, I have another question. Can you recommend a place to stay somewhere between Guasta and Eidfjord? The idea is to break up the drive between and offer the oldest / youngest members of our party an alternative to five nights in Guasta.

Scott

I have a question - I'm not in yet BUT :)

Looking at the video's. If the weather were really awful - which is a real possibility, for the bike is it worth considering ski-touring clothing e.g. merino base lawyers - very waterproof / breathable hardshell, neoprene booties, water proof / windproof gloves etc?

There seem to be people that were under-dressed for a cold alpine environment?

Great Scott, this is another fine mess you got yourself into. I was considering entering the lottery, but got cold feet (pun intended). Good luck.

At Norseman you can easily tell that some can take the cold weather better than others. But if you get cold on the bike course, it is impossible to get warm again. So I will always recommend to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

It is especially when you have a combination of cold temperature, wind and rain it can be a challenge to keep up temperature. This year was a good example of that, as well as 2013.

Thats what i mean. I've done plenty of riding in the alps in really shit weather but you cant afford to get cold. So it seems it would be a good idea to be really prepared for the worst. Once your core temp drops its game over and thats true of anything outdoors

I'm waiting to find out but i think i'd rather be warm than aero

Congratulations. I did it last year. I have done 17 iron distance races now, some of them I cannot even remember crossing the finish line any more. Norseman is a race that will live with me forever. It's just that good. You are going to have the time of your life. I am so jealous! Your plan sounds great by the way - assuming you can get into the hotel at the finish still.

---

He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

I've been thinking about this, a lot. What is the ideal extreme weather package for Norseman?

My wish-list, including some things that are tried and true others that are new to me:

Booties - Gore Windstopper Overshoes
Tights - Castelli Nanoflex Bibtights
Base-layer - Craft Active Extreme Windstopper or Castelli Flanders LS
Mid-layer - Castelli Potenza or Castelli Perfetto (formerly Gabba) or Castelli Alpha
Outer-layer - Castelli Tempesta
Gloves - Castelli Tempesta

To those who have been there or ridden in extreme cold-wet, what do you think of this list? What would your kit look like?

Scott

It looks like a good list. You'll find out what you like while you train in it. Just take into account changing in and out of the clothes during the race.

I raced it a few years ago and I'm racing it again with you. I remember being layered up and fine during the flats but near overheating during the climbs.

I'm in also!

Was last years weather an anomaly?...is it just as likely to be hot? Warm and rainy? Cool and dry?

should be fun.

there's always some extreme weather somewhere it seems. In 2013 there was a storm moving so it affected the athletes at different parts of the course.

Parts of the bike were wet, windy, and hailing for some but not not others.

I will say I'll plan for all types of weather. I'd rather bring it with me (all the way from California) than get there and try to scramble to find something. The host town for the start and finish will NOT have much equipment.

I recommend to watch this video from 2013.
You can see how much the weather is changing during the race, but also how cold it can be (go to 5.30).
It also will give your support crew a good insight on how hard it is to be support.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWSD-EndTxM

Happy to see some other members of the tribe chiming in that they will be there. I intended for this thread to be about all of us. It will be fun to share the journey and meet in Norway!

Let's start now. Roll call!

Scott / 45M / Seattle / 3x IM / 3rd draw, first selection for Norseman

Side note: I entered the 2017 draw just to increase the odds in 2018 as I'm battling an irritated plantar fascia. Panicking now!

See above ^^^^^^

Scott...I live close to you.

Richard/50m/ victoria, bc/ 3xIM....first Norseman.

Gentlemen,

Happy to share the journey with you all. I'm in the same time zone as you both, Scott and Richard, but no where near you. However I was just in Seattle two weeks ago for work. That rain would be great to train in for this race -- more for mental training than anything else.

Tu / 34M / San Diego / 4 x IM (inc. IMWC) / 3rd Draw, 2nd selection for Norseman.

My two cents for your plantar: be sure to pay some attention to your calf as that whole chain is connected. And just don't run, go heavy on the swim and bike :o)

Based on the weather I saw, I would be going with:

• Gore Windstopper Booties - I've used them in torrential freezing rain in the alps in the spring - they're amazing
• A 3/4 short that goes past my knee's - wet and cold shins do not bother me, but if my knee's get cold they get sore
• A decision about base layers, either 100, 200 or 300 Merino Ice-breaker - if it looked anything like this years, it would be the 300
• Quesha Ulta Soft Shell - If the weather were completely catastrophic I'd be looking at a hardshell - rather be warm than aero
• Latex gloves under gore windstopper gloves for start of bike - Enduro trick for freezing cold weather - allows hands to warm up - remove them, or hand warmers
• Possibly something for my neck

I'd take one spare pair of gloves in a zip dry freezer bag

I never get cold in the 300, it can be soaking wet from perspiration and inside my jackets I'm never cold, there's a reason its the choice of pretty much everyone who's outside in extreme temps and wet......

I would also work on the basis I'm getting completely changed between bike / run

if you want to see the results of being inadequately prepared - see the posts about this years (?) whistler where people were hypothermic, even in Nice this year, it had rained every day up to the IM, and I was undecided about a jacket or not, in the end I took it and whilst it was not cold, the number of people that were in space blankets on the side of the road from being wet and the wind chill was pretty high (I get to see loads of them as I'm at the back :))