Adventures in France

When I think of a lengthy road trip I think of the West.  Our family has zig-zagged all over of the western United States, driven thousands of miles and still managed to stay in the same country.  This summer when I was in Alaska, I saw a t-shirt that said “size does matter” with a picture of Texas easily fitting into the state of Alaska. I think most of Europe fits into the size of New England. In Europe, you can drive a few hours and hit several countries. Thanks to the EU and the €, we no longer have to stop every couple of hours at a new countries borders and explain to them why we have a dozen rifles in our van.  These days, it’s smooth sailing from country to country, except for one major barrier that still exists, the language barrier.

Christmas in Austria

It’s almost time for Christmas Mass to start and my mouth is moving but nothing is coming out (keep in mind I don’t speak German and we’re in Austria for our biathlon training and races.) I look nervously to my left where an old lady has just moved into my pew and is sitting uncomfortably close. I keep mouthing words, repeat a few prayers I know and then recite a recipe I’d like to make if only there were ingredients for Mexican food in Europe. I look to my right and see the old man who is repeating the “Hail Mary’s”. This has been going on for some time now and I’m worried that my mouthing of words will not coincide with the “Hail Mary’s” that are being repeated in German. We arrived at church early so as to not make a scene being late, but I can’t help but feel our presence as foreigners has not slipped the attention of a few church goers. The old lady to my left looks at me. Oh no! She’s made me out as a fraud. I nervously lick my lips as my mouth takes a break from the muttering of random thoughts. I’m running out of things to mouth.

The old man is still going, his rosary moving at a rapid pace in his fingers. His voice sounds like a robot on a loud speaker, but it’s clearly coming out of this old Austrian man. The lady on my right moves a little closer to me. I’m thinking that I’m going to have to say something now because she’ll be able to hear that I’m not saying anything. Oh, why is she moving so close! I look around her and there’s an entire pew… and it’s empty. As I turn to face forward again I start mouthing words. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art though close to old women, and blessed is the board that hits right at my shoulder blades that keeps me sitting up straight.” When I went to sit down upon arriving at church I leaned back and there, no more than 2 inches from the front of the pew, was a board that runs the full length and lands right at your shoulder blades. There’s no slouching here; I think of my mother and how she’s always trying to get us to sit up straight, and I smile. As I continue to silently mouth words, I look around the church.

When I walked into the church I took off my hat in respect, but now as I’m looking around the church I can see that a lot of women still donned theirs. But wait…women aren’t the only ones wearing hats, the young kids and men, young and old are wearing hats too. I look around and see that no one has even offered to take off their coats. Then I can clearly see why as I look around to every person and I can see their breath as they are whispering prayers. Yep, that’s right, churches in Europe are generally not heated and this one is no exception. Suddenly I’m aware of the cold as I look down at the skirt that I was so excited to wear. For one day I was allowed to wear something normal that didn’t say “Adidas” or have red, white, and blue. And now I am regretting it. I should have donned my warmest long underwear. Suddenly it occurs to me why this old lady has sat so close to me. She’s trying to stay warm. I look up and see little groups of people huddled together in their respective pews. I hunker down and put my hands in my pockets and am thankful that the Catholics spend so much time standing up, sitting down, standing up, kneel, repeat. At least there’s some calisthenics I can look forward to as a way to keep me warm.

Mass begins and the priest appears out of nowhere at the front of the church with 10 altar servers. Ha! No way! All the altar servers are wearing headbands and hats! This is too funny. Immediately as Mass starts I’m nervous again. I grew up going to Mass, so I should have it memorized by now, but when you attend one in a different language it’s hard to decipher the different parts. Suddenly I’m nervous that I’ll genuflect at the wrong time, or stand up at an inappropriate time, but then Lanny does that. Everyone kneels and Lanny stands. “She’s blown our cover,” I think to myself, but then I laugh, glad that it wasn’t me.

What comes next blows my mind as it’s the choir! They start singing and I’m left wondering if the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Boston Symphony Orchestra are jammed upstairs in the choir seating. It’s beautiful! And for such a small town to have such an amazing choir… I’m left in awe. I don’t want them to stop. What I really want to do is turn my head and stare and probably drool; these folks are that good. But instead I keep my head straight forward and try to mouth the words to songs I know in English, but are being sung instead in German.

Much to my disappointment the choir stops, and it’s time to kneel, but at least we’re moving. As I kneel down my knees hit a pine board and cracks loudly. I chalk that up to ‘old age’ and playing competitive soccer for much of my childhood and young adult life. But what really gets me is the comfort, or lack thereof, for these pews. Not only do you have to sit up straight as a board, you’re kneeling on one.

A bit later it’s time for the collection basket to be passed around. This I’m prepared for as before church Lanny and I both agreed to put in 5 euro a piece into the basket. It wasn’t much, but being on a tight budget, we thought that amount was pretty good. As the basket was being passed around I couldn’t help but notice what people were putting in. The lady in front of me put in 20 euro cents! “What!” I thought. “She’s sitting there in a North Face Jacket and all she can spare in 20 cents.” Of course I don’t want to judge because you don’t know anyone’s situation, but suddenly my 5 euros is seeming like a huge donation as I watch people put in 1 euro here and another euro there. My parents always taught me to be generous with my time and my money even if you don’t have a lot. And I have plenty of food on the table, clothes on my back, and nothing to complain about, so I proudly put in my 5 euro.

