Monday, February 22, 2010

I'm working on it !!....

... my "thing" ..... for the photo a week theme......"I made this".  What a perfect theme for someone who does some crafty stuff.  But, I want to photo the latest ...and I've been so glued to the Olympics for the week that I have done almost nothing else except some working out..... treadmilling, crunches and free weights etc... ...which only gets done because there is a tv hanging on the wall in my exercise room.   Whew...thank goodness there is that.  Today I forced myself not to turn it on til I finish something.  And.... I even have laundry on the go... and some bathroom cleaning....

I'm fascinated by things that require such dedication, determination and motivation and in some cases, just downright stubborn-ness and refusal to quit...  I cry at the stories about some of the athletes... am shocked at the extent of the injuries and surgeries they have had to endure...and cheer on the underdogs at every turn.  I am amazed at the cross country skier who, despite a punctured and collapsed lung and 5 broken ribs still continued to compete in several more races after her injuries... she fell into a gully .. why wasn't there some fencing to prevent anyone from doing that? Where is the common sense in safety procedures and protection?  And, the poor poor Georgian luger and his family.  Just should never happen.

My only effort at competition was many years ago...  all my young life I had wanted to be an archer.  Finally I got up enough nerve to join a small archery club in Kelowna.  There was only one other girl in the club.  The guys were a strange, mixed bunch.... who delighted in teasing and ribbing us two girls.  My first shot with a bow almost took my left breast because they did NOT instruct me not to pull back the string past my breast.  The asses.  Anyway....  not to be deterred... with bruises on my arm and my tit I showed up for my second night.  They knew I meant business when I assured them I would be learning to shoot in spite of their childish antics and they definitely would be in trouble if anybody tried something that stupid again.  Diane took me under her wing and after a few attempts to kill the already dead and stuffed moose head hanging on the clubhouse wall.... I was getting close to the bullseye on the targets.

A few months later....I was in city finals....and two months after that .... provincial finals... and then... Summer Games...   How did that happen? .... sheeesh....

The girls I shot against at the event were a bit ticked that an upstart they had never heard of managed to outshoot them and take the gold medal.  Some of them had been shooting for 15 years.  The following year...I shot over 200 points better and only managed a silver.  Goes to show that some new blood in a sport sometimes gives the older competitors a shot in the arm.  They really picked up their game.

The best thing about the archery club?...it's where I met Mr. BV....



















My hair still had colour.... now it's white....









The category is called Barebow, which means it is a simple bow with no sights, no wheels, pulleys or weights.  My theory was that it would be simpler to tell if it was me or the equipment when a shot went astray.  With sights, etc... there was just too  much that could go wrong and I wanted to get the basics down pat first.















This is Greg's bow... called a Compound.  You can see the difference.  The weight to pull it back is more than mine initially..but, once this bow reaches a certain point in the draw... the weight lets off to about half...and you can hold it longer and easier to aim.  The arrows also go faster and in a straighter line than my barebow...sometimes at long distances with the barebow, I was aiming at clouds to hit the target.  And..if there was a wind?.... it was a guessing game where the arrows would end up.   Take cover!



















Mr. BV in the early days...even before we were an "item"....  look at all that hair!!



















For years I wanted a medal or a trophy of some sort...for anything I suppose.  My sister had some...my brother had some... and I darn well wanted one!  Yay me...finally I had one.  Now... where is that bow?  hmmm... the two of us shot for one more year after this...and then... school, work, motorcycles, and life got in the way.  We haven't had our bows out of their cases for a lot of years.  It's like golf... one of those things that you can do til you are ancient.  If you've ever wanted to try it... check if there is an archery club near you.  It's great fun.   Remember not to pull the string back too far... there is a technique!


Okay...gotta go watch men's X country finals...!! back at ya later..... or...tomowwow.......

NB:::  have to clarify.... it was Summer Games.... not the Olympics.  I did wonder when I saw that in the comments.  I must have been thinking Olympics so intently that's what I wrote.  Didn't mean to mislead....

18 comments:

Serena Lewis said...

OMG, Veeeeeeee! An archer???!!!....that's so COOL....and a gold medal to boot! I'm so happy for your past victory. I was never one for any form of sport growing up. In fact, I hated it. However, I did enjoy watching archery because of my interest in Native Americans and ice skating because it was so beautiful to watch.

I haven't been watching the Olympics but I did hear about some of the injuries on the news. :(

Petrinetrollmor said...

Vee, this was FUN ! An Archer ! Cool! Clever girl ! You are a woman with many big surprises :)) And you were so good looking (and probably still are)and this interview was so nice :)

You are not the only one who is glued to the OL ! It is fantastic entertainment.

sandy said...

Wow, loved reading this and I feel honored to know that I've come to a gold medal winner's blog and didn't even know it. That is so cool! No wonder you are so into the Olympics. I have watched some but not near enough that I wanted to.

Dolores said...

You are certainly a woman of many talents. Thanks for giving us a peek into another one of your many accomplishments.

Anonymous said...

Wowee, that is awesome! Lovely story and enjoyed the photos!

Terra said...

I admire archers and archery and admire you for your skill. Way cool!
Archery has a noble history for self defence, battles and hunting. In the US hurray for our right to bear arms.

JudiA said...

That is just SO COOL!!! One of my favorite blog stories ever. Wow Vee!

Draffin Bears said...

Oh you are a dark horse Vee ~ how neat that you won a Gold Medal at the Olympics. You are so talented in many ways.
thank you for sharing this great story.

Have a great week
Hugs
Carolyn

rachel said...

Goodness, Vee, this is wonderful! Impressive, surprising and quite fascinating. You never gave us a hint of your dramatic talent before - such a contrast to what you do now, but I suppose requiring the same attention to detail and very good eyesight!

Shashi Nayagam said...

OMG I have been blog rubbing with someone famous!! What can I say you gobsmacked me!! Such a talented woman and so modest about it all. You are awesome. Loved your story the best I have heard.
Thanks for sharing it with us. You made my day. Now I can put this down as my claim to fame that I know you and your blog lol!

Shelly said...

Kewl!!! Your talents amaze me. You are never ending. What a great accomplishment in your life. I'm sure there are more stories you can tell us....Shelly

Jennifer Rose said...

thats so cool you got a gold! :D I've always wanted to shoot a compound bow, have never had the chance sadly

Linda Fleming said...

OMG! I've never known anyone who has been in the Olympics, let alone won a medal. You are just the most amazing woman, Vee. You are one in a million. I hope Mr. Vee appreciates what special woman he's spending his life with.

MaryO said...

Well, for heaven's sake, Vee, why have we not heard about this gold medal before???? And in archery! You are some talented woman! I have to tell my husband that I KNOW a gold medal winner. We've been staying up WAY past our bedtime to watch the Olympics and I've enjoyed them more this year than ever before. Just had to shed a few joyous tears for the Canadian winners in ice dancing last night...and the silver winners from the US too, of course.

frayedattheedge said...

Amazing!! I too have a gold medal - but not for anything wonderful like you, just for being clever at school!!

Perpetual Chocoholic said...

Wow! Wonderful! I've enjoyed learning more about you. You are truly multitalented!

Abi said...

A dark horse indeed! wow, is there anything you can't do?!! I am impressed big time :O)

Maria Vaz said...

Go Canada Go!
And for you Vee ... you are the best! You are a golden friend. Wonderful story and a fantastic achievement
Miss ya! Hugs ...