This past weekend I participated in the annual Tour of Stockholm.  It is a small event, but its craziness definitely trumps its lack of size.  The Tour of Stockholm is a loose MWSC event.  No entry forms, no sponsors, no podium prizes, no course maps, and a vague start and finish line.  Depending on the year the finish time could be anywhere between 4-6 hours, and there is a good chance that a participant could be completely submerged in water or mud at least once.  Most years there are four different legs, a run, a bike, a ski, and a paddle, not always in that order.  The Tour happens rain or shine.  Most everyone has a good time, but sometimes there are some tears before the day is done.

This year we staged as always in the Stockholm Legion Hall parking lot, a stone’s throw from the Madawaska River.  The first leg was relatively mild, a rollerski loop.  We were about 30 people large, all of different ages, abilities, rollerski speeds, and some choosing the classic technique.  The pack broke up early with two groups establishing themselves almost within the first kilometer.  The faster group completed the first leg without incident and met the sag wagon at the start of second leg, where we changed over into running shoes.  The running leg is by far the crown jewel leg of the Tour, and this year did not disappoint.  The start of this leg was relatively tame, an easy jog through farm roads, but sooned turned ugly as we left the road and started a bushwhack that turned into a commando style march through a stream/beaver bog.  Dodging submerged logs was the name of the game, mostly by watching people trip and disappear neck deep up river.  I spent the middle part of the run limping off a good whack to the shin.  The river eventually turned into a true bog, a huge patch of spongy ground, water-bed style running, and after that more bushwhack.  The bike was up next, and like the run, began with some easy peddling on a rail-bed.  However mid-route we hit the ‘bike portage’, mud-puddle riding that ended up with everyone hip-deep in mud carrying bikes across a beaver dam.  From there we suffered through a muddy four-wheeler trail, before a steady climb out of the bog and onto the transition for the paddle.  Luckly the paddle was not too technical, a steady cruise down the Madawaska and back into Stockholm.  By the time we finished we had been in the saddle for 6 hours, an epic year.  Burgers and swimming followed at Rob Kieffer’s camp. 

Unfortunately I did not take any photos from the Tour of Stcokholm.  But I did snap a few pictures of the Stockholm fourth of july parade, featuring a rollerskiing float of sorts.  And I am including a few more pictures below of things going on over the last month.

Here I am with Carl Soderberg in the Stockholm parade

The crew

Our testing lab at UMPI, we had a testing weekend last week

At the REG camp in June.  For an update on that camp check out Tarling’s post.  Here is Sweetser doing some course work before the time trial with Beckwith and Whitcomb cheering him on. 

Mars Hill (Big Rock ski resort) in Mars Hill.  The ridge is filled with windmills.  We do a hill climb time trial to the top a few times a year.

The top of Mars Hill.  There was a lot of debate when these things were built.