And then suddenly it’s time for communion and boy am I excited! Calisthenics and a walk! I might just warm up after all. The priest takes his place and people start pouring out of the pews, and in no particular order. At home an usher will go from row to row and that way you know when it’s your time to go, but this is a free-for-all. So, I get up and follow the old lady next to me. Surely she knows the ropes around here. I get communion and am rewarded again as this is one of the good biscuits! Not those stale ones we have at home. (I bet here they don’t buy in bulk. Heck, the local bakery probably makes these fresh.) I return to my seat and while we’re waiting for everyone else to finish with communion I have time to marvel at the church. Every European church I’ve been in has been amazingly ornate and beautiful and this church is no exception. It has marble columns, gold covered statues, paintings adorning the ceiling that look like Michelangelo himself painted them.

After communion Mass ends and the choir starts up again. Wow! Ear candy! They are so beautiful. The voices are in perfect pitch and the instruments, which include a trumpet, trombone, flute, tuba, and organ are perfectly in key. Suddenly Lanny is pushing me. I look over at her and say, “What!?” Then I notice there’s a line of people behind her and nearly the entire church has already cleared out. The choir has just started and already everyone bolted for the door. I can’t say I blame them, because I’m an ice cube after having sat in the cold church for an hour, but this is the kind of music that warms your soul. But there was no denying these people their exit, so I obliged and once I hit the door I run the couple blocks back to the hotel to get inside where it was warm.

Later that day Lanny and I go for a long ski. We start out at the Nordic trails and later work our way up a snow covered road deep in the mountains. As we ski along one of the trails I notice an old man shuffling up ahead of us. He’s wearing a wool hat, a brown suit jacket and slacks. Everything looks to be several sizes to big, and he’s clearly suffering as he does his best to glide his skis over the snow. As we approach the man stops and turns to look at us. “Is this for real?” He questions in what sounds like to me to be a British accent. “Are you really from the U.S.?” Then I remember the big letters across our back that spell USA and the red, white, and blue suits we are skiing in. “Yes,” we reply. Then the old man wipes sweat from his brow and asks “Where are you from?” We reply that we’re from Colorado and then he says “Oh, and what are you doing in this God-forsaken place?” I look up at the old man in surprise, “We’re here for biathlon.” I answer. “Oh,” he says, and before I even have time to respond to him he’s shuffling off down the trail, head down, and working hard.

I watch him go, curiously wondering what made him say this was a “God-forsaken place”, why anyone would say that about any place. This area was beautiful, not the most beautiful I’ve been in Europe, but still beautiful. The town was small, maybe 40 to 50 buildings with about a 100 residents. I’m left wondering why this man is so at odds with this little town in Austria and then I’m wondering what brought him here. He clearly didn’t have a German accent, and his English was flawless. I’d seen him almost every day out on the trails suffering away in his big brown jacket around the tracks. Curious…
Later in the ski we leave the groomed trails for a shortcut into the woods. We come around the corner and run into this guy (see picture). He’s a creepy monster carved out of a tree with arms made out of branches that could reach out and grab you, and a mouth that looks like prison bars. Have to admit that was a little un-nerving. It was like the horror part of an old fairy tale or that movie “Brother’s Grimm.” (We spent the rest of our ski with our eyes towards the woods searching out any other creepy tree figures, but none presented themselves.) Our ski took us on a windy trek high up in the mountains. We skied up and up and up until we decided that any higher and the decent might be a bit hairy. Well.. too late for that. Lanny and I weaved our way down the mountain with our hands waving wildly in the air and our mouths open. This time I didn’t have any trouble finding the words to mouth. A clear “Ahhhhhhhh” was coming out the whole way down the mountain as I screamed and my skis tried to find an edge. Well, I didn’t actually scream, because I’m too quiet of a person to scream, but there was a clear scream going on inside my head. We made it back to the hotel just in time for dinner.

That night we had dinner once again with the Japanese team and it was a great time. I went to bed full and content. I closed my eyes and thought about the day. What an experience, and one I’m thankful for. As my eyes closed and I neared sleep I repeated in my head everyone and everything I was thankful for; my family, my friends, my sponsors, my teammates, my experiences. My list goes on and on and I’m aware of the gratitude I feel towards everyone who has helped me. I feel that everything that I’ve done in life was because of someone or for someone. I’m very much a “people person” and a giver. I much prefer to give to someone else than to receive something from them. But it only makes me even more grateful when someone does something for me. So, for Christmas I want to thank everyone… you know who you are (and if you don’t and you know me, than you are one of those people)… who have made an impact on my life, no matter how small, for you I dedicate my efforts. For there are very few people I’ve met that haven’t impacted me in some way. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Twin Biathletes Update from Italy, Germany, & Austria

Hello!

Below is an update of the past couple of weeks here in Europe. Hope everyone is well.

We miss you all and are thinking of you. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-Tracy & Lanny

Week 3: Conclusion… Ridnaun, Italy/ Hochfilzen Austria

After a week off from racing and some good training under my belt I was ready to race again. The weekend would host two races; an individual and a sprint race. The individual is our longest race and is 15 kilometers. This race is known as a shooters race because 1 minute is added for each miss as opposed to the normal 150 meter penalty loop we ski in all of the other races. It has been years since I’ve raced in Ridnaun, Italy and I have made a promise to myself that I’ll improve on my results from the last time I was here. That being said, I had quite a lot of work to achieve that. 10 years ago my sister and I competed here and became the first women to medal at a World Junior championship. We received a silver medal in the relay and in the individual race all those years ago, Lanny placed 3rd with one penalty and I placed 8th with 2 penalties. I vowed this time around I’d hit more targets and place higher up. The stakes were higher and the field was tougher, but I’d give it my best shot.

The individual race would consist of five- 3 kilometer loops with 4 shooting stages. Twice we would shoot laying down and twice we would shoot standing. The race course was tough and wound up and down the fields that made up this beautiful valley. The climbs were long, but more gradual. The most interesting part of this course was the fact that you could see everything that was going on. You could see the competitors in front of you and you could see the ones behind you. It really gave you a good idea of how you were doing during the race.

I started the race in bib number 29 out of 96 competitors. Each racer started 30 seconds apart. I started the race and I was relaxed, a huge change from the frantic race I had in Sweden a few weeks ago. I easily found a rhythm skiing on the long 3 kilometer loop. Today, I knew I was going to clean the race. At least I had that feeling. I don’t know how to describe it, but you just know. So, when I came into the range for the first time, I laid down and settled into a shooting point. The five shots went off smoothly, but when I looked back at the target, one of the five was left standing. I’d missed one! Damn. I thought. Well, cleaning the race was out of the question at this point, but the good thing about biathlon is, if you are patient and you don’t get all worked up, you can come back from a bad stage. So, that’s what I did, I hunkered down, focused on skiing my loops well and every time I came in to shoot I was patient and just let the targets fall. After I left the shooting range for the fourth and final time I was in a good spot. I pushed hard on the last loop and finished in fourth. But there were still over 60 women still to finish the race, so I waited and waited and waited.

When all was said and done I was bumped to 8th place. 1 target, that fateful target I missed, out of 2nd place. I had tied my finish from 10 years ago, but with one target better. I was happy. A top ten on the European Cup was hard to achieve.

An hour after my race I found out that I would be starting the World Cup relay the next day in Hochfilzen, Austria. So, I packed up my bags and hitched a ride with the Canadian team over to Austria. It was a busy day and even busier the next day. In the morning I got randomly drawn for the doping control, my second day in a row, having been chosen in Italy as well. So I made my way early to the venue, gave my blood and was off to the races. Lanny, who was sick, accompanied me on my warm up. It was nice to have someone to ski with. The race came and went in a flash and we ended up in a disappointing 14th place. It wasn’t my best performance either and I left with quite a disappointed feeling. The relay is my favorite race and no one takes it harder than I do when I feel I’ve let my teammates down. But there will be plenty of more relays this year and we’ll have our revenge!

 

Week 4: Obertilliach, Austria

This week we’d be back in Obertilliach, Austria. The place I spent a week training at just two weeks ago and the place I’d be spending Christmas. We would have two races this weekend; a sprint and a pursuit race. The sprint is three loops of 2.5 kilometers with 2 shooting stages. The results from the sprint determine your start in the pursuit. So, the person who wins the sprint, starts the pursuit. The person who is in 2nd place starts 2nd and starts in the time that they finished behind the person if first. Only 60 people qualify for the pursuit. After the sprint was done, I finished in 59th place. You don’t cut it any closer than that. Lanny, had a pretty good race after being sick and placed 33rd. The next day in the pursuit, Lanny would start 33rd and start at about 2 minutes behind the winner. I would start in 59th over 3 minutes back. Basically in the pursuit, everyone is trying to catch the person, or people in front of them. The first person across the line wins, so clearly the people who’ve had a better sprint, have more of an advantage in the pursuit. But that’s the crazy thing about biathlon. With so much pressure in the shooting, the person in first can drop 10 places with a missed shot in the first stage, the same goes for someone in the back, with good shooting you can really move up in the placings. That was my goal today, move up as far as I can.

The race started and I was feeling good. I skied behind a pack and came in to the shooting range and cleaned my first stage. My next three stages I missed one shot in each and still moved up. Until the last loop I skied pretty conservatively, too conservatively and so during the last loop I turned up the juice and started to pass people. It felt good to finally ski like I knew how. I was flying and had the 9th fastest last loop time of the day. I was psyched. I ended up moving up 22 paces to 37th place from 59th.

 

Week 5: Munich, Germany/ Obertilliach, Austria

The races last weekend were the end of the December World Cups and European Cups. Now all the athletes have a two week break before the racing picks up again after the new year. Two weeks seems like a lot of time, but if you add on travel to and from the U.S. and all the jet lag, there isn’t much time for training. Which is why Lanny and I choose to stay in Europe. It’s one of the hardest sacrifices we have to make. It’s not easy and not always enjoyable being so far away from your family on Christmas. And even though we’ve done this for many years now, it doesn’t get any easier, in fact, I think it only gets harder. But that’s the sacrifice you make to reach your goals.

So, after the races we traveled to Munich, Germany to watch some of our teammates travel home to the states. After they were on their way we turned the van south once again to head back to Obertilliach, Austria where we’ll spend Christmas. On our drive down, in honor of tradition, Lanny and I stopped in the town of Sterzing, Italy. A beautiful mountain town with picturesque buildings and quint shops. They always have a spectacular Christmas market, where you can buy hand made ornaments and knick-knacks as well as gluwine. Gluwine, is a favorite of Europeans this time of year, it’s a spiced wine that is served warm. It is good! So, the tradition that Lanny and I have is to take 20 euro and split up and buy each other a gift or gifts with a 20 euro limit. Mostly we buy little stocking stuffers and gifts that will help fill the time. The best part about it is you have to be pretty creative because 20 euro won’t get you very far. It’s always fun to see what the other came up with on Christmas day. Lanny’s worried this year that I out-did her. Must be her competitive nature, only a professional athlete would be worried about being out done in the gift giving arena. Of course I’m hoping I did out do her.

Later that day we arrived back in Obertilliach, Austria and this time we were staying at a different hotel. After we settled into our rooms we made our way down to dinner. When we turned the corner into the dinning room we heard a collective “Ohhhhh!” I looked up to see the Japanese team sitting in front of us. They were so excited to see us. We’ve spent many a Christmas’ with the Japanese team in Europe. They aren’t afforded the opportunity to go home for Christmas because of the long travel, so it’s often we find ourselves together in some mountain biathlon town.

We have been friends with the Japanese team for a really long time…well… let me clarify….we’ve enjoyed each other’s company for a really long time. I think of them as friends and I want to think that they feel the same way, but our friendship involves a lot of smiling, waving, and bowing. It was only a few years ago that some of the team members started to learn English and Lanny and I are desperately trying to learn some Japanese. So, I guess you could say that we have a very non-verbal relationship. Mostly we just exchange gifts. And we get really excited when we see them, and they get really excited when they see us. Yep, that about sums it up.

Well, this year, we wanted to do something special for them, so we had a cake made at a local bakery and then we added our own decorations. Lanny drew a card and we were all set for the delivery. That night we arrived early at dinner and set the cake, which was in a box, down on their table with a note. As the Japanese team trickled in only a few of them noticed the cake and those few hadn’t yet figured out why this box was sitting on their table. Being the shy people that we are, we got too excited and embarrassed to sit and wait, so we finished our dinner and went to our room.

About an hour later we hear some commotion out in the hall. I turn my head to listen and all I can here is “Hello… Hello….” Clearly someone is walking down the hall saying “Hello” at every door. Then I hear my name “Barnes”. I almost burst out laughing. I open my door and peer down the dark hall. Then I see three of the guys on the Japanese team. They are walking from door to door trying to find us. They didn’t know what room we were in so they decided to just yell outside each door. It was such a funny sight. They came over to the door and the three of them awkwardly shook our hands and said “Thank you” and “Arigoto” and bowed and handed us two very large pieces of the cake we had given to them. They also handed us two Japanese fans and 2 packs of candies. The excitement on their face was priceless. Through some very broken English we communicated how long we were going to be in Obertilliach and where we were going next. What happened next was the most entertaining. From my encounters with the Japanese team, I’ve come to the realize that in Japanese culture it’s not very nice to turn your back on someone when you are walking away, especially when you’ve just given them a gift. So, the three guys on the Japanese team bow and say thank you one more time and then start to back down the hall, then they bow and smile again, and again, and this continues until they disappear down the hall. I leave the door open to my room and back in just to make sure I didn’t disrespectfully turn my back. A few minutes later, when I suspect they’re long gone, I go and close my door. I sit back down on the couch and open up the book I had been reading before. No sooner did I do this, do I hear a knock on the door. This time there’s a different member of the team. He bows and hands us 2 very large bottles of Coca Cola zero. He thanks us for the cake, rubs his belly and says “very good.” And then smiles and waves and bows and backs down the hall, doing the same routine as the other guys. Finally I turn, close the door and walk into the room, grab my book and there’s another knock at the door. This time it’s two of the women on the team. They say thank you for the cake and hand us a bag full of goodies from Japan. They tell us that the goodies are for making soup. There are some rice noodles, some sauces, and some really strange looking biscuits. This time, instead of doing the routine of backing down the hall they just slowly close the door while smiling, waving and bowing. It’s such a funny sight and I love every bit of it. They are such wonderful people. They’re my favorite team on the World Cup.

In two day’s it’s Christmas. Training will continue through the holidays, which is good because it keeps your mind off the fact that you are so far away from your family. We are very thankful for having the opportunity to compete for our country, but we also promise ourselves that when we are done competing we won’t take for granted a Christmas at home with family. Happy Holidays to everyone. Merry Christmas.

-Tracy & Lanny Barnes

www.twinbiathletes.com

 

Hello Family & Friends!

How are you?

Road To Russia…Via a Tiny, Little Town in Northern Italy!

Today marks the third week I’ve been in Europe for the start of the 2011/2012 Biathlon Season. For those of you who don’t know, biathlon is a combination of cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship. Biathlon is a sport that pits skier against skier, biathlete against extreme weather, and shooter against the challenges of mental and physical exhaustion. It’s exciting, an obscure sport, but exciting none the less!

Week 1: Ostersund, Sweden

My first week in Europe found me traveling from my wintery home in southern Colorado, to an unseasonably warm, almost tropical Sweden. Normally this time of year winter is not hard to find in Scandinavia, but winter conditions were lacking in almost all of Scandinavia and central Europe. The only thing that was consistent from my previous travels here was the sun, which sits very low on the horizon and makes it look like dusk for much of the day. My twin sister traveled with me, as we both compete for the U.S. Biathlon Team together. When we left Colorado, we packed for what would be a 5 month journey across Scandinavia and Europe for our competition season.

When we arrived to the biathlon venue, we found a strip of snow snaking it’s way along the 4 kilometer course bordered in a sea of green grass and lush green forests. Nothing looked more out of place than the ski trail that we’d be training on for the next week. The snow that made up our little winter wonderland was made the previous year and stored in huge piles in the forest under a blanket of sawdust and tarps. Biathlon is the most popular winter sport in much of Europe bringing in millions of dollars and thousands of spectators. The biathlon venues cannot afford to take a chance with the weather, so snow is stored up to make sure the event can still be hosted without delay or cancellation.

At the end of the first week, we had our first big test. A European Cup, or “B” World cup race. A warm up and qualification for the World Cup that would start the next week. The morning of the race, we awoke to snow dumping out of the sky. Winter had arrived just in time. While it was great to see the fluffy white stuff, the once hard and fast ski tracks were now an ocean of deep powder, and the wind was whipping furiously. With the excitement of the first race, I struggled on my first two loops through the deep snow. The wind was relentless when I came into the range, and my confidence wavered.  I floundered a bit on the shooting range, where I’m normally consistent and accurate. With a disappointing finish, I missed the cut for the World cup, but would have a change within a week in Italy to make it back up there. My twin sister, Lanny, found a steady rhythm on her skis and shot well in the wind to secure a spot on the World Cup. I promised her when I left I’d be up racing again with her soon.

Week 2: Obertilliach, Austria

We left Ostersund, Sweden at 4:30 the morning after the race. We drove 12 hours from Ostersund to the southern tip of Sweden to the port town of Goteburg.  We then took an over night ferry to Kiel, Germany where we would once again spend 12 hours driving through all of Germany and then on to a small town in the mountains of Austria. I’ve driven much of Germany before, but to see the full length of it from a car window in one day was pretty neat, even though most cars are traveling close to 90 miles an hour on the autobahn! We arrived in Obertilliach, Austria late that night. We had seen little to no natural snow since leaving Sweden. We would once again be training on a strip of man-made snow. This week was an off week from racing and consisted entirely of training. The week was training as usual, with the only exception being the enormously adventurous journey to dinner every night.

In certain parts of Europe, the rich tradition of St. Nicholas takes center stage this time of year, as St. Nicholas Day falls on the 6^th of December. In the southern parts of Bavarian Germany and the german speaking Tirollean parts of Austria and Italy, the tradition of St. Nicholas also involves that of his helper, the Krampus. While St. Nicholas would reward kids who had been good, the Krampus would ultimately scare the bad kids in hopes that they would practice habits of being good. The Krampus resembles something of a devil mixed with a hairy goat. Their masks are extravagant and extremely expensive. The Krampus, which are typically made up of the younger male population of these small towns, dress up in their frightening attire, and wielding small whips, walk the streets at night in search of any unsuspecting children, or American biathletes on their way to dinner.

We’d leave the safety of our apartment with our senses heightened, and weave our way through the old houses and barns on our way to the restaurant. Every once in a while we’d here the sound of bells, followed by a scream. Even though the Krampus had the upper hand, they were required to wear a gigantic bell on their back. That way, any victims would at least be warned to their presence. We arrived in Austria on the 29^th, which meant we had a week until the big day…St. Nicholas. While I’m not sure the length of time before St. Nicholas these Krampus start terrorizing the streets, I did know that we had at least a week to try and avoid them. The first night didn’t fair so well when a Krampus, who had to be about 12 judging by his size, took on the tallest and biggest guy on our team. My teammates large frame towered over the little Krampus, but it didn’t stop the little devil from whipping my teammates legs repeatedly until he decided to run off. It was actually quite comical to see, so long as you weren’t on the receiving end of the whipping. Later on that week, another male teammate was cornered,  He did his best linebacker maneuvers to get around them, but received one or two good hits from the Krampus.

The last night we were there was the eve of St. Nicholas. This was the night when St. Nicholas, accompanied by the Krampus, would go from house to house where there were children and give them candies and treats. We did put on a pretty good sprint to make it to the restaurant that night with the Krampus on our tail. I’d have to say that I’ve never had that much excitement heading to dinner before.

Week 3: Ridnaun, Italy

On the 6^th we traveled the two hours from Obertilliach, Austria to Ridnaun, Italy. The drive took us through the rugged Dolomite mountains. We awoke that morning to freezing temperatures and every ski slope on the drive was a flurry of blowing white with all the snow guns making snow. Most ski areas remained closed with no natural snow, but with the colder temperatures, the resorts were determined to open soon for their eager customers. Ridnaun, Italy is a small town at the end of a valley, high up in the mountains. For anyone who’s been there, it remains their favorite place to travel to in Europe. The food is outstanding the people are incredibly friendly. Everyone in this valley speaks German, although most of the town signs are written both in German and in Italian. Some of the older folks in town still feel more ties to Germany than to Italy.

We arrived to a wonderful meal and a warning that winter was on its way. We went to bed that night with clear skies and a bit of skepticism.  In the morning, everything was white and snow was dumping from the sky. Winter had finally arrived, only a month after we’d been hoping for it. The ski tracks were soft and the shooting points uneven, however, there was an air of giddiness among the biathletes. It was like that feeling of seeing a bunch of kids playing around in the snow for the first time. Most of us are long past our childhood age, but are obvious fans of winter because of our chosen profession.

I have been doing biathlon for over 12 years now, which means I’ve been living out of my suitcase for the last decade. I’ve been zig-zagging across the globe in pursuit of what most other biathletes are after: the perfect race. Biathlon is a very unpredictable sport, and the winner of the race one day can end up at the back of a 100 person field the next day. There are variabilities like wind, snow and freezing temperatures coupled with physical ability, mental prowess and the uncertainty of dueling competition. We have close to 35 races in a year and it’s likely you won’t be “on” for all of them.

One thing all biathletes pursue is that race where everything comes together; your physical ability on the skis and your mental strength in the shooting range. The excitement comes as you ski as hard as you can for several miles and then, with your heart rate at over 180 beats per minutes, shoot at a target the size of a silver dollar from half a football field away. That’s what makes biathlon so exciting, and that’s why it has captivated huge crowds of people in European countries. Some of the World Cups will draw more people than the Super bowl will in the United States. Kind of hard to believe that people would get that excited about watching athletes ski around in spandex and toting guns, but it truly is exciting and I’d encourage you to check out a race. You can watch the races live at http://eurovision.digotel.com/ibu/index.html.

This weekend the racing will kick off again here in Italy. With winter now here to stay, it’ll make for one exciting, and very unpredictable event.

-Tracy & Lanny Barnes

Biathlon Race Updates from Ostersund, Sweden

We left Colorado and lots of snow several weeks ago to head to the pre-World Cup training camp in Ostersund, Sweden. Once we arrived, we found warm weather and the only snow was from what they had stored over the summer. Yes, snow stored over the summer! A mountain of snow was in the woods right next to the ski tracks and covered with sawdust and a big tarp for just such an occasion when warm weather and lack of natural or the ability to make snow isn’t available. The Biathlon World Cups are such a huge financial motivator that the venues, like this one in Sweden, will go to great lengths to secure good conditions and a quality event.

We trained for a week and a half on the “man made” loops before our first test which was an Europa cup. While we had mild temps all week, winter ran right into us a few hours before the start of the race. With driving winds and blowing snow, we fought some 100 women from all over the world to secure a spot on the World Cup. Lanny did secure a spot, however, Tracy had really bad luck with gale force winds picking up just when she entered the range. She missed out making the World Cup and now competes in one more European cup in Italy next week. Hopefully Tracy will be back on the World Cup circuit before Christmas.

Lanny stayed in Ostersund, Sweden and competed in the first World cup. She had a great start in the individual race, but the wind got the best of her and she missed 5 targets out of 20 to finish 48th place out of 98 women competing. If she would’ve been clean (hitting 20 of 20), than she would have made the coveted top 10. Now Lanny heads to Hochfilzen, Austria for some more World Cup action and Tracy heads to Ridnaun, Italy. (This is where Tracy became the first women in the US to medal in the World Jr. Championships. There, she hopes to take home an European Cup medal and secure a spot on the World Cup circuit.)

You can watch the races live on the Internet at:
eurovision.digotel.com or
services.biathlonresults.com

Here is the schedule of race coming up this week:

World Cup
12/09 6:30am MST (8:30EST) Distance 7.5 km Discipline Sprint Women

12/10 6:00am MST (8:00EST) Distance 7.5 km Discipline Pursuit Women

12/11 6:30 am MST (8:00EST) Distance -4×6 km Discipline Relay Women

Europa Cup
12/10. 2:00am MST (10:00 am European) Distance 15 km Discipline Individual Women

12/11 2:00am MST Distance 7.5 km Discipline Sprint Women

And here at the end of 2011, it seems fitting to thank our wonderful sponsors and supporters as a well as our family and friends for all your help in our quest to bring home the gold!

Sponsors: Advanced Technology International, Otis Technology, Enell Sports Bras, Danalco, Babes with Bullets, Bushmaster, Columbia Southern University

Supporters: Atomic Skis and Boots, Brunton, Smith Optics, Women’s Outdoor Media Association, SportLegs, Elete Water, Prois, Pelican, Women’s Outdoor News, Asym Precision Ammunition, TeludynTech

Editors Note: Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their 3rd Olympics and we encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.twinbiathletes.com.

Tracy and Lanny Are Heading to Sweden!

Here’s an update on Tracy and Lanny’s races in Utah and their upcoming schedule:

After the trials races in Vermont in August and Utah in October, Tracy and I secured the top two spots at the trials and secured a spot on the World Cup/ Europa Cup team heading to Sweden in a few weeks. We have a training camp in Ostersund, Sweden and then we’ll compete in World Cups and Europa Cup races in Scandinavia and Central Europe before Christmas.

This winter we will travel to Sweden, Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Russia. We’ve made a lot of great progress in our ski speed and shooting and can’t wait to use it against the rest of the world in the races coming up. Once we leave for Europe, we won’t be back in the States until the end of March.

World Championships are in Ruhpolding, Germany this year and we hope to be representing the US there at the races in March. They are expected to have record crowds at the races with close to 50,000 spectators at every event. We will fill you in on the how the races go and our schedule of races as soon as we get to Sweden. You can watch our races live on www.biathlonworld.com and we’ll keep our results, pictures, and adventures on www.twinbiathletes.com and blog on http://thewoma.com/category/the-road-to-russia/.

