This is Amedeo. He has been cutting my mom's hair for a good ten years now, and he did all of our hair for my wedding. I figured since I was back in Montreal this week, I would get him to cut my hair. Because really, when else do I get the chance to have an Italian dude named Amedeo run his fingers through my hair and tell me how sassy I look?

I had my final races of the season this past weekend, and it was a truly international event. In the women's field there were Canadians, Americans, Brits, Koreans, Japanese, Italians, Germans, and the Audi-sponsored Swiss, among others (the others being Jamaica, U.S. Virgin Islands, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Finland).

One of the ways we learn the steering and lines of a new track is by watching others sliders go down. Then we can see what they are doing and whether it is working.

During training runs before a race, you will see all the sliders sitting along the edge of track with notebooks, coaches and cameras, trying to figure out the best lines and steers. Which looks kinda like this:

Well, actually, it looks excatly like that.

Our first day of sliding here in Lake Placid and it rained a little. By a little, I mean torrential downpours and hurricane force gales. Which are, in case you were unsure, not the ideal conditions for a winter sport like skeleton.

What's funny though, is that people are talking about it like they are surprised that we aren't getting winter weather this week. Because ... well ... IT'S NOT WINTER.

This trip to Lake Placid is the first time I have ever flown with my sled and had to check it with the airline. There is such a thing as a sled bag for traveling, but they are few and far between - a lot of athletes have theirs custom made.

Those who don't have a sled bag resort to pink insulation foam, particle board and a LOT of duct tape. Which works just fine, but is about as convenient as trying to put contacts in during a sandstorm in Timbuktu (been there, done that).