Green Hornet has been sold

I bought a Kawasaki KLR 650 3 years ago. I was very excited. I even took a class on how to ride motorcycles. The whole experience was pretty great. Riding this bike in the mountains is a pretty good time. The problem I ran into was I just didnt have time to ride.

I dumped the bike once on a dirt road. To this day I am still not sure what happened. All I know is that one moment everything is fine and the next I am flying through the air. I had barely a scratch on me. The bike however had a bent radiator, scratched case, and a bent clutch. I couldn't shift so I had to ride back in third gear the whole way. Let me tell you a little hard to start.

Much to Paiges excitement I sold the bike yesterday. I put an ad on craigslist.org and 5 days later I sold it for what I was asking. I took a hit on the sale but now it is sold. Sometimes you just have to do something. I feel pretty lucky that I got to ride and I walked away unhurt.

Wednesday- A busy day

While my Job is fencing it involves more than travel and fencing. Wednesday exemplified that.

In the morning Cody and I did a demonstration for the City of Colorado Springs. The training center is going to start a whole host of new construction in the near future. They are going to add a bunch of buildings and a lot of new dorms. I am pretty excited to see what happens. This demonstration was part of tour for the City. It gave the 80 people who came a glimpse of the sports we practice, the people who live and work here, and how it all works.

Right after words we got to meet with some of the architects that are helping design the new training center. They wanted to get an idea of what was important to us and our Olympic journey. The meeting lasted only an hour but it turned out great. One of the great things that came out of the meeting was the athletes wanted more environmentally friendly buildings. GE is a big sponsor for the USOC. GE makes a large number of renewable energy and high efficiency building products. We are hoping that the training center in Colorado Springs could be a showcase for that new technology.

After stopping for a quick lunch we were off to rally. 600 1-8th graders had come out to wish us luck in Beijing. One class sung us a Chinese pep song. The school for the deaf and blind presented us with a poster they had made. The coolest part was after all the ceremony the staff let all the kids come down on the floor and talk to the athletes. The kids were all very excited. Most of them didnt bring pens and paper for autographs so I had a lot of requests to sign arms. Overall it was just a great experience. It is nice to know that you have a whole country behind you.

Sometimes all I have to worry about is fencing but other times their seems to be a whole host of other things that I do. Wednesday was one of those days with all the other things.

New Lenovo Lapton

I recieved my new Lenovo notebook this week in the mail. So far everything has worked great. I was a little worried about using Vista but so far it has not driven me over the edge. All the programs I normally use work. It also has a slot for my Olympus memory card. Olympus has a proprietary memory card and I was pleasantly suprised that Lenovo added the appropriate slot. One really cool feature about the new notebook is the facial recognition software. Instead of typing in a password the computer looks at my face and logs me in. I am looking forward to taking the new notebook on the road and putting it through its paces.

Back in the US

I am back in the US. After a what seemed like a long flight I was happy to be in my own bed. I now have a couple of weeks before I compete again. I am looking forward to the down time. Although the paper work and meeting make it less fun. I was fortunate though to get some free tickets the the Josh Turner and Carrie Underwood concert last night.

The tickets were pretty high up but we had a direct view of the stage. Josh Turner was the opening act. I have been to a total of two concerts in big arenas. This being the second. The first was a Linkin Park concert a couple of years ago. I am not the biggest fan of country but it is always interesting to see what other performers do.

Josh Turner seemed to be pretty good at what he does. His songs were not memorable to me. They sounded fairly generic. Maybe because I have the untrained country ear. The things I do remember though was one song about firecracker and something about a train and souls. The fiddler for his band seemed to be on his game. I dont see a lot of fiddle solos normally.

As the countdown timer wound down towards Carries's entrance the crowd started to go crazy. I have to imagine that is a great boost to ones ego. Her intro involved some music and a video shown on a big screen in the middle and two smaller screen on the side. As the music and video began to crescendo Carrie emerged from the floor in a very tight shirt and pants accented with four inch heeled boots that came to her knees. To top off the ensemble she had a very shiny belt. The first song was good but it seemed like her voice had not warmed up. The next hour and a half was not so memorable. She seemed professional but lacked the showmanship of other signers I have seen.

