I thought the move from Prague to Augsburg would bring a change of weather along with the new scenery. I was sorely mistaken.

We arrived to sunny skies and the beautifully manicured lawns were littered with sun bathers and bikers alike. It was looking like a kayakers paradise. We likened it to the country club; the well kept grounds, great trails, café’s, warm showers… what more could a bunch of kayakers ask for.

The course was designed for the 1972 Olympics. Boasting three channels (something for every level) and the excellent main hole there was plenty to do. The hole was fast and frothing with a big foam pile. Every hole move was possible and on occasion the shoulders could be used for blunts and backstabs too.

The women’s competition was tight. Only a few moves would separate the top contenders. I had some excellent rides in the prelims (including a mcnasty, yeah!), one good one in the semis to pull me through and with one ride left in the finals I flushed twice to give away top honors. It wasn’t my best showing so no complaints about second place.

Luckily the rain came in small waves (not like the endless downpour of Prague) and I almost welcomed it in the evening as it would drive the partiers to the bar and out of the campsite.

Today we arrived in Thun, the sun is shinning, the mountains are clearly visible in the distance, the water is crystal blue..it is beautiful!

Photos are random as the rain put a damper on shooting….

People were dropping like flies. And I don’t mean they weren’t making the cut, but competitors everywhere were coming down with the sickness.

With relentless heavy rain in the final days of the competition, the water rose and countless competitors were down and out. Tummies were turning everywhere and Pepto-Bismol became a hot commodity around the campground. Instead of counting the sick it became easier to count the well. Ouch. Luckily I remained on the ‘well’ side.

To escape the wet cold and take a break from therma-rest sleeping Jessie Stone and I treated ourselves to a hotel room from two nights. Hot showers, watching the Olympics, interneting and enjoying a real bed complete with duvet and pillow. Ah….

As I mentioned earlier the feature in Prague was a tough spot. Consistency was difficult at best and higher water meant staying in the feature was hard and not flushing down stream even more of a challenge. In my three rounds of competition I managed to improve on both my point scoring and my position. From 5^th, to 4^th and 3^rd. The beauty of not coming in first is the opportunity to use the event as a learning platform. When you win it is hard to look objectively at what you could improve while the opposite is true for my situation.

What I learned:

-         Rest: having a noise-free comfortable place to sleep is super important

-         Fuel: hydration and good food for your body is essential

-         Plan: make a plan and stick to it

-         Believe in yourself. Not only did I read this quote this week but I also heard someone using it, ‘Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right.’

-         Packing: always bring a raincoat and warm gear!

-         Support: having friends and team mates around for feedback is invaluable.

Enjoy the pictures from my night out on the town in Prague.

A man’s bare white flesh. Yes, that was the first thing I saw as my shuttle rolled into the whitewater park in Prague. In true Euro fashion there was a man standing at the river’s edge naked.

You never know what’s around the next corner; the language is obscure (to me), the competition feature is a major challenge and camping in the rain is interesting…. The language is difficult at best and after numerous attempts I’m still struggling with ‘thank you’ – she’s a tongue twister I tell you. Beyond that reading signs and labels is also difficult. I had an interesting moment in the grocery store with Jessie Stone. We stood in front of the water section for minutes trying to decipher labels to figure out which water didn’t have carbonation or flavour. Finally we decided to start testing them (of course we would buy them in the end) until we found the plain one. Process of elimination, haha!

The site is a sticky pour-over hole and I find myself thoroughly challenged. In fact I can’t think of a more challenging feature. After four days of sessions I am happy to report that I have made some small progress. Baby steps.

Most of the competitors are camping at a site just across the street/walkway from the event site. Tents are popping up like fireworks on Canada Day. One day I returned to my tent to find someone almost on top of me… personal space is a bit different here too.

Today was the first day of competition and the men battled it out through a full day of rain. It was wet, wet, wet and water level came up, up, up.

Tomorrow morning women start the day off. I’m in the first heat, last lady.

Stay tuned……..

     Rainy photos from Friday August 15th

It’s dark and the bass is reverberating through my body. The sun dropped over the mountains long ago but I still don my kayak gear. I’m sitting at the top of a gorge and beyond the double drop below I can see some light flashing off the canyon wall. I know a man sits high on the edge of the canyon playing the drums; the beat that pulsates through me. My mind is chaotic, images of the drops flashing before my eyes; the lip of the first drop, landing in the cauldron of boils, the cave on the left, the wall on the right. I’m more nervous sitting up here than I am competing or even running a more difficult rapid. I think it’s because the show must go on. Suddenly the purple light sets the wall on fire and that’s our cue to head downstream. One after the other with a small gap for error… it’s show time. The five of us run through the double drop. Landing in the show floor we perform our routine of ferrying across the current and plugging into the hole at the bottom of the falls. It’s over in minutes.

This is what I’m getting paid to do this week in Norway. The stress of it was killing me, I went where you ‘don’t want to go’ and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I was losing sleep and my stomach was aching throughout the day. Last night I assumed the position of safety personnel. Perched up on the rock wall I waited and watch carefully as the kayakers launched and landed safely below. However, one kayaker ended up in the ‘no go’ area. I coached and yelled words of encouragement until she came free, while signally to the kayakers below to carry on. Until someone is swimming, the show must go on. Crazy what one will do for a couple hundred bucks!

Norway itself is beautiful, reminds me of western Canada: tall green mountains and deep blue river valleys. I had the pleasure of taking the train up here from Oslo so I got a chance to see some countryside. But as I’m mostly working I’ve been limited in my scope of travel. You can find me on a map 6km north of the town of Otta on the Otta river (middle of nowhere). I’m staying at Mariann’s parents farm (see photos). My friends, Tyler and Mariann have an apt in the basement of the main house and there are many out buildings: a kitchen, a bathhouse with outdoor hottub, a sleeping house and some barns. The building I’m sleeping in dates back to the 1600’s. There is a bible sitting on the table here beside me that is from the 1300’s. Talk about history!

Two more nights of shows and I’m off to Prague on Monday.

Norway didn’t know what hit it this past week. Female kayakers were storming rivers in style, thanks to Norway Daze’s Ladies Week (www.norwaydaze.com).

I arrived a wee bit late (a day behind is even sloppy for kayaker time), but jumping into the mesh I was happy to see that each day brought a new adventure and some new faces too. There was an American, two Canadians and an influx of Norwegians through out the week.

Starting off with a day of creeking; big slides and boofing were on the menu. Everyone was on their toes (including me!). Next came some playboating (phew!). Even those who were skeptical (not exactly what you think of in terms of kayaking in Norway) learned heaps; especially in the flatwater. Drills left everyone lean-cleaning and ready for playing on the wave. We saw spins, roundhouses and a few blunts too. I even heard mention of sore abs the following day. Our days were filled with kayaking: big water, more playing and an entire day devoted to boofing. In fact, I’m torn between which day, the flatwater or the boofing day, saw more improvement. Regardless, either a good boof or a solid surf produced the same winning set of smiles. This week we pushed limits, broke through comfort zones, made new friends and had a great time!