Zen and the Art of Speedskating

I made it to Switzerland without any trouble (the Swiss trains do run on time), and for the first time in a week, I see the sun! Yay! Lugano has a mild winter climate, and it’s as beautiful as one could imagine, hilly too. Click on the image for a larger one

After a few days recovering from travel in Lugano, my wife, Becky and I drove through the Alps to Davos, where my next race is. We got to see a good deal of the mountains and Switzerland as we drove.

My overwhelming impression of the many small mountain towns I saw was that the Swiss reputation for being tough and resourceful is well deserved, because this must have been an awfully difficult place to live in until fairly recently. This part of Switzerland is vertical in nature, and there simply is very little room for ANYTHING between the towering mountains on every side. Livestock or agriculture must have been a huge challenge, and the population that could be supported on postage stamp sized agricultural plots must have been quite small.

However, it is beautiful, and I imagine generations of invaders must have found the narrow Swiss valleys with plentiful castles & natural defenses about as much fun as swing dancing with a porcupine.

We arrived in Davos, and the next morning, after Jess and Becky left for some downhill skiing, I walked the 800 meters to the rink for a warm-up skate. A large crowd of skaters is here from all over Europe. Here is a Norwegian and a Dutch Skater chatting about equipment. For you equipment-obsessed skaters, I see the Euro-Masters skating overwhelmingly on Vikings, with a smattering of Raps. The Germans are the only ones I see using custom molded carbon fiber boots like most US skaters. Especially a brand called SEUSS. I don’t think I have seen a single skater on the maple aluminum tube blades that are so common in the USA & Canada.

If you want to see the view of Davos from the top of the mountain, click here for a pic Jess took while skiing. The rink is barely out of view under the lip of the hill.

Davos is an interesting place. I have heard elite world cup skaters talk in reverent tones about “A Davos Day”, and now I know what they mean.

The rink is a huge expanse of ice, bordered by tasteful hotels, and then surrounded by the Alps. Davos is at roughly 5,000 feet, so it has the same thin air of Salt Lake. The Swiss take good care of their ice, so when you combine thin air and good ice, this can be a very fast place to skate. Since Davos is at high altitude, the nights are very cold, so the ice is extremely hard, but once the sun rises, the mile-high radiant heat from the sun makes skating very comfortable, even if the air and ice stay cold.

Here is the view looking one direction (click on these pics for larger versions)

And here is the view looking back at the rink building itself. There is a nice restaurant with outdoor tables to the right of the deck, under the word “DAVOS”. You can drink good European beer, eat steak, and watch speedskating!

Today was a textbook Davos Day. Sunny, highs in the mid 30’s, but it felt at least 15 degrees warmer. I chatted with my Italian friends from Hamar, made some new Dutch friends (including a Dutch skater who is 84!!!) and then unexpectedly saw my Lake Placid skate Yoda, Patrick Kelly, walk in the door.

Pat is a great guy, and a technically outstanding skater. Here he is enjoying the sun during a textbook Davos day. He has some really great memories of competing here during his time on the world cup circuit. His wife was an Olympic figure skater, and as Pat and I were zipping around the track, Karen was doing jumps and spins on the inside. Skating is such an addictive sport.

It’s great to see him, and I hope they pair us together tomorrow, as Pat is a 2 time Olympian, and can really motor. I feel quite good on my skates, and technically solid in my turns.

Speedskating is a preparation sport; what I mean by that is that ice speedskaters work crushingly hard for summer and fall to create physical capacity, and now in the meat of the racing season we relax, focus on technique, and rest so that we can be physically fresh to race fast. As Boris says “sleep, race, and celebrate life”. This is the fun part, and I plan to enjoy every moment of these “Davos Days” as much as I can. Maybe I will even get some sleep tonight, as the Italians have invited Jessica, Becky and I to a party at their hotel!

Thanks to everyone who reads & comments on this strange life I am leading. This experience could be kind of lonely, especially in Norway, as I spent a lot of time by myself. But I have not felt alone for a minute, because of all of you (and that is roughly 220 of you every day!!). Thanks.

Filed under: on the road