5 Moments
The Utah oval is crawling with skaters. In addition to the US National teams & the SLC skate tribe, Short track teams from Japan and New Zealand are here, and quite a few Russians as well.
But in the first of these 5 moments, I was totally surprised when I sat down on a bench, and saw fellow master skater Canadian Darren Lind sitting next to me. I met Daren at masters worlds in Calgary in 2007, and we had one of those memorable “back & forth” 5k’s that is seared into my memory.
Daren is a good guy, and missed most of last year due to injury. There are very few men I feel “small” standing next to. Darren is one of them.
Here are his skates & very long, long blades. How narrow blades are when viewed straight on.
2nd moment, I was at my desk at work, wonder why the hell I have this impulse to write/record things. Blogging is like throwing a frisbee out into the dark. Wondering if anyone is actually out there. Then I get notes like this–
Great blog - it’s the best place on the internet for speedskating related material.
I hope you don’t mind me sending you this picture, but I think you are the kind of person that understands what I am talking about. I am a 25 year old returning-to-the-sport speed skating enthusiast Dutchman. My dad taught me the art of speed skating on the frozen canals when I was 4, and joined a club when I was 8 — I quit speedskating at age 15, and last year I realized what I was missing out on those 10 years. The lakes were frozen in Holland last winter and I had 2 weeks to come to the conclusion that I needed skating as much as I needed sunshine and breathing. ——.
This is my old speedsuit that I had when I was 15. It was starting to fall apart so I took it to the sewing shop and had them cut out the part around the hips and sew black lycra shorts in the gap. I also had them cut the foot part off because my legs have grown. I think the old suit looks so good now. A total morale booster, I can’t wait skating the first 500 and 1500m somewhere in october. Anyway, I hope this brightens your day - keep it smooth!
-Wijtze
I remember the first day I got on my suit with the USA on it, I did the same thing, and I think most skaters have. Get a new suit, stand in front of the mirror, and get totally psyched for the upcoming year. Thanks for the note Wijtze. It made my day.
3rd moment….. this is Dave Zabriskie, fresh from his strong showing in The Tour De France, wearing the colors of the USA national time trial champion starting the prolouge of the Tour of Utah. A field of cell phones & cameras waving like windblown grain above the crowd.
Why doesn’t speedskating have national champ specific skinsuits? are we that cheap a sport! (unfortunately… yes)
Maybe Dave Z has the best kind of noteriety to enjoy. He can walk down any street unnoticed, but put him in on the starting line in team kit, and people recognize & appreciate what he has worked for, suffered for, earned.
4th moment– From DZ to RZ, there is so much happening here. I think the wild part is that my daughter not only has figured out how to feed spagetti to Lilly, but also chuckes & pulls it back from the ever-patient dog.
5th moment– Travis Jayner
Although by no means a great picture. What is great here is not just that Travis is on his way to skating a huge personal best 9 lap time trial, but the angles of his body. You can see how at the split second the skate moves off the ice, how far back on the blade his pressure was, because of how it “pops” off with the toes up, and prevents the blade from digging in.
Even when Travis became tired, and started melting from the effort, both blades consistently were lifting off the ice parallel, with emphasis on heel centered pressure.
More soon about the short track Deseret Classic.
Filed under: from home
Thank You Andrew for the photo of Travis. I sooooooo wanted to go to SLC and see the Desert Classic, but it’s just too close to Oly trials to be feasible. But I’m grateful for tweets from Tony and photos and commentary by you! Thank you again!
Oh, and RZ is looking pretty cute too!
“Why doesn’t speedskating have national champ specific skinsuits?”
~because then Nike might have to make a skinsuit that actually looked good? Way too much to ask of them…
Thanks Andrew for reminding me of important moments.
I’m glad you’re still doing what you love. It is inspiring. When we last saw you furiously grinding the beans on the computer, cup in hand, I thought of how it would be to be inspired (as your know, inspire has its divine origins in having been breathed into or onto by the gods) like this.
That was the year I was smitten by the great thyroid gods. In the heat of the summer last year, I could barely walk across without having to stop and catch my breath. All of my muscle mass disappeared. I was hammered! Slowly I recovered and I called upon the gods and my martial arts training to inspire me to climb back to good health.
Last Sunday, my wife dropped me off at the Mountain Dell Golf Course. Goal: Run to the top of Little Mountain. I know, nothing super-human like the stuph I read here, but still . . .ok for a man approaching 50. As I passed the summit at sunset, gentle rain falling, some 35 minutes later, there it was, inspiration.
Keep goin, Andrew, blogging and skating. May the gods continue breathing your way.
[…] on August 25, 2009 by Peter Doucet Well folks, here’s another fun entry from Andrew Love; 5 Moments- Maybe Dave Z has the best kind of noteriety to enjoy. He can walk down any street unnoticed, but […]