Well, I’ve been back in Europe for 5 days now. My first race was yesterday, it was a Kermesse in a town called somethingeke. I was focused on not worrying about how I felt physically as with the jet lag and mediocre sleep at best so far it was going to be a hit or miss. The goal of the race was to get back into the ebb and flow of racing ride as smart and aggressive as possible and get one day closer to shutting the door on jet lag. Unfortunately, about 1/2 a lap into the race, there was a huge pile up on a tiny farm road. Which meant I got to unclip and watch the front split ride away while I was waiting for guys on the floor to move out of the way since the road was flanked by big ditches to each side which meant gridlock in the group. So I rolled in the chase group until we got pulled. That’s kermesse racing. Now I get to take a day off, first one since I’ve been here and I am enjoing a relaxing day and even enjoying the gray weather, only because I don’t have to ride in it.

Hopefully I can keep this more updated than in the past, and I promise not to make it too “bikey” since I’m pretty sure there are only a handful of you that read it, and even less that know what I’m talking about when I start throwing the bike jargon around. Also more pictures.

I just downloaded my camera and most of the pics as of now are just of the house, so I figured it’s about time for a virtual cribs tour. But let’s start at the beginning. I made a conscious effort not to over pack, of course I did, but not to the extent I did last year, so I figured I’d show everybody what made the cut…

And yes, believe it or not there are a few pair of underwear in there, don’t ask me why. And of course there is the traditional, parting shot with the rents.

OK, this is already getting scary long. Long story short I made across the ocean in the big metal tube and all my luggage did too. Now I’ll show you how I’m living.

If you ever end up in West Flanders, look up 4 Kasteeldreef and wander into room number 5 that is where you’ll find me. Right now I’m “zonder” roommate which is Dutch for without roommate. I only know this because I’m constantly looking for items in the grocery store that say zonder gluten. Not to fear, word around the campfire is I’ll have company coming in early this week. Here is the panorama shot of the room slash my bed. Nothing big or fancy, but it’s very nice and even I can’t complain, which is saying a lot.

Here is the heart of the operation…my closet.

 

As you make your way out of my room, you’ll find my bathroom. Nothing special, but it is the more traditional European bathroom. Which means its is zonder shower curtain and shower head. Initally, most people when they get here think, what the French Word. However, anybody that know me knows any excuse to sit down I jump at and any reason to take more tubbies than usual is right up my alley.

Finally, we make it to the kitchen. There are three in the house, this one is the “back” kitchen. Most of the burners work, one of the stoves does, and the toaster is on the fritz but it’s where I make my coffee every day, so I like it.

 

Everybody has their own shelf in cupboards and refrigerators. It’s their own little piece of the kitchen, and here is mine.

It is mostly coffee, coffee makers, and expired Powerbars. Oh yea and honey.

OK, well my computer is telling me that the battery is about to die, and there is more lactic acid in my fingers than there was in my legs yesterday racing. Not to mention this is my biggest blog ever. So I’m going to shut her down otherwise there will be no chance of me ever blogging again.

That is all.

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