Still Climbing!

The title of today's post was partially inspired by stage 12 of the Tour (which we are currently watching, pre-nap)-- entering the steepest and most extreme portions of the ride, Tour time has officially become a priority with the scheduling of sessions. We all have our favorites, (Andy Schleck, obviously)-- Richard is loving the frenchman Thomas Voeckler's defense of the yellow jersey today. Watching some of the post race interviews, riders talk about the crazy energy when you're climbing at the front of the pack-- the drive and competition of the other cyclists creates a high not only making everyone faster, but pushing the pack to extreme heights, literally.

I felt like this idea of the people at the top pushing each other to achieve more applies, in a way, to what we did today. The sweep boys make the 20 minute commute from Kent to New Milford to scrimmage the scullers this morning. This is a great way for all crews to gage speed and percentages before the World Championships in August. The morning ran smoothly much to the coaches relief-- and served as an indicator for the amount of speed we need to gain in the next week. So back to work for us! Climbing for those A Finals!

As an Arizonan, I'm probably one of the few people here that care about this-- but either way I'm going to note the ridiculous amount of rain we had yesterday. Coming up the dock, a quick eclipse of the sun was followed by huge, fat drops that turned into torrential down-pour-- giving the windows of the GMS trailer the appearance of actually being underwater. Needless to say, I was impressed. 4x bowseat Mackenzi Sherman was equally impressed by the steak and potato dinner we had last night. Also needless to say, she's been waiting for that meal for a few weeks now.

Going on a month and half away from home, team USA junior scullers are starting to feel more like a family! It's a great atmosphere to train with a tight knit group that is so incredibly psyched to be representing the USA, as is evident by the giant american flag currently hanging from the ceiling of the boy's house.

Minus yesterday, the weather has been great in New Milford! No complaints. We're just napping and hanging around, watching some Tour re-runs (there will be a quiz at dinner tonight) before our last session later. But it's T minus two weeks until our departure to London! Thanks to everyone who's following-- check back in for updates as we get ready to represent for real!

USA YEAHHH BUDDY!