Currently we are some of the only biathletes in the World getting on snow training as most of Europe and Scandinavia are too warm for snow. I guess it pays to breath a little harder and live at altitude! We hope this will be an advantage for us when the first races roll around in a few weeks!

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their 3^rd Olympics and we encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.twinbiathletes.com.

Twin Biathletes Attend ATI Writer’s Event

Recently we attended the ATI (Advanced Technology International) Writers event at the Impact Training Center in Mt. Carol, Illinois. This year ATI signed on as our platinum level sponsor and are helping to make that gold medal in the 2014 Olympics achievable. This event was the first time we were able to spend some quality time with the owners and employees of ATI.  I don’t know why I still am shocked at how many incredibly good and decent people I meet in the gun industry, but it now really makes me proud every time I do meet more shooting industry people.  I’ve been involved with and met people in many other industries and can honestly say that the gun industry holds the most wonderful and endearing people I’ve ever met.  ATI’s owners are a shining example of this.  I have never met two people who were more passionate about what they do.  John Chvala and Eric Pfleger are truly remarkable people.  Being passionate about business, I look up to and am inspired by the business savvy that these two possess.  John and Eric’s business sense is exemplary.  As a young entrepreneur I can only hope to duplicate the rare and incredibly innate sense of how a successful business should be run.

We also witnessed ATI’s ability to produce incredibly reliable, and cutting edge products. Their buttpads are like nothing I’ve ever tried. They feature a recoil system that literately takes the shock out of shooting.  During the writer’s event everyone was shooting shotguns, AR’s, and a 50 cal and no one complained of a sore shoulder. With any standard buttpad you’d find on the market, you’re sure to be sore the next day after that many rounds fired, but with ATI’s Akita Scorpion Buttpad you can keep shooting until you run out of ammo.  I am continuously impressed with ATI’s products and their versatility.  During the writer’s event competition everyone used the same AR and shotgun.  With ATI’s adjustable stock it was a quick adjustment to go from a 6 foot tall guy to my short 5 foot 4 inch frame. They are the industry standard when it comes to gun stocks and accessories.  The company promises new and exciting products yearly that will blow the mind of any shooter.  Their products make sense. They are light, strong, and durable thanks to the science developed by Poly One.  Their stocks are adjustable.  Their colors are stunning and sleek.  Their technology unrivaled.

Besides the product aspect of the business we were exposed to ATI’s ability to be laid back and relaxed. Hence the writer’s event.  I haven’t been to another writer’s event but I doubt many are as exciting and fun for a writer as ATI’s writer’s event.  How many events involve a 3-gun competition, cutting edge products from top line companies, and a car filled with tannerite?  I witnessed Suzi Huntington, Editor of American Cop, accurately move through the pistol stages with the new Ruger SR1911’s, Kim Sidelinger of Media Direct flawlessly make her way through her very first 3-gun shooting competition. Gloria Shytles, Managing Editor of Inter Media Outdoors, stepped up behind a 50 cal and hit a jug of tannerite in a Toyota Corolla and blew it sky high, Eric Poole of Guns & Ammo took some great shots offhand with the AR’s to do some damage on the car.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.  The food was great, the people we incredible.  We can’t wait until next year’s ATI Writer’s event.  ATI is sure to host another great event.

Moose on the loose

It’s June in Anchorage, Alaska and we are in the middle of a two-week biathlon clinic and training camp at the World Class Anchorage Kincaid Biathlon range. Kincaid Park used to be home of a large military base that housed Nike missiles. These Nike missiles could hold nuclear weapons and thwart any attack within 75 miles of Anchorage during the Cold War. Now Kincaid is a park used by bikers, runners, and many outdoor enthusiasts. The only dangerous things left in Kincaid are the many moose that roam the park and even the moose don’t compare to what used to sit in the many bunkers dotting the landscape.

Kincaid Park has the largest moose population in Anchorage and we encountered moose almost on a daily basis while training in the park. The park moose are fairly used to human encounters, but can still be dangerous, especially in the spring and summer when the cows are running around with their calves and in the fall when the bulls are in rut. There are more attacks made by moose on humans in Anchorage than by bears, so with that in mind we tried hard to make sure we didn’t add to that statistic.

While in Anchorage we are working with three different groups of juniors during our two-week stay. A few days into our camp we are running down one of the many trails in Kincaid with one of the three groups. The group we are with that particular morning is a very motivated and talented group of advanced juniors, some of whom have represented the U.S. overseas in the World Junior Championships. We are swapping stories and running down the trail when all of a sudden Tracy, who’s in the back of the group chatting with one of the girls, realizes that in only a flash she is at the head of the group and everyone around her is retreating as if they were running in the running of the bulls in Spain. While she hears the footsteps of all the athletes now behind her and leaving quickly, Tracy finds herself face to face with a momma moose who’s charged the group. Tracy, who wasn’t used to such encounters with moose didn’t have the big “danger, danger” flash in her mind as quickly as the local kids and was momentarily stuck flat footed in the middle of the trail with a brown wall of fur detaching itself from the thick forest and getting closer. While her heart rate began to rise and beat against her chest at a much faster rate than before, Tracy’s mind finally clicked into action as she wheeled on one foot and put it into fifth gear and retreated with the rest of the biathletes before the encounter escalated into anything other than a quick scare and a jump in heart rate.

