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February 11th, 2008
01:06 pm - New track
so I"m not allowed to say much, because of secrecy... (like it really matters though) but they don't want other countries to know about the track.
Anyway, I"m really nervous, because we're going from corner 3 today ( we only went from corner 6 yesterday). Also, yesterday, we went from corner 6 (of the 16 corners) and reached the same speed as from the top of calgary.
Here's hoping i make it safely today!
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February 7th, 2008
09:51 am - Olympic History
That's right - I"m part of Olympic History.
Tomorrow, the team does the super-fun drive out to Whistler, to be the first people in the world to ever slide on the new 2010 Olympic track! And to make matters even more fun, we're so budget, we're staying at the AMS lodge :)
Anyway, I'm nervous and excited. Nervous, because this is supposed to be the fastest track in teh world. When Pierre slid from corner 6, he reached speeds of 126km/h. And corners 2, 4 are supposed to be the big ones, where we get all our speed. Now to put that in perspective, in Calgary, from the top we reach speeds of 120km/h. And we suspect that when we go from the top in Whistler, we'll be sliding at 150km/h. Which is scary to say the least.
So yah, I'm part of Olympic History now - let's hope I live to tell how it went :)
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January 28th, 2008
09:10 am - Cold
It's cold.
The kind of cold where your limbs skip feeling cold and go straight to pain.
The kind of cold where your nose wants to run, but can't because the mucus freezes.
The kind of cold where icicles grow on your eyelashes.
The kind of cold where you can't breath when you step outside, so you cough and splutter for a few minutes to not die.
That's right, it's -48C today.
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December 15th, 2007
12:52 pm - Race 3
Alas, the end of our trip is nigh. We race first thing tomorrow morning, and we're driving out of Italy less than an hour after.
So I'll be back home in a few days :)
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December 9th, 2007
06:25 am - Alorrrrrrrra
Sliding this track is crazy! Most tracks are Left-Right-Left-Right, and the occasional trick or straightaway. This track is Left Left Right Left Left Right Right Right... it's really fast, and really crazy. It's also, by far the longest track I've ever been on. We've been having a great time pushing though, because its a really steep start, so we go really quickly.
Sabrina and I had what's called a push-off to decided who would get to push our fastest driver, Amanday. So each brakeman takes one run, and whoever pushes faster will do the race. Of course, Sabrina and I managed to do the most annoying thing you can do in a push off: tie! exactly the same, to the 100th of a second.
So at this point, we still don't know who's pushing whom.
What a fun trip though! I'm excited for the break while the guys race 2-man. We don't slide again until thursday.
In less exciting news, we were the only people in the Olympic Training Center (the hotel we're staying at) until yesterday. Another nation arrived to stay here. anybody want to guess who? The Russians!
I'm probably being pretty rude here, and I have nothing against the Russians personally, but i've never been around a group of people who smell so bad! Do they not have soap in the motherland? Seriously!
Plus, we eat buffet-style, and the Russians ate all our food. Their girls eat more than our guys. It's a little frightening.
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06:21 am - Wrong Turns
You know what's fun? we were trying to find a mall in what we later found out was Oulx, and took a wrong turn at a traffic circle in Cesana, and wound up in France :)
How many times in your life can you say you took a wrong turn and wound up in France?
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December 4th, 2007
10:17 am - Torino
It's hard to believe less than 2 years ago, the Olympics were right here! And now, here we are training!
It's going well; there's a push track, which means I get to focus on my push. The food is incredible! So much vegetable goodness.
Also, no internet here. Which means, I actually have to put winter gear on and walk to an internet cafe. Which means, that laziness will often prevail, and I probably won't be online more than once or twice more before I come back to Canada.
Anyway, we train for a week, then next week is race week. So I'm pretty excited.
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November 30th, 2007
01:01 am - Race 2
Woohoo! So two races down! After the 4-man race Sunday, we'll all head out to Cessana.
