The Cat in the Coach

Well everyone knows that the default career paths for most Harvard and Yale rowers is Wall Street. But I don't know, 6' 2"?

Are there any rowers with a bod like that at Harvard? He's definitely handsome enough and almost bordering on pretty to possibly be from Yale. I dunno, I'm thinking Dartmouth?

Then again, with a name like Trent, perhaps Cornell?

http://www.americangreetings.com/ecards/a-nearly-perfect-birthday-gift/pn/3110911

Thoughts? He kind of looks like Nick or Donny S.... :P

As far as I'm concerned, I'd show up at that brownstone with a nice bunch of flowers for his Mom....

In LA, some people get all excited at a celebrity sighting. Not me. They are usually not as hot in person as they are on camera and well, that diet just isn't being watched as much.

What does make me get all giddy is meeting an elite rower, a Yale graduate, a woman with a smile that would light up an entire banquet hall, and well, the most beautiful blonde hair you have ever dreamed about running through with your fingers. I'm talking about Taylor Ritzel, no. 4 seat and gold medalist in 2012 Olympic Women's Eight event. She was standing in the kitchen of a house not more than 3 feet from me, with her gold medal sitting out on the counter.

Wow! Taylor is so nice, so breathtakingly beautiful (hey now, gay guys have a defacto license to declare a woman's beauty from the minute we're born), and just pure 100% positive energy.

Naturally, I was stumbling over my words but I did have to blurt out my compilation of the finalists by country at the 2012 Olympics and she just smiled and agreed that anyone who made it to the finals was a total winner.

Taylor's boat crossed the finish line at Eton with a time of 6:10:59.

As I was leaving, Taylor waved from the kitchen, flashed her brilliant smile one more time and said it was nice to meet me. Oh yeah, my head is about 80 sizes huge right now. Awwww. If only Taylor had a brother with long blond hair ...*sigh*

The medal-obsessed media and fans rarely focus on who competed in the finals. Rather, it is all about which country won gold, silver, or bronze.

From my perspective, making it into the finals of the Olympics is a pretty big accomplishment, for the most part. Yes, there were some countries whose athletes were ushered into the Olympics with only 3 months of rowing experience but overall the competitors had been training very hard.

In the Open (Senior) forum, we tracked and tabulated every instance where a country made it into the finals of an Olympic rowing event. Overall, 59 countries had entries in the finals. What is interesting is the lack of correlation between wealth and nation size and number of final entries. Some executive directors of national rowing federations might be in hot water over these results...

First, the countries with at least 10 events in the finals:

1. Tied for first with 13 entries: Great Britain, Australia, and Germany
    
   
2. New Zealand had 11 entries
    
   
3. United States had 10 entries
   

Next, the countries with at least 5 events in the finals:

• China - 8 entries
  
• Italy - 7 entries
  
• Canada - 7 entries
  
• Netherlands - 7 entries
  
• Argentina - 6 entries
  
• Poland - 6 entries
  
• France - 5 entries
  
• Denmark - 5 entries
  

Finally, special mention should be made of two small countries with tiny populations but comparatively large entries in the finals: Czech Republic - 4 entries and Cuba - 4 entries.

In terms of small countries winning big in the finals, there are three that really strutted their stuff:

• South Africa
  
• Czech Republic
  
• Denmark
  

Okay, but any human interest angle to all of this? When you start recording and tabulating the information, you can't help come across some interesting relationships and interesting people.

First off is Mads Rasmussen who I met via @adtan in Denmark. Both he and his wife competed at the 2012 London Olympics. Is that a first, a married couple competing at the Olympics?

Next are the Greek twins, a phenomenon you find fairly often in rowing. They rowed in the pair and their images, well they're not blond but wow ...!!! Check out Niko & Apos

Then there are the sisters from the Czech Republic: Lenka & Jitka

Finally, there is the amazing overachiever, and possibly the only rower at the 2012 Olympics who won two medals, one in the Women's Single Scull and one in the Women's Double Scull: Kim Crow.

------------

For the eagle-eyed amongst us, some will protest some missing entries in their countries' final tabulation:

United States:

• men's single scull - although the IOC listed him as 24th overall, he didn't row in the final (DNS) so as far as I'm concerned, he didn't compete in the finals
  
• men's quad - although the IOC listed them as 13th overall, since they were a single boat in a heat, they could not compete in the finals and therefore were not counted
  

Brazil:

• women's single scull - although the IOC listed her as 18th overall, she didn't row in the final (DNS) so as far as I'm concerned, she didn't compete in the finals.
  

