The Swedish veterans are a cool group. You only get this cross-country skier designation if you have completed more than 30 races which are "90 kilometers" or greater in distance. These guys are amazing! 17 veterans flew over to America and competed in my race.

Earlier today I cross-country skied the Mora Vasaloppet (Minnesota). This 42 kilometer race is a true exercise in endurance. I just managed to beat out Sven-Ingvar Svensson (age 73) by one minute. He skied the course in 3 hours 9 minutes. Perhaps I can go over to Tyreso, Sweden in 21 years when I'm his age and compete on his home ski trail. He's tough!

Someone photographed Sven earlier in the race, and then me at the moment I crossed the finish line! See below. Click to expand either image to full size!

Earlier this week I learned about a new photo editing tool, PhotoPeach. This free service allows one to easily upload photos and create "active photoshows" with music. Your photos zoom and pan; in addition, PhotoPeach couldn't be easier to use. You upload, select music, add some captions and voila! Instructions are not necessary. Here is a brief slideshow I created ot today's City of the Lakes Loppet (25k cross-county ski race). It was a challenge to ski the event one armed (my recent injury prevented me from holding a ski pole in one hand … which is a severe handicap in cross-country skiing. I have created an example of today's race … enjoy … less than a minute in duration! You may also click to expand either of the static photos given below, but it's more fun to watch the slideshow!

This experience (one armed ski race) also taught me a lesson of appreciation and humility for folks who truly have a handicap. During the race I often fell while climbing icy hills. The lack of the extra arm and ski pole was a serious disadvantage. Depending upon how steep the hill was … and how close to the summit I was … it was often smarter to crawl to the top after my fall (I often could not stand back up without slipping and falling backwards). I felt this was humiliating as other skiers zoomed by me. I could not have been more wrong in this attitude as my fellow competitors were my top supporters throughout the race … cheering me on. They appreciated the difficulty of my Ski Loppet challenge.

• One Armed Skier Conquers City of the Lakes Loppet
  (created with PhotoPeach … YouTube access required to hear the music)

You may not know this fact (or care), but the Northstar Nerd attended Dartmouth. Even after having spent four years on the Hanover plain, I can still appreciate the Harvard Hooligans! These guys have some great humor, I highly recommend these two particular videos:

• Harvard Homework Helper Hotline!
  (I now know how my brother made it through Harvard B school)
  .
• iPod Makes Me So Cool!
  (my first computer was a slide rule … perhaps that's my problem)

Pay particular attention to the "video response" to the iPod video (hint, hint). Click to expand any image. Still on holiday today … back to the real work on Monday. Oh yes, I still don't own an iPod!

Post Update on January 4th: The Harvard Hooligans have offered me advice!  Take a look.