What a season. It was my longest season ever in terms of number of runs taken, time away from home, and simple length of competition season. I began training in Whistler on October 8th and finished in Whistler on March 21st. In between there were 8 World Cups, World Championships, and my biggest crash ever!

In my first week of training in Whistler during the month of March I made a critical error in curve 6 which caused a small crash out of 6, but the result of me crawling back on my sled as I went into curve 7, and the sled angle it created, caused a massive short wall impact about 3/4 of the way around 7 and for the first time ever I found myself on my butt without a sled. Knowing that the first rule in Skeleton is ‘never let go of your sled’ (because if you do, and it is behind you, it will try and hunt you down and kill you), I had the awareness to look behind me. And sure enough there it was, hunting me. Luckily it was upside down and, thus, slowing down as it came towards me. So, I caught it with my hands, hopped on the pan (sliding down the ice in only a spandex suit at 110 km/hr is really not all it is made out to be) and rode it to a stop in curve 10. Throughout my career I have prided myself on finishing every run I have ever taken and I was not about to let that record be broken. So, I stood up, bent the saddle back out with some help from the short wall, and continued on to finish in a blistering 3 minutes and 24 seconds. My sled frame was seriously bent and my helmet lost some paint, but other than that and a sore shoulder I was fine. According to some witnesses ‘lucky to be alive’ is perhaps more appropriate. All kidding aside, I am lucky to have not gotten more injured and thank God for watching over me and keeping me safe.

I was concerned that I would not be able to continue to slide given what I had just done to my sled, but luckily for me one of the bobsled technicians used to be an auto body repairman! So, Rob took his sledge hammer and worked his magic. When he was done there was absolutely no evidence that I had done anything at all. The runners fit back it perfectly and I was back in business. The following week was full of frustration as I tried to learn how to get down the track quickly, but by the final weekend I had figured out some key things and I am very excited to begin back in Whistler next year.

The past 2 weeks have been half of my ‘time off’ and have been filled with the thrilling duties of accounting and personal taxes. Also, my ‘honey-do’ list has grown quite long in the past 6 months and I am doing my best to whittle it down a bit before my days get filled with training. I have found myself getting quite restless in the last few days so I know my body is recovering well and starting to want to jump back inot some training. I just need to rein it in for a couple more weeks to make sure I am fully rested and then I can hit it again! Can’t wait…..(?!).

So, after the stress of Kyle and a long season of racing I knew I had to really focus on effective rest and training during my 6 days at home before leaving for Lake Placid. I think I did a very good job of this and kept things simple and slow at home. I spent time with my kids, did a few small projects around the house, did a few key preparation work-outs, and slept a lot. I felt as good as possible going to Lake Placid so I was feeling as ready as I could be to compete well.

During the 6 training runs I knew it would be key for me to find the ‘simple way’ through some of the curves. Basically if I could find a smooth way through corners 1-3, 5-7, 10, and 12-14 I knew I would have a great chance. I think I did a great job and did find a consistent fast line through all of them. I was ready for race day and for the first time in a long time I had won a few training runs and on the others I had some of the best split times. Lake Placid is a track where the perfect line is not always the fastest line and I thought I had found a good balance in my race plan.

Then came the rains…..! Not just a light sprinkle, but a torrential downpour! In my 15 years of racing I had never been in a race with such horrible conditions. It often rains on us in Europe, but that is usually your gentle rain shower, this was a monsoon. Oh well, if I wanted consistent conditions I should have taken up curling….. So, I put on my jacket and out I went to warm up – it was about as fun as standing in a cold shower tearing up 100 dollar bills, but I do what I need to do to perform well, no exceptions.

Race run number one came and I pushed very well – a personal best for me in Lake Placid. The run went very well to corner 9 – too well in fact – I was perfect thru 7 into 8 and into 9, gaining a lot of speed, the perfect entry into 9 was not something I was prepared for and my exit ended up 3” too far to the left and I tapped the left wall into curve 10 – not good. This moved my line and high point in the corner to a point where I was not able to get far enough right at the exit and then the cascade effect took hold – late to 11, late to 12, too early to 13, tap right out of 14. 3” essentially cost me 0.4 seconds. Mistakes happen to be sure and I know that in a four run race everyone would make them – I just got mine out of the way early! And I guess if my mistake was being ‘too perfect’ then I would take it.

