So, today we went to our second (half) day of training from ONS and Infostrada. We started the day, after an bus ride that was a bit more expedient than the day before, with some notes on looking at statistics and using the stat sheets and results sheets that the ONS will give us after each race to ask better questions.

For example, instead of asking, "What do you think went wrong today?" you can ask, "You slowed down seven seconds from the second lap to the third. What happened?" This will, in theory, prompt the athlete to give us a better answer that is more in depth and better suited for a Flash Quote Report.

Then, we went through some team building exercises as an entire Cycling Flash Quoter team. Surprising fact of the day: Alongside the Purdue students will be some people from Missouri University. We did some simple little icebreakers and teambuilding activities. The big points that were made during this part of the training were that we are all part of the Olympic News Service and that, when you focus on the team and the organization as a whole entity, everything will go that much better. The name that I put at the end of this post is the closest thing to a byline any of us we'll get in the next two months.

And, to be honest, I'm OK with that, because even though I'm used to credit for what I write, as all of us are, we're here at the Olympics! We've all had to deal with a lot of changes, and, whether it be the food, accommodations, bus trips, humidity, or any of the other 100 things some people have been complaining about, I keep reminding myself that I am in one of the corners of the world that I never would have thought I would end up: China. In Beijing. For the Olympics. It doesn't really get much better for a kid from Attica, Indiana who just always figured he would watch the Olympics on TV every two years. (That's right, people, I totally tune in to the Winter Olympics too. Curling is the greatest sport ever!)

In our training session, we then talked briefly about the biographical content that will be gathered and provided to us by ONS. Biographical information, much like statistics from a race, can greatly enhance how you ask questions and, more importantly, what questions you ask. Yesterday they mentioned something to us that a huge Olympics fan like me found fascinating: The system that we will use for biographies of athletes is the EXACT same system that they use on the television broadcasts. So, when you're watching gymnastics and Bob Costas has one of those weird facts that you hear and wonder, "Where in the heck did he get that from?", rest assured that he got it from the ONS.

Today, most importantly, we got our accreditation.

That lovely lanyard hanging around my neck will get us into the velodrome, the venue that will contain all of the awesomeness that will be the track cycling and BMX cycling. So, other than being vital to us doing our jobs as flash quote reporters...it makes us look really really cool.

Well, that was Wednesday. I hope that everything is awesome back at home. Starting tomorrow the bulk of us have about five days off so if anyone has any suggestions of things for us to see or do while we're here, please post them. We've already done the Great Wall, the Forbidden City (well, at least most of us have done that anyway), the Summer Palace and the sewage treatment plant. So, please, feel free to drop some suggestions on us.