Thoughts from a train station

 Some random observations as I sit in the Taizicheng train station in the mountain cluster of Zhangjiakou waiting on the train back to the Beijing cluster.

The buses here all have signs, but I am amazed by how many people have to ask seven different times before they get on the bus if this is the bus they want. The signs at the bus stop list all the different stops the bus might make, yet still, you always get that one man or woman who has to check with the workers multiple times before getting on the bus. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had to ask a few times myself, but doing it over and over is a bit much.

The one thing I would kill for right now is one of those mask extenders that allows you to put the mask strings behind the head instead of behind the ears. My ears are getting pretty sore from the pull of the masks. Sure, there are bigger issues out there, but right now, that’s one of mine.

It was nice to check in with Dr. Tamara Lovelace of Alton and Seacoast Spine and Sports Injury Clinic at the US vs. Canada women’s hockey game today. She’s here as part of the Team USA medical team and was at the game. I was there briefly between events, so she stopped in to the press tribune to say hello and then kept me up to date on the progress of the game after I had to leave to get to another event.

Speaking of other events, today I was able to see parts of three different events, which was nice. My original plan was to get to Big Air freestyle skiing at 10 a.m., but I had to pick up something at a desk in the media center that didn’t open until 10. So, I got there just as Eileen Gu was bringing the crowd to life with her final send. The Chinese-American is a big hit here in China and the crowd loved her. Her gold medal performance was definitely a highlight for the Chinese. After that, I hopped a bus to the Wukesong Arena to see part of the US-Canada women’s hockey game and then hopped two buses to get to the train station so I could take the train to Zhangjiakou and then take two more buses to go see Sean Doherty compete. So, three events in one day, not too bad, considering it took me nine bus rides so far (two more to come) and a pair of train rides (one still to come).

It was a bummer to see Michaela Shiffrin and Nina O’Brien both crash in the giant slalom. Obviously as the reigning Olympic champion, Michaela was a favorite coming in and Nina had a great first run, putting her in sixth place heading to the second run. Nina will miss the rest of the Olympics with fractured tibia and fibula in her leg (been there), but is recovering, while Michaela will be in action on Wednesday in the slalom.

The waiting is the hardest part is not only a Tom Petty lyric, but also my motto for these Olympics. I am spending a lot of time waiting for buses. While the buses are all on time, the system isn’t designed well for someone who wants to be at multiple events in one day. In fairness, many of the bus rides are shorter than the Tokyo bus rides, though the frequency is what the problem is here.

There you have it, random thoughts from a train station. 

The Qinghe high-speed rail terminal is where we start journeys to the mountains from downtown Beijing.