THREE DAYS LEFT OF CALM...

Yes, three days left here in The Bay Area! Again today we had an exquisite day - sunny, warm, and even the Blue Angels flying above us ! Doesn't get much better than that!

Next wednesday at 3:45am I am out the door to say goodbye to all my friends here as well as my kitty, Super Mega Duper, who has been staring at you from the blog. By the way, he has a new girlfriend. She almost looks just like him.

For the last few days i've been really appreciating my time here while looking forward to going back to Belgium for the cyclo-cross "world tour." To help in my transition, I got to spend yesterday with Johan who is visiting from Belgium and hear stories about his homeland. I even got to practice a few words in dutch like "Smakelijk" before our meals and "alstublieft" when i hand him something so I don't completely forget everything i learned in my last trips there.


Of all the challenging aspects of traveling back and forth between belgium and here (besides trying to figure out which clothes stay and which go) , I would say the most annoying is having to get back into a routine again. I know bike racers aren't supposed to be "creatures of habit" but i do admit i really love waking up in the same bed, to the same breakfast, to the same training roads, and even to the same fleet of bikes! Oh, on a side note regarding fleet of bikes, I rode the Ahrens Whole Shot at tempo on some seriously technical cyclo-cross terrain and it felt like an extension of me! I have never felt like a bike was more perfectly suited for cyclo-cross AND for my agressive riding style as my trusty chocolate brown & pink plaid Vanderkitten Ahrens mobile!

Tonight is bike accessory night. I will spend the next two hours in the garage going through every bike part and accessory i've accumulated over the past years in hopes of figuring out what to keep in the garage, what to give away, what to take and what to take with me. Fun.

Tomorrow is clothing night. Again, i have to go through every piece of clothing to determine what category above it falls in. My goal is to have all packing done by tuesday morning so i can sit back and relax the night before i fly. That's the goal, anyway! Time will tell...