Food and drink

Remember to drink, a lot. This is slightly harder when it's cold, and the first day I did not drink much, which in turn, made me feel more tired than I should've been. I was much better the next days. I personally found it easier to have a small back pack with a drinking system (Camelback). Food is equally important, I had some chocolate and some home made muesli bars (recipe from the Velochef cookbook by Henrik Orre, chef to Team Sky). It was very nice to have a snack while taking short breaks.

The weather

First of all, even though it was only around 0 degrees celsius (above and below), you would still get cold after biking for more than an hour. But then again, nothing compared to this.

Anyway, the main challenge was how-to-dress. It was hard to find the balance, which brings me to the next topic.

Pacing

Pacing yourself is important, specially if you are not in awesome shape, which was my case. I was not in terrible shape, but if you are not used to biking that much, for several days in a row (which I was not), my advice would be to pace yourself, so you are good to go the next days.

There are several reasons for pacing yourself. When it is cold, if you go to hard, you will sweat, and you will freeze. When you are riding downhill, if you go fast, you will freeze.. etc. :). You have to find a good pace, where you keep yourself warm, without overdoing it.. :) Of course, if you are super fit, and riding 100 km several days in a row is peanuts, then just.. go for it :)

Entertainment

I found it important to have some entertainment. Like mentioned in the gear page, I used the Aftershockz Titanium. These are awesome for listening to the radio and/or audiobooks when biking. You will still hear everything else around you, so you won't be deaf to your surroundings. Personally, I wouldn't have used normal earphones.

Peeing

Drinking a lot, in around 0 degrees Celsius makes you want to pee. Try to find good spots, preferrably toilets on the routes. It is uncomfortable to want to pee when you are cold. And as I was taught in the army.. if it's cold, you don't want your body wasting energy on keeping your biowaste warm.

Will I do this again?

The answer is perhaps. Not because I did not enjoy it, but next year, I will have three small kids. And it is a time of year that requires time to do things other than biking for hours. But then again, perhaps, by this time next year, I will be in awesome shape, and I can finish the challenge in a few days. Depending on the weather... or not. There is a saying in Norway: "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." (This actually rhymes in Norwegian.)

Questions?

If you have any question, don't hesitate asking. Contact me at on.aohco@005evitsef