Hello From The Top Of The World!

I've just landed in Alta, Norway and am already in love with this place. With its show capped mountains and -7 degree weather (despite the fact that winter hasn't even set in yet) this place has a chilly charm unlike anywhere else I've been so far.

I am here to meet the Offroad Finnmark 700km mountain bike race organisers as I will be up here next July racing participating in this, the world's toughest mountain bike race for charity.

I have been picked up at the airport by Conny, the head organiser of the Offroad Finnmark mountain bike race and after a brief stop at the house where she loaned me appropriate wool leggings, we set off for a drive down some snowy roads to a frozen beach. As we drove she gave me a run-down of life in Alta and suffered my many questions about the northern lights, what life is like living in complete darkness through the winter as the sun doesn't rise for months, etc.

The race organisers office - and un-official museum

I made a joke about going for a swim in the sea at some point, to which she quickly informed me that her and a group of others DO still swim in the sea in these conditions and invited me to join them on Sunday morning - so of course that's going to happen.

After a walk along the water we took a drive into the Alta town centre where we met Jon Vidar, a very keen mountain biker that is going to take me out with him and a couple other people. He made a joke saying we are going to ride 200K this weekend... at least I think it was a joke.

We also visited the Alta Visitor centre where I met a great woman named Mariana that runs the Alta instagram page that knew of Outspire.org from instagram - very cool!

Its 6pm as I type this - it's pitch black outside and I am off to stare at the sky for a while hoping to see the northern lights. Later this evening I am meeting with two well known technical mountain bikers from the area that are going to give me a beginner's 101 into the world of long distance mountain biking.

Great trip so far and I've only been here a few hours!

Ive been warned about the massive Arctic mosquitos that we will encounter during the race. When the tourist office has T-shirts made about them, you know the threat is real!

Thank you for following and for more visuals go to @outspire_org on insta and www.outspire.org for updates on the charity challenge.

Cheers!

Josh