Tomorrow is the BIG DAY

Jonas and I take off for San Francisco for a couple of weeks. Well, not exactly san fran but Sausalito which, as a bike racer, I wholeheartedly prefer. But with such a busy schedule lately with my therapy, writing, packing, I havent even sat down to think about the trip at all. So instead of being over the moon with thoughts of my favorite burrito at Punjabi in Mill Valley or my best loops around Marin County like the infamous Alpine loop or any of the ones that pass Bovine Bakery (contrary to its name they actually have an assortment of vegan pastries and bites), I am sitting here wondering if the trip is really going to happen. If within a few hours from now, my nice "routine" of sorts that i have here in Belgium is really going to turn on its head. As a creature of habit, a lover of routine, I really chose the wrong path in life. Bike racing and routine are not quite synonymous. Maybe that's why we hold on to routine as much as we can with our daily rituals regarding the bike.

Anyway, here I go.

(Photo is of Jonas showing me how to wear our new inflatable headrests for the flight.)

Thought this was cute

Johan S took a photo of this poster he found in a bathroom in USA.

Hanging out with (Jonas') family

As a "foreigner" in Belgium, I am still fascinated with the most basic events that occur. Even spending time with Jonas' family is a wide-eyed experience. Is still try to figure out what part of their table fun is Belgian-specific or just them. (I minored in Sociology, can you tell?)

And do car washes in USA also look like this from the inside?

Can you tell I miss race season?

Tuesday, bloody Tuesday

I finally got a new toothbrush. My last one was one of those vibrating ones i bought in USA. Unfortunately since they dont sell the replaceable heads here in Belgium i had to buy a whole new one once it wore out. But THAT was not the problem.

The bloody part of the story starts at home with new toothbrush - and packaging - in hand. I tried for five minutes to pry it open with my bare hands to no avail. I then grabbed the scissors. Even the scissors just barely won the battle versus thick impenetrable plastic.

But once the scissors took the project as far as it could before breaking on me, I had to finish it manually. I learned the hard way that soft skin is no match for sharred plastic. It sliced and poked me all over my hands until they looked like a played-out kindergarten tick-tack-toe board - hence the blood you see on my brand new toothbrush. Hopefully the bristles are easier on my gums than its wrapping was on my hands.

If anyone knows why companies insist on putting their products in too-thick plastic and oversized wrappings, please let me know!