Sweden Post (1)

Posted on April 24, 2008

So, here I am.  Sitting in Arlanda International airport in Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after converting my loose Euros and Swiss Francs into Kronors.  Sitting here, sipping on a Cappuccino.  Eating a croissant.  Typing on my laptop.  …with time to kill.  Two hours, actually.  This, is in stark contrast in every way to nearly every moment this last while. 

I felt like I was;

                Operating in perpetual urgency.

I had some one liners that I thought would become posts, and I am not going to say that I will ever get them out of me and into text to share.  And, that feels just fine.  Hehe, though the one that comes to mind first is:  You get there faster at 240km/hr.

And so what do I write about now?  The first race is over.  The first two actually, if you count the team time trial.  Damn, this one fine cappuccino.  …and the croissant has chocolate in it.  I was at World Champ Wednesdays last night.  Scott Arlidge took the 1000m final.  I didn’t even stick around to see who wound atop the points total in the points race, which by the way was brutal.  Way WAY faster than last year, with 35+ extremely competent Senior Men skaters.  Anyway, I rode my bike to the track, but things weren’t over until after 10pm and the sun had long since set, and riding home was not an option.  So I got a ride back to Sandra’s late.  I was a completely disorganized mess last night, and managed only a very little sleep with a 4am departure to the airport.  I’m sorry Sandra, my love.  I dropped the ball on that one.

I missed Zug.  I injured my ankle somehow, and in the process of suppressing and denying the injury, I don’t even know how I did it, but for a while, I wasn’t able to stretch my Achilles tendon to position my foot any more than 90 degrees from my calf without excruciating pain.  I’ve been through alot, and I have a good understanding of levels of pain, and a rather high tolerance for it.  This was bad.  It’s almost completely better, but I must have done some tendon damage.  I think also, it was incredibly tight as my psychological stress was manifesting itself physiologically which decreased the comfortable range of motion, and increased the pain response.  Anyway, I skated last night and a few times this week, and I can nearly skate all out on it again. 

Which brings me to last night….  I went alright in my 1000m heat.  I had a pretty loaded heat with Wayne Begg, DJ Nation, Reyon Kay, and a bunch of Columbian skaters.  I managed 4^th just behind the 3 NZ skaters who stayed tight together through the finish, but didn’t qualify for the final.  It was 3+3, I was in the first heat which can be a bit of a disadvantage, and the last heat had Ruben Martinez in it, so it was fast.   He led nearly the whole thing to guarantee himself a spot in the final.  That heat took all the three time positions.  Anyway, I actually had a good line high in the exit of the 4^th last corner, but got pinched nicely into the wall as the inside line swung wide in response, and I basically let the Columbian in front of me.  Sometimes I can be such a wimp.  I think if I just held my line like that, I had enough speed to better challenge the front into the last lap.  Great racing atmosphere though.  I think it is going to be a great season.  I can’t wait to be on good form.  I am sorry to miss the training with the boys this weekend.  Sounds like it will be some good training.

What a time for writer’s block.  I think it is just a product of being hyper-stimulated of late.  I’ve got so much great stuff to write about that I just don’t know where to start.

I was thinking about Eric Gee and his boot making process.  I had Dominik take a bunch of pictures of me getting casted for my X-Tech skates.  They are working really hard to make a great boot.  They’ve been having feedback meetings with the skaters they are sponsoring this year.  I am really loking forward to working with a boot maker who is genuinely interested in skater’s feedback.  They’ve made some changes in the design of the boots already.  Their soft gear is really really cool.  And the guys are all going really well on the wheels.  Kalon even happened to mention that the X-Tech guys were going well on them in Zug, and they look like they are high quality.  They’ve got three series of wheels.  A rain wheel, a track wheel, and a marathon wheel.  I’ve heard some great things already about them from people who’s opinions I think I can trust.  I am actually really excited about trying them.  I just haven’t had the chance yet.  They look really cool.  Oh, so do the boots!  Haha, to Eric: he used the old alginate pouring technique.  He sliced them of straight afterwards, and poured plaster into them, and ten minutes later he had positive casts that I could look at and draw on if I need to.  I have a few problem spots, which were easy to mark on the + casts.  Plus I could mark the carbon height and wrap, and top eyelet mark if I wanted to.  That was quite cool.  From the accuracy of this method, I am looking forward to putting my foot into the boot.  He also took a dozen or so pictures of my feet, and was really sure to mark my nevicular.  He and I had similar opinions on the front wrap at the ankle. 