I was really ready for run 2 and I pushed well again. My top section was excellent and this time I was ready for curve 9 and the entry into 10 – perfect. Very nice 11-14, no hits in the lower straight and down through the finish with one of the best runs of my life. And then they cancelled the run. The track conditions were being affected by the rain and it was the jury’s decision that the conditions in the 2nd run had become unfair for the sliders in the top 10 vs. the sliders in the 10-20th position (in run 2 we go in reverse order from 20th fastest to fastest from run one – I was fifth after the first run and so I was 16th off the top on run 2). A very bad decision in my opinion as the difference between the fastest of the top 20 and the slowest of the top 20 was only 0.9 seconds and I was only 0.3s behind the fastest slider of the group who had gone off 4th and I had gone off 16th. There have been many races in Europe where this has been the case and they have proceeded as usual. Needless to say I was disappointed – I had moved myself up to within .08s of the lead and second place, and now after the run cancellation I remained in 5th, 0.4s back. I really took the wind out of my sails.

Day two at World Championships is always interesting as we have dealt with the fatigue of the day before and the emotions – good or bad – throughout the night. I knew I had my work cut out for me with only 2 runs to make up a large deficit. Thankfully there was no rain today and warm-up time was much more enjoyable! I knew I had to make up about half of my deficit in each run and that it was going to come down to a one run race at the end of the day. Run 3 for me began with literally a ‘bad bounce’. The ‘groove’ is what we place one of our sled runners in to guide us as we push and load onto our sleds. The end of the groove is typically 20m in front of the entry to corner one and how the sled exits the groove is vital to a successful corner one and the end run time. We always check to make sure the forerunners (the test sleds they run before each competition) exit the groove straight with no issues. I went to the line and my coach Willy said “no problems with the left groove – it runs straight ahead” – perfect, nothing to worry about and I put it out of my head. I pushed, loaded on my sled, and as I exited the groove I felt the ice break away on the right side of my left runner and I was immediately set to the right wall before curve 1 – not a good thing as the corner goes right and I need to be on the far left side of the track to do it properly. This small piece of ice had just cost me half a second. I enter every run with the ‘fight’ mentality and do not let things like that distract me from making sure the rest of the run is as good as possible. I knew I had to minimize the damage and try to at least hold my spot. The lower part of the track was amazing – I made up 0.5 seconds on the field from corner 10 to the finish (corner 19). My legitimate World Championship winning possibilities were over however, and now I had to mentally prepare for racing for 3rd at best. Not a task I enjoyed or did well for that matter.

Run 4 came and I was prepared for the end of the groove, my top section was good, 4-9 I was perfect, and then I encountered the same mistake as run one – left wall tap into curve 10. From this point down my run became very average and not what I expect of myself in this situation and nowhere close to my run 3 bottom section. My end result was 8th and the ‘coulda shoulda woulda’ opportunity after looking at the run 4 splits was actually second – if I could have repeated the bottom part of run 3. Of course 8th at World Championships is nothing to be ashamed of and I made a lot of very big steps back from my oblivion of last year to finish 4th in the over-all standings and I had a legitimate chance to win Worlds. Wait until next year…..! Here come the Pain Train.

I received a text message from my wife early the next morning saying she had taken my son, Kyle, into the hospital because he was sick. This in itself was not all that alarming as we have had some nights there before with his asthma which seems to affect him when he gets a bad cold. So, I called right away and Aly told me it was not in fact Asthma, but something a lot more alarming.

A few days before Kyle had shown Aly a huge bruise on his hip that he had discovered when he went to take a bath. It was massive! Aly asked him what he had done and he said he had no idea, he did not remember falling or hitting himself. Aly chalked it up to just the usual rough and tumble life of a 7 year old and did not pay it much mind. The next day they went to Edmonton for the day so Aly could work and Thomas and Kyle could visit their Aunt Jill. On the way home that evening Kyle got very ill – he began to throw up and did it about 7 times in the 3 hour trip. When they got home Aly noticed he had a lot of blisters in his mouth and that is when she decided it was time to take him to the Children’s Hospital.

At the hospital they checked him out and noticed that he had started to ‘spontaneously bruise’ – he had a tonne of small nickel sized bruises all over his legs and arms. This coupled with the mouth blisters got the doctors moving very quickly. They ran a few quick tests and discovered his blood platelet level was at 1 (normal is 150 to 400). Essentially his blood had lost the ability to clot. So, the next text I received as I was getting on the plane was ‘they are doing a CAT scan to check for bleeding in the brain and running a bone marrow test as well’. Essentially, they are checking for brain damage and to see if he has Leukemia. Needless to say I lose my mind. Thank God my team mate Melissa was sitting beside me and not some stranger as I sit there bawling and terrified with nothing I can do and a 3 hour plane trip ahead of me.

