A new adventure begins....with a twist

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays so far....with the big night tonight bringing in the new year. My new year already holds some excitement and new adventures.
I have not really told anyone about this but now, over the holidays, it has been confirmed......I will be an alternate on the Greek bobsled team also looking to qualify for this years Olympic Games. I will of course continue and carry through my skeleton mission but now, if I am needed, I will be able to fill in at a moments notice since we will all be racing on the same track in Konigssee.
I will be off to Austria soon to train with the bobbers and to learn how to run and load, without spiking anyone. From there, they will be participating in the World Cup competition in Konigssee and then right after, in the Challenge Cup competition in Konigssee to qualify.
At least now I will keep busy. That is one thing about this sport...after you are done your 2 minutes of "work"...things are pretty idle after that. Now, I will be pre-occupied and busy so things may get interesting.
In the pic is the machine I will train on with the Greek team (driver missing in photo). Enjoy the night tonight and be safe......

Back to home ice....

Talk about child labour.....my little superstar shined up my sled and even helped me put on some practice runners. She was helping me get ready cause I was returning to my home training while I'm back here.
I called Ray the "Iceman" and he hooked me up with a little ice time today so I can practice some starts and loads. It seems like ages ago that that was all I was doing....training at the rink. Since then, I have slid approx. 40 times on 4 different tracks which includes 7 races.....man time has just flown by.
When I was coming back from Germany, I couldn't believe that Christmas was just 2 weeks away. I coulda swore that my daughter had just finished 'trick and treating' but from October to now, it has truly been a whirlwind.
Training is going well but believe it or not, my calve injury from Calgary is still lingering....actually, my elbows and knees have really taken the brunt of it all and are sore from just sleeping......yup, this body is gonna need some down time soon.
Anyways, a Merry Christmas to all. Enjoy the holidays....eat lots, drink lots, and be safe and of course, be thankful.
Now if only I can teach my daughter how to vacuum, do the dishes, do laundry........

The Breakdown.....

So I had a chance to breakdown the results on my 20 hour journey back home yesterday.
Out of 68 sliders, I finished 60th
Out of 34 small nation sliders, I finshed 28th.
Out of 20 small nations, I, or Greece, finished 16th (my original goal was to be in the middle of the pack)
To show you how tight the field is......
From the actual race, the difference between the small nations placing 1st to 8th is only 0.98 secs.
From the training runs, 1st to 8th is only 0.78 secs.
In other words, not even a second separates 1st from 8th which means it is anyones show.
I am now more determined than ever.....I have a new training (gym) schedule for the next month and it starts tomorrow. I will try to get out to Calgary to slide for a couple of days and also out to Placid for a few runs. I will also be back at the rink to practice starts and loads.
No one will recognize me when I go back......I will definately live up to my name......."GREECE LIGHTNING"!!!!!!!!!!!
In the pic is the last 180 degree, 4 to 5g left turn, before the finish with some country flags in the background.....one of great importance!!

Race day Konigssee....

Well, I thought (key word) that I did well because out of my four goals, one was definately achieved, one was not, and the other two were almost more than not.
I wanted a great start time...I got it, I wanted no hits down the false straight....I pretty much got it but I had a small skid instead, I wanted a perfect kreisel....I got a small hit on the right side on the out but no flip or side surfing, and of course, I wanted a better time than my last but that didn't happen.
I just don't get it, I see people hitting and skidding and toe dragging big time and their posting times 2 secs faster than me. I think I get a good run with a few small errors and it costs me big.....it really baffles me. People on their backs out of kreisel going faster than me on a clean run???????
Anyways, I didn't finish last so that's a good consistent. I haven't had a chance to calculate all the small nations and their placements but my original goal of finishing in the middle might be off. Gotta just keep plugging away........and maybe throw a stick in others' spokes.
Can't wait to get home and see my freaks.....
Pics...after race supper with the Greek bobsled team at...get this...a Greek restaurant....
Another nature pic taken on my pre-race walk.

Day 3.....Konigssee.....study period....

Yesterday, I opted to not slide on the last training day and instead, spent the morning watching the bobs go down and then spending 4 hours watching the skeleton sliders come down the false straight and into kreisel. Watching everybody do it right and everybody doing it wrong, getting the timing of the steers in the kreisel which are crucial for a nice exit.
I believe I gained more experience preparing this way than spending 2 minutes on the ice....we will see the results today as it is race day......69 male sliders and 29 women sliders....I am 59th in the men and we go only after the women......the wait in this sport just kills me even though we are only here to do that...slide.
I have set some goals for this race....will share when I'm done.
Pics...the Crazy Canucks Steve, John, Mike, Keith, polishing their runners and sleds before race day. Once again the CNDs were awesome to me and both the girls and guys did extremely well on this track snagging a couple of medals.
The Greek bobsled team on their last training run before race day. (pic is dark cause you can't use flash...especially when they are about to take off)

