First Days in Oz
We're not in Kansas anymore.
Day 3 at Henley and we are settling in splendidly. After our maiden Tuesday afternoon row, we have begun to practice twice-a-day on the Thames and each practice is bringing greater and greater strides in boat speed, fitness, and technique. We are rowing out of the front lawn of the Upper Thames Rowing Club. If you're passing by Upper Thames, just 750 meters up the course from the finish line, we're rowing the yellow Empacher 8 and the red, white, and blue Hudson. Don't be afraid to drop in to say hi! We are also blessed to be sharing water with some of the best crews in the world, from powerful American women's crews such as Northeastern and Ohio State, to dominant clubs such as Leander, whose iconic pink oars cannot be missed on any given outing. We have also been blessed with incredible weather, especially for England. The days have been lows of the high 60s and highs of mid-70s, at worst partially cloudy. Despite applying sunscreen pre-practice we're still finding it hard to forego a little color.
The course usually bears at least a mild headwind and has heavy boat traffic from both shells and motorboats alike (we've seen a steamboat out there too). The coxswains have adjusted well to the chaos. The four hit the booms on the side of the course for the first time yesterday, and we expect smooth sailing from here on out now that that's out of the way. If you mess up in rehearsal, the performance should be perfect, as the adage goes. There's a certain magic in the air here though. Maybe it's something in the way the light glimmers off the water under the idyllic rolling hills of English countryside at dusk, the gingerbread Victorian houses or the ghosts of rowers past you can sense as you bend the oar in between those two picturesque white lines of wooden pylons. Rowing next to those crews mentioned earlier might certainly help as well. It does seem that no matter how much experience one brings to the shell, rowing here just makes you row better. We're seeing oarsmen more than twice our age set a shell as well as any of us, and we're personally seeing a renewed determination to improve every practice.
The course usually bears at least a mild headwind and has heavy boat traffic from both shells and motorboats alike (we've seen a steamboat out there too). The coxswains have adjusted well to the chaos. The four hit the booms on the side of the course for the first time yesterday, and we expect smooth sailing from here on out now that that's out of the way. If you mess up in rehearsal, the performance should be perfect, as the adage goes. There's a certain magic in the air here though. Maybe it's something in the way the light glimmers off the water under the idyllic rolling hills of English countryside at dusk, the gingerbread Victorian houses or the ghosts of rowers past you can sense as you bend the oar in between those two picturesque white lines of wooden pylons. Rowing next to those crews mentioned earlier might certainly help as well. It does seem that no matter how much experience one brings to the shell, rowing here just makes you row better. We're seeing oarsmen more than twice our age set a shell as well as any of us, and we're personally seeing a renewed determination to improve every practice.
The town itself seems like something out of a storybook, dominated by that Norman-style stone church spire of St. Mary the Virgin. The houses haven't changed for hundreds of years, only the occupants. There's a Starbucks for those of us who need our fix, as well as many other quality local coffee shops, bakeries, pubs, and restaurants. Our first night, we had a lovely meal of spaghetti, meatballs, and the best apple pie I have possibly ever had, cooked by our house mother, Jenine. Wednesday night, we dined at the illustrious pub, The Rowbarge, just up the hill from the town square. While there, the first arrivers were greeted by a friendly local, Steve, who wore a ponytail, shaved on the sides. He regaled us of some of the history of Henley, while also chatting about American/global politics and life philosophy. Question of the night: "Are you guys proud to be Americans?". Once the others arrived, we refueled with a delicious meal of chicken curry, naan, and mango chutney. We learned one thing that night: The Rowbarge does not disappoint. We will thankfully have the pleasure of eating there many more times before we leave.
Most afternoons, we get off the water and grab a bite, sometimes sandwiches, sometimes at a sit-down restaurant. Today we paid a visit to The Catherine Wheel on the main Henley street by the church. It's an old-looking, fancy-looking joint, but it's the best quantity for the price in town! The "large breakfast platter" consisted of sausages, eggs, toast, hash browns, a tomato, a mushroom, and baked beans, all for under £6! The service was quick too 10/10 would recommend. Today Coach Slater also picked up some championship level hydration supplies at the big box store in the form of 16 cases of Powerade and plenty of water to keep us well stocked for the coming weeks.
Tonight we hit the hay early after a delicious pizza dinner at Pizza Express downtown. Very early wake up tomorrow since Women's Henley starts at 8 am sharp.
Just another day in the merry old land of Oz.
Most afternoons, we get off the water and grab a bite, sometimes sandwiches, sometimes at a sit-down restaurant. Today we paid a visit to The Catherine Wheel on the main Henley street by the church. It's an old-looking, fancy-looking joint, but it's the best quantity for the price in town! The "large breakfast platter" consisted of sausages, eggs, toast, hash browns, a tomato, a mushroom, and baked beans, all for under £6! The service was quick too 10/10 would recommend. Today Coach Slater also picked up some championship level hydration supplies at the big box store in the form of 16 cases of Powerade and plenty of water to keep us well stocked for the coming weeks.
Tonight we hit the hay early after a delicious pizza dinner at Pizza Express downtown. Very early wake up tomorrow since Women's Henley starts at 8 am sharp.
Just another day in the merry old land of Oz.
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