I went directly to the hospital after landing in Calgary and by the time I arrived Kyle’s problem had been diagnosed – no brain damage, no leukemia, and a relatively ‘simple’ problem to solve. A week earlier Kyle had gotten the flu and naturally his body began to make anti-bodies to fight the virus. Evidently in 1 out of 20,000 cases of the flu (so, relatively common) what happens is that the anti-bodies begin to recognize the blood platelets as the flu virus and begin to kill them as well. The treatment is an 8 hour IV drip of medication which stops the Platelets from being affected. Normally within 48 hours the patients are at least back to over a platelet count of 20 and they can go home. Everyone was praying for Kyle and that the medicine would do its job. A blood test the next day after only 18 hours showed his levels at 24 and we were actually released and able to go home! Probably the most horrible 36 hours of my life, but thankfully it all worked out for the best. Kyle did have to suffer through 48 more hours of medication side effects (massive headaches and stomach aches), but after that he quickly returned to normal.

This condition is a ‘one time deal’ according to the doctors and can affect anyone from 5 to 50 years old. Kyle went in for a blood test a week later and his platelet levels were over 200! The next big hurdle is March 20th when he gets another test to make sure his body is naturally producing the platelets again without the aid of the medicine (it takes about 3 weeks for the medicine to ‘wear off’). He is back to normal, eating well again, and seems to be very healthy so we are not at all concerned.

It was a very very good reminder about what is really important in life. Sure I had not done as well as I wanted in Park City, but at the end of the day my son is well and my family is strong. What more can I ask for?

Nothing, but I know what I am working for – a Gold medal…….

The 2.5m of snow we encountered in Italy and subsequent World Cup cancellation back in December necessitated a make-up race at some other point in the season. Park City was chosen as the make-up race site. So, we trained Sunday to Tuesday and raced Thursday and Friday. I was really looking forward to this opportunity as Park City is one of my favourite and best tracks. Training went really well and I found a good feeling for the drive line so I was excited about my possibilities for the race.

The Park City push ramp is one that is very similar to Whistler except the ‘crest’ (where the track goes from almost flat to a steeper downhill gradient) is a bit more abrupt. I find it difficult to accelerate to the crest and then have my sled ‘fall off the edge of the table’ without losing my balance and momentum. The first race day was no exception – I did not push well and thought it was because of this scenario. Added to my poor push was a day of average driving performance for me. I made a couple of key errors on my first run and found myself in 9th position. Never one to throw in the towel, I knew I needed to slide better to get at least into the top 6. I did that, but just barely. I ended in a 3 way tie for 6th! This was only the 2nd time in my sliding career I have ever seen a 3 way tie and it was the second time of this season! Truly a testament as to how competitive Skeleton has become. I was disappointed by the end result because I had high hopes for myself coming in to Park City. I have won here before and thought I had a good chance to do that again.

Race day #2 arrived after a quick evening of sled preparation and recovery work. I knew I had to push better and drive better to have the chance of winning. One out of two ain’t bad…..? I drove very well and laid down two of my best runs of the year, unfortunately my push was not there. Physically I felt as flat as a pancake. I could not figure out what had happened – I had done all the right things to prepare for the push and just came out flat. The answer came to me a day later when I came down with a very bad cold. Evidently my body had been fighting the virus for a few days and it was weakening me without me really being aware of it. I was pleased with my performance on my sled and this gave me some good confidence looking forward to the World Championships in Lake Placid coming up in 10 days.

Statement from prominent Canadian Olympians: We, the following Canadian Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, wish to issue a statement of strong and ongoing support for the International Humanitarian Organization, Right To Play. The decision by the International Olympic Committee to exclude Right To Play from the Olympic village, and dissolve the memorandum of understanding that had existed previously, has been met with profound disappointment and regret. Right To Play is a humanitarian organization that is creating a safer and healthier world through the power of sport and play. Their mission – to improve the lives of children in the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport and play for development, health and peace – is one that resonates profoundly with athletes and Olympians. Worldwide, Right To Play has over 400 athletes who support, advocate and drive awareness for the organization, believing firmly that Right To Play is making a difference in the world and improving the lives of children by strengthening their vulnerable communities with the best practices of sport and play. As athletes, we believe that one of the most effective ways of living the Olympic values and ideals is through humanitarian efforts and assistance to those in the world who are most in need. Right To Play, through its association and presence at the Olympic games has long provided athletes with this opportunity. Although disheartened and saddened by the decision to prevent Right To Play from having an official presence within the Vancouver 2010 and all future Olympic Games, we will proceed with unwavering support for Right To Play and continue to champion the organization. Please see the following list of Supporting Athletes:

• Adam Kreek
• Adam Van Koeverden
• Amanda Moreley
• Amanda Stepenko
• Amber Peterson
• Amy Walsh
• Andrew Byrnes
• Andrew Ference
• Anna Rice
• Annamay Pierse
• Arne Dankers
• Barney Williams
• Beckie Scott
• Ben Rutledge
• Benoit Huot
• Brent McMurtry
• Brian McKeever
• Brian Price
• Brittany Schussler
• Brittany Webster
• Cameron Baerg
• Cassie Campbell
• Chandra Crawford
• Chris Butler
• Chris Farstad
• Clara Hughes
• Colette Bourgonje
• Daria Gaiazova
• Darla Deschamps
• David Calder
• Denny Morrison
• Derek Porter
• Devon Kershaw
• Diedra Dionne
• Dominic Seiterle
• Drew Neilson
• Elin Holen De Capitani
• George Grey
• Hayley Wickenheiser
• Heather Mandoli
• Iain Brambell
• Jake Wetzel
• Jane Rumball
• Jason Myslicki
• Jasper Blake
• Jayna Hefford
• Jean-François Monette
• Jeff Pain
• Jennifer Heil
• Jon Montgomery
• Justin Warsylewicz
• Keith Loach
• Kevin Light
• Kevin Stittle
• Kristina Groves
• Kyle Hamilton
• Kyle Nissen
• Kyle Shewfelt
• Lisa Szabon
• Marc-André Monette
• Marie-Pierre Parent
• Mark Tewksbury
• Marnie McBean
• Martine Albert
• Mélanie Turgeon
• Mellissa Hollingsworth
• Micaela Widmer
• Michelle Stilwell
• Mike Beres
• Mike Brown
• Mike Lewis
• Morgan Alexander
• Nikki Dryden
• Nikola Girke
• Oliver Bone
• Philip Widmer
• Rob Taylor
• Rosanna Crawford
• Ross Rebagliati
• Ryan Blais
• Ryan Cochrane
• Sabrina Kolker
• Sarah Daitch
• Sarah Evanetz
• Sarah Reid
• Sarah Thorne
• Sean Crooks
• Silken Laumann
• Simon Whitfield
• Stephanie Berto
• Stephanie Dixon
• Susan (Reid) Schellinck
• Thomas Grandi
• Veronika Bauer
• Yvonne Visser
• Zina Kocher

• This is an athlete driven movement. As we, the athletes, have been talking to each other, we found something felt deeply wrong and violated by the IOC’s ruling. One year out from the Games, we are banding together to support this issue on our own accord, without prodding from Right to Play.
• The IOC commonly states that the Olympics are all about the Athletes. This issue is all about the Athletes.
• Right to Play addresses the true spirit of sport and reflect the reasons behind why the appeal of the Olympic games. Aligning with Right to Play keeps us athletes in touch with the values and ideals the Olympic games promotes.
• Athletes still support Right to Play and their presence at the Olympics, even though the IOC will not let RTP into the Village.
• RTP’s individual contact with and easy access to Olympians is vital. Because athletes are intensely focused on competition during the Olympics, providing easy contact to RTP is necessary. Every games athletes turnover at a high rate and new participants need to be reached persistently to keep this movement strong.
• Right to Play uses sport for development in the world’s most disadvantaged areas, training local coaches while providing lessons in leadership and conflict resolution. Right to Play uses games to teach lessons about peace, community and health

Ah, back in Canada again……!

I is so nice to be home and able to read the menu and the street signs again – not to mention on a home track. We arrived back in Canada on Jan. 19th and went straight to Whistler for 4 days of sliding prior to the rest of the world showing up for international training week. The ice had radically changed so it took us by surprise a bit and we took our fair share of lumps and bumps again. The track in Whistler is very unforgiving – it either punishes your body or your down time with every mistake. After our 4 days of re-learning everything we thought we knew, it was back to Calgary for a most welcome 9 days at home in my own bed.

