Thun Switzerland is beautiful! Thankfully the sun shines everyday and the towering white peaks of such classics as the Eiger and the Monk can be seen in the distance. The glacial blue water of Lake Interlaken provides clean clear water for what is the first wave of the World Cup series.
I had started to feel under the weather in Augsburg; weeks of camping in the rain and I was itching to go home. But the sun comes to visit everyday in Thun and distracts me from homesickness and helps me focus on paddling – kayaking in the sun is SO much fun!
Still camping I rent a bike and commute the shores of the lake every morning and evening. It’s a peaceful, almost meditative ride that gives me a chance to prepare and decompress from training sessions. Plus my bike has a basket so it is way cool.
I love surfing waves! This is my kind of spot. Although the wave is still a challenge due to its surging nature, I feel confident about my ability and I’m ready for the competition. In the three rounds of competition I have some solid rides, helping me to lead the pack into the finals. Unfortunately finals day just isn’t my day. I have one ok ride (out of three) but no big trick… and somehow I had lost my backstab… hmmmm where did that backstab go? My third place finish secured me the second place spot in the overall World Cup – yahoo!
As everyone geared down from the last event there remained the lingering question, ‘will I be able to come back here next year to compete at the World Championships?’ Lucky for me I’ve already secured my spot by being the current World Champ and I can’t wait to come back!
