After arriving in Beijing Sunday night, I managed to get a decent night's sleep and was ready for action early Monday. Of course, things take a while in a country where you speak very little of the language. I had to find my way to the main press center, get my credential, get my media kit and my photo vest. This was easier said than done, just trying to find my way around. The whole process took about 3 hours, and I was off to the Velodrome to try and catch the U.S. women, Barb Buchan, Allison Jones, Greta Neimanas, and Jennifer Schuble, racing in the 500m time trial.

After a long cab ride with a very "non-aggressive" driver, I arrived at the venue just minutes before Jennifer Schuble's start time. I had just enough time to grab my camera, throw on a lens, and click off a few photos as Jennifer whizzed by -- setting the best time of the day. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of her racing with such little time to set up, but Jennifer managed to stay atop the leader board all day...and win Gold!

I ran in to my friend, Joe Kusumoto, who is shooting photos for the Hartford, and we discussed how impressed we were so far with Beijing. The day's events at the Velodrome were very cool, there was a huge crowd, and lots of activities...including cheerleaders who were complete with a variety of outfit changes and routines.

The time came for the medal ceremoney, and Jennifer looked uncomfortable at the beginning, but settled in, flanked by two chinese cyclists, as the U.S. National Anthem played. She was all smiles following the awards ceremony, and it was a good day for the team...taking in a little hardware early on!

I'll be checking in on some other events, in anticipation of the big handcycle race days, which begin on Friday. I'm doing my best to put up photos each day, and you can find them HERE.

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