Thursday, July 15, 2010

Day 3 cancelled

Here is a little letter from Gerolf as he had to much time off yesterday.. Freaking Bloggers! Why don't they give us the real news? (Ager, Spain) Gerolf writes: Woke up early this morning shook awake by some kind of strange nightmare, that maybe yesterday’s task didn’t actually happen and my current lead in the Comp was nothing more but a sweet illusion. I quickly grabbed the laptop to check for scores as I hadn’t seen any last night – but of course there was no scores to be found on the official site YET AGAIN (we are in Spain, for those who read the Oz Report infrequently, “manana”-country so to speak). So I decide moving on to the Oz Report for clues (always my next source of wisdom), but all I find is numerous blog links with no results but just a short Jamie comment that the conditions and task were similar than the day before, and so were the issues with the scoring. Yeah, and also the mountains were still in the same spot as the day before :-) I’m all in a frenzy now. I click onto her blog hoping at least to learn some more on how Carl is feeling these days and find out quickly that him and Gordon where the first in from the Brits. What a relief – at least the Brits did well! I log onto the DHV blog. The DHV site usually covers very well the life and times of Primoz Gricar, and as he often ends up in the lead gaggle, I am thinking I might even learn something about my own flight this way. But this morning Regina is more focused on the important fact that Life-tracking isn’t a very reliable technology – at least in the hands of hang glider pilots - and it basically works only in one of six cases on average. I had a hunch about this all along :-) I’m surfing on. On Matjaz’ site we learn that the nights are acceptably cool but the bugs are unacceptably nasty here around, especially at the campsite. Did you know? Matjaz is also a big fan of Primoz and reveals to us how they started low but got up and high and then low and then high again and … and to spoil the whole story … in the end both made goal including all the other Slovenians. And what about ME? I got to find out now, I got to move on. But Daphne is still reflecting about the opening ceremony where she met nice friends and all, and there is also a cute video of her boyfriend being sprog-tested – I quickly realize I might not find much about task flying on here. I move on to Corinna’s World. If you’re into facts, this site isn’t for you. But, it’s got some surreal quality to it. Corinna has this rare talent to present the reader with an “alternative reality”, if I may word it this way. But this morning I’m desperate enough to give it a peek. And, as if I knew it – drama, drama. Air had come in the camel bag and as if that was not enough already it turns out a dextrose bit – I’m not making this up - carefully taped to her helmet, came lose - just before landing. Can you believe it? And, you guessed it right: no dextrose, no good landing. The cruel reality of hang gliding! If this isn’t grabbing you right away, what is? But then there it is - thank you Corinna - just as I was about to click you away, a little side comment of a side comment so to speak, kind of a by-the-way thing: Gerolf won the day, followed by Blay and Johnny. Finally it’s out. And I can go back to bed… …wondering what this blog world has come to? Hey, you reporters, writers and part-time poets: this Comp isn’t about YOU and your friends. This is about ME, ME, ME and Balazs (and Gordon to some extend) Well, at least as long as we top those lists. After that it will be about the Blays and Johnnys, the Attilas and Christians, Alex’ and Primoz’, Martins and Marios or who else will make the story of the comp in the days to come. So please, give us a lead story here for crying out loud. Try to cover at least some of the plot of the day – tell us, what really matters for the results to finally come out the way they do! Don’t get me wrong. We all love you interest in personal side shows. Your gossip stories and odd looks at things. But such “coverage” should be done in ADDITION to the main plain task facts, not in EXCHANGE for it! Clearly Gerolf does not read my blog otherwise he would have seen himself on video and all with the words clearly written Day 2 winner..:-) Not to mention videoing him while flying in his last thermal before winning the day..

posted by Jonny Durand at 5:51 PM