Outside the Scandinavium

The Davis Cup

Okay, last post for the night. After our orienteering adventures, Par and I went to the Davis Cup. The semi-finals were held here this weekend in Göteborg. They hold it indoors at the Scandinavium. We had pretty good seats and we watched Andy Roddick trounce Jonas Bjorkman in 3 straight sets. After which James Blake quickly dismissed Simon Aspelin. What a fun day today. Now I can say that I've seen an international tennis event. The US will face Russia back in the states in a couple of months.

My first orienteering map

The #1 American finisher

I forgot to mention that I was the top American finisher in today's race. Okay, I was the ONLY American racer today. You should have been there. I would have kicked your butt!

Look! Here's where I got lost

I'm showing Par after the race where I went and where I got lost. Lots of fun

Orienteering finish area

This was quite early when people first started showing up and getting ready. Notice the many club flags flying.

Finish line

Orienteering control point

Orienteering

Do you have ANY idea what this is? I got up early AGAIN to go with the Sander family to Hjortsöndan. Orienteering is an extremely popular outdoor activity here in Sweden. Basically, here is the jest of the sport. You go out to the forest with several hundred of your closest friends and family. You are given a VERY detailed map, a compass, and a plastic fingerstick sometimes called a dibbler. The object is to race around in the forest looking for these control points. You must go in a specific order (listed on your map) and once you find it put your dibbler in to indicate that you have found the spot. Today since it was my first time they suggested that enter the Ö2. Basically, I'd be racing small girls and old ladies. No problem. A couple of things you should know. They are pretty careful about pollution so the potties are behind a big tarp and a number of 5 gallon buckets are lined up. Pretty funny site seeing a bunch of Swedes sitting on buckets. The showers were even more interesting. The last think is that you are not allowed to race in shorts. Apparently, back several years ago, people were getting really cut up and so after the race when everyone would jump into that lake or shower, there were major outbreaks of Hepatitis. Great! So Par brought me these nice running tights. I was running a race with 8 control points covering a distance of I think around 3000 meters. I was going to try for the brute force approach. Not that great of an idea. At first, I tried keeping my running shoes (my good pair) somewhat clean but that went out the window after about 30 seconds. You are running in mud, swamp, through thick brush, you name it. It was actually quite fun. The Swedes, however, are VERY into this sport. Some events attract 15,000+ people (competing, not watching). My time? 44:32. Originally, I thought I finished 5th but ended up 8th in my category. A good time would have been around 30 minutes or lower. The best guy there, Christian, is one of the folks that I'll be working with tomorrow. He's a younger guy and he is currently ranked 30th or something in the world. He's pretty fast. I looked tonight and found the Utah Orienteering site. Not too popular but I bet JJ would love to try this. Believe me, it is much more difficult than it seems. You can't just start running through the woods. The control points are tricky to find sometimes, and you really need to know how to read a map properly. When I get home, I'll scan my map and post it here. I also found more info on Wikipedia of course. Afterwards, I was quite muddy. My shoes were WAY muddy. Time for a shower. So basically, imagine a big open field, with a big huge tarp on the perimeter with hundreds of boys and men (ages 8 ot 80) all naked and showering with these hoses. It was a bit chilly but try to imagine with crappy snowy cold weather. Thankfully, it wasn't that today. It was actually a pretty nice day. We had some sandwiches afterwards and some fruit. It was really quite the experience.

Sunset in Sweden

Grundsund harbor

Kajsa II

The Sander's boat.

Par and Agneta Sander

Par is also known by his friends as Pelle and his wife, Neta. Great people.

Some famous shack

Supposedly this is one of the more photographed objects in all of Sweden. It is a shack that has been there forever. Something to do with helping ships coming in and out.

Harbor at Lysekil

Church and the Baxters

Okay, before I write out this weekend, I must talk about LAST Sunday. So on Saturday, I was feeling pretty darn lonely. Missing my family, tired of being alone. I was determined to go to church the next day. I set out on Saturday afternoon to find where the meeting house was. I was using the handy Danish LDS site I had a map and address. After looking for a couple of hours I gave up, went back to the hotel and called the missionaries. They explained that the church was INSIDE the train station. So on Sunday morning, I showed up. No tie, but in more or less Sunday attire. The Saints in Ballerup are just great. I had someone by my side (or behind me) translating the entire time. The Baxters spoke in Sacrament meeting and told me just what I needed to hear. Sunday School was good, and Priesthood was all about marriage I even got to play in Priesthood as they didn't have anyone to do it. Thanks, Mom! I had a few families invite me over for dinner after church. I ended up going to the Baxters (3 teenage boys and 1 teenage girl). We had a wonderful dinner of pork, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a yummy dessert with ice cream and berries. After dinner we walked around the small neighborhood. They showed me their garden, and we watched a Pink Panther movie on their living room wall. Of course I slept through most of it. It was VERY nice to be in a home and I really thank the Baxters for their love and hospitality.

Lysekil and Grundsund

So I got up BUTT early (if there is such a thing) to head up to Göteborg. It has been a few years since I was here and I was really looking forward to going back. This time I took a train (crossing the Oreund Bridge). I was going to Göteborg to do some work with a good friend of mine, Par Sander. Anyhow, I arrived early so that we may have a chance to go boating in the Archipelago. These are thousands of small islands that surround the coasts of Sweden. We traveled for an hour or so up to the town of Lysekil. This is where Agneta's mother lives. Sadly, it was way too windy to venture out but we still had a wonderful time. We had a wonderful lunch of breads, meats, and cheeses, and walked down to the harbor and checked out the boat. We decided to empty much of the supplies on the boat and carry them back to the summer home for the winter season. The Sanders will move the boat another weekend. Afterwards, we went to another small fishing town called Grundsund to celebrate Par's birthday. We ate a marvelous restaurant right on the water. Great food, beautiful sunset and wonderful friends.

Let's Play

Okay, so I know I MUST do some writing from the last couple of days of writing but I came across this pretty cool thing tonight. Of course with all of the blogging that goes on around the world, millions of pictures are constantly being uploaded. Google (the folks that run this blogging server) has released a website that shows (at your speed of choice) a sampling of these pictures. It's like potato chips, once you start you can't stop. Have a look. I found it quite interesting.

Englen Moroni

Shall the Youth of Zion Falter...

On Friday night, I wanted to attend the Copenhagen Temple. I found out, however, that they have no clothing rental so my choices were limited. I decided to go and do baptisms. I was supposed to be there by 7:00 and of course I was running late. It was lightly raining but in order to make it on time (or shortly thereafter) I had to run most of the way. By the time I arrived, I was completely drenched. Not because of the rain, but because I was sweating. I changed and sat next to a youth group from the western side of Denmark. It was really enjoyable. Being in the temple (no matter where in the world it is) gives such a peaceful and calm reassurance (at least for me). And I definitely needed some of that. All of it was in Danish and as hard as I tried, I just couldn't make out the words. After being baptized they asked me if I would like to do some of the baptizing. I did it in English of course even though I could have done it in Spanish. What was funny is that most of the names were from Chili (with a few from Italy). Afterwards, I met with the youth group outside the temple and got to talk to them. They live a few hours away but only get to come to the temple about every six months. Many of the youth in our neighborhood go at least once a week. Afterwards, I am more committed to go with my boys at least a couple of times a month. We need to go more often and soon they will be gone. What a great way to spend my Friday night.

Den lille Havfrue

More bikes than cars

Well at least it seems that way. So many bikes. You really have to watch out more for the bikes than you do for the cars.

Templet i København

Okay, it's been just over a week so I'd better write while it is still fresh on my mind. Last Sunday it was my second day in Copenhagen. I decided to go for an early morning run. I had tried to figure out where church services were but after looking for it for over an hour I gave up. I knew about where the temple was so I thought I'd go looking for it. It is outside of the city (and off my map). After 30-40 minutes I found a building that I discovered was the church building. On the bottom floor was the distribution center. So I snapped a picture. No sooner had I done that then a couple of missionaries came out to see who was taking the pictures. They were a bit surprised to find a guy from Utah decked out in Under Amour and iPod. They were both from Provo and I got to talk to them for a while. They walked with me over to the temple which was just around the corner. They were pretty active, talking to anyone/everyone on the street. It was fun to see. The temple was beautiful. It is the first church that was converted from an existing building. It took a couple of years to make the transition and they did a beautiful job. There is a nice courtyard with a fountain and flowers and bushes. After walking around the grounds I finally ran back to my hotel.

