Switzerland

Mountain Lions Sighted!!!

Trains--  Today we went to Interlaken by train and rode our mountain bikes 2300m over a mountain to Leukerbad.  I rode with Dany (race organizer, Sarah ( really fast chick who would win solo if she entered), and Rodger ( awesome bike rider that gave me lessons a couple of days ago).   It was my first time on a train and it was really exciting.  The scenery was great and I tried to take pictures of it but I got a bunch of pictures that are useless. I did Ironman UK a couple years ago and their trains were not the same there.  You could not take your bike on the one that I needed to get on so I rented a car.  Driving on the wrong side of the road was great to but this train thing is really cool!  We were going to tunnels and I was acting like a kid in a candy store. The gang was laughing at me and my excitement.

Mountain Biking- We got off the train on our bike and started a climb on a jeep trail that I enjoyed.  Dany said that we were going to do about 1100m and I thought that was all.  We climbed for a while and I brought up the rear like a caboose of the train.  These guys were amazing and looked like they were not even working hard.  I was panting and dying. Switzerland is not known to have any dangerous animals but I did see some mountain lions.  They were Sarah, Dany, and Rodger. I was the turtle behind. We were doing this route to make sure that there was not too much snow on the pass.  We did have some snow patches that I loved but I quickly learned not to ride through them.

When I thought we were at the top we changed cloths and I thought we were going to do a long downhill and that was it.  Boy was I wrong!!!  We were out all day going up and down.  We were also on come technical stuff that everyone rode but me.  Every time I would think that I was starting to ride like a mountain biker I would come off the bike.  I was getting worn out and they were riding so great!  I have decided that the Swiss are super human. We had a really good time and I learned a lot. Sarah rode every bit as much as the boys (very strong athlete!).  Dany is the race coordinator and he was really in shape also.  Who could forget Rodger?  He rode like a stallion.  And then there was me stopping at all the puddles and checking things out before I rode them.  I also was falling down in the snow.  I bet that snow shoeing is hard.  We ended up climbing 1700 meters.

The Crash-  WE were cruising along pretty good and had a technical section that Rodger decided to ride.  Rodger is like a little boy and always smiling and having fun.  I was behind him and next thing I knew he looked like the “lone ranger” on a horse and was up in the air.  He fell off the trail and it was a really graceful fall. First he fell on a tree branch that broke his fall for only a second.  Next he fell on a bush and then he fell to the ground and pulled the shutter off a small house on the way down.  The bike almost came down on top of him but it didn’t.  Rodger was still smiling.  He is ok but does have some scrapes.  Maybe we should call him “the Lone Rodger”.  Just in case you do not know “The Lone Ranger is a famous western movie and the guy rears his horse up in it.  This is what Rodger did but only on a bike and he fell off.  Rodger is going to feel this crash in the morning.

More Mountains-Well when we got to the top and put on some dry cloths I was thinking that was it for climbing and took it as a hint that we were only going down after that.  Boy was I wrong!  I think it was another 3 hours before we got down the mountain.  The crash that Rodger did was on an uphill after we changed clothes.  I was really having trouble with everything.  We were riding over water crossings, snow, and rocks that probably was nothing to lions but to me was some really hard riding.  The 3 musketeers were always nice and encouraging to me and assured me that the gigathlon was not as hard as what we were riding.  Every time I was off  bike I would ask if it was something I would normally walk in the gigathlon to save energy.  I might be walking more than I think.  We will see.  Anyway we did finally get to the real downhill and it did not take us long to get down the mountain.  I was working my butt of and it seemed like the others got lot’s of breaks waiting for me.  They would get a chance to sit and drink some water and just as I came rolling up we were off again before I could even think about resting.  We had a nice downhill and made it to the hotel sometime in the afternoon.

Hiking-I know that I told you that we had a nice downhill but there is one part that none of us rode.  There was a big tree in the way and we had to hike-the-bike around it.  The boys did this for me and Sarah.  Considering I have never really hiked I was having trouble walking on the side of the hill without the bike. Dany and Rodger were both right behind me with the bikes before I new it.  Like I said…mountain lions….grrr…

Shanna’s Fall- Well I survived the mountain bike but I did have a fall afterwards when we were waiting to get checked in.  We were all at a restaurant and eating and I decided to go to the toilet.  I only had my socks on and had a nice spiral marble staircase to go down to the restroom.  I took a really bad fall. My little socks slipped out from under me and I was down on the stairs sliding on them like a slide.  It was only a few steps but I did catch my low back and hurt my elbow.  It is the same elbow that I have always had trouble with since high school.  It has a bit of a pinched nerve and it does not take much to hurt it again.  I acted like Rodger and got up quickly acting like nothing was hurt but damn it hurt.  It is a bother now but it won’t hurt my plans to do the gigathlon if I survive the week.

After we got back to the hotel we got checked into our rooms.  Sarah, Rodger, and I all agreed to meet around 6pm at the pool. I was staying down the street and by the time I got checked in I only had 10 minutes.  It was really cool. I got to ride my first cable car to the main road that I needed to be on to walk to the pool.  I felt like a little tourist.

The Spa—This is where the pool was…believe me I wanted to just do the spa thing but I needed to get another swim in.  This was 18 franks…wow!  The spa is hot springs and it is very nice.  We did swim in a great indoor pool and had a great time.  Once again Sarah and Rodger swam like sharks but this time I could hold my own.  We swam close to an hour and then went to the hot springs and hung out.  It was a really nice day and we could see the mountains.  We were thinking about how hard it would be to be a pro and live like we did that day.  Pro’s complain but it seemed really nice to be playing (training), swimming, and hanging out in the hot tub. Boy I really feel sorry for the pro’s.

Lost-Sarah got showered and left quickly. No one in the spa spoke English and I had a hell of a time getting out.  We had to use our receipt to scan to get out and then take an elevator and I had no idea what floor to get out on. I did find my way out and tried to get into Sarah’s hotel. I knew what building but did not know where the entrance was.  The entrance was through the restaurant downstairs but how was I to know that. I tied all the other doors on the building and ended up in the kitchen or steamroom.  I decided to try the restaurant entrance and there was a sign to the hotels.  I went to what I thought was her room and knocked.  There was no answer so I figured I missed her.  I tried to get out of the hotel and got out of the elevator and walked to a window opening it like it was a door.  You should have seen it.  I know that I looked dumb.  Anyway I did not know where the dinner was and headed in the direction that Sarah had pointed.  I was wondering down the streets and sticking my head in all the eating places looking for them.  I was about to give up hope but then called Dany and he gave me some directions. I still beat the Germans to the meeting and Sarah was still waiting on me in a different room.  I knocked on the wrong door…I know….blond.

Co-Ed-  I had this worry about Europe before I came.  I packed 3 razors thinking that they did not shave here and thought that all bathrooms were co-ed.  Dany and Sarah laughed and told me that Switzerland was not that way.  We will have separate showers at the race but that was not the case today.  Sarah and I got out of the pool and we were changing and then here comes a man.  She said that was not normal but then there were other men wondering around.  This was really weird and I got out of their quickly.  It was too much for my blood.  I guess what they say might be a little true.

Coaches meeting—This started at 8pm. I was wore out and ready to got to bed.  The meeting was in German and it did not do much for me but Dany was really great at giving me the directions I needed …he just gave me the wrong maps earlier in the week…hehehehe. I was sitting next to the best of the best and it was neat.  I really did not feel like I should have been a coach but we all had something unique on our resume and for me it was RAAM.  The others also have incredible resumes to be  proud of.  The meeting got out late and then it was time for bed with no time to blog.

Thanks for reading