Poland:

• men's lightweight four - although the IOC listed them as 13th overall, since they were a single boat in a heat, they could not compete in the finals and therefore were not counted
  

Estonia:

• men's double sculls - although the IOC listed them as 13th overall, since they were a single boat in a heat, they could not compete in the finals and therefore were not counted
  

Hungary:

• men's pair - although the IOC listed them as 13th overall, since they were a single boat in a heat, they could not compete in the finals and therefore were not counted. the situation was all the more heartbreaking because the Serbians did not start and therefore robbed the Hungarians of their chance to compete in the Final B
  

Czech Republic:

• men's four - although the IOC listed them as 13th overall, since they were a single boat in a heat, they could not compete in the finals and therefore were not counted
  

Serbia:

• men's pair - although the IOC listed them as 12th overall, they didn't row in the final (DNS) so as far as I'm concerned, they didn't compete in the finals
  

Okay, so maybe this subject is so years ago and what does a Taylor Swift song have to do with rowing? Well, if you saw this video, you'll see the blond surfer-like connection that catches my eye ... but I digress.

I am the first to admit I am completely disconnected when it comes to music. What I hear comes from the television monitors at Golds Gym Hollywood and listening to the radio in the car. Okay, yeah, I do have a few Enrique Iglesias CD's but that's about it. I can't even remember what year it was when I first heard this song in the car driving north on California SR 99. But it was in July and I had never seen the video at the gym.

I didn't even know who the artist was but as I listened to it, my eyes left the road and I stared at the radio. It sounded like a love song written by a girl for a girl. If you close your eyes, and not become suggestively betrayed by the "appropriate" relationship coupling in the video, it REALLY sounds like a lesbian who is truly love sick for another chick.

Later that year, on the television monitor at the gym, I saw who the artist was, Taylor Swift, and the name of the song was You Belong To Me. I just wish for once, a music video could take a mainstream song and use a gay or lesbian theme in it.

So why am I bringing this up now? I still like listening to the song and it is the only thing that motivates me as I process my bills in Microsoft Money. Why do I let these receipts pile up? Ugghhhhhhh!!!

Yeah, maybe that song runs through my head when I see a certain really good looking guy who is out with his boyfriend, laughing on Santa Monica Blvd. Yes, I am still burning a candle for Troy J....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw&feature=artist

If you spend anytime reading the English rowing websites or perusing the British Rowing regulations, you'll quickly find the English have a profound interest in boating safety.

I am so glad that the University of Warwick rowers have acquired this noble focus. Clearly, they are ready to to do their part for lifesaving, and stand ready and cocked to assist any and all rowers who may face peril in the water.

http://www.glrf.info/gotchagallery/data/media/295/UWBC2012_10.jpg

Spending most of the morning scanning the new 2012 University of Warwick Boat calendar has been, well, so tedious and ... hard. I found I had to take my shirt off and rub my chest from time to time to keep me focused.

I don't know about you, but isn't always the case at your rowing club that there is one person who is slow to put hands on and help clean the boat, or replace the boat on the rack. Clearly this rower would do just about anything for anyone, and with great pleasure, if he could just relax in the grass after his piece on the water, and let the rest of his team put away the oars ...

http://www.glrf.info/gotchagallery/data/media/295/UWBC2012_04.jpg

Today marks the official end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. As an officer in the naval reserve, it should mark the end of my white lies and the shell games. For the past 8 years, I have hemmed, hawed, and misrepresented my actual civilian business occupation, running a gay online community rowing organization. At first, I just outright lied, although it wasn’t entirely false, by declaring my occupation as an entertainment and media financial analyst. I did have a few consulting jobs but they had long since passed. Then, over time, I simply said I ran a non-profit. What kind of non-profit? A sports federation. In what sport? Rowing. That usually ended the questions because rowing was so far off the beaten track, it stumped them.

Now, today, I should be able to say it: I run the Gay and Lesbian Rowing Federation. Technically, I should have been able to say that ever since I co-founded GLRF in 2003 since the regulations in place with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell stated that it was perfectly acceptable to march in a gay pride parade, work for a gay organization, and even go to a gay bar. You just couldn’t say you’re gay or kiss a guy. Unfortunately, the truth is never that easy. Navy culture is very nosey. Revealing my occupation would have been tantamount to saying “I’m gay.” Even so, the questions have been and always remain the same, at the Pentagon, at the Fleet Headquarters, at the Command Operation Centers:

1. Where are you from? (measure of conservatism)

Los Angeles … ohhh, a liberal, uh oh

2. What do you do in the civilian world? (measure of talent and skill set or who has a bigger “---“)

Financial Analyst … ohhh, okay, hmmm how do I classify that and does he make more money than I do? What company? … oh a consultant … I got the bigger “---“

3. Are you married? (measure of do you fit the mold and conform to our straight conservative republican culture)

No. …. huh? Let’s see, he’s this rank so he been in the navy for x years and got his commission at age 22 so he is z years old and therefore he should be married by now and he didn’t say he got a divorce … hmmm

4. Do you have any kids? (measure of if you’re straight since having kids means that you’re straight)

No …. Hmmm, all straight naval officers who are of that rank should have been married at least once and almost all of them have kids

Conclusion: he’s a homosexual

As in all organizations, organizational politics are in play. Keeping it on the down low ensured I wouldn’t be excluded from the senior officer inner circle. The down low was really a dance because most people, after they finished their line of questioning, would suspect but by my deflections, it was a subtle message: “I know that you know that I know but I won’t push it and so you can put this knowledge in the desk drawer and use me for productive work and we can both agree to just ignore it since I’m not permanently on staff.”