Tracy and I were fortunate enough to stay a quick 15-minute bike ride from the venue with Sally and Jim Burkholder, who live just on the edge of the park. They live in a beautiful home that has the shape and look of a barn, but is extremely cozy inside. The Burkholders have been involved with and have been an important part of Nordic skiing for a long time and have housed many Nordic and biathlon athletes over the years as they train in hopes of reaching their dreams. During our two-week stay in Anchorage, Sally and Jim let us borrow their mountain bikes which had panyards  on the sides that allowed us to carry all of our equipment and ammo (minus our guns which we carried on our backs) to the range. Every day, sometimes two or three times a day, we’d set off from their house to the range to train or run clinics for the beginner, intermediate or advanced junior biathletes in the area.

On one of our trips to the range, Tracy was in the lead heading down one of the single track trails that were lined with thick vegetation. The trail was similar to biking down a hallway with lush green plants on either side.  With Tracy bombing down the trail and I not far behind, she suddenly slams on the brakes in front of me forcing me to do the same and come to a sliding stop right on her wheel. There in front of her just 15 yards away is small bull moose walking toward us down the trail. With no time to retreat and nowhere else to go, we put the bikes between the moose and ourselves and squeezed off the side of the trail as our heart rate began to rise and the hair on our arms and back of our necks rose in that nervousness you get when you know something bad is about to happen. The moose slowly lumbered step by step closer with its big and dark scruffy coat still shedding its winter fur and flies swarming around its head and rump. He didn’t so much as glance at us as he passed within arm’s length and continued on down the trail with his long legs making sucking sounds when he pulled them free from the mud puddles in the trail. It was the second time in just as many days that we had a jump in heart rate without having to move an inch and a close encounter that we’d rather had from a safe and reasonable distance.

We trained hard for two weeks in Anchorage and even had the opportunity to do a few training sessions with the Alaska Pacific University (APU) team, which is one of the best Nordic programs in the country, with three members of its team on the Nordic Olympic roster in 2010. We trained with Kate Fitzgerald, Kikkan Randal, and many more of the top female skiers in the U.S. We also put on clinics for the Anchorage Biathlon club and worked with the three different levels, from beginners to advanced juniors.  The beginning level kids ages ranged from 8 to 14, and despite a few having never shot before, by the end of the two weeks, we had them not only hitting their targets, but shooting well after running laps around the stadium. The second group we worked with was the intermediate biathletes ages 13-16 – athletes who had skied before and had a little experience shooting, but hadn’t participated in the Arctic Winter Games or World Jr. Championships. These kids were so motivated, they would often show up and hour or two early and shoot with Tracy and I while we were training before the clinic began. The third and final group was the advanced juniors who had a lot of shooting experience and most of them had raced internationally. They would often join us during some of our training sessions. This was the group that we encountered the majority of the moose with and the group we ventured the furthest from the range with.

With daily encounters with moose an other wildlife, two weeks of really hard physical training, and three groups of young biathletes motivated and ready to take on the world, we called the trip a success. We plan on heading up there again next year to train, work with the Anchorage Biathlon club, and dodge moose. We also hope to get back up to Alaska sometime to hunt moose during season. Then the tables might turn and we might actually feel less like the hunted and more like the hunters. With moose on the loose, Anchorage is and exciting place to train and visit.

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their third Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website atwww.twinbiathletes.com.

Tracy and Lanny Barnes to compete in Summer Biathlon

Tracy and Lanny Barnes, Twin Biathletes, will be competing in the US and North American Summer Biathlon National Championships in Burlington, Vermont on August 6th and 7th. All the top Biathletes in the US as well as the top biathletes in Canada will be participating in the Championships hosted by the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club. Not only will Tracy be looking to defend her Summer US and North American titles, they both will be vying for a spot on the World Cup and World Championship team this winter. Lanny was runner up to Tracy’s National and North American Championship titles last year. There will be a two part race series to determine the World Cup and World Championship team, the first taking place at the Championships this weekend and the second taking place in Utah in October. They will be competing in a 7.5km sprint with two shooting stages and and 10km pursuit race with four shooting stages. Both race will be completed on roller skis which are very similar to skiing on snow. Temperatures are expected to be in the 80′s, so for the biathletes, they are going to have to battle the heat instead of their usual cold winter temperatures. The twins have been out in Vermont the last two weeks training hard and preparing for the races. Check www.twin biathletes.com for updates on results and pictures from the races this weekend.

The Twin Biathletes, Tracy and Lanny Barnes are supported by these fine companies. Please support those who are supporting us.
Sponsors- Advanced Technologies International (www.atigunstocks.com), OTIS Technology (www.otisgun.com), Bushmaster Firearms (www.bushmaster.com), Enell Sports Bra’s (www.enell.com), Babes With Bullets (www.babeswithbullets.com)
Supporters- Atomic Skis (www.atomicski.com), Sportlegs (www.sportlegs.com), SealSkinz (www.danalco.com), Smith Optics (www.elete.smithoptics.com), Elete (www.eletewater.com), Prois (www.proishunting.com), Point to Point Graphics (www.ptpgraphicsdurango.com)

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