the angry brit

Well, finally something kind of interesting happened. We’ve borrowed a Vespoli V1 and Concept2 oars for the bargain basement price of 1300 euros. Apparently, the chap in charge of collecting felt we were a liability in paying up. So with the help of one of the heavies he came over to us as we were waiting for the bus and asked for “the skinny Yanks.” As we were just that, we piped up and said you found us. In the most colorful of English, he asked where his effing money is? Well, we were a bit caught offguard and had no idea what he meant. He told us he was the man responsible for our boat and oars and that we owed him 1300 euros. Apparently, he felt that most normal people, especially those in dirty trou, tend to carry that kind of money with them at all times. Leigh stepped up and said he should find our coach who would gladly pay up.
“I’m not fu#%ing finding your coach! I want my fu#%in’ money!” was his reply as he slapped his palm. We still weren’t sure if this was an act or if we should really fear for our kneecaps. Up to his point, it had been somewhat comical. Now, though, he said if he didn’t see our coach over at his tent, he’d be forced to get rough and he put his hands around Leigh’s neck to drive home the point. We all kind of walked away a bit confused and not sure why he was so rude and such an ass, but I guess it takes all kinds. Anyway, Leigh has survived, @$$hole got his fu#%ing money and life is good.
The racing has finally started today, but not for us. We still don’t go until Tuesday when we race for lanes. I think we are leaning toward doing a full race piece just to get one under our belts, but we’ve still left that til later in the week. Whether full or not, I cannot wait to line up against someone. The boat feels great and you can feel the anticipation of wanting to race. We got to practice coming out of the blocks yesterday and the Croatian heavy eight was beside us. It was a good reminder of the insanity that is the start and its volume. It felt like the real thing and it has made that desire to line up and go that much stronger. We’ll see soon enough, I know, but it kind of sucks waiting around. We are doing a full race warm-up and 1k today so that should help get out some of the nervous energy.
Well, I think that is it for today. Sorry for the spotty updates but repeating the same thing daily has us in a Groundhog Day kind of mode and leaves little to report. Check out the results for the rest of the US at worldrowing.com and keep sending the support.