The Viking Tour: Free Registration, Viking Braids, and Way Too Many Hills

Every once in a while, an email lands in your inbox that makes you stop and think, Well, this sounds interesting.

Back in March, I received an email from the Poulsbo Rotary Club asking if I would ride in their upcoming Viking Tour.

But there was a catch.

Actually, a very good catch.

They were offering me free registration and the #1 bib.

They explained that they had been told I was an important local cyclist they should get to know.

Well, I’m not one to turn down free registration—or a chance to be bib number one—so I agreed and put the Viking Tour on my calendar.

Of course, I didn’t want to do it alone.

I talked Patrick into joining me and, through the magic of my newfound importance, managed to get him free registration as an outrider.

Apparently, I was important enough to get free registration for my friends, too.

I could get used to this.

Camping at Kitsap Memorial

The Viking Tour was scheduled for mid-June, and I decided to camp the night before at Kitsap Memorial State Park, just a few miles from Poulsbo.

Patrick wanted to camp, too.

However, Patrick and I have slightly different ideas about how to get to a campground.

I drove.

Patrick decided to take the ferry by bicycle and ride the entire way to the campground while carrying all his gear.

Because apparently driving there would have been too easy.

While I waited for him to arrive, I pitched my hammock and decided that I would sleep in it that night.

Once I had camp set up, I went for a hike on one of the trails.

Although calling it a “hike” might be giving me a little too much credit.

It was more of a leisurely walk because I kept stopping to pick and eat salmonberries.

There were SO many of them!

I ate quite a few along the trail and picked some to bring back with me for later.

So far, this camping trip was going beautifully.

Then I looked at the time.

It was getting close to 6:00 p.m.

And Patrick still wasn’t there.

I knew it would be dark in another hour and a half or so, and I started getting a little worried.

So I called him.

Patrick vs. GPS: Yet Another Episode

It turned out Patrick was lost.

I can’t say I was completely surprised.

Patrick can ride for an impressively long time, but GPS navigation has never been his strong suit.

For some reason, his GPS seems to have a particular fondness for sending him onto difficult gravel trails, questionable roads, and routes that no reasonable cyclist would voluntarily choose.

Apparently, this time was no exception.

His GPS was trying to send him down some difficult gravel trails, and he was having trouble figuring out where he was supposed to go.

I told him to send me his location.

Then I got in the car and went to rescue him.

Because sometimes the best cycling support isn’t a spare tube or a water bottle.

Sometimes it’s your friend showing up in a car saying, “Okay, where the hell are you?”

Eventually, I got him safely to the campground.

Of course, now he had to set up his tent.

And Patrick’s tent setup routine is not exactly what I would describe as speedy.

By the time he finally had everything assembled, it was completely dark.

He had to finish setting up by the light of a headlamp whose battery was already getting pretty weak.

I watched this whole process while thinking, And I thought my hammock was going to be the complicated part of this evening.

The Great Hammock Experiment

Speaking of my hammock…

It didn’t work.

I had carefully selected two trees and hung it up, fully expecting to spend the night gently swaying between them like some sort of happy woodland creature.

Unfortunately, the trees were too close together.

That meant I couldn’t get the hammock to properly straighten out when I climbed into it.

The correct way to lie in a hammock is at an angle across it.

I knew that.

The problem was that there simply wasn’t enough room to do that.

I tried.

I adjusted it.

I tried again.

Eventually, I decided that I had spent enough time trying to convince two trees to cooperate.

I gave up.

I blew up my air mattress, put my sleeping bag on top, and tucked myself in.

No tent.

No hammock.

Just me, my air mattress, and the great outdoors.

Fortunately, the night was warm and pleasant, with no rain.

So while my sleeping arrangements weren’t exactly luxurious, they were perfectly comfortable enough.

Enter the Viking

The next morning, it was time for the actual Viking Tour.

And I knew exactly what I was going to wear.

My helmet.

With Viking horns.

And two long, blonde braids.

Obviously.

If you’re going to ride something called the Viking Tour, you have to commit to the theme.

Patrick and I rode from Kitsap Memorial State Park into downtown Poulsbo to the start.

And apparently, I had made the right fashion choice.

My Viking attire was a huge hit.

People noticed the horns.

People noticed the braids.

And people took pictures.

Lots of pictures.

I may not have been the fastest cyclist on the course, but I was almost certainly one of the most appropriately dressed.

The Hills From Hell

Then we started riding.

And that’s when I discovered something important.

The Viking Tour route was hard.

Really hard.

There were some seriously steep hills.

The kind of hills where you look up and think, Surely they’re kidding.

My single-speed e-bike handled a lot of the route just fine.

But some of those hills?

Nope.

Not happening.

There were several climbs that were simply too steep for my bike’s limited gearing, and I eventually had to get off and walk while pushing my bike to the top.

There’s something very humbling about pushing an e-bike uphill while wearing Viking horns and long blonde braids.

I imagine I looked like a very tired Viking who had just lost her horse.

But I made it.

And that’s what matters.

Would I Do It Again?

Apparently, I made enough of an impression that the organizers asked me if I would come back for the 2027 Viking Tour.

Once again, they offered me free registration and the #1 bib.

Which is incredibly flattering.

And also a little dangerous.

Because now I’m faced with a decision.

Do I say yes?

The Viking in me says, “Of course!”

The cyclist in me says, “Remember those hills.”

And the part of me that had to WALK an e-bike up several of those hills says something I probably shouldn’t repeat in a family-friendly blog.

So I haven’t said yes or no…yet.

I’m still debating exactly how much punishment I want to sign up for.

But regardless of whether I return in 2027, I’m really glad I said yes in 2026.

I got to camp at Kitsap Memorial State Park, eat an unreasonable number of salmonberries, rescue Patrick from his GPS, discover that my hammock and I are not compatible, sleep under the stars without a tent, ride a challenging course, and spend the day wearing Viking horns and blonde braids.

And, of course, I got to experience the unique honor of being bib #1.

Not bad for an email that started with, “Would you be interested in riding our event?”

So, will I be back for Viking Tour 2027?

Ask me after my legs stop remembering those hills.

Skål! 🍻🚲