The time at home was spent enjoying time with my kids, Thomas and Kyle, and with Aly. It was nice to get back to a bit more familiar routine of: breakfast with the kids, take them to the school bus stop, get to the gym, eat a quick lunch, slide for a couple hours, and then enjoy time at home in the evening with my family. Not 100% as restful as I wanted because I had to complete some runner testing I missed out on in October, but now that the stress of Whistler is over I am focusing hard on recovery and preparation for World Championships in a couple of weeks. Of course there is the small matter of the 2 world cup races in Park City next week, but who’s counting….. J

The race in Whistler was great to be a part of – showing off our amazing new track and experiencing and learning from our first international race at the Olympic venue. I did not train all that well because I was having trouble adjusting to the changes in the ice, but as the last training day came and went I did feel cautiously optimistic about the race the next day. The race prep was a bit different than we typically experience these days because it was an evening race – normally we race in the morning or afternoon while in Europe. So, that in itself was great practice for next February. I drew number 2 and knew that I had a good opportunity to lay down a good time on fresh ice. I started nervous but well within myself and slid very well thru the top 9 corners. I had been struggling with corners 11 to 15 all week and on this run it was no different. At the end of the first heat I was in first, but only by 1/100th over my teammate, Jon, and only by 2/100ths over Gregor Staili from Switzerland. So, essentially it had become a one run race and consistency would decide it. I did not have as good a second run as I wanted (making key mistakes in corners 4 and 14 – although I did nail curve 11!), and the end result was 3rd. It was very nice to be back on the podium, representing Canada at home, after such a long drought – my last World Cup podium was December, 2006. The trials of last year and the ensuing lessons are beginning to pay off and I find myself in 4th over-all with a real shot at completing the year inside the top 3 over-all. A great stepping stone to next year’s successes!

Groan….. I just completed the 4th World Cup of the season and after a very costly mistake I finished 11th (was sixth after the first run…….). Koenigssee is a very short track and there are 2 key areas – the ’straight’ and the ‘kreissel’. Here the straight is actually kinked 3 times with no actual corners so to turn a Skeleton sled thru this section requires a well timed hit of the wall to generate a bounce and then a subtle steer back and forth to just squeek by the edges. A feat I accomplished on the first run but not the second. The kreissel is the large 360 degree turn which gives us 3 waves and if they are not all steered correctly (under 4 G’s of force) the result is a crash at the exit. I managed this feat 2 times fairly well. So all in all it was a disappointing result, but a great step forward for me (this is my ‘worst track’ and least favourite on tour) looking to the first half of next year when we will be back here for another shot at it.

We are off to St. Morritz, Switzerland tomorrow for our race next Friday. My favourite track in the world for sure. It is a traditional ice track made entirely of ice blocks hauled up from the lake every year. Quite an amazing feat and steeped in tradition. The ice is always so smooth that we make almost no sound as we fly down at over 130km/hr! Very cool. St. Morritz is thought to be the birth place of Skeleton (they still do Cresta which is a slower – and, believe it or not, crazier – form of skeleton where you ride on your elbows and drag your feet which have been fitted with ‘rakes’ to control speed and turning). I was honored to claim my place in history a few years ago by winning in St Morritz – so let’s cross fingers for next week too!

10th place – not good enough. However, an Olympic qualifier so a small silver lining to the bad form, poor driving, and general bad day. The training went quite well all week with my usual problems in corner 4 and some small differences to the track which I thought I had overcome going into race day. In the first run I pushed quite well – the same as last year’s World Championships – and had a very solid run going right to corner 7. Corner 7! I haven’t had a problem there in all my years of sliding here at Altenberg! Aarg! All week my steering had put me nicely into 8, but come race day something changed – either me or a small change in the track – and I ended up late to 8. That means no speed carry through 8 to 9 and the all important Kreissel. Then a very costly mistake in 14 – hitting L and R out of 14 to 15 cost me .3s and I found myself well back in 11th place .7 out of first. Not at all what I had in mind – especially since I had actually done corner 4 quite well!

Run 2 came and the man in front of me, Alexandre Tretiakov, had a great run and I knew I had to be much better on this run. Alex has the huge advantage of starting a full .35s faster than me (he is by far the fastest starter in he world) so I have to be on y game to catch him by the finish. I almost did it. He posted a 59.80 and I was 59.95. That moved him ahead of me and put me ‘unofficially’ in 12th spot. Now I had to pray the guys behind me would make some mistakes. I got very lucky and the next 2 guys made enough to move me back into 11th and then into 10th and that all important Olympic qualifying position. Unfortunately, one of the guys was Jon my team mate so that too was biter sweet. It turned out that I had the 4th fastest time of the heat and was only beat by 2 Germans and Martin Dukurs (who held the lead after the first run but fell back to 2nd place by a slim margin). So, another ‘what could have been’ race and some lessons to be examined for next week and next year when we are back in Altenberg racing before Christmas.

