That Heat Where Eddie Smoked Me

photo by Cassandra Mohr

About a year and a half ago we did a fun segment on gondolas for an Australian TV show.
Along with showing how romantic it all was, I mentioned that we also race these boats.  The host HAD to have us race for the segment, so Eddie and I took a couple gondolas out and ran a down-and-back sprint.  
I didn't expect to win, because Eddie is younger, bigger, 
and had been training a lot, but as luck would have it, I won that race.

This year at Nationals, Eddie and I ended up in the same heat 
for the Solo Sprint event.
It was again - a down-and-back course.
I thought "well, I beat him before..."
Turned out that such logic did NOT apply.

Eddie beat us all off the line, made it to the buoy turn first, and from there...flew away from us, all the way to the finish line.

It was an impressive performance, but it got me wondering:
was this payback for that race in front of the TV cameras?
Or had he just let me win that time?

I guess we will never know.

Just another Summer Day...in January

This time of year we never know what we'll get,
weather-wise, that is.

Today I was happy to be rowing in my summer uniform:
short sleeves, thin overshirt, and mesh deck shoes with no socks.
My sunglesses weren't dark enough, 
and I was still warm enough to sweat a little.

Just another summer day in January.
I just hope we'll have this kind of weather on Valentine's Day.

Back in 2019...

 

With all the craziness leading up to the last day of the year, 

and the requisite lazy recovery after, 

I neglected to post these images from December 29th here in Newport. 

Just another day - working a job that's way better than I deserve.

Gondolier Mike Bixler heads off with happy passengers 

on the gondola known as "Stella".

Rowing alongside Linda Isle, the lady in the gondola has no idea that she's about to be asked the biggest question ever by the man she loves.

She said "yes", of course.
And they lived happily ever after.