Veggie Pride Parade a SUCCESS

I got back from NYC last Thursday and immediately back outdoors on the bike! Thanks to my close friend Ronnie, i did have a bike and trainer in my hotel room so i could continue riding while i was there. Though what i wasnt prepared for was all the walking that automatically comes with Manhattan. Every day, Jonas and I (and sometimes Ronnie) did the gastronomic walking tour, hitting every veg restaurant and cafe along the way. Knish and pretzel stands were obviously included! Tiengardern was easily the best meal we had there. It is officially chinese food but i have never had chinese food that tasted so fresh and clean.

Parade day was a lot of fun! At the start, we were about a thousand people strong. Most came with costumes, signs or some other veggie standout. In comparison, i felt pretty underdressed with my In Defense of Animals (IDA) tee, long sleeve shirt, and sweatshirt. Worse yet, they put me in the front row as a Veggie Pride Parade banner holder. Although i felt there were a bunch of folks that could have dressed up the front row better, I was honored to be chosen. My arms, on the other hand, resented me for accepting the banner-bearing position. Every once in a while i had to sneak out of the front row to shake the arms out.

Among the dozens of colorful getups were the Meatrix couple dressed in full length shiny black latex coats, promoting their mission of awakening the public to the real truth, a boy holding a homemade sign promoting healthful lunches at schools, of course the peapod and carrot. But my top favorites were the many folks sporting IDA tops and pins. I was excited to see how popular IDA accessories had become!

Even though the walk was no more than a mile or two, I was famashed by the end. Immediately jonas set out for food...and returned a whole hour later after getting lost. Luckily for me though my neighboring booths donated sandwiches and drinks. I ate and drank so much that when jonas arrived with a stack of street pretzels i was full.

While waiting for my turn to talk on stage, i handed out IDA papers and chatted with folks mainly about IDA but sometimes about other random topics, some of which i had no knowledge. One gal asked me about turning her dog vegan, so of course since i am on the "information" side of the table, i gave her my authoritative opinion (based on what i read in VegNews Mag on the topic.) Another guy came up to me and just talked. I still dont know what he was talking about.

As for my speech, I think it went well. It felt good to talk about a vegan diet from another angle other than for the animals, like everyone else's speech. I never once mentioned "do it for the animals" so as to get the point across that a plant-based diet is a solid choice for health. I also hit on some other topics such as the simplicity of a vegan diet. No need to drink tofu, grass, seaweed shakes or eat foods you can't pronounce.

One of the opening lines of my speech was, " Twenty years ago, we never would have believed that all people would have the right to get married, including our LGBT brothers and sisters." Unfortunately, as most of you may know, last Tuesday the California Supreme Court upholded the ban on gay marriage. Good thing the news came this week and not last, because then i wouldnt have been able to think of this progress in a positive light.

After the parade, jonas, Emile from holland (now Spain) and I watched a video called "Meat the Truth." It discussed the impact of cows on global warming, something Al Gore failed to mention in his movie. I had no idea that cow farming contributed 18% to global warming versus 13% from cars.

For the rest of the evening, it was back to our usual walking tour for more veggie meals. We went to Pukk Thai for dinner, and Angelika's for dessert - both in the east village, my favorite part of the city.

The next afternoon, 400 VegNews magazines arrived at the hotel - one day late for the parade table. Instead of sending them back or tossing them (which wasnt an option), jonas and i took to the streets. We gave most of them out to the vegetarian/vegan restaurants mainly in the village, and the rest we handed out on the streets. It was amazing to see how people react to a free magazine. Few were thankful for it, while most either ignored us or looked at us like we are scammers looking for money. That was funny...but not.

Two highlights of the trip were visiting the MET to see all my favorites like the Rodin statues, and visiting Ruth and Bill who were like parents to me for many years while living in NYC. They are the most impressive couple i had ever met. they are i think 87 and 91 years of age, married and still in love for 64 years tomorrow, and full of more energy than even I! They work fulltime as special sales reps for various publishing houses mainly out of their home. And every weekend they head up to their summer home upstate NY.

As always, thanks for reading.

Packing Day

I just finished my ride (just beat the thunder/lightning/rainstorm home) and now it's time to pack for my flight tomorrow to NYC. I havent really gotten excited about it yet, but that is what packing is for. It gets me in the spirit.

The only part of preparation i am not excited about is cutting my hair. I really tried to get my hair cut here a few times but i am always left looking scary. One time they shaved my beard with a straight edge - i didnt even know i had one until i saw the blond fuzz float to the ground. Another time i was left with a mullet. The worst was when they gave me a hardcore "dont bother looking at me as i am gay" haircut. What made it even more amusing is that for months afterwards (according to my male friend who sees the same guy) he bragged to all his customers that he has a gay pro cyclist as a client. Even with all the bad experiences, i still considered getting my hair cut at a salon since it is a little uncomfortable to lift my arm due to the rib incident. But I got my ribs taped yesterday by my therapist and thankfully it seems to help a bit!

Off I go!

Broken Ribs 101

There are varying levels of rib breaks - varying levels of pain and inconvenience, that is!

Certain activities should be approached with caution:

lifting heavy objects
lifting your arm
moving - at all
breathing
bowel movements - even those with high fiber diets
sex - without orgasm
yelling
yawning
stretching

Activities that are off limits:

laughing
sneezing
coughing - although it is recommended that you cough to keep fluid buildup out of your lungs
standing out of the saddle while pedaling on a bike
breathing heavily
twisting at the waist
bending over
sex with orgasm
motorcycle riding
leaning laundry basket against ribcage
pulling metal window shutter up
cobblestone or offroad riding
core workout

I am off for NYC this Friday to speak at the Veggie Pride Parade pep rally. The parade is Sunday in Union Square Park. My time slot is 2:50pm. For those of you who will be in Manhattan this weekend, come visit me at the IDA (In Defense of Animals) booth. I am their spokesperson. I was a little nervous performing in front of many thousands of people until i realized that i've done this dozens of times before - only it's without a bike this time around. OK, maybe its a little different...but i will at least be armed with my mom's sage advice. She told me to put my mouth close to the microphone so i dont have to yell (see point #7 in my "activities to approach with caution" list).

Contents of my Saddle Bag

Since some of you have asked...

2 tubes
1 patch kit
3 co2 cartridges (if jonas and his additional 3 co2's dont ride with me, then i put a mini pump in my back pocket
1 co2 cartridge head
1 pair rubber gloves
2 Gojo grease wipes
1 purell
1 big multi-tool with chain-breaker, wrenches, screwdrivers
Sram power-link with extra links
10€
1 safety pin
1 roll electrical tape
1 rubber band
no tire levers (i'm good)
sandpaper
tampon
Anti-allergy pill
Epipen - for bee-sting emergencies
2 bandaids
1 butterfly bandaid
emergency info card
chain lube
2 ibuprofen

I think that's about it!

You know your Dutch is getting better when...

you can go to a massage therapist for a jaw therapy appointment and walk out with a much needed leg massage instead.

I have been seeing a jaw therapist to help with the last of the damage (head pain behind the ears) lingering from those head injuries a while ago. Since the head pain is finally subsiding but my legs were super sore from standing all day last sunday at a Communion party, i went into the therapist's office today with the intention of slyly exchanging my jaw work for leg work.

I got what i wanted which gave me confidence that my Flemish is coming along nicely. But what i learned from