Ok, and that ends Nerd corner.  I told you I was a total dork.  That stuff still excites me.  :P  I think there’s something fashionable about not caring, but I just don’t subscribe to that coolness.

I took time to write my team manager an email, so I’ve been rushing this writing again…  Time’s actually nearly up.  Lots of battery remaining though.  I have to say, the Centrino Duo Chip on this laptop is far Superior to the AMD version of the same platform I had before in terms of battery life.  It’s not even close.  I still have 60%, and on my old lptp I would have long since scurried to find a plug.  Haha, which I wouldn’t be able to plug into anyway, because I have no idea what the plugs look like in Sweden.  I’ve got a swiss dealy… Have you ever seen the one from South Africa?  It’s like a numb-chuck. Or some kind of weapon.  (Hehe Sandra)

By the way, I have the most incredibly awesome girlfriend.  She is truly amazing in every way.  I am so, so lucky.  Really, I am just truly truly lucky to have found and fell in love with Sandra.  I miss her again here already.  Hello Sandra!  J

To my peeps back in T dot; what’s up?  I hear the weather is excellent there, which is a real kick in the balls to me here, since I was nearly dying in the cold before I left.  Soak it up!  Invest some extra effort in working on your form, strength, and fitness at the beginning of the season outdoors.  It will pay off huge.  Then you can rest when you are in the full swing of racing while you increase your speed.  How has indoors payed off for you?

Is Jacky still flying?  Haha, I couldn’t believe it when I saw him fighting with Peter Doucet for the entrance of the corner in the relays.  Keep it real.

What’s going on with the groups?  I hope the “not fastest” group isn’t doing too much ‘steady tempo’ BS.  I don’t know why, but somehow there’s always a push in that direction.  Don’t be swayed.  LoL.  Really, that’s just stupid.

Georg: get in some DL repeats…  I know Deano and Hegerty will join you for it.  It’s the best way to learn to skate.  I mean, I know you can skate…  F, you know what I mean.

Pauley Boys: what’s up? Send me an email sometime… let me know where your thoughts are.  Are you skating at TISC? 

D to the P: What are your plans?  I wont be at A2A…  you should think about the 111km…  it’s a way cooler race anyway.  Sorry A2A.  In St. Gallen the lead pack has full time motorcycles with us, filming, reff’ing, and this tray that you can grab water from at any point (kind of like in the peleton in top teir cycling racing), and a fully closed course.  That’s a BIG difference.  Oh, and a MASSIVE pack.  I mean massive.  There were portions of minutes at a time where I was at the front of the race and didn’t take a single stride going 45km/hr+ through winding roads in and out of small towns with actual crowds of people cheering.

Deano: how about an email?  Wtf? 

Has anyone noticed the amount of Michael Jackson covers that are out right now?  Or is that just here in Europe?

Oh, and I have about 1000 comments that I have to go through, but haven’t been able to purge the spam.  I can’t even get a computer to load the whole thing.  I think it may be impossible for me to access the action tabs/options/buttons.

Ok, this post is too long, most wont even read it.  And it’s lost its direction.  And I am fine with that.

DoubleAwithabumankleplanstotrainandgetthisseasonstartedproperlyandcan’twaittofeelgoodonskatesagain… dot com.

Hez Now+

Posted on April 23, 2008

Hey all!  :)

Finally had a chance to catch up a bit on things back home, and go through some email…  Sounds like things are coming to order in TO…

Skate fast!

Leaving for World Champ Wednesday in minutes, should be exciting.  Tough though, there is literally a planeful of strong Columbian skaters new to the W in W / WCW scene, on top of the Swiss, Argentinian, and Kiwi stronghold.  Oh, and the one Canadian, and one Australian.  I’m sure there are others…  Got some big races next weekend, and am struggling with a bit of an ankle injury at the moment. I’ll see how it goes tonight.

All the best, and big ups back home.

I hope Tisc practices are going well.

-Double A.

Safe… Just Busy…

Posted on April 22, 2008

really busy

sorry for the no posts…

In Sweden this weekend…

two races next weekend…

get to this website somewhere in between.

promise.

-A.

mi amigos… gotcha.

Ola me amigos!

Posted on April 17, 2008

what’s up?

skating hard?

How are things in chilly Kanada?

Sandra just came in to meet me at the cafe here in Mallorca, and she looked/looks stunningly beautiful. Hehe, I don’t think I could be any happier.