Domesticated elephants are constrained by heavy chains as a calf. As an adult, domestic elephants are controlled only by a string.

The end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is kind of like the string. Sure I can break it but my mind keeps telling me I have to keep playing the conservative cultural politics. For me, it will be a selective process of revelation, and that’s not because of my low rank but because of my relatively senior rank. I have to play it carefully to maintain the motivation of the members in the unit and to continue to influence those whose assistance is needed to get things done.

Needless to say, I do plan to celebrate, with gusto and wild abandon, along with my good friend, Captain Jack Daniels.

Posting from the Los Angeles Rowing Club's discussion board:

On Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 12:05 PM, xxx wrote:

 

The plastic plate to which shoes are connected is broken on the 4 seat of La Forza.

 

XXXX Rower

Re: (from L.A. ROWING) La Forza - Stretcher in 4 seat broken

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 1:48 PM

From: xxx

To: xxx

Cc: xxx

 

It is referred to as a phenolic plate by the maker of the row boat. Please call things by their right names so the lady rigger mechanical engineer will know what you are talking about. I might have one in my garage.

 

Anonymous

Too funny!

Oh gosh, a couple of clouds in the sky!!! Even so, we all sprayed and applied copious amounts of sunscreen before heading out on the water for our final session. Coach Kyle was under the weather so Coach Nick happily took his place and put us through some great drills and paces. First he took us north past Normandy Shores and up to Biscayne Point before he turned us around and took us back to a side canal that ran east-west through Normandy Shores.

We saw one electric boat in this side canal otherwise it was just us and mirror smooth water. We were doing 22-24-26-28 on 1 minute intervals over and over, as we paced the length of the canal and turned.

Nick also had us doing cake cutters (release, hands away, back to release and then to the catch), feet out and pause at the release drills.

On the way back to the boathouse, he had us doing leapfrog sets, with one boat passing the other in a power piece and then back to paddle and letting the other do the same. On the way back to the dock, we did a quick 30 stroke race. After effusive thanks to Lady Vic for her amazing coxie talents, and chat with Nick, we headed out to South Beach for brunch at Big Pinks. Talk about mounds of food!! Wow!!! The minute you walk into the place the smells of french toast, burgers, and omelets make you instantly ravenous. Bill had an omelet stuffed with pulled pork while I sampled the teriyaki salmon wrap.

Then it was off to 13th street for some afternoon sun along the rainbow beach!!!!

What a sweet weekend. Can't wait for next year.

Uhhmmm, the weather is once again perfect, sunny, beautiful, warm, with calm flat water and a lazy Manatee gliding by the dock this morning ...

We had Coach Phillip this morning and Lady Victoria as our coxie (she's a GLRF member (and a judge) so watch it!). Phillip steered the crews north, through the bridge and along the inland water ways, past Normandy Shores and Biscayne Point (we're in Biscayne Bay proper at this point), and into the waterway that led to fancy schmancy Bal Harbour.

He had us practicing on our clean releases, using the famous Francisco "uno" drills. Square blade release, count uno and feather and catch and repeat and then Uno plus, which is the same drill with blades squared at the release and through to hands away, pause and feather.

Saw some amazing homes along the shoreline with matching massive pleasure craft docked at the waterfronts ... incredible. We had great water once we got off Biscayne Bay and no boat traffic. Some really sweet rowing!!!

On the way back, we took a short cut canal that bisected Normandy Shores which is so pictureque, just the rowing shells gliding silently through the narrow channels of water.

Phillip took it up a notch, calling for three (1) minute pieces one following the other immediately to practice ratio shift: 21-24-27 rating. Did that twice and back to the boathouse. Some blisters are starting to make themselves known among some of the rowers.

