WOMA Members Lanny and Tracy Barnes to be featured at OTIS Booth!

 

Road to Russia: End of Year Summary

The snow is melting and another awesome biathlon season is behind us! We wanted to wrap things up by first thanking you for all your help and support that allowed us to make history once again this winter and bring home some international medals!! We were really happy with how our season went and couldn’t have done it without your help and support! We like to think of you as part of our team and family and we hope you will continue to join us as we push, in just two years, for that first ever Gold Medal for the US in Biathlon.

We made important steps in our training this year to get closer to that medal in the 2014 Olympics by increasing our ski speed and bringing our shooting again to a whole new level. We joined forces this year with Advanced Technology International (ATI) and not only did their support, but their stocks allowed us to find new and inventive ways of challenging our shooting.  As two of the best in the world at shooting, with a heart rate of 180 beats per minute, we have to be creative in reaching new heights for biathlon. One thing we discovered that has help us tremendously is 3-gun or multi-gun events. Similar to mini biathlon, you are shooting while on the fly with rifles, pistols and shotguns. The rifle shooting has been the most beneficial and the best transfer. We’ve been using .223′s provided by Bushmaster for not only competing, but an important training tool for biathlon. We saw instant improvements in our biathlon shooting and were also hooked into this exciting event. We plan to continue our 3-gun training to not only bring our level of shooting up, but to challenge ourselves in yet another endeavor.

As two of the best biathlon shooters in the world, we can’t take all the credit. Our entire careers as biathletes, shooters, and hunters, we’ve been relying on Otis Technology to keep our firearms not only functioning properly, but throwing some of the tightest groups we’ve seen in our barrels in -30 degree temperatures.  Another addition and help to the tight groups is the Teludyne Tech Straight Jacket that wraps around our barrels and makes them more rigid, thus allowing for a straighter bullet trajectory and tighter groups.  These two, along with an awesome dad that coaches us in our shooting, and the opportunity to set up a private range on our fitness coach, Rick Crawford’s land, has given us the edge we need to stay ahead of the game.

Now since biathlon isn’t all about the shooting, we’ve also been working really hard on our skiing, as that is where we are still a small step behind the Europeans, but we are quickly gaining.  We’ve seen a steady improvement every year and were skiing even with the Europeans in several races this year.  By next year we plan to be consistently matching their ski speed as well as having faster split times than them in World Championships with a timed peak.  This means another push in training and at a higher intensity.  We’ve got a great plan set with our coach, Rick Crawford, and have already started our training for next year.

We were able to make huge gains in our skiing and training this year thanks to several things. First, the Enell… this sports bra has allowed us to train in comfort day after day, hour after hour.  When you are pushing yourself to the limit, it helps to have a few things that are comfortable.  Second, We were lucky enough to get our hands on some phenomenal new skis by Atomic. Their new skis not only rock this world, but they have added a riser under the binding to help the skier push off of a flat foot and get in a better forward position.  This makes a huge difference when you think of how many thousands of times you push off of that ski over a 15km loop.  Third, SportLegs… We’ve wanted to keep this our secret for a long time because it works so well, but it’s hard not to share something that has helped our training and racing.  SportLegs eliminates the lactic acid burn and allows us to train long and harder at a lower heart rate.  It’s one of those things you have to try it to believe it.  Fourth, not done yet, when it comes to recovery, one really important tool is ICH (no it’s not German):  Ice, Compression, and Heat all aid in recovery if utilized at the right time.  You’ve heard of ice baths and hot baths, well 110% brings that idea to any place in the world.  Right after a race or workout we can put on 110% compression shorts, tights, arm bands and add alternate ice and heat packs into built in pockets to stimulate blood flow and speed recovery.  Simple, but it works.

A few other really important weapons in our arsenal are Sealskinz waterproof socks and gloves and Smith Optics.  You may ask, why are socks, gloves and sunglasses so important…well because if you’ve ever been in -30 degree weather and can’t feel your fingers or toes and tried to do anything let alone compete in a World Cup, then you can appreciate something that will not only allow you to keep your fingers and toes at the end of the day, but helps you to make precision movements.  Also imagine driving through a snow storm or a heavy rain storm without a windshield in your car or your windshield fogged up… it’s scary.  That’s how we felt before we found Smith Optics. Now we can not only see, but we have the confidence to attack the course in conditions where our competitors are left squinting through the flakes. Smith Optics also has optics in their Elite division that are safety rated and will protect your eyes from just about any accident on the shooting range.

