The Week of the Yin-Yang

Actually i guess it would be the "weeks" of the Yin-Yang.  Since my last race a couple of weeks ago, i've bene working on balancing my life - equal work and play.  The problem is that my work and play is often the same. Sometimes writing seems like a job, other times it's a riot!  Same goes for bike stuff. Some workouts i just want to throw the bike off the proverbial cliff and others I never want to end. 

Lately I've been doing a bit more writing than usual which mostly felt like fun because i really enjoyed the topics - and the interviews.  I've gotten to write about some of my favorite cyclocross riders like Sven Nys, Tom Meeusen, Marianne Vos, Daphny Van den Brand, Sanne Van Paassen, Lars Boom, Gerben De Knegt, Bart Wellens.  And of course my off-the-cuff personal column on CYCLOCROSS Magazine (click on the names to read the articles.)  

As of this week, I am back up to a semi-normal training program that was once again halted due to an untimely rib break. I honestly dont know how World Champ Niels Albert can race so well only one week after breaking his rib. He is incredible.

As for the fun, Jonas and i actually went shoe shopping - something we've been meaning to do for a while now.  We went into about fifteen stores in search of that perfect pair of knee-high boots, or at least a pair that wasnt so wide it swallowed my teeny ankles and calves whole.  No luck, so that outing i guess was actually work, now that i think about it.

We've been watching more movies on tv which has been fun since most movies niether one of us has ever seen.  This really opens up our movie-watching options.  In belgium, on basic tv, you have at least six movies to choose from every night.  To further get into the movie-watching spirit, we got electric blankets at the local ALDI discount supermarket so we can watch TV in bed.  It goes on the bed under the fitted sheet and you turn it on about an hour before you get into bed so it's nice and toasty.  This is a magical experience for us since the heat is never on upstairs where the bedrooms are located.  So instead of my normal agony of sliding into a frozen bed that turns my back into a stiff wooden board, it's now like a sauna under the blanket. Now it's not uncommon for us to be in bed by 7pm for "movie night".

Tomorrow is offroad day.  Thanks to the warmer weathers hovering just above freezing, all the snow and ice has melted. I expect it will be a muddy day - yippee!  Actually today was a muddy day too!  When i got back from my morning workout of motorpacing, i was covered in spatters of mud from helmet to bootie.  I dont mind the mud but I could have been happy to skip the steady stream of salt-water that nailed my lips thanks to the immense amounts of salt they've used on the roads here for the ice.  The salt also did a number on the roads.  Belgian roads are not made for salt, so there are now a million more potholes scattered throughout the country.  Some i swear are as big as the ones in NYC where cars fall in and cant come out.

Photo is taken by Krist Vanmelle (thanks Krist!)

As always, thanks for reading!!!!!