Lunch was on our own. I found a deli offering chicken stew with rice and beans and plantains and a soda for $3.49 ... they definitely feed you well here. Headed south on a bike since our afternoon was off the water and admired the yachts and boat lining Indian Creek Drive for the Miami Boat Show. There is something definitely liberating about biking in the warm sun with your shirt off along the waterfront with crowds of people walking by ... B)

Mike said to meet him at 13th street on the beach. Had no problem finding the rainbow flags and the closely knit group of gay and lesbian sunbathers ... talk about some nice eye candy. It seems like everyone got the same idea and hit the gym for the last 6 months ... then changed out of my slutwear and back on the bike (shirtless of course) to round the tip of Miami Beach and watch the cruise ships set sail in the late afternoon sun. Found a guy with long dirty blond hair practicing his body flips off of park benches. He was smooth, ripped, lean, and ... flawless and as I watched, he kept pulling his close fitting, hip hugging board shots down a bit at the waist/hip after every double back flip twist, as if he wanted to make sure I enjoyed the show ... :rolleyes: It is amazing how comfortable everyone is admiring each other. I enjoyed some of the looks from the straight guys on my bike.

Then we gathered at Brando and John's new place in South Beach for a scratch social for all the rowers tonight. Wow, talk about nice digs and just three blocks from Lincoln Mall, what a great location.

We could not have better conditions for the rowing festival. Beautiful luxurious warm rich sunshine and smooth water. So awesome.

First day was with Coach Nick and he had us working on catches mostly as well as steady state rowing. Sherry was coxing the four and Ira and I were in the double (me as stroke). The 4+ is a vespoli and we are in a LW Wintech, which is a bit small for us since Ira is 165# and I'm 205#.

Nick steered us to lunch at 8 Oz Burger Bar which served the biggest burgers I have ever seen. One of the other coaches, Phillip, joined us as well as two juniors... and the junior to my right was ... a little uncomfortable but he got used to be surrounded by a bunch of 'family.' ;)

Dinner was at Sushi Siam on Lincoln Mall, just down the way from da Leo Trattoria where we had dinner last year. Ira gobbled up the baby squid, Mike and Paulo went for Miso soup, and the rest of us gorged on assorted sushi and sashimi. Afterwards, we headed to Mova Lounge for drinks and then to Bar 721 but there weren't any go go boys on the billiard table this year ... :angry:

Saturday we had Coach Phillip in the morning and Coach Kyle (all 6'7" of him with this wavy long dirty blond hair that seemed to need a finger through and a head toss every five minutes ... and his royal blue 'Man Up' t-shirt ... :). We did more drills in the morning and then Kyle treated us like some quasi national team workout, setting us on long pieces, quick turn and more long pieces. The line up in the 4+ changed with James stroking (Bill stroked on Friday), and I decided to switch to bow since my muscle hips kept rubbing on the boat side beams (no I am not fat ... !!), and with my long reach, it worked better with Ira as stroke.

Lunch was Cuban all the way, at Sazon Cuban which had the most amazing food. We all ordered average to plentiful size dishes but Mike's breaded chicken cutlet with melted cheeze was huge, taking up an entire dinner plate plus his yellow rice and red beans and plantains on the side. I had Vaca Frita, shredded flank steak with Congri (mixed white rice and red beans), and Bill had the most exotic dish, plantain stuffed inside a chicken breast and rolled up.

Dinner dispersed everyone. Ira and I had peruvian cuisine at 70th and Collins avenue. James had the most interesting night, having dinner with a bunch of boys followed by visits to three bars, the last being Twist where he saw 10 of the most flawless go go dancers ever.

Nothing better than walking along the sidewalk at 10:30 at night in a t-shirt with warm winds caressing your bare forearms and the full moon rising in the east ....

Just got in and it so nice to be back in Miami. It is soooooooo warm. It was freezing when I left LA this morning, like 40 degrees!

Not a cloud in the sky as the sun was setting this evening, and a full moon rising from the East. Caught the Airport Flyer and jumped off at 41st & Collins avenue and then hopped on a local bus, the 'S' heading north. Walked to my studio at 82nd & Byron.

Found this place on Craigs List. Really quiet and secluded, which is nice given the traffic along Collins as the Miami Beach Boat Show gets underway.

And now, to jump on the bike the guy lent me and get some groceries. I so want to buy a condo here!!! Rowing starts tomorrow morning at 8:45 am

Got a few bugs but let's see if we can blog about an image someone posted on G!G ...

http://www.glrf.info/gotchagallery/data/thumbnails/1/hoth2009_1107(037).jpg

For those those who don't live in California, the drive from Los Angeles to Seattle is ... loooongggg! Google maps calculates it at 1,165 miles. I can barely drive 500 miles a day. Something about a slight form of motion sickness I guess - I get sleepy so fast, and food just makes it worse.

The reason for the drive is that GLRF is hosting a booth at the 2010 NW Masters Regional Champs.

Of course having a blond hottie in the passenger seat would help, with his left hand gingerly draped over my right thigh but then the trip would be even longer because then we would have to make more frequent stops ... :D

The lodging of choice for us on the cheap is Motel 6. Not sure what the similar lodging would be for those down under or in Europe.