Now to how all of this added up to our results and performances this season:  Lanny reached the podium twice while Tracy made it into the coveted top 10 3 times this season battling more than 100 competitors from all over the world to earn those placings.  Tracy finished the 2011 year with an 8th place in Ridnaun, Italy in the 15km Individual in the International Biathlon Cup.  From there she went into 7th place in the Individual in the IBU Cup in Forni Avoltri, Italy and placed 10th in the Sprint Race in Camore, Alberta Canada.  Lanny had both of her podium finishes on North American soil in Canada. She finished 4th place in the Sprint race and grabbed the silver medal and 2nd place in the Individual. She was beat out for the gold in the final seconds of the race by a Russian who had a later start. All of these results point to the potential for more podium finishes next year and a Gold in the Olympics!!!

So, as the snow leaves we will start running, rollerskiing, biking, and shooting and training even harder for all of you and the hopes of bringing home the gold.  All of you inspire us to push harder and train longer. We are so fortunate to have you as a part of our team and we hope that in 680 days (just under two years) you’ll join us in celebrating not only a fairytale victory in biathlon, but your success.  What you do everyday helps to carry us through the pain and sweat and make this journey worth every minute of it. Thanks again for everything and for helping us to a fantastic season.

-Tracy & Lanny

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, 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 at www.twinbiathletes.com.

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.

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 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)

Lisa Learns to Roller Ski!

Lanny & Tracey Barnes (WOMA members and Olympic Biathletes) attended a recent Babes with Bullets camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  The twin sisters “roller ski” to stay in shape for their 2014 Olympic quest.  Here they are showing Lisa Munson, our Babes instructor, how to roller ski.  I suggested we start Lisa at the top of the hill and just push her on the roller skis to go down; we’d catch her at the bottom.  No one thought that was a good idea except me.   As you can see in this photo they all survived the lesson just fine!

Week 3 of the RV Diaries: Uncertainty of Battle

It’s my last night in the RV. In all I’ve spent 20 days and nights inside this little house on wheels. And every night, except this one, sleep has come at no cost. But tonight there’s something on my mind. I’m only one race away from accomplishing something that no one else in United States Biathlon has ever accomplished. Something I’ve never even come close to accomplishing. It is something however that I’ve dreamed of for years and have rehearsed in my head many times before. I’m so mentally practiced that this should come easy to me. It should be easy to accomplish. But it isn’t. And it won’t be.

Yesterday I “cleaned” my third race in a row. “Cleaning” is a termed used to describe a race in which athletes hits all their targets, either 10 for 10 or 20 for 20, shooting 100 percent. Cleaning two races in a row is not entirely uncommon. Cleaning three races in a row is quite a feat, but doing it in four is something entirely different. For every race you clean, the pressure mounts and those little targets you are shooting at only seem to get smaller and harder to hit. Adrenaline kicks in and your muscles start to shake.

I know what awaits me out on the course today. I have a target on my back the size of an American flag. Yesterday I won the race. It was a German Cup race and I was lucky enough to beat all of the Germans (as well as a Canadian, some Brits and a Norwegian). But not without a price: Today they’ll be gunning for me. It’s a mass start and this race is a head-to-head brawl on the tracks. There’s no solo trip around the tracks, or solitary bout at the range. You are fighting head-to-head the whole race. Clawing your way up the hills, fighting for position and shooting as fast and as accurately as possible to gain an advantage in the range.

So, why does sleep elude me? Is it the target on my back? Is it the fear and apprehension of going into battle? Or the unknown opportunity to achieve a dream? I ponder this for a second, and then realize it’s none of these. I’m excited. That’s it and that’s all. I wish the race were right now. Walk up to the start, set your skis down, yell “Battle!” and begin. So, with excitement running through my veins, I close my eyes and think, “Bring it on, Deutschland!” and fall asleep.

