Saturday, May 30, 2009

I been on top of taking pictures so far. All but one of these are from today. The days ride was on Hinterwaldkopf, the big mountain just outside of town and the site of the '95 World Championships. We got about halfway through the course, which was almost entirely narrow double-track, got bored and opted for some of the sweeter singletrack. The trails here are interesting. They're mostly smooth, not overly technical, but are crazy steep. They don't do switchbacks either, just straight shots up the mountain. There is one rippin descent that come off the ridge into Freiburg that's about the sickest thing here. It's one long 2000 vertical foot out of control two wheel slide that blasts straight down the mountain with a few manicured berms, drops, and lots of braking ruts.

They also love graffiti. It's on almost every building. Most of it is normal junk thats ugly and doesn't really mean anything. Then there are others that more like murals and probably took a lot of time. Those are cool to look at.

I think the most interesting part of being here is the language barrier. Being in a smaller town, English isn't quite as commonly spoken as we all thought it would be. I can't even tell people that I can't speak their language. All I can do is shake my head and walk away. I ordered a pizza today by pointing to the picture of it on the giant menu boards on the back wall. I did the same with the pastry I bought a few hours later. They seem to catch on quickly that were Americans.



Matt, this one's for you...I know how you love them

Tomorrow is our first event. We're racing the Arnon Bike Marathon is Grenichen, Switzerland. They're telling us its a local race, but we're in Europe, and I have my doubts.

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