
Friday, June 27, 2008
T Track Video
There is now video of the womens T Track relays held last Friday night up on Bont TV. Click here to view.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Double A Visit
Cheryl and myself went to Frauenfeld Hospital today to visit Aaron Arndt otherwise known as double A. He still had a smile on his face and cheerful as usual with the usual greeting "hey guys". Ed Dimmock kindly lent Aaron his PSP to keep him entertained but with no adapter Aaron was unable to play it. So before leaving we found an electronic shop in Frauenfeld and brought a swiss plug then Aaron's eyes really lit up.

I don't know about all the technical terminology but there are two breaks that will need to be operated on and probably have plates put in. On Saturday he had an operation to put the screws in to stabilize his foot so the swelling can go down before they operate again.
I don't know about all the technical terminology but there are two breaks that will need to be operated on and probably have plates put in. On Saturday he had an operation to put the screws in to stabilize his foot so the swelling can go down before they operate again.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Weinfelden World Inline Cup
The sun came out to shine over Weinfelden on Saturday for the World Inline Cup race. It was still around 30 degrees at 5pm when the race started, a water bottle in the back pocket was crucial.


The race started smoothly with not too many problems but coming down the hill for the first lap we were told to slow down and take care. There had been a big crash in the mens pack and still around ten to fifteen skaters on the side of the road plus gravel and stones everywhere. It looked really bad and I wish all the skaters involved a speedy recovery.
Some of the teams changed their tactics this week in an attempt not to let the race finish in a pack sprint. The Alessi team made quiet a few attacks but everyone was quick to jump on them including me. With a few little sharp hills, the heat and rough roads there were quiet a few girls hanging off the back of the pack throughout the race. The race still came down to sprint finish with about 25 skaters left in the pack.
The road narrowed to one lane with about 2km to go which meant you could only skate two abreast. Most of the teams wanted to be near the front including us so we were constantly chopping and changing to get on the right train that was moving through. With about 300 meters to go Giovanna Turchiarelli hit the lead. Tamara towed our team up equal to Giovanna but couldn't quiet get past she then moved over so Alexandra could come through. After a few meters Alexandra moved to the outside so Cecilia and myself had space to move up the inside. With 200 meters to go I ended up being slung by two hands from the hip and then slung from my skin suit as the skater was coming off me. I lost all my speed and went from being behind Cecilia in about 4th to 25th in the space of a few meters. Cecilia hit the lead not long after this and took the victory comfortably. Alexandra came in 10th, Tamara 17th and myself crossing the line in 22nd but moving up to 21st after the skater that slung me was relegated.
Womens sprint with 200 meters to go.
Photo - Nadine Benz juka linthline
Womens Finish
Photo - Niki Neck
Womens Podium
Photo - Niki Neck
The race started smoothly with not too many problems but coming down the hill for the first lap we were told to slow down and take care. There had been a big crash in the mens pack and still around ten to fifteen skaters on the side of the road plus gravel and stones everywhere. It looked really bad and I wish all the skaters involved a speedy recovery.
Some of the teams changed their tactics this week in an attempt not to let the race finish in a pack sprint. The Alessi team made quiet a few attacks but everyone was quick to jump on them including me. With a few little sharp hills, the heat and rough roads there were quiet a few girls hanging off the back of the pack throughout the race. The race still came down to sprint finish with about 25 skaters left in the pack.
The road narrowed to one lane with about 2km to go which meant you could only skate two abreast. Most of the teams wanted to be near the front including us so we were constantly chopping and changing to get on the right train that was moving through. With about 300 meters to go Giovanna Turchiarelli hit the lead. Tamara towed our team up equal to Giovanna but couldn't quiet get past she then moved over so Alexandra could come through. After a few meters Alexandra moved to the outside so Cecilia and myself had space to move up the inside. With 200 meters to go I ended up being slung by two hands from the hip and then slung from my skin suit as the skater was coming off me. I lost all my speed and went from being behind Cecilia in about 4th to 25th in the space of a few meters. Cecilia hit the lead not long after this and took the victory comfortably. Alexandra came in 10th, Tamara 17th and myself crossing the line in 22nd but moving up to 21st after the skater that slung me was relegated.
Photo - Nadine Benz juka linthline

Photo - Niki Neck

Photo - Niki Neck
Saturday, June 21, 2008
T-Track Victory
Friday, June 20, 2008
T-Track & WIC Weinfelden

Tonight the T-Track racing gets underway at 7pm with relays held on the bank track. Each team is allowed to enter 3 skaters each for the 3km relay. There are no World Inline Cup points allocated but every team is still determined to win for the prestige. The ladies will have heats and a final and the men 3 rounds, heats, semis and a final. At this stage the Bont Wheels Team will have Alexandra, Cecilia and myself lining up to compete.
Tomorrow the marathon starts at around 5pm about 1km from the team's house. The course has changed slightly from last year with the big up hill being taken out. We will skate 3 laps of the course this year as apposed to 2 last year. The course is a real mixture with rough and smooth road, corners, long straights, slight rises and a fast downhill stretch.
Finally what will the weather do? Last year it looked like it would rain until about an hour before the start. This year it should be a clear day and very warm.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Incheon World Inline Cup


The womens pack kept the pace steady for the first quarter of the race. With a head wind heading out to the turn around point no one was keen to push the pace or attempt to breakaway. After the turn with the wind now behind us our team decided to test the water and see if a breakaway was viable. Tamara, Alexandra and myself all made a couple of attempts each but none turned into anything serious. The Alessi Powerslide team didn't hesitate in sending Nathalie Barbotin to chase us down before the gaps had time to grow. Sara Ervetti from Bont Bacata and a few Korean skaters from the Anyang Club were the only others that tried to instigate breakaways.



After the race to finish off a great day Alex, Soo and some of the Korean Bont crew took us into Seoul for a typical Korean meal.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Incheon WIC
This morning our team arrived safely in Incheon, South Korea after a long flight. Incheon is the host city of the 5th World Inline Cup race this season. The race which is not quiet a full marathon (38km) gets underway at 9.20am Sunday morning. We have not seen the course yet but from the map I've seen it looks similar to previous years, up and down the road that runs along the coast. Tomorrow afternoon we get to have a look at the course and hopefully will be able to skate the last few kilometers.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
No More Train Tracks
Yesterday I was back at Luzern hospital which is becoming far too familiar. I first had x-rays taken and then saw the specialist. When I saw the x-ray I was expecting the fracture to be gone, fully healed and no crack. Instead I saw an x-ray that to me looked exactly the same as the x-ray taken four weeks ago. The doctor wasn't too worried about the x-ray because the movement and alignment of my jaw was good and there has been no pain. He said it will take a while for the fracture to fully heal and disappear from the x-ray but was confident that the wire splints/train tracks in my mouth could come out. My mum, who now thinks she is a specialist tried to tell me that it wouldn't be painful "snip, snip and they will just fall out" she said. Well it wasn't like that at all, there was a lot of twisting, yanking and blood. The wires were pulled back out in between my teeth and gums how they originally went in and yes it hurt.
Even though the wires are gone I can only eat soft foods that don't require too much chewing for another two to three weeks. It just seems to be an ongoing never ending process. It is a huge improvement though from five weeks ago when I was slurping liquids through a straw at least now I can get a spoon in my mouth. My next and hopefully last check up is in two weeks time.
Even though the wires are gone I can only eat soft foods that don't require too much chewing for another two to three weeks. It just seems to be an ongoing never ending process. It is a huge improvement though from five weeks ago when I was slurping liquids through a straw at least now I can get a spoon in my mouth. My next and hopefully last check up is in two weeks time.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Weekend Racing
This weekend with no World Inline Cup race scheduled our team split up to compete in two different events held on the same day. Cecilia and Tamara went to Germany to race in the Mittelrhein Marathon, part of the German Inline Cup series. Alexandra and myself stayed here in Switzerland to race the Swiss Open Championships held on the Weinfelden bank track. Our team had another successful week with Cecilia winning the marathon in Germany and myself winning all the events at the Swiss Champs. Tamara was 4th in the marathon and Alexandra who was feeling ill over the weekend still managed to pick up a 2nd and 3rd place at the Swiss Champs.
Here are a few pictures from the Mittelrhein Marathon thanks to Jorg Dietrich. You can view more images on the Team Bont Wheels website.




Swiss Open Championships
I was very surprised on Saturday when I turned up for racing and saw the program. I was expecting something that resembled a Worlds program as far as the distance of the races but instead saw we were racing events that my mother once raced. The sprint events which included a 300m time trial, 500m and 1500m were all held on Saturday. The long distance event were all held the next day, this included a 5000m points race, 3000m straight race and a 10,000m elimination.
I won the overall sprint title and overall distance title after winning all six races. Nadine Gloor was the first Swiss skater in all events and finished third overall in both the sprint and distance races. Shaneen Howard (Colombia) was second overall in the sprint and Martha Ramirez (Colombia) second overall in the distance. Alexandra was a little ill over the weekend so she sat out a few races but was second in the 500m and third in the 5000m points race.
Here are a few pictures from the Mittelrhein Marathon thanks to Jorg Dietrich. You can view more images on the Team Bont Wheels website.
Swiss Open Championships
I was very surprised on Saturday when I turned up for racing and saw the program. I was expecting something that resembled a Worlds program as far as the distance of the races but instead saw we were racing events that my mother once raced. The sprint events which included a 300m time trial, 500m and 1500m were all held on Saturday. The long distance event were all held the next day, this included a 5000m points race, 3000m straight race and a 10,000m elimination.

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