Through a Chinese Doorway, Three

A little slice of secret garden in heavily urban environs, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.

Through a Chinese Doorway, Two

Back alley courtyard, Hong Village, Anhui Province.

Through a Chinese Doorway, One

Inside the Temple of Buddhist Virtue on Longevity Hill, the Summer Palace, Beijing.

World Fucking Champ

This man, my amigo and former teammate, is the Masters Track World Fucking Champion in the Scratch race.  That's pretty impressive.  Oh, and he did it by lapping the field.  That's extremely impressive.  Rainbow jersey, represent!

"Joseph Wentzell (USA) made everyone sit up and take notice as he won this category's title by lapping the field on his own.

It was quite an aggressive race, with lots of breaks going but nothing was sticking until Joseph Wentzell went on his own. By the time the others realised how strong he was, Wentzell had taken a lap." -VeloUK

(Pictured here a few years ago- fit, but no where near what the level of hardman he achieved this year.  This is also the race that boyfriend went rubber side up and broke his hip.)

A Gentle Eye

At a horse farm in the Poconos.

Sending It

Two amigos on a decidedly easier bouldering problem than yesterday's post (easy enough for me to do!).  Bouldering is a tricky thing- you're not roped, you never go much above 10 feet, and yet I am just as aware of a potential fall as I am when leading.  You're not falling far, but you're guaranteed to deck and it doesn't take much to fuck yourself up on a pile of rocks.  I guess that's why smart people bring crash pads.

Bouldering tends to be more technically difficult or, rather, the ratings start at a higher level, and great boulderers can put up some truly awe-inspiring moves.  One of the films shown at the fest was about this girl, Ashima Shiraishi, a 9 year old Manhattanite who is one of the best climbers around, of any age- in her trip to Hueco Tanks, TX, the centerpiece of the film, she was working on a bouldering problem that has yet to see a completed ascent by a woman.  She apparently sent it three times (!!), but remains without a valid ascent because each time her feet swung out and briefly hit a tree.  That's gotta be hard on such a wee one.  But if puberty is good to her (physically and mentally), she will likely become...I don't even know.  She's already phenomenal, I lack an appropriately strong superlative.

Faces of Concentration

This is my favorite climbing photo I've yet taken.  Don't know what this bouldering problem was rated, but a bunch of us tried it and, man, it was a bitch.  No one finished.  Well, except that random guy who came walking shirtless down the path and flashed it with no apparent effort.  This, however, is not that guy, as you can tell by the...effort, quite apparent.