Weather, cycling, & a runner is born

So, I am remembering why it is that I didn't really want to live in Sweden - the weather. I still haven't riden my bike. The rain doesn't abate for more than an hour or so at a time unless it is very windy. I'm still searching for a good source of weather information so I can estimate when a shower will pass as I used to do with weather.com's maps.

On the bright side, I have found the 10k cross-country skiing trail that runs around the town. It is gorgeous! It goes through different types of forests, through fields, by viking relics, along streams and stone walls. I'll post photos when internet access improves. I'm pretty happy with the quantity and range of clothing I was able to bring with me except I could use another pair of running/cycling tights since it is so cold. However, that should be easy to buy and fit in my backpack. Also, the trail is so great, I can't feel too deprived.

Eurosport is carrying daily live coverage of the Giro d'Italia but none of my family seems to have that station. However, my cousin up the street from mormor has Viasat Sport which carries daily live coverage of the Tour of Belgium (or whatever it is called in English). There aren't many pro-teams in the race, but QuickStep is there with Tom Boonen, who won last year. The first day was amazing! It looked like Boonen was well-placed in a front group for a final sprint that he would likely win. About 14 km from the finish line, a relatively young cyclist from a continental team (Skil-Shimano) went for the last intermediate sprint and then kept cycling hard on his own. Since he had no chance of making it far by himself, there wasn't a chase. But he kept going and going hard. The front group started chasing him a bit late and he won, coming in 19 seconds ahead of them. Boonen was not pleased. It was very cool. The fact that my cousin has an LCD projector and large screen doesn't hurt. (He's a rock star/bouncer).

The Swedish commentators are pretty good and have some interesting differences in commentary from good ol' Phil Liggett. At least one of them was a pro. They pointed out things like the difficulty being at different spots in a group during a crosswind and the challenges of different types of wind. They talked about the relationship between carbohydrate intake, sweat, and the need to pee. I'll spare you the details.