Day 2.....Konigssee....good news, bad news

Now that the pucker factor has subsided, today went a lot better.....according to plan.
The good news is that I was definately faster and more comfortable, but the bad news is on my first run, I got slowed down out of kreisel cause I decided to take a nap on my back for a few seconds but managed to recover and not let go of the sled.....which by the way, so many people are biting it hard out of kreisel, I mean no sled in their hands, airborn, concussions, etc....I don't want to be a part of that.
Two trick places here on this course...a straight away that is not straight...bends right then dog leg left and of course....just before the famous kreisel, which is the other trick place....getting out of it without landing in Konigssee Lake.
Oh well, a little bit of luck and an excellent slide might put me in there above the others although.......there are over 70 male sliders here which means making the cut of top 25 for a second heat (only one race in Europe Cups) will be extremely difficult if non existant cause of the strong presence of the CDN, USA, GBR, GER, SUI, etc...all these big nations with 4 male sliders each....do the math.
Oh well, the goal here is to do the track and know what to expect come January, and also to size up the competition of course.....

Day 1.....Konigssee....ohhwee

For the first time, I can truly answer that question that everyone asks me...."aren't you scared?"......this track definately put the willies in me...really!!
But after the first run and a half flip out of the famous 360 kreisel that bites everyone, it wasn't so bad. The second run, another half flip, but on the other side this time, and still not so bad. These first 2 slides were really survivor slides....now we build off of that and improve for tomorrow.
There are over 85 sliders here cause of course, this is the same track as the Challenge Cup in January. We started at 15:30 and our group finished sliding at 20:00 with still another group to go....unbelievable!!
So the day started with beautiful Konigssee in the background and by the time we slid...it was a night ride.
Anyways, shower time, a little chat with my friend Mr. Appleton, and then off to the sack.
Pic is the false straight leading into the kreisel with Konigssee Lake at the bottom.

My how things are different elsewhere....

A couple of beefs here.......
After living in smoke free Ottawa for the past few years, I cannot get used to all the smoke here. Everybody smokes here, I have not seen someone who does not smoke here yet...besides the child in the baby carriage. Now this isn't just here, but in Europe in general, but I find it more pronounced here. In restaurants, people are lighting up when their date is still eating or people are smoking while eating...it's killing me.....I am slowly dying of smoke inhalation...I have heard that even while sliding, you can smell smoke in some curves. In house fires, most people die of smoke inhalation.....I don't understand why people would want to breath in smoke on purpose.
Okay, 2nd beef......I like animals, dogs in particular, even though I would never own one because I am of the theory that if I don't pick up my own crap...why would I pick up dog crap. I wouldn't have any animals in the house for that matter simply because I don't like having hair all over the place and all over my clothes but I gotta draw the line at bringing your dog to a restaurant. Here, and in other places in Europe, your dog comes with you to the restaurant and not only that but when you think your dog is thirsty....the waitress will bring you a bowl of water....nice. The irony of this all is that the dogs here are probably dying of lung cancer from breathing in second hand smoke too....
Anyways, another beautiful night here in Schonau Konigssee....not cold and just a slight haze in the air that when you look up in the mountains, (you can't see them because it is dark out) you just see some lights from houses that look like they are stars and hanging in nothingness.....beautiful night for a stroll and to think about nothing although, this is a night where I wish my family was here with me and to hear my daughter say........." Daddy, carry me on your neck "
Tomorrow, the action starts....sliding 101.....

Beautiful Konigssee......

Well, I'm here and it's just beautiful. Spent yesterday and today watching the bobs go down the track and trying to figure out my game plan. I now realize that it was better to come a few days earlier so I can profit from this knowledge.
Being back here put a smile on my face when a couple of Benzes blew the doors off my Ford Focus stationwagon on the Autobahn (don't let the stationwagon part fool you....it's got 6 speeds he he)
The weather is nice too.....not cold, with big wet snowflakes.
The spirit of sport was present yesterday also.....on a whim, a whole bunch of us went out to supper in Salzburg Austria (20 clicks away)....USA, IRL, GRE, South Africa (RSA), Virgin Islands...that's what I love about this adventure...the comraderie. Of course I got to bed late which was a perfect fix for jet lag and today...all iz gut!!
But now....nap time before I go back to the track and see the Brits slide in skeleton...

The German adventure begins.....

Well, off to Konigssee Germany today, which actually means I get there tomorrow. I am pretty excited because this is a very challenging track, especially for a beginner, and I will get to see my competition there.
From the day of me wanting to get it on already, I can't believe we are already in December. After this race, I have one month of hard training and refining, and then back again to make the dream a reality.
I had an opportunity to travel a few days before this race and thought about going to Torino but I felt that I want to earn my trip there instead so I am not going.
Looks like my budget will be very tight right up to the end. I have a few t-shirts left to sell and am expecting a little more money soon and that should be able to carry me to the Challenge Cup in January.....talk about 'budgeting'.
I am gonna have to look at my calve and ankle when I get back cause it is still not healed and I am worried how bloated it will get on this 8 hour flight...feels like some nerve damage but hey, I'm not a doctor.
In the pic is the false straight after 4 tight ess turns and leading into a true 360 degree right hand kreisel (in the background)........hmmmmmm interesting....