A girl named Eline

Okay, so I really don't know this girl. Yesterday I thought her name was Majken but today I think it is Eline. Does it really matter? Anyhow, here's the story. She works here at GUES. She was here on Sunday when I was trying to set up my display booth. She asked me where I was from and when I said Utah, she replied, "oh, I went to BYU for a couple of semesters". Pretty strange. She and another Danish friend got scholarships to attend BYU for a year. She said that it was pretty hard for a beer-drinking party girl just out of high school to go to BYU but she said that she had a good experience. She came to BYU right before 9/11 and was there during the 2002 Winter Olympics. What a great experience she had and kudos to BYU for giving her the opportunity.

Pics I'm too cheap to buy

It doesn't get any better than this!

Way to go, Rich

Me and my buddy

Look how happy we look!

40-O

Ever since we did Jordanelle, we have often referred to each other as either 40-O or in my case 41-O. Great looking legs, Rich!

Mark me up - Start me up

Jordanelle - Better, stronger, faster

Okay, I'm finally taking a few minutes to write about my second triathlon. Let's hope I don't leave anything out. First off, I felt like I was in much better shape and had a better idea what was going on. What was really cool, my buddy, Rich was going to do this one with me. It was only a few short months ago, Rich didn't even have a bike. He couldn't swim more than 100 meters without being out of breath, and had NO plans to compete in a tri. Well, first we got him a bike. Then we went riding. Riding alot. We would usually go for a long ride every Saturday morning. We ran a couple of road races and I got him to do the ULCER. This time around I decided to rent a wetsuit. Rich, Mr. Rich got to buy one. I'm really glad that I had one. It made a big difference this year in the swim. Rich and I drove up early (and I believe it was still dark). The one thing that I really don't like about this venue is that you have to park about 3+ miles away from the event and RIDE your bike and gear down from the parking lot. We checked in, picked up our packets, and got all marked up. The organizers changed things a bit and the bikes were in a different place. We walked down to the lake and soon we were swimming. I started off a bit too fast and was pretty much out of breath after about 100 meters or so. It took me another couple hundred meters before I could get into my rhythm. Soon the mile swim was over and I was climbing out of the lake and my wetsuit. I cut about 18 minutes off my swim time from last year. Nice improvement. I was soon on my bike. I rocked on the bike and averaged close to 21 mph for the 25 mile course. I felt really good. I knew Rich wasn't far behind so I kept pushing myself. I got off my bike and quickly put on my shoes. I do need to take the transition areas more seriously and try to cut down on my time there. Next was the run. My worst part. What was really strange is that I had rode SO hard on my bike that my thighs were completely cramped up. I could NOT stop or walk. It was too painful. I don't ever remember this happening. It took me a good mile or so before my legs loosened up. I did pretty good and cut a few minutes off my run time. The run is a bit difficult as there are a number of hills and trail sections. At any rate, I finished 24th in my age group. My swim time: 35:47, my bike time: 1:10:46, and my run time: 50:23. For some reason, I got tagged with a 2 minute penalty for some reason. Oh well. I was REALLY happy and I felt great. So how did my buddy do? Well, I kept thinking that he was going to pass me on the run. I kept looking back. No Rich. I crossed the finish line, and waited. And waited. And waited. I was getting worried when he finally crossed about 31 minutes later. He did NOT look good. He was really in lots of pain. Turns out, he did NOTHING to refuel. Had a bit of fluids but that was about it. I had food (a bar and gel after the swim and another gel after the bike. Plenty of fluids. Anyhow, after about 1/2 hour after he crossed the finish line, he was able to walk around and enjoy the moment. Way to go, Rich. I'm so glad that I have someone like you to train. Next event - California Half-Ironman! Go, Marshmallow man!

Rich's ULCER

Okay, on Saturday, August 11 Rich and I rode in the ULCER (Utah Lake Century Epic Ride). The major bummer is that I have no pics so you'll just have to close your eyes (wait, then you won't be able to read what I'm writing). Okay, go get someone else to read this out loud while you close your eyes. The ride (111 miles) started and finished at Thanksgiving Point. Since this isn't too far from our house we decided to ride down and back instead of parking down there. This added another 14 miles or so for the total trip. What was amazing is that we ran into a few others that rode from 30-40 miles away to do the ride so their today clip was 170+ for the day.
They had a breakfast there but I had already eaten. This year, unlike last year the ride went completely around the lake. We stopped somewhere in Orem, and then again in Springville and then in Goshen for lunch. I will feeling pretty good at that point. We had going about 60 miles or so. Rich was a bit miserable (neck and shoulder). We stuck together most of the time which was so much better than last year. Last year I was pretty much on my own for the entire second half. After lunch we were on the back side of Utah Lake and I was really enjoying the ride. I could go 20-23 mph for quite a while without much effort. We finally made it back to the starting point. I can't remember how long it took (maybe 7 hours or so). Rich was not a happy man climbing up the hill to our neighborhood. I could do that every Saturday. If only.
We are preparing for LOTOJA. Here is a great article from this year's race. Come join us!

