A little late, sorry!

Here I am in Brazil writing a blog about the trip to China. It felt a bit like a mad rush getting home from China and preparing for the biggest event of the year down here in Brazil, but more about that in the next post.


China was a fun and successful tour and while I was happy with my top five result I still felt like I left quite a bit out there on the course. A four second surf in the hydraulic mid way down the course definitely cost me a medal but all in all the race was a good indication that things are moving in the right direction.


Our time in China was not just about the river, we had the chance to get out and about town and thanks to the Canadian Olympic Committee we were able to see some very cool sites in style. It is very difficult to rent a car in China so were reliant on buses and taxis, below is our crew heading into town to visit the silk market and pick up some made to measure suits that we all had purchased. I was happy to be on the bus as traffic is intense and full contact and the street signs are impossible to read as they are in Chinese characters.

We also had the chance to visit the Great Wall. This was an inspiring trip that started with a bus ride, followed by a trip up to the wall on an old ski lift. The wall is amazing as it snakes through the country side, to think when it was made and the overall size of it boggles the mind.

We spent about an hour up on the wall trying to get as far along it as we could. It was very hot and the group was a sweaty mess when we decided we had gone as far as we dared for a rest day. Looking on along the wall we hadn't even made a dent. The trip down was on a metal toboggan ride and was done at much higher speeds then were recommended, putting Olympic athletes on something like that is probably asking for trouble.

The course itself is state of the art and impressively ready to go. In past Games the venue has been under construction until almost the day of the official competition and to have the venue for Beijing finished is a testament to the seriousness of China's will to host the best games ever. I was very happy with the course and while it needs some tweaking it is fun, continuous and difficult. I will enjoy spending time on it over the next year.

We share our venue with the Rowing lake and Sprint facility and everything is very green and quite nicely set up. The buildings are well appointed and offer boat storage, change rooms and team areas for rest and video analysis. The competition was also well attended by local crowds that clapped very politely for the paddlers as they made their runs. It reminded me of a golf tournament with a subdued golf clap.

Typically at the Olympic Games there are lots of rules, regulations and security. This event was no exception as it was the official pre Olympic event. I was not surprised to see high security check points and accreditation's for everyone entering the venue. I was surprised though at some of the directions and requirements inside of the venue, including an area specifically designated for "Kissing and Crying", I didn't get a chance to use this area but I will be there quite a bit over the next year so you never know.


The flight home was comfortable and non eventful. The airport in Beijing was another story though. We were ushered through by officials and did not have to wait in any lines, but I met one woman returning to Canada that had to wait for almost four hours in various lines to navigate the airport to get to the departure gate.


We have several training windows between now and the Games and I am looking forward to both learning more about the course, and learning more about Beijing and the Chinese people.