With regattas spread all over the US, many rowing clubs send their boats on trailers to and fro. I don't know how the drivers do it, driving from Long Beach to Boston, or Austin to Chattanooga. With a hard riding truck and a trailer in tow, it must take even more concentration. I would be a total wreck.

The booth opens on Friday so I plan to head out on Tuesday so that I can arrive in Seattle midday Thursday to rent tables. This regatta does not provide any tables. Ugghhh

Report from Miami! I love using that line. First, it is warm, and oh, yeah, it is warm . Flew in Monday night on Jet Blue to Fort Lauderdale International. The pilot said the temperature was 63 F (17 C). It is so nice to wander around at night with just a t-shirt and shorts.http://www.glrf.info/glrfimages/rightonthebeach_miami02feb2010.jpg

After shuttles, trains, buses, and two feet, got to the Deauville Beach Resort at 6701 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach (google map link) at 11 pm. The hotel is famous for its status as the Beatles base for the Ed Sullivan show in the early 60’s (history link). It is classic kitsch with a Frank Sinatra lobby and 60’s era chandeliers and furniture.

http://www.glrf.info/glrfimages/warm_miami02feb2010.jpgIt is so sweet to be literally two blocks from the boathouse. Rowed Tuesday morning in light winds and some chop. Took out an Empacher Trainer. Another trainer first. It seems like I am rowing every boat trainer in the world. The verdict: steady, heavy, and very plastic. I wouldn’t put the Trainer on my Amazon Wish List. But it was nice to be out on the water in just a one-piece unisuit with the warm breeze blowing past you ….

Have I created any warm-envy with anyone yet? ;)

Back to the boathouse Tuesday night for the masters erg training session – Vladimir put 6 of us through a 30-minute two minute interval step of 18-22-24-22-28-24-28-24-28-24-28-22-24-22-18. It was okay but I still miss the point because the workout was not that intense.

Sunny and clear all day Wednesday. What a city. Everyone here is a gymrat. I feel so at home. The only downside – no blond surfer boys. Just hunky latinos and totally jacked women!

Got to head out to the boardwalk for a walk before crashing – rowing at 6 am again … What’s the temp outside right now, at 9 pm? Ohhh, it’s cold: 53 F | 12 C. Tomorrow’s temp? A high of 67 F | 19 C.

It is sooooo cold in LA right now. I hate rowing when it's this cold outside. Every splash of water stings. I'm sure there are a few in Boston, Chicago, Madison, St. Catharines, London, and probably Seattle who could express ship me huge helpings of humble pie but I just can't get past the cold thing.

Of course, if James Ellis was in the boat, well yeah, I would be at the dock waiting at 5:30 am even if our scheduled launch was 7:15 am. ... What is it about blondes like him? http://www.glrf.info/glrfimages/james_ellis_face1sm.jpg I wonder if he has ever rowed? I met him once, at the San Diego Crew Classic. I was pulling in to the parking lot and this beautiful demi-god blond guy parking supervisor comes up to look at my GLRF vendor's pass. I didn't realize who he was at the time until I started obsessing over him this month since he was the Hunky Santa at the Beverly Center. Okay, so maybe I spent a little too much time reading about his background as a cheer guy for Indiana State and then moving to San Diego and working for a parking company. Now he is Mr. Successful in the entertainment biz and apparently will be in a movie soon. *sigh*

Okay, so back to my Water Rower and my six-in-a-row erg sessions. Just started before Christmas without any real NY'rs resolutions. Probably my motivation was Francisco, the coach for the Miami Rowing Festival, wanting erg scores from everyone who attends the event. Sure I could "modify" the results for me since I manage the database but still, I don't want Francisco giving me that 'Peruvian eye' thing - sure you can do 7:01 ...

Starting to get so psyched for Miami - all that sunshine, and the beach looks so nice - a little rowing, some time at the pool ... more rowing ....

Most of you will remember the Under Sea World of Jacques Cousteau TV documentaries in the 70’s. For those that don’t, Monsieur Cousteau invented the aqua lung aka scuba gear and brought the undersea world to everyone’s living room in vivid color. I will never forget the one episode about the sleeping sharks of Yucatan. Cousteau finally put to rest the myth that sharks had to swim all their lives in order to survive. After lots of footage, Cousteau, who personally provided the voice over commentary in his heavy French accent declared: “…ven ze sharks begin to gazther, eet iss time too leave.” I couldn’t stop laughing. Ya think?

So tonight’s email from Gary at the Los Angeles Rowing Club had me thinking about Jacques:

There is actually a Tsunami warning for the coast of California starting Tuesday evening at 9pm.