Several hours later, I’m lined up at the start line. I’m surrounded by the black, red and gold of the German suits. Everyone is breathing hard and fidgeting as we await the gun that will signal the start of the race. Thoughts are running through my head like a freight train. My eyes feeling like I’m reading a book at warp speed while I try to interpret all the thoughts in my head. Then suddenly a “bang.” I lean on my poles and my skis rocket forward. Any thoughts that were in my head are now gone. I look ahead of me and see the track and a sea of girls. Poles and skis are everywhere. Girls are jockeying for position. I get in behind a couple of Germans and try to focus on relaxing.

The hills in Ruhpolding are steep and the descents are unnerving. Already after the first loop my legs are screaming. We climb to the top of a steep hill and descend down around a corner that does a 180 to the left. I hear a sound and look back to see a girl go skidding on her stomach down off the side of the trail. I look back ahead again as the range comes into view. We ski around a corner and you can hear the roar of the crowd as we approach the range. I close my eyes and think “just breath,” which kind of makes me laugh as I’m struggling for breath and my heart is pounding over180 beats per minute. I take one big deep breath and open my eyes. It’s almost as if a switch went off in my brain. There are no thoughts of the crowd. No thoughts of the competitors around me, or the pressure of reaching my goal. I’m in autopilot now.

I ski into the range and up to a shooting point. I’m quickly down on my knees and slinging my gun off my back. Then I lie down, take a deep breath and squeeze off the trigger. I take five shots and five targets fall. I’m then back on my feet and skiing out of the range. I look around and see I am accompanied by three other Germans. They’ve “cleaned” the shooting stage too. And I smile to myself as I know this is going to be a race until the end.

We jockey for position and fight on the hills. Up and down we go, changing leads, fighting back and forth. We race into the range and come to a screeching halt on the shooting points. The crowd is now completely animated as it’s turning into a battle. Once again I shoot five shots, and five more targets fall. Once again I’m accompanied by the same three Germans, each hitting all of their targets as well.

We battle again on the skis. I drop in behind the other girls as I know the real battle is just about to start: the standing shooting. The standing stages are the last two bouts in the range and are by far the hardest. You’re getting more tired as you’ve already raced close to five miles and the standing position is more difficult than prone. We once again ski into the range and up to the shooting point. I drop my poles on the mat and sling my gun off my back. I take aim. The first four shots go down easy and then, right before the last shot a thought sneaks into my head. This thought is my enemy. It’s worse than any competitor, and makes a race more difficult than any hill we have to climb. It’s uncertainty and doubt. It’s the thing that keeps most people from accomplishing what they are capable of achieving. All it took was a split second and my focus is shattered. I hear the crowd, the sound of the shots from the other girls around me. I can feel the ache of my legs and the pounding of my heart in my chest.

For just a split second panic creeps in. I feel my legs tense and as I look down my barrel the target is dancing around everywhere. Hitting this target seems like trying to tame a wild mustang. It’s almost impossible. Almost.

Then I close my eyes. Take a deep breath. A sense of calm washes over me as I think, “It’s just one target. I’ve done this thousands of times in training. I’m ready for this.” It’s why we train. It’s why we study for that test or prepare so much for that presentation. So that when the time comes, we are ready. And can do it without hesitation. So, with that my eyes open and the shot is there. I squeeze the trigger and before the target even falls my gun is on my back and I’m skiing out of the range. I know it was a hit.

The last stage took victim two of the German girls. One is out ahead of me and the other two are skiing off their penalty loops from missed targets. I race hard over the loop and back into the range for the final standing stage. Out of nowhere a German girl races up beside me. She was able to ski off her penalty loop and was stronger over the loop on her skis and caught me just before the range. We come into the range together and the crowd is going wild. I look down to the first shooting point, where the German girl in first place is shooting. She has three more targets to go as we ski into the points next to her. Our presence must have broken her concentration because she missed her last two shots, opening the door for myself and the other German. We both quickly get into position.

Now the pressure is on. Not only am I shooting for a goal of cleaning four races, but for the win as well. This time however, my focus doesn’t waver and the five targets fall without hesitation. The girl I’m shooting with also hits her five and now it becomes a ski race. We both battle hard over the last loop, but in the end the girl was too fast for me and I finished second.