Next race is Igles, Austria – in my opinion it is the ‘hardest’ track in the world – mistakes there cost more than anywhere else. I love the challenge of Igles because you really have to be almost perfect to win there.

Well, I am finally back and at my ‘first’ World Cup after the year of hell last season. I am very grateful this was the first track of the year because it was the site of the only World Cup I did last year and I felt a bit more comfortable here than I might have at other tracks. Training went quite well with the first 2 days yielding some very good information and video feedback – thanks to Kelly, Kirsten, Willy, and Boris for standing out in the cold and wet for so many long hours! On the final day of training I had a solid game plan and made 2 more runs filled with good learning and some ‘final lines’ which I hoped to replicate on race day. I was having a lot of trouble with curve 5 this week and managed to fix that problem for race day. Unfortunately because I was suddenly doing 5 better, I began to mess up 6….. It was a bit frustrating as I think that had I done one more training run I might have figured it out. Ah well, that is the game I play – 6 runs and then race – ready or not! The race went very well on run one – very solid push – 5.22 vs. Jon’s 5.11 (equal to me doing about a 5.12 in Calgary which would be close to a PB) and a solid run with almost no mistakes except my smash hit out of 6. I sat in 6th place after the first run a tenth out of 4th and 2 tenths ahead of 8th. Jon and I were in a close race with only .05s between us! Paul did very well out of his 21st start number and moved up to 10th – a minor miracle in Winterberg where there is a distinct advantage to starting closer to the top of the order. Jon was off just ahead of me and slid into a 3 way tie with the 2 sliders who had started ahead of him! This was the first time I have ever been witness to a 3 way tie in skeleton and it just had to happen right before I went! Effectively that meant that if I was .01s too slow that I could fall from 6th to 10th! No pressure…. Run 2 came and I did not start as well as I wanted – I made a mistake with my warm-up and was ready too early so my energy peaked too early and was ebbing as I hit the line. I did not have as good a second run – the hit out of 6 was not as hard and cost less and I was not as clean out of curve 9 – but I fought hard thru the bottom 4 corners and really maximized my speed as much as I could right through the line and ended up holding my spot at the very least. I knew I was in trouble from here on and my chances of moving up were slim as first it was Gregor Stahli and then it was a German on his home track….. Gregor had a very good run and held his spot moving .23 ahead of me (we were only .01 apart on the first run). Then the German made a mistake at the top and I had a chance….. He ended up losing 2 spots and moved behind me which put me into 5th! Over-all it was a very good day for me to‘re-enter’ into the world cup scene and finish 5th at a track where push is half the game.

Off to Altenberg!!

Europe and Jet Lag…….

The flight from Montreal to Frankfurt was quite good over-all and we arrived in Frankfurt as planned at 8am. The car rental process was the best ever and we were off and driving by 10am. We traveled 2 ½ hours to Nuremberg and the Adidas factory / campus. It is so no nice this year to go directly to the factory and have our suits fitted and sewn directly by the people at Adidas. Normally it is me and my sewing machine for a few hours while I adjust the fit of the suit. I think the patterns are all based on Bobsledder bodies – to get the right length of suit I have to deal with way to much over-all volume of the suit. So, I end up re-sewing every seam just to get a god fit. Ah well, the price of speed…. J. The bag of clothing and outerwear we received from Adidas was very generous as usual and I am very grateful for their support. It is quite something to be given an entire duffel bag full of free apparel. No Red in our jackets, but if that’s the only whiny complaint I can muster then it must be pretty good.

We spent 2 days at the factory and area shopping and resting. Oh, there was also the water sliding……. The staff decided to close the slide 15 minutes early because of our ‘enthusiasm’ but what do you expect when there is a slide with a timer for time trials and a group of speed junkies!? We had a blast to say the least – tube rides, mass start races, time trials, 6 person chains, and a lot of laughs. Probably the most fun I have had on tour for 10 years.

Now it is 4 days in Baden Baden recovering and training at the mineral baths and then off to Winterberg on Monday for training on Tuesday. Then it all begins……