Although I don't think we will be hit by a Tsunami while out rowing on Wednesday morning, we thought it would be good to warn those that are rowing on Wednesday morning to pay extra attention to the swells,…

And if you do see a Tsunami coming Wednesday morning while out on the water, well I suggest a power piece.

If only Jacques were still around to provide the personal voice over for that email ….

:D

Wow, that was quick.

I posted Bob B's erg for sale on here since he moved to NYC last week and left me with the task of selling it. I also listed the erg on Craig's List at a higher price, $395.

That was at maybe 8 pm last night. By 8 am, there were 10 emails asking to buy it and even more came in through the day. One guy said he would buy it for $425 so naturally I emailed him and said he had first pick.

If you read my rather randy description on the ALL OARS post, you would not believe the hot tall drink of water who comes knocking at my apartment door. Yum! And a California Lifeguard to boot! Chiseled chin, guns for days, and huge feet.

So no, not a blond surfer but I sure would have liked to compare split times with him!

Got the cash and off he went.

*sigh*

Something to think about as I do my sets on my Water Rower.

No blond surfers around here. Up in NorCal for a couple of weeks and working on the GLRF site remotely.

It's been three weeks since I have been on the water and I won't be back near Marina Del Rey until 15 Sep. Yikes, that's a long time. No dogs to report; just chipmunks, pine cones, bears, coyotes, Aspens, and fir trees.

Everyone around here tends to have a little more body fat than LA. You can call us shallow but we LA boys like the lean look even if some us do succumb to the weakness of lemon meringue pie, brownies, and butter.

Julia was right - there is nothing better than butter although French butter is by far the best.

The FISA World Masters in Vienna starts today. I so wanted to be there, given my Austrian heritage but the economy has taken its toll. I hope they have great weather.

Time to chop some more wood.

It was my first time at the Undine Boat Club, my first time in a Filippi racing shell, and my first time on the Schuylkill River. There is only one word to describe all three firsts: glorious.

Fellow GLRF member and Captain of the Club Ray B (if you met him, you would call him Ray Blue Eyes for piercingly obvious reasons...) hosted me at Undine (pronounced Undeen) for a late afternoon row on Monday and an early morning row on Tuesday. Ray’s adorable golden retriever Sunshine happily showed me around the boathouse and enjoyed a quick swim in the river while she toyed with the algae. Her tail is like an enormous sweeping rope that swishes back and forth with happy abandon, sweeping and knocking everything in close proximity. Typical of a golden, Sunshine liked to have her head petted and nibbled your fingers in return.

Since Ray will be one of the WHOars in 2009 World Outgames Regatta event 106 Men’s Open 4x, we took out a double. The club has what I would call a fleet of Filippis, singles, doubles, and quads. Now I know why – the double was light, responsive, and super quick. Ray and I quickly got into sync and rowing 3 miles upstream without a break.

The river is long, wide, smooth, and reserved strictly for rowing and coach launches. The downstream portion, across from the ‘Boathouse Row’ is a dam that effectively prevents any other watercraft from accessing the river and upstream, at the ‘Falls’ huge rocks create a natural barrier to water access. It is truly a rower’s dream, although it can get very congested as upwards of 8 boathouses launch boats. One of the nicest benefits of rowing in Philadelphia in the summer is an endless stream of eye candy. You could just rename Penn AC the Abercrombie Boathouse - unbelievable. There were so many hotties you had to shift your eyes quickly to take in all the tanned, lean smooth bods stripped to the waist and lycra-lined.

The Undine boathouse is narrower than you might expect, just two boat bays wide. The downstairs is teaming with fours, doubles, and singles. Outside, along the both sides of the boathouse are more fours and eights. A huge ramp feeds the boats to the dock on the river. Upstairs is totally old school rowing: an enormous outside deck overlooking the river and inside a wood panel lined drawing room adorned with pictures and trophies, leather chairs, and a card table. The men’s and women’s locker room occupy the back two thirds of the upstairs. The two locker rooms share an enormous wood-beamed open air loft ceiling with only an 8’ foot wall between the men’s and women’s lockers. So conversations flow freely between the men’s and women’s locker room, another first for me! Ray introduced me to several of the members; who knew there were so many “family” members around including the totally adorable lean blondie Paul.

After our evening row, Ray and I headed to a local rower hangout, Brigid’s, for dinner. The atmosphere is totally rower casual with beer and good food and wood paneled walls. It really does not get much better.

Been here all week while hosting the GLRF booth. The water is amazing - it goes on for miles and it is so smooth.

