Guess who's off to the Women's Tour de France?

Moi! That's right - ME! Yeah, I'm thinking exactly what you're thinking...why would someone who is fat and out of shape think to contest a race like this? Well, the answer is sheer guts, willpower, nerve, resolve and most importantly - team orders. haha. At the moment, I'm quite nervous. But i'm sure that once I'm on the train I'll start to instead focus on how cool it is to be participating in such a prestigious event!

Here's a link to the event - www.velo-feminin.com

I leave tomorrow early morning to arrive in Nantes, France for the Teams Presentation ceremony. The good news is that i am actually on my way to great health once again. I now wake up excited to get out of bed - not good news for Tom but he'll get over it. Besides, it's good for him to spend more time propped up on the stage in my living room where he gets to stretch his cardboard legs while enjoying a better view of the backyard.

My newfound energy has helped my cycling as well. My training rides are slowly increasing in length and while the intensity remains at a calm level, the urge to ride hard is becoming stronger and stronger. As long as I am careful and continue to listen to my coach and doctor, I expect i'll enjoy a full recovery from this nagging fatigue soon enough!

Lately the weather here has been hit and miss - one moment it is sunny and warm and the other it's hard freezing rain with winds so strong it's almost dangerous to ride. A couple of days ago, as i was riding with Jonas and Christian, we got about ten minutes from home when the weather turned on us. It was sooooo bad that we all stopped at my house since i lived closest to save ourselves from hypothermia! I lent Christian some dry clothes (pink and blue Velo Bella kit, of course) so he could get back home comfortably. I wish i would have taken a photo of him in the jersey - it really complemented the sideburns!

The next day the three of us again headed out for a ride. We participated in a cyclo-tourist group ride. There are about 50-60 of these every weekend scattered throughout Belgium. This one was called Grote Prijs Sven Nys to celebrate Nys' birthday. After Jonas treated us to the entry fee (3 euros per person), we started to weave our way through Belgium, following the SN marks on the pavement. Half way through the 75km ride, we got bored and hopped on the Canal to take a direct route back to Leuven and have some coffee. About ten minutes into our journey home, we were passed by none other than Sven Nys!!! I didn't realize it was he until Jonas told me and Christian who he was! As we meandered down the canal, he came up behind us seemingly out of nowhere and passed us with ease simultaneously as we were passing two other cyclists while trying to avoid the three cyclo-tourists approaching in the opposite direction. God, that guy is beautiful on a bike!

OK, I'm off to bed so I can be fresh for a full day of travel tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!!!