Brightness

The short exploratory ride on Friday took me downstream to the lovely town of Tynset for some last minute equipment purchases. With the memory of my last time at Sognefjellet in mind I finally caved and bought myself the lightest down jacket they had at the sports outlet. Also I got another pair of gloves for some extra protection against the wet, cold wind expecting us on the Juvasshytta downhill. And an eye cover for these bright midnights, photons being the nemesis of my sleep.

The weather was terrific all day: Blue sky, few clouds, almost 30 degrees heat. Naturally I finished my business at Tynset with a delicious cone of ice cream at the train station restaurant. The waffle cone was large enough to perfectly fit the handlebar feed bag. Eat like a cyclist, as they say.

Many Meetings

On my way back to Dalsbygda I stopped at the "basecamp" in Tolga to meet the now almost fully assembled crowd. Riders kept arriving in cars, on their bikes or with the shuttle service that Justinas kindly organized.

Bright Midnight competitors are an illustrious crowd with highly diverse taste in bicycles ranging from feather light all-carbon steeds to heavy duty steel tourers. Last year's inaugural edition seems to have made an impact and instantly put Tolga on the map. That fame attracted people from all over the globe to join the race this year: besides numerous Europeans, folks arrived from places like Rwanda and Colorado.

The riders pursue their own goals at the race which are as diverse as their choice of bikes: for some it is about mere survival, others aim to stay in the time limit whilst at the top end the competition for the podium will be tense. In the late afternoon we gathered around a phone to watch the sprint finale of the day's Tour de France stage -- despite the diverging opinions on the race and the bikes a clear consensus emerged that Philipsen winning the stage was a huge bummer.

The atmosphere at basecamp was amazing and encouraging. I spent the evening chatting to people, discovering their backgrounds, their motivation, whatever troubles they had with their gear -- confirming my choice of avoiding carbon gear as much as possible. People shared their apprehension of the weather and how they prepared to endure the rain and cold that awaits us. Tales of past bikepacking and racing adventures were shared like among ancient nordic warriors gathered around a campfire. When it came to our host Jusinas Leveika, everyone seems in awe of his accomplishments on two wheels.

After all these conversations it strikes me as weird to think that a week from now one of these nice people will be crowned the winner of the 2n ever Bright Midnight race.

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