Now it’s race over and I’m heading back to the States. I accomplished my goal of cleaning four races in a row and am leaving Europe after avoiding the penalty loop – an extra 150-meter loop skied by athletes for each target missed). I learned a lot during this trip, especially that your faith in your dreams cannot waiver, especially in the uncertainty of a battle. And with that I turn the RV north to drive back to Munich and prepare for the next battle, whenever that will come.

Keep up with the Barnes’ twins here as they travel on their “Road to Russia (Olympics 2014).” And be sure to check out their website.

Week 2 of the RV Diaries: Chaos, Carnage and Excitement

The highlight of week two of our RV racing tour was the 39th Annual World Loppet King Ludwig Race near Garmisch Partenkirchen in Germany. The race was named for the famous German King Ludwig II, who at the age of 40 was declared insane, and shortly thereafter met an untimely and suspicious death in a lake with his psychiatrist.

At the time of Ludwig’s death, he was in the process of building his fourth castle, the Neuschwanstein, a huge fortress on a hilltop that would have the most modern capabilities of the time, including running water from a spring in the mountain. When he died in 1886, the construction of the castle, which had been going on for 17 years, was halted. Ludwig was heavily in debt and building the castle would only put more strain on the creditors to whom he owed millions of marks. Only 34 of the 126 rooms were completed and the castle was missing a tower.

The Neuschwanstein – said to be the inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella Castle – was to be the centerpiece of the race. We were to climb over the hills and through the woods to King Ludwig’s castle and then back. All in all, the course would be 21 kilometers. Due to warm temperatures and a lack of snow, the course was changed and we would only ski up and down the sides of the valleys and would not circumnavigate the castle.

This race was a Worldloppet race and is said to be one of the biggest cross-country races in all of Germany. Close to 3,000 people lined up for the start of the race on Feb. 5. Some would be doing the marathon or the 50K while others – including us – would be doing the “sprint,” or the 21K.

This would be the longest ski race Lanny’s ever competed in, and it would also be our first race with this many people. The start would be in waves, with the top competitors from other Worldloppet races from the year, and the top competitors from last year’s King Ludwig race in the first wave. A “wave” is a group or cluster of people who start all at the same time. You are packed in, shoulder to shoulder. The start is as long as several football fields and as wide as a landing strip. The waves of people are separated by several yards and a banner. Each wave is 20 or so people deep with people shoulder to shoulder, about 100 to 150 people wide. There’s no room to move, let alone ski.

As Lanny and I are standing at the start, we are thinking to ourselves, “How is this going to work?” We are standing at the start of the race, surrounded by thousands of people who are all eager to win and suddenly the gun goes off … no warning. The mass of people lurches forward, then comes to a stop. Nobody can move, and it takes a few seconds for things to start up again, and then it’s utter chaos. Everyone is trying to win the first 100 meters. With no room to move, people are skiing all over each other’s skis and stepping on their poles.

I see a gap and I dive into it. I see another gap and I sprint for that. Meanwhile all around me people are going down. It’s total carnage! Left and right people are falling and then people are plowing right through and over the people who have fallen. There’s screaming and some cursing in almost every European language. Broken ski poles lay strewn all over the course. I feel like Kevin Costner in “Dances with Wolves” when he goes out on that buffalo hunt with his new friends. He’s riding his horse and is totally overwhelmed by what is going on around him. Down goes a buffalo on his right and another on this left. He’s wide eyed and riding hard. Suddenly he gets his groove and starts the hunt.

That’s me now. I yell to Lanny to follow me and I attack! I dive for an open piece of snow, just barely making it ahead of some guy’s skis. I double pole (just use my arms to push myself) up a narrow opening between two very aggressive German men. I then narrowly miss a collision with a Russian as I surged into another opening. Every once in a while I’d look back to see if Lanny was there and my last two glances confirmed my fear: I’d lost her. She was momentarily swallowed up by the sea of carnage and took a fall. She later said that she was so nervous about getting left behind that as soon as her butt hit the ground, she was back on her feet fighting through the crowds to reconnect with me.

And so went the race: See a hole, make a sprint for it. We spent the entire 21K sprinting to pass people. It took all of the 21K to pass the earlier waves of people. It was one of the fastest 21K I’ve ever skied. There was action the whole time. Even as we neared the finish, there were people still falling and poles still being snapped in two by aggressive skiers.