My head is sunburned in funny stripes from/through my helmet.

Racing in Zug on Saturday…

Tough race. a few big climbs, and super fast. Went sub one hour last year…

racing and training on 110’s…

technique goes to flabbery when tired.

Clinic in Stockholm next weekend…

not much time to write properly… I think I will go for a nice walk along the beach instead.

Hello to Family! Talked to Lianne and Sebastian today… Hello you guys! big kiss!

Sipping at a Spanish beer now. Exams finally over. Got an 88% on the biggest one that I was the most affraid of… An A on my major presentation… high B on both my major papers… hehe, the stress of packing all my exams into four sleepless days turned out to be not so bad. Still need some rest though.

beer getting lower…

Aaron little buzzed…

rode a rented bike in the South Western mountains tuesday…

Skated along the Palma coast yesterday…

Trying to work out a time to get molded for skates… 2pm Saturday seems too early. Impossible actually.

Hello to Deano. Would someone for f#%@ sakes tell him to email me? *(wtf)

Hi Mom! do you check here?

Beer almost gone…

Was chatting with Georg on MSN… Petey Micheal too… big ups.

Things should settle down some soon. Hope to spend proper time with communications via here then.

Hope things are well in Toronto.

You know… I’m always excited about how all you guys develop. really… I mean this in the most loving way: you are all kind of like my children to me… hehe, I am happy to see how you grow as skaters. I know that the indoor season can be tough… I know that my expectations are high, and that practices can be tiring, and sometimes ummm… not flattering to the ego. I hope you all see the progress and improvements you have all made. Seeing you all skate outdoors for the first few times on CTK was awe inspiring for me. you’ve all improved so much!!! You guys have so much skill, and I wish you the best of luck in using and taking advantage of it. I hope you see it in your fitness and efficiency also. Thanks, and congradulations with sticking with the indoor program, I am sure it will pay-off for you all. I just hope you can see and feel the improvements that are so obvious to me. Big ups team!

ok, I am going to soak up some sun. stay posted here, and things will be less scattered.

-Aaronisgoingtocontinuetodevelophisblazingsunburn dot com.

PS check out http://www.subaru-x-tech.de/

Out of the frying pan… and into the other frying pan.

Posted on April 14, 2008

Hello all,

I just wanted to post a quick hello to let everyone know that I am alive and well.  Quite well, actually.

I am currently in Mallorca, Spain for a bit of a vacation with Sandra, and some training.

I´ll post this and add to it later… I got bumped offline twice now, and lost what I had written.  So if this post seems cut off, its a strategy.

 

Ok, not a great post, no time to expand. 

Check in again soon, and I´m sure PJ can find the time to keep track of me on his website.

haha!…

….Aaron.

Ok, so I was really rushed in writing this last night, and have not too much more time now.  actually, I am quite sure I will just get bumped offline again in seconds.  but, I just wanted to say hello to everyone back home, thank them for all their support, love, and friendship, and say that I couldn´t be here without them.  Big ups to those that raced last weekend, I hear Candy had a great race!  :) all smiles here. 

Racing was cool last weekend we came third in the TTT, and I was 12 in the marathon, (4th in the field sprint, with an attack of 8 away)…

k, posting…

Sigh…

Posted on April 5, 2008

 

Sandra…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-AaronleavesWednesday.com

Still Swamped

Posted on April 4, 2008

So, I am still swamped with school stuff…

Last night’s outdoor practice was awesome!  Big ups to those at practice.  The relays were awesome.

I had selected a bunch of pictures that I was going to post from days of old, and haven’t had enough time lately to get back to that.  Here is one that I always really liked amidst a criterium race in Laval, Quebec.  To me, it is kind of a symbolic moment.  Not just of the race, but of my own skating endeavours, and of the Canadian inline scene…

Amongst a pack of some fine skaters, Patrick and I have a brief executive meeting on tactics.  God damn, my legs looked different then…

Old set-up:
Simmons boots,
Ultimate Attitude 5×80mm frame,
Hyper Bank Robber Wheels, with a Cherry Bomb thrown in mostly for ‘cool effect’.

Speaking of cool, also notice the Bell Razor helmet,  far and away the coolest helmet of the decade…

 

Getting back to school stuff,

-Aaroninsleavingintminussixdays.

 

Bunch down, bunch to go…

Posted on April 2, 2008

ugh

school’s been flat out.

-Aaronneedsanap.com

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