To cap the show though she did a very nice job. The second to last song was Paridise City by Guns and Roses. Because Axel Rose's voice is so high the cover worked nicely. The lead guitar in her band seemed to really relish being let out of the box. While the guitar work was nice in a such a large venue it is a little hard to hear and see how good he was. Either way it was a really fun song and a bold choice. For the final sound Carrie belted out Before He Cheats. While I have some philosophical problems with the song (what about the guys side of the story, maybe they were on a break, maybe that had broken up 6 months ago, maybe he was just having a beer, and really wrecking a mans truck is just spiteful) it is fun to listen to and I sang along. The words create a very vivid picture in ones mind and the tune is very catchy. Carrie really seemed to hit her stride with this song. Her movement and the way she could just belt this out was great to listen to.

While I wouldnt have gone if I had to pay but it was a fun concert to attend. Even if it was just to see something different. It is nice to watch someone else perform for a change. I am glad to be back in Colorado.

Credit for the photo goes to http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/officialphotos/19

Challenge monal

Today was the final day of the Challenge Monal. Cody and I both made the second day. Cody went 4-2 in his pool and then won a close bout with Goetz from France. Today Cody fenced Grumier from France. Grumier is a tough bout. Watching the bout it just seemed like a bad match up. Next time Cody is going to try a different tactic. Cody is a great fencer I am sure he will win next time.

My first draw was Di Maggio from Switzerland. I was pretty excited when the Swiss coach told me that he didnt even know who he was. Di Maggio had beat Cougal from the Czech republic(normally a very strong fencer) the day before so I was a little cautious. The first period ended with me up 1. The second period I began to feel a little more comfortable and extended the lead to 3. The final score ended up being 15-8. This was a great draw for the first bout in the 64.

My second bout was against Gustin from France. I hadnt seen him before but the French are very deep in mens epee. The bout was close all along. In the final period I managed to get up 14-12. Then I made two mistakes; going back and going back. Gustin managed to tie and we went into overtime. I got priority(if the one minute runs out then I when (I have never seen this happen in mens epee)) and we were off. Gustin pushed and atacked. He missed then I went back at him and missed. Gustin retreated not quite far enough and made a lazy sweeping parry. Out of instinct I drilled him in the hand and earned the final touch.

My next bout was against Fabrice Jeannet. I have been fencing this guy since I was 17. I have never beaten him 1 on 1 and we are in France. Cody and I talked before the match and I felt like I had a good plan.

Unfortunately I did not execute the plan so great and I quickly got down 4 touches. There were a couple of doubles and then the score was 10-5. I manage to close within two touches only to go back down 12-8. Then I remembered something Cody told me in another match in March "Mix it up, move, make yourself unpredictable." So I did. 1 touche, 2 touches, 3 touches, 4 touches... I have tied it 12-12. The crowd erupted. 30 seconds left in the final period. What does Jeanett do? He attacks. I had really hoped we could fence one touch. I fended him off for a little bit and then we got a double. 25 seconds left Jeanett attacks again. This time I try to fend him off but I am going back instead of forward. He gets the touch. 6 seconds left down one touch. I have to go for it. I go forward and do my best. However today it wasnt good enough. Jeanett gets the touch and the bout is over.

I took some good tactical things away from today. I ended up in the top 16. I got a week to hang out in Paris. I am sad I lost when it was so close. Overall though it has been a great trip to Europe. I am excited to go home tomorrow. For photos check http://www.escrime-monal.com/ tomorrow. On a side note.

Happy Mothers Day Mom!

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Trip to...

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Trip to...

Here are the photos of Versailles. The Gardens are very amazing. Cody took 96% of the photos I took the rest.

Chateau de Versailles

Another late start but what a day. I have never been to Versailles until today. The RER provides very quick transport out there. After standing in line for 40 minutes we purchased out tickets and were on our way.

There are way too many things to talk about with regards to Versailles. My overarching impression though is "Wow, these people were really into themselves!" The sheer size and amount of effort that went into the decoration are very impressive. From the largest painting for its time to the velvet wall paper. The hall of mirrors is really astounding. I have been a number of castles but this one room stands out. The 200 meters of mirrored wall facing the grandest garden. All this accented by a plethora of crystal chandeliers.

After visiting the over the top Kings and Queens chambers we were guided to the Hall of battles. 500 meters of never ending paintings of battles. The concept is pretty cool. The paintings depict in chronological order the most important battles in Frances history. The paintings are all very impressive. Delacroix whom I had not heard of before did some nice work. There is one painting that really stood out. It was a painting of a battle in its midway point. The figures were all slightly blurred but acceneted with striking colors. The effect is to feel like the painting is a snapshot at the crux of the battle.