The Oak Ridge Rowing Association (ORRA) is one major club that that seems to make a business out of hosting regattas. One woman I spoke with said they host upwards of 8 - 10 regattas a year. Amazing! With my guilty conscience eating away at my deteriorating Outgames readiness, I jumped on the erg for the two nights while I have been here after the booth was packed away, and last night took out a Wintech Explorer 24. That was an 'interesting' experience. My Mom would say 'interesting as a coconut crisp.' Adjusting the footstretchers took forever. The problem was that as I moved the stretcher forward, it came out of the guide rails and getting the three guide plates back in the guide rails took upwards of 15 minutes, and a sore back because I was bent over the dock at the water. The boat is quite heavy - 18.5 kg and I just about melted putting the boat away at the end of my row. I could use one word to describe my Wintech experience: plastic!

Needless to say, rowing on Melton Lake Dam is nothing short of heaven. The 2k course is fully buoyed but you can row up river or downriver (call it up or down dam really) for 20 + miles. I probably rowed 5 miles down dam and other than a couple of bass fishing boats that seemed intent on scaring all the fish in the dam by operating at full throttle at what I estimated to be 45 knots, the water was as calm as any rower could want.

Loved all the dogs walking back and forth in front of the booth. I had to sit down on the asphalt to say hi to one of my favs, a pug. It promptly jumped in my lap and climbed up my arms. Another dog, a Vizla is my new fav. This dog also tried to climb in my lap. There were two of them. Apparently Joline (of JL Racing) had one for a long time. I learned alot about the dogs from Laura Sweitzer (of JL Racing) who is now my new best friend.http://www.glrf.info/glrfimages/uscc2009_laura.jpg Both last year and this year, our respective booths were directly across from each other so we would have some time to chat and gossip during the down times. [this year had a lot more time for chat, unfortunately]. Anyway, Laura is a major dog lover so we talked breeds and compared stories. Laura lost her 4-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback very suddenly due to an unexplained illness so she and her family are now looking for a new family member. Loved looking at some of the new pups they were considering online.

Two Border Collies sauntered by and I was totally enamoured as they were with me. Speaking of being in love, the Yale freshman coach walked around the aisle at Walmart on Friday night. I almost passed out. The guy is blond, v-shaped, long hair, totally buff, and oh so ooo ooooo beautiful. Oh my god! I am in love!! At least, I think he's from Yale. Hmm, maybe I should check...

On to Philly where Ray B. has promised me two days of rowing in a double on the Schukyill. Nice. My first time.

With all the last minute GLRF work to do before I slink out of town for the US Independence holdiay, I rushed to the Marina for an abbreviated, 35 minute row. To most, it would seem like a waste of time to bicycle 14 miles one-way just to row for half an hour, but time on the water is time on the water. This morning, that truism came home in spades.

In spite of the choppy, wake-laden water from the holiday boaters heading out for a 3 hour tour, I began my usual drills of rowing with my feet out of the stretchers. Super coach Marlene Royle impressed upon me the importance of clean releases at the Florida Rowing Center and she even mentions it again in the July issue of Rowing News. About halfway through the drills, I suddenly had a feeling of the speed of the oar through the water and making the release of the blade timed with the speed of the water. You're probably reading this and thinking that I only figured this out now, after all these years, but making the connection between what coaches and technique articles say and actually feeling it are sometimes far apart.

I asked one of the Olympic rowers after the workout if they every felt these sudden realizations of technique. Her answer: "oh yeah, all the time!"

I guess this is what makes rowing so wonderful as a lifetime sport - new discoveries and continued improvements.

Now back home, I saw this video and just couldn't stop laughing. No offense to those who understand German and certainly, my family was affected by Hitler. All of my grandmother's family, father, mother, and all brothers, were killed in concentration camps. But for a non-german speaking person, in today's environment, this video is very funny for many reasons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELyTBXzfQJ8

Okay, time to hit the road. Erg session on Saturday and Sunday, if the gym is open.

With all the power boat activity on the weekend in the Marina, the seals don't loll around the surface and bark, and that big baby whale that everyone was going crazy about was no where to be seen. Whales are advanced creatures and very big, in general, but what do they have in looks over a lean blond surfer? I just don't get it. Why sit on the hard rocks of a jetty to see some slimy black creature spout some air and show some barnacle-encrusted skin when you can relax on the beach and enjoy the surfers (at least the lean ones) walking around, changing, and just gazing out at the ocean.

What you do see in the Marina, from a rower's perspective on the weekend, other than lots and lots of wake, is at first sight, a bit alarming. Riggs from LARC was coxing a novice 8+ this morning with bow and two seat empty. Craig W. was in Ballona Creek coaching a quad with 2 seat empty. I didn't know you could do that in a quad. As Dennis W. remarked to me the other day, you learn something new in rowing every day.