Take me home, country roads; remembering John Denver

more to come

How has your Aspen Ridge

A couple of years ago we took our Scouts to the Boy Scout camp, Aspen Ridge. We had a great time with our older boys (JJ, Zach, Cory, and others) that we wanted to return with our younger boys this year (Jake, Nick, and Chase). This was more or less a week long fathers-and-sons campout.

D-news 10K

Okay, so this event was almost 2 months ago but who cares! You don't have to read this. You can go on living your pathetic, insignificant life (jk). Utahns celebrate the 24th of July as the day when the Mormon pioneers first came into the Salt Lake Valley. After doing a decent job at the Provo Freedom Festival 10K, and with my "buddy" Rich still being totally excited about running in these races, we signed up to run the 10K. Rich, Marcella, and I got up early and headed up to the Research Park by the University of Utah for the starting point. The race is more or less down hill so the times are a bit skewed. I finished around 50:30 (by far my best time) with Rich at 45:30. Since then, we often refer to each other's time when address/calling/e-mailing each other. Marcella also did really well and even beat one of our neighbors (Brian). Brian's wife, Jane, however kicked all of our butts. After the race, we walked up to my Dad's house and hung out there for a bit before they took us up to our car. Next year we are running in the marathon which should be quite interesting. Well, that's about all I remember. So there you have it. No pictures, just memories.

Summer's Over!!!

The leaves don't lie. I took this near Cascade Springs. Pretty soon, we'll be covered in white crap!

"What's the password?"

I took this picture (sorry about the poor quality) downstairs in the lobby of the hotel. Pretty interesting how this hotel started out. It's fun to read about the histories of such places.

Dude! Where's your suitcase?

I thought this was pretty funny. This is in the baggage claim in Copenhagen. I can see this guy checking in his stuff. Excuse me, Mr. Ticketcounter guy, could I just get a bin to put in a few socks, a pair of underwear, and one of my shoes? Thanks!

København

It is high time that I did some writing. I'm here in Copenhagen for the next couple of weeks so I need to make time and update this "Why I'm Here". I guess I'll start by writing about my trip out here. I've been in Park City this week teaching a groundwater modeling class. I came home Thursday night to unpack, wash, and repack. My flight left early Friday morning and I flew to Washington (Dulles). After an hour or so I got on an Air France plane and headed over the water. I thought I had a bulkhead seat but it turns out that I didn't. Luckily, I was able to move up to the exit row and that made the trip much more bearable. Had I been able to book my ticket in either the Y, M, or B class I would have been able to upgrade to business class. It is so much more enjoyable flying that way. Stupid movies, but okay food. I don't know what the deal was but shortly after eating a light breakfast, I got really sick and had to hurl. I did make it to the bathroom. That was a first. After that I felt okay and was able to return to my seat. I'll have to be sure to write about my other hurling experience a couple of weeks ago. Anyhow, we landed in Gay Pari. There was NO way I was making my connection but I tried. Getting around CDG is pretty bad. So I had a lovely extra 4+ hours in the airport. I took advantage of the time to rebuild my songs on my iPod. JJ gave me a bunch of new music and I should have lots to listen to. I finally made it to Copenhagen, caught the train, then the metro and walked a couple of blocks to the hotel. I got good directions and didn't have any trouble. I called home using my Skype account. It is so nice to have that. I walked around downtown for a couple of hours. It is a bit colder here than I thought it would be. Stupid American, look at that kid in shorts and flip-flops and we are all wearing pants and coats. I found a decent restaurant near the hotel and ate by myself (one of the crappy things about traveling alone). Well, I'll upload a few pics and then write more tomorrow. Cheers!

Life Is Short, Eat Dessert First

For Labor Day last Monday we headed for the hills (after we did a little laboring in and around the house). We took the Alpine Loop, stopped at Cascade Springs for a bit, and then ended up in Heber City. Of course, what is a trip to Heber without going to Granny's. No food, just shakes. I got the usual Butterfinger shake, Marcella a Coke float, JJ a peach shake, Jake got the same, and Olivia a marshmellow shake. Yummy