When all was said and done, we finished third and fourth – not bad considering we started near the back and fought a huge fight to get to the front. After the race we couldn’t believe how exciting it was. We loved the carnage and the aggressiveness. It was entertaining for us to pass people and get nasty looks from the guys who thought they shouldn’t be passed by two little girls in American flag suits.

After everything was winding down we took a drive over to the castle that we didn’t get a chance to race around. It was, like most castles, an amazing piece of work. We did a tour and were able to see most of the finished rooms in the castle. The paintings on the inside where breathtaking and must have been excruciatingly difficult to do. The year after King Ludwig’s death the castle became a museum and still to this day was never and will never be finished.

Unlike the Neuschwanstein castle, our little RV trip does have an end. One more week of racing and we’ll turn in the RV and fly home. Our last week takes us to Ruhpolding, Germany, in southern Bavaria. We will once again compete against the Germans in a German Cup race. We are both looking to again finish strong against the Germans with clean shooting and fast skiing.

Check back here for an update on the final week of the Barnes twins’ RV racing tour, part of their ”Road to Russia” – the 2014 Olympics. Also, be sure to check out their website.

Barnes’ Twins on podium at German Cup

Jan. 30, 2011 – Oberhof, Germany – Tracy and Lanny Barnes finished a tough weekend of racing in Oberhof, Germany, home of the biggest Biathlon World Cup stadium in Europe. They completed an individual race on Saturday and a sprint race on Sunday against some of the top athletes from Germany. Lanny walked away with a win in the individual race with perfect shooting. She hit 20 of 20 targets and recorded the best and fastest shooting of the day for men and women. Tracy followed up in 3rd place hitting 18 of 20 targets.

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It’s Not Like Bode’s RV At All … It’s Like A ‘Shack on Wheels’

Monday, Jan. 24, marked a part of our racing season that will be our most adventurous. For the next three weeks we will be training and racing and traveling around Germany in an RV. There will be three of us women from the U.S. who will be staying in this RV while racing some of the best Germans at their most coveted winter sport – biathlon.

Now, traveling in an RV for winter sport has been done before. Bode Miller boasts an impressive 28-foot traveling mansion around the World Cup circuit during the winter. Our RV won’t be so extravagant. Our RV is 18-feet long and holds three women, three large ski bags, three large rifle cases and three large duffels full of ski clothes. It has taken us several days to unpack and organize everything so that we can move around freely and be comfortable. There is a bed above the cab and a bunk in the back of the RV. It comes complete with a shower, a toilet and a stove. We don’t typically travel Europe in such style, but when you are trying to cut costs, combining your rental car and your hotel room is the easiest way to do that.

The first week of our trip will take us to the Thuringer Forest of Germany. These forests are known for their beautiful, dark, snow-covered forests. The town and biathlon venue of Oberhof is known to house close to 30,000 spectators during a biathlon world cup. While racing here, you can’t hear yourself breathe, or think for that matter because the atmosphere is so loud and so amped. The fans here are unlike anywhere else. If we have a race in the evening, the fans are here by 8 that morning already full of beer to keep them warm for the day. The stadium here is huge and is outdoors. These fans tough it out in below-zero temperatures and strong winds on concrete seating to cheer on their favorite countries. This is the one venue that every biathlete wants to race at and every biathlon fan should come see.

On Jan. 24, we rolled up into Oberhof in our 6.4 meter chantey and parked outside of the venue. We were all really exhausted from the jet lag and went right to bed. Several hours later we were all shivering under our blankets thinking that this was going to be a long trip if the heat in this thing wasn’t working very well. Lanny was the first brave soul to get up and look to see what the problem was with the propane heating system. We all then warily got out of bed and read over the manual to see what the problem was. After trying a lot of this and a little bit of that we figured out that “duh” the pilot light had gone out in the boiler and therefore no heat and a really cold living area. So, with the boiler running we were back to bed and were much warmer and happier.

We’ve now had two days of really good training and our races start this weekend. We are really looking forward to the adventures that await us while winter traveling in a shack on wheels. We’ll update you as to how the races go and any crazy incidents that will unfold … as I’m sure there will be many.

Keep up with the Barnes’ twins as they travel on their “Road to Russia (Olympics 2014).” Check out their website.

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