Hats off to Craig W. for his incredible coaching skills. He took a junior who had been sweeping all year and in just 5 weeks transformed this Dartmouth-bound just graduated high school senior from rough sculler to bronze medalist at the USRowing Junior National Championships. Topher is probably already making plans for this guy. Thanks also to Craig W. for taking the time to educate me on adjustable oars, oar length, and the collar to oar handle length. In one quick movement, Craig showed me that the sculling oars I had favored for the past 6 weeks were mismatched in oar-collar length, and the sleeves were totally worn.

Although I've been rowing for a long time, I have never used a Speed Coach. The Fluid Design I took out yesterday had one and after fumbling around a bit, I finally figured out how to turn it on.

Some things are better left unsaid.

• Do I look fat in these jeans?
• Am I buff or what?
• Big enough for you babe?

So when I started doing some high rate pieces, my jaw just dropped. Talk about a total ego crusher. Here I thought I was doing 26 - 28 ratings down Eddies Channel. Not according to the Speed Coach: dude, you're doing 21.5, if that ...

Hmmm, maybe that Speed Coach is just not working right, or Dennis and everyone else in the world has been right all along and I just rush my slide and end up going nowhere.

Oh, and I won't even say what my splits were .. Prince Adrian may disqualify me from the Outgames draw.

*sigh*

Several of the elite rowers at our rowing center use Fluid Design boats. I can see why. They are super light and really glide. They turn on a dime.

So how did I like my hour in a midweight? Nice although it was kind of shaky at the beginning, jumping from a MAAS 27 to a Fluid Design.

The reverse riggers really did not change the feel of the stroke or even affect me mentally. To me, they are just arms out there, holding on to the oars.

There were three issues that I definitely noticed:

1. The foot stretchers were angled outwards at the toes compared to the heels in a noticeable fashion so that I felt kind of like the AFLAC duck during my drive.
2. The boat was extremely narrow and during the first 20 minutes of the workout, I could feel my massive (well in my mind ...) calves digging into the front end of the seat rails. It was only by locking my knees and legs completely together that I my calves fit just barely between the seat rails. For a guy, that can be a little uncomfortable depending on your equipment down below because that may push the potatoes down between your legs. :blink: (Definitely not for me but maybe for those guys who cross their legs which I have never understood how they can do that or how it feels at all comfortable but hey, that's just me).
3. At the release, the boat would noticeably shudder. That really bugged me because my biggest personal pride in rowing is a silent catch and a silent, almost dropless release. Obviously it was user error but still ... no matter what I tried, I couldn't shake the shudder.

Every boat builder will, to some extent, slam other boat design and construction. What I heard about Fluid Design is their relative fragility. In other words, they don't take hard knocks very well. Kind of like thin glass. Just smashes. Compare that to Carl Douglas who said to me with a smile that his boats can take a huge amount of punishment and barely show a ding. Well, if I was rowing in a Carl Douglas shell, you can be assured I wouldn't be putting that claim to the test, not at that price!

So how did the boat sit with my 86.3 kilo frame? According to the coaches, I was down in the water slightly but not so much to make the boat unrowable. Craig L. made the observation that many folks prefer to be in a heavier boat but personally, he likes being slightly overweight in a smaller weight boat since the boat is lighter and will go faster. Of course, with that said, some may jump in and begin claiming greater waterline exposure and drag. Although I did take hydrodyanmics in engineering school, let's just say I didn't get an A.

Okay, well I shouldn't feel shy about posting a blog entry since if you haven't figured out, this is Brian aka The GLRF Team. It's different posting your own blog entry than doing one for GLRF. We have, let's see, 13 wordpress blogs, and now there will be a couple more coming online with our new project which should go live if our Eastern European contact complies with his code writing promises.

I've been training in a MAAS 27 for the last three months. It's nice but I hunger to go a little faster and also feel the instability of a true racing shell. Otherwise when I get to Copenhagen, it will be a real surprise, and I certainly don't need Andy R. coming up to me after the race and observe that I am ... consistent! Taking a Fluid Design midweight out tomorrow, borrowed from a certain totally hot elite rower whose name I can't divulge but he has the most magnificent smile, among other things ... B)

Other than making the plunge as the first GLRF 'member' (as opposed to GLRF official hatted guy), I thought I would try out our brand new blog feature for the website.

I hope this will help build more interaction as folks comment, and perhaps more chicks will be inspired to write and post with their own blogs.

What is it about LA and cats on leashes? I saw one again yesterday - an owner was walking his cat, on a leash, on the sidewalk as I biked past on the way to Marina Del Rey. Isn't it against all moral laws to put a cat on a leash? Well, maybe Siegried and Roy would disagree ...

Okay, off to the gym for some lat work, and of course, some longing for blonds ..

How do you sign off from a personal blog? Just 'later' in California-ease? Guess I better get the GLRF Karl Rove in here to give me yet more guidance!