Competitive Natures

My first evening in Bled was magical.  Still slightly dazed from the sleeping medicine I took for my plane ride (total travel time amounted to approximately 24hrs) my first activity was to walk around Lake Bled.  With a castle on the cliffside overlooking the lake, a church on an island, the ringing bell towers, and surrounding Alps you pretty much feel like you've entered some medieval wonderland.  The perfect weather, lighting, and sleeping pills all constributed to a total of 40 pictures from various angles around the lake...here are just a few samples

Despite the peace and calm of my first welcoming, Lake Bled had many more experiences in store.  The next day getting ready for practice I got some strong reminders that I was in Eastern Europe:  the dining facility served up some pate along with the jam and butter at breakfast, a table nearby me at the coffee shop lit up some cigars indoor, and as I walked to the course I strolled casually by topless women and men in speedos lounging in the grass near the water.

Today, as more crews come in, the competitive instinct is growing. We had a nice little battle paddle when the Chinese LW4x was headed into the dock at the same time as us.  I caught myself competitive walking home from the course.  I had to pass people.  I would pick out the slow ones and overtake them.  If I saw other rowers ahead, my pace quickened - can't be beaten back to the hotel!

This morning, our workout was 1' on, 1'off for 8 minutes, 3 times.  It just so happened that the Chinese 8 was doing something quite similar in the lane next to us.  So we went with it.  Paddling we would get about a length up. Then start pieces and try to hold them off!  No communication between boats was really required and the coaches didn't have to set it up....we all understood what was about to go down.

The best competitive moment though, was this afternoon.  Our hotel likes to host evening activities in the lobby. This evening they had traditional slovenian folk dancing. After the dance show, the group played a tradition folk game.  You take a short, wide log and find two competitive men.  The men take turns hitting a nail with a pointed hammer. The man who gets the nail completely in first is, well, The Man.  At some point during the demonstration game the australian mens team walked into the lobby.

  They stopped in their tracks. Their heads cocked to the side. You could tell this game was necessary.  Two of them jumped in

The one on the right is now "The Man."