The grandest part of the castle though was the gardens. There are like nothing I have ever seen. The grounds were endless stretches of manicured shrubs and trees. The paths while ever so mathematical seemed to weave around like mazes. To top off the impressive plants there is a 3km long lake.

Cody and I decided since we were here we might as walk around it. The walk was great but very long. The paths are all shaded by manicured trees which makes the walk more pleasant. It seems that this is the place that the French truly come to picnic. The grass was seasoned with families and friends sleeping, eating, and generally just enjoying the company of each other.

It is hard to describe the sheer size of the whole the experience. If one is ever in Paris, Versailles is a definite see. Take a whole day and you would do well to pack a nice picnic and plan for a luxurious nap in the afternoon sun.
The most impressive par

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Sewers,...

Here are the pictures of the sewers, Arch, and Montmartre. Cody took some photos. I took others. Enjoy!

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Sewers,...

6 Hour march through Paris

Despite a very late start to the day I saw a great deal. For 6 years Cody and I have been trying to see the sewers of Paris. Every time we go they seem to be closed for one reason or another. We tried to go yesterday but missed them by 5 minutes (they close at 1600). Today though we managed to make it. After lounging around until 1430 we finally mustered the effort to go out. After a short but very pleasant walk down the Seine we found the entrance near the Invalides. I got pretty excited when I saw a sign saying military received a discount. When I showed my military ID though all I got was a sort of blank stare from the man behind the glass. Turns out only French military get the discount.

25 quick steps down and we were in the sewers. The sewers of Paris are immense. They stretch for 2000 Kilometers. I was slightly apprehensive about entering an active sewer due to the probable smell. However the smell wasnt that bad. The beginning of the self guide tour(the only option available that I saw) is in a closed section of sewer. As you walk past signs about the construction and history you quickly find that you have ventured into a working Sewer.

The water just doesnt look good. At one time the Seine was flow point of all the sewers. Really disgusting when you realize at that time the drinking water source was also the sewers. Luckily the Parisians recognized this problem and made some changes.

The sewer works very well but needs to be maintained. The museum is filled with the machinery used to clean the sewers. The french that work the sewers are well paid and receive a nice pension. After seeing what they have to deal with it all makes sense.

The oddest thing about the sewer was the methane bubbles. When I stared down into the "water" I saw little bubbles. I wasnt sure what this was. Cody read some more signs and quickly discovered the bubbles are methane. Some of the bubbles can reach a meter in diameter.

Overall the tour was very awesome. I wished I could have explored more and found were the Ninja Turtles have their lair but it just wasnt possible. If you are ever in Paris I definitely recommend this stop.

Realizing that we had a great deal of light left we visited three more sights, the Arch de Triumph, Montemartre, and the Opera. The Arch is cool. Despite the very high price of 9 euro to go to the top we went. The view from up there is really spectacular. As well it should be after and endless set of stairs and 9 euro. Despite hunger and a nagging thirst we hoofed it over to Montemartre.

Montemartre was very nice. The climb up is tiring but the area is so quiet. The church at the top is very impressive. It looks different than any other church I have seen. The view from the front is also very impressive. After a liter of liquid we headed back to the apartment with a quick stop outside the Opera. 6 hours just flew by. While the Metro in Paris is great, seeing it by foot is a must.

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Cataco...

These are the pictures of the Catacombs. Cody Mattern took all the photos except the ones of himself. I took those and a smattering of other ones. I hope you enjoy.

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Cataco...

Catacombs of Paris

Hello and welcome to my blog. Today I happen to be in Paris. While I have been here many times I have never been to the Catacombs. Cody and I decided to go finally. As we walked there, in my mind it seemed like any other tour. However as I descended the 83 steps and proceeded down the 500 meter long tunnel. I felt a rising lump in my throat. The whole experience reminded me of how I feel before the first bout of the day. The sign before you enter the actual catacomb reads "Stop, beware this is the land of the dead"(self translated from French (I don't actually speak French but I try)). This did not help a great deal. As entered the catacomb I was still nervous. The dark light and endless walls of human bones. As I journeyed further in though the nervousness disappeared. The catacomb is intriguing and disturbing. 2 million people have been laid to rest there. The tunnels dark and ominous seem to stretch and turn forever. One of the most strange sights is a place where the skulls are arranged in the wall in the shape of a heart. As you exit it becomes less and less creepy. When you climb the 83 steps and walk into the sunlight it all seems like a strange dream. The door as you exit has no sign and you are many blocks from the entrance. Overall it was a fascinating trip. If you are ever in Paris it is a definite must see.