The race was great fun. I pushed with Amanda, and we were off the block in 14th place. Amanda made up 4 spots on the drive to finish in 10th. Suzanne had a dynamite push, but wound up in 15th place. I'm really proud of her. For her 3rd day on a brand new, and difficult track, she did so well!!!
One of the interesting things about competing here: The washrooms are labeled in German (of course) which are D and H for Dammen and Homme. So its pretty simple to get in the correct washroom, but in a moment of adrenaline-induced confusion, it could be easy to walk into the wrong one. So I was in the changeroom changing into the race gear and this person walks in; shaved-head, sqare jaw, squarer shoulders, no boobs, raspy voice, German gear on. I could've sworn she was a dude, and had to do a double take to make sure I was in the correct washroom... oops!
So after race day, is the really fun part. Because we all get Jacked on red bull and all other manners of caffeine and push like stink. Then, after, we refuse to do any work. and get drunk and play poker. then when we all get cleaned out by the more sober members of the team, we go to bar and drink with the Brits, Swiss, and Dutch (and the Romanians were there too, and probably lots more, but it was really croweded and smokey). For some reason, when I was hanging out with the Dutch, beers just kept appearing in my hand. It was like they multiplied... maybe they're trying to sabbotage all the other countries
Anyway, we're heading in to town today since we have some time off while the guys work hard... woohooo
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November 26th, 2007
01:18 pm - Gesturtzt
"Der Bob is Gesturtzt" I think that's how to spell it anyway... "The Bob is Crashed". Too bad I can't hear my own announcement.... Anyway, I have a wicked headache now, but am otherwise unhurt. I was a little dizzy at the bottom of the track (where we stopped), so the coaches have put me on concussion watch, but I'm otherwise OK. Not my first crash though, but my first crash on my right side...
Fun times.
In other news, we all went to the track earlier today to learn it, and wound up having a massive snowball fight! It started against the Croations (they started it), then, the brakemen ambushed the pilots. It dumped about 3ft of snow today. Beautiful snowflakes the size of small coins! IT's really a winter wonderland here!
So it's movie night for me now! I'm not allowed to help with the sledwork, or runners... shame.
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November 25th, 2007
01:38 pm - Race 1
Well, my first Europa cup race is over, and I'd say it was an incredible success!
Our first push was the 6th fastest out of the women's field, and our downtime put us in 20th position. Meaning that we were the last sled to get the 2nd run. Then, on our 2nd run, Suzanne kicked some serious butt and brought us down in 13th place, bringing our overall finish to 19th! I'm really excited. But also because the push was so amazing. It was a huge PB!
So, in summary Igls was great fun! Suzanne and I had a near-issue with the weight, so I've been dieting pretty seriously. I've lost 4kg in a week. And my stomach is acclimatizing to the smaller portions. We pushed like MoFo's, and I'm delighted with our performance.
Now comes a new venue, a new track, and a new set of challenges! Let's hope Konigsee is as fun to push on as Igls was! And that we can steal out to Salzburg and visit the Christmas market!
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November 24th, 2007
01:55 pm - Last post from Igls
Well, its our last night in Igls. We race tomorrow morning, and the men race in the afternoon. Then we have about an hour to pack all our earthly posessions (and sleds) and move to Konigsee.
I'm really excited for the race with tomorrow with Suzanne! we push so well together; our strengths are so complimentary that we do really well. I'm super strong (GHHARRRGHH) and she's super fast (Faster than a speeding bullet).
Hopefully we kick some German butt though!
Also, Soraya, not only are there chocolate Mozart balls, there's liquore... wheeee!
ummm, so yah, been super busy. Sliding every day, and doing sled work, runner polishing etc... I'm exhausted. But it's good times.
Also, I love this little Austrian town! This evening, there was a marching band that went through the town's street this evening. yes, this town only has one street! they were all dressed and everything! This country rocks!
So, for those who are interested, Konigsee is right next to Bergtesgarten (sp), which is well known for the Eagle's Nest. If that's not ringing any bells, that's where Hitler had his hideout. Apparantly, its the most beautiful stop on the tour!
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November 22nd, 2007
11:41 am - Mozart
So I went shopping today for gifts. Unfortunately, most of them are edable or potable, so they may not make it back to Canada... there's these delicious chocolate balls called "Mozart" chocolat. so delicious!
The boys raced today :) I'm really proud of all of them :) So congratulations to all of them for performing really well!
Also very exciting, we get to start sliding tomorrow. Finally! we've been gophers for the boys for the last 3 days, so it's finally our time to slide.
Here's something I don't understand. We're in the middle (literally) of the Alps, and we're having the Austrian equivalend of a Chinook. But I thought Chinooks were due to a pressure change as the weather front drops over the Rockies. but we're still in the mountains, so I don't understand how we have Chinook... If anyone can explain, that'd be splendiforous. The donwside, is that with the warm weather, the ice is really bad, so we may not be able to slide much.
Anyhoo, I'm looking forward to sliding, and our first race is Sunday - so I"ll be sure to post when I have something to report :)
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November 19th, 2007
04:17 pm - Day one down!
Wow! So one day on this track is done! What a great track! It's not super fast, so there's not a lot of "pressure" corners, which means its a lot easier on my back :) Plus, we have some extra boys, who help with the lifting of the sleds :D
This track is so much fun! And the braking stretch is great fun, because the corner after we start braking (during which I have to pause my braking) is fun to see. Normally I don't get to see what's going on. I quite enjoy being involved. Plus it's really uphill, so I don't have to brake that hard.
Most importantly, it's incredibly beautiful here! I'm going to put pictures on facebook when I get somewhere with unlimited internet. We're in this stunning mountain range (Tirol?), and Innsbruck is nestled in the valley. And the track starthouse faces West, so we get to see the sun sets over the mountains. Wow! The mountains are so rugged and imposing, it's really cool.
As for the town, its a tiny mountain town wtih narrow, cobblestone streets, and wood cottages. It's stereotypically Austrian, and feels like you'd imagine it should, with a light dusting of snow on the beautifully shaped facades.
The girls get the next 3 days off from sliding though, which will be nice. Unfortunately, that doesn't really mean lots of free time, but rather lots of physical training and helping the boys. The men get a monopoly on the track until Friday, so they can complete their 2-man race. Friday, the women and the men's 4-man will be on the track.
Plus, the people from the other countries are tons of fun! So in all, this adventure rocks!
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November 18th, 2007
05:52 am - Austria
Well, I'm in Austria !!! It's incredibly beautiful here.
And I'm excited to slide tomorrow :) The track isn't super fast, so that should be fun.
Also, the braking stretch is cut in half by another corner. So for the first time in my sliding career, I'll have the ability to cause a crash! We have to put the brakes on for about 20m, then, duck back into the sled for a corner, then put the brakes on again! Weird!
Anyway, life is good, and the food here is even better
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November 16th, 2007
07:19 am - I'm off
Well, after last minute plans, shopping and arrangements, I'm finally off to Europe! First stop when we hit Frankfurt will be the Adaidas Outlet store! Is it sad that I'm more excited about that than most of the rest of the stuff we'll be doing in the next 3 days (flying, driving... etc).
Also, if you ever get the chance to be named to a National team, you should take it! I've got more swag from Visa and Adidas in the last week than all the rest of the swag I've got in my whole life! Its pretty exciting. Tim's already got dibs on a lot of it though...
So first stop, Igls. It's just outside of Innsbruck, Austria. I'm really excited, as this is my first time to Austria. And we're going to be driving through the Alps, whcih I assume are going to be breathtaking!
So ciao, and I'll do my best to keep this (and/or facebook) updated
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October 29th, 2007
12:23 pm - Re-invigorating
So, I'm revitalizing my blog! "Why" you ask? Becuase I got named to the Touring National Bobsled team, and I"ll be competing in Europe for a month before Christmas! I'll be sure to update lots so everyone knows what's going on!
The plan is, the team is going to Konigsee, Germany, then Igls (outside of Innsbruck) in Austria, and Cesana (where the Torino Olympics were)in Italy!
SUPER STOKED!
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July 24th, 2007
10:10 am - Saskatchewan killed my phone
Wow! Spent the day yesterday devouring Harry Potter 7, without serious disappointment. I was surprised by a few things, and had a few other things turn out exactly as I expected them. However, the epilogue consisted of the 5 dumbest pages in the whole series.
Spend the weekend in Saskatchewan at the 40th anniversary of the Gardiner Dam, enjoying the company of my crazy family, and trying not to be too sick because of my apparent allergy to the province. Seriously, I was really sick when we were out in the wide prairie. My uncle thinks I'm allergic to Alfalfa, I think I'm allergic to saskatchewan...
Yah, then when I got back, my phone decided to 'splode. I'm sad.
Counting the days till my Vancouver trip :)
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June 20th, 2007
09:56 am - Feel the rhythm
I got to watch "Cool Runnings" at the dentist this morning.
I really can't get enough of that movie :)
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May 23rd, 2007
09:37 am - Skaha - land of awesomeness
Wow! Climbing at Skaha was incredible!
Driving there was frightening and tedious. We left Calgary at 8:30, and had to drive to Penticton in the dark; a scary and tiring prospect. Fortunately, Ross seemed to want to get there quickly and did most of the driving. We arrived at Summerland at about 5am, and pitched tents in Leneigh's backyard. Now, I've been camping before, and I've pitched tents fairly quickly. However, this was probably some sort of land-speed record! I've never wanted to get to sleep so quickly. I swear the tent went up in under a minute, and that was pitching it by myself...
The next day we went to Skaha bluffs to climb. Ross, in a stroke of genius, purchased a pie at the bakery that morning, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all during the thunderstorm that day.
We did some great climbing. The toughest belay I've ever done was when Zev had to climb up to get our gear in the rainstorm. He got to the crux and decided to jug up the rope, which doubled the speed at which I had to take rope in. Also, I could barely open my eyes to see what was going on ebcuase they were being pelted by rain. Also, the rope was wet. As soon as Zev was down, however, there was pie :)
I also set up my first rap station that day. It was exhillirating. I love rapelling too!
The next day, some of the other people who had been in Penticton joined us at the bluffs for a few hours in the afternoon, and they're not climbers. So we figured that whatever they could climb, I could lead! So I got to lead climb! Now that was a frightening experience! Of course, the climb was super easy (only a 5.7) but I still led it! Thanks to Ross for making sure I did so safely :) and for his awesome belay! (Because when you're above your protection, there had better be slack in the line, but as soon as the protection goes in, tension feels like heaven!)
After the non-climbers had a chance to do the climb and had gone home, those of us who remained moved over to some over hangs. Of course, I can't do overhangs... but I had fun there anyway. Also we were up at the base of a climb, which was on a ledge at the top of some other climbs. Of course, I had, following Ross' genius, purchased a pie the second day, and was enjoying it on the ledge. This random guy was at the top of his climb, setting up the belay station, just a few feet below where I was eating the pie. He was chatting with our group as he worked, and I jsut decided that "who doesn't want pie?" so I offered him some. That has to go on the list of random/awesome things that never happen. From this guy's perspective, he got to the top of his climb, and some girl appeared and gave him pie... who does that?
It was really fun!
Then of course we had to drive back, which was arduous again... but what a weekend!
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May 7th, 2007
03:52 pm - Hawai'i!
So I'm back. Hectic travel day on the way back, including having to have our plane "jump started" because it was broken...
Highlights from the trip
- snorkeling almost every day. thousands of fish and a sunburned back
- sea turtles
- going to a bay to snorkel with fish, and instead finding about 100 dolphins :)
- Tim: "the fruit has spoken!"
- the live volcano
- "Reka's are protected by state and federal law. Please do not approach or feed the Rekas"
- pina coladas
I'm sure I'll think of more. Pics will be posted on facebook :)
Thanks to my family for the trip :)
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