A One Week Break, Bavarian Style
9 pm one evening and there was a knock on our cabin door. A couple of strangers stood on the doorstep and we knew immediately who they must be. The question was, which one of us were they looking for?
As elite athletes, we are subject to random drug tests at any time, in any place. We have to submit our detailed whereabouts to anti-doping authorities. Occasionally their agents come knocking and collect urine and blood samples. It is an inconvenience that I gladly endure to keep our sport honest and clean.
It turns out the pair was looking for me that night. Unfortunately they would have to wait awhile for a urine sample; I had gone to the bathroom minutes before they knocked. They sat down at our dining room table and settled in. After a few minutes, one of them asked about a guitar leaning against the wall.
My teammate Clare, never one to be shy, immediately picked up the guitar and started playing ’99 Luftballoons,’ the first German song that came to mind. We all knew the tune (in English it is ’99 Red Balloons’). And that’s how our team sing-along with the anti-doping agents started.
We soon moved on to Bob Dylan, Peggy Lee and John Denver. Then our visitors introduced us to some German songs by Reinhard Mey. Everyone jokingly blamed me for prolonging the party as long as possible, but eventually the dictates of my bladder did win out. The anti-doping agents collected what they came for and went on their merry way. That evening will be long remembered as my most hilarious and entertaining drug testing experience. It was also a great reminder of just how awesome my teammates are. (Thanks for taking some bold musical initiative Clare!)
Luftballoons had been on our mind all week, well before the sing-along. Inzell, the village where we were staying, was hosting a hot air balloon festival. In the mornings we would see 10 or so balloons floating above town. Sometimes they landed next to the ski trails.
Another highlight of Inzell was the abundance of fresh powder. If the training plan says do 3 hours of over-distance classic skiing, that means find a steep pasture and fit in as many runs as you can, right?
A full morning of tele turns with Sean.
Of course, all of the fresh snow created other fun challenges too. Our Czech rental van had minimal power, a broken defrost system, but lots of character. To get up the hill to our cabin, we’d have to get a running start, skid around the bottom corner, and hope no delivery vans were on their way down. If all the passengers jumped up and down in sync to get traction, we sometimes could make it.
Over the years, we have become good friends with Stefan and the family Schwabl who own the cabins where we stay. They have done so much to help us feel at home. One afternoon, Suzi, Stefan’s daughter and the girlfriend of one of our wax techs, invited Clare and I to go horseback riding. We joined her and her neighbor, 11 year-old Julia, for a lovely loop around the neighboorhood.
Before Julia went home, I gave her a Ruhpolding race bib. A couple days later she returned and brought me a gift. It’s my featured hotel room decoration for this week in Nove Mesto:
