Jens Voigt

With 4th of July so close everyone’s attention of course turns to France, where lycra-clad, smooth-legged men will soon spend almost a month racing each other around the country. Le Tour de France gives the French press opportunities to write insanely effusive and poetic things about the heroic exploits of these modern-day knights.

Usually, having grown up in England, I’m adept at quickly dismissing this kind of thing as very… French. But this time I’ve been intrigued by a German rider named Jens Voigt, described by the cycling press as the German Giant – he weighs a massive 170lbs!!! The first thing I noticed was how hard he works. He has a style on the bike that makes his racing look more like a wrestling match with a steel monkey.

 

Jens has been teaching me how to be part of a team by showing me Giftedness and Servanthood. What I mean is this: Jens is a gifted rider. He’s really aggressive and is always looking for opportunities to attack. Often times he will attack early in a race knowing that a) If no one chases him hard, he’s going to win or b) If the other teams have to chase him hard they are going to be more worn out than his team. So he’s gifted, he uses his skill and his talent to courageously compete. Jens is also a servant. In a stage race like the Tour, each team usually has one specific rider who has a good chance at winning the overall race and the rest of the team supports him. Jens isn’t that guy, he’s never going to beat those 130lbs guys in the mountains. Jens is the guy who rides as hard as he can, with his leader in his slipstream, effectively pulling them as far and as fast as he can. Here’s a great example:

In the 2004 Tour de France, on the 15th stage, Voigt was in a breakaway a couple minutes ahead of the rest of the riders. Then another German from a different team, Jan Ulrich, started attacking. Jen’s CSC team leader was getting left behind by Ulrich and was in danger of losing his 2nd place in the Tour so Jens, giving up his chances of winning, stopped pedaling and waited for his team leader to catch up. Jan Ulrich passed by but still Jens waited. When his team leader caught up, Jens rode right in front of him “pulling” him, after a hard effort, back into contact with Ulrich. Jens successfully helped his leader and team defend the 2nd spot against Jan Ulrich. When the German press was labeling him a traitor and a Judas for helping CSC beat Ulrich, Jens was ferocious: 
“If my team leader Ivan and my boss Bjarne ask me to stop and help the leader, then there is no choice. I would have been a Judas if I’d kept going… I put all my effort and my honor and everything I have into helping [my team leader] Ivan.”

That’s the kind of teammate I want to be. A ferocious attacker who gives everything to help his teammate win.

See a video about Jens on youtube
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SH05G7vAs
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4NSZa9X1jg

-Dan

Moscow 5K

On Saturday the 16th, I dragged Dan out into a mid-40 degree morning to a Moscow 5K Road Race hosted by the Marines stationed at the Embassy here in Moscow.  It was a fundraiser for the U.S. Wounded Warrior Project, to aid and help veterans injured during their times of service.  The race course wound along the Moscow River, really a beautiful area, and hosted about 80 participants from around the city.  We really had a lot of fun, and did the Culbertson name proud:  Rachel placed second overall with a time of 21:24 and Dan came in fourth overall with a time of 22:11.  The unexpected prize commodity of the race?  Safety pins.  We each got one safety pin a piece to attach our race bibs to our shirts.  Safety pins are apparently not easy to come by here, and thanks to a seamstress participant who supplied the entire race with pins, we didn't have to carry our bibs while running.  In general, good times were had by all. 

Also, while racing we stumbled across Moscow's bike lane.  Dan's anxious to peddle on over and see where it goes!

-rkc

Stroller Bandits

Today, as Chris and I were walking back from the office we came across an overturned stroller on the side of the path.  All the wheels had been stripped off and we have to assume they took the sound system too since we couldn't find it.  The moral of the story is: Don't let your stroller break down in the wrong part of town.

 

-DRC

Victory Day!

May 9th is victory day in Russia commemorating the end of WWII.  Veterans on the streets are given flowers by passers by, patriotic slogans and posters are all over the city, and heavy armor rolls down the streets.  Since it's always been a life goal of mine to see ICBMs driving through Moscow, I thought I'd share a video in case someone else out there has the same goal but is forced to live vicariously through me.

-DRC

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Beautiful day for a picnic!  On Friday evening, our team ventured to a beautiful city overlook to picnic on the Moscow State University grounds.  The last time I'd been to this same location was the winter of 2004 - barely recognizable as the same place on a bright Spring day!  We enjoyed all kinds of fun activities like kite flying, football, frisbee, racing scooters, a game of tag, and snacking with our current team of ten.  

Dan (bottom left) acted as general jungle gym for Emma (middle,) Joel (bottom right,) and Nadya (top,) the children of our city directors, Keith and Lori.  The kids keep us adequately entertained here, such fun personalities, and even humbled with their incredible Russian language acquisition!  Plus, they make a pretty good pyramid, don't you think?

We happened to be out and about May 1st, May Day, a national holiday here in Russia.  Although traffic throughout usually busy streets was minimal, lots of people were out enjoying the beautiful day with us.  Of course, that means the vendors were out in force offering everything from traditional nesting dolls (Матрёшки,) to dried calamari...  Not too many takers from our group.Moscow State, impressive in its sheer size alone, is home to one of Stalin's Seven Sisters.  I don't mean actual relatives of Stalin, but skyscrapers in the city designed and built during Stalin's later years.  Moscow State is visible from certain vantage points throughout the city, as are the other sisters, and serves constantly to remind it's onlookers of Russia's looming and impressive position on the world scene.  Imagine, we know a student who lives in a dorm room on the 23rd floor of this gigantic building, and goes to class on the 16th.  What history must be contained within the walls of this monster of a building!

Free Parking...

There is ample supply of free parking in Moscow.  Sidewalks, when not being used as alternate routes for automotive traffic, can double as parking places.  Also... Dan and I, pretty early on, have been forced to shed our Boulder pedestrian mentality.  Cars will actually speed up to hit you here, I think it's a kind of local game they enjoy.  At any rate, we've gone almost overnight from not even looking before we cross a main thoroughfare while texting a friend on our cell phones, to dodging cars hurtling down the sidewalk.  

-rkc

Off to the Races!

6:00 came early Thursday morning, as we took to the road headed to DIA for the first part of our journey to the Motherland.  Now, almost 40 hours later, we're happily situated in Moscow, Russia, with our teammates Chris and Liz, steadily adjusting to the time change (10 hours ahead of Colorado.)

Due to a logistical change, we will be staying with our gracious hosts during this initial jaunt to Russia and transitioning to life with a Russian family in the early fall.  We were so thankful for our new room, recently converted from Chris and Liz's office, and our full sized air matress, especially luxurious after 30 some hours of travel!

Bright and early this morning, I woke full of energy, ready for the big city!  Having the apartment primarily to myself - as nobody else seemed quite as energetic at 4:30 this morning, I collected some thoughts about our first day that I'd like to share with you now.

It's been a long time since Dan and I have been in Russia.  Our full half day in the city yesterday brought back so many memories.  On a quick trip to a corner market, smells and flavors bombarded me, reminding me of the foods I ate, the things I bought, some things I even missed, from almost four years ago.  Quite a walk down memory lane...

Boarding our flight from Chicago to Moscow, we heard Russian voices all around us.  After adjusting from the surprise and delight of so much Russian at once, I realized that Russian is no longer an interesting and unique hobby of mine, it's now a job requirement.

Landing in Moscow, we were greeted by two of our teammates waiting to drive us home.  What a wonderful surprise, warm friendly faces eager for our arrival!  It was so nice to see familiar people in the midst of so much change.  Even in the short time we've been in the US, Russia, Moscow in particular, has changed dramatically.

Constant noise.  Horns, car alarms, jackhammers (inside and out,) children playing, adults shouting, cell phone cocaphony, trams rumbling, busses pulling in and out of stops, pipes creaking as hot water flows thoughout the building, music blaring from the apartment below, an argument ensuing between neighbors... wow.

Last night we joined our team for a student meeting.  I eagerly (perhaps too eagerly) introduced myself to the Russian students who came.  They were not impressed.  They politely answered my questions about where they study, what they do here in Moscow, but all as if to say, "Don't take this the wrong way, but don't get attached.  I'll probably never see you again."  This is the big city, where it all happens, where Russia's future hangs in the balance.  People are busy:  Places to go, people to see (not me, aparently.)  No more small towns.  No more villages.  No more simple life.  Russia has lost some of its Russianess here.  Ironically the cultural, economic, political, entertainment, educational, etc., center of Russia, Moscow seems very different from the Russia I know and love.  "Просто нужно привыкнуть" (You simply need to adjust,) a student told me last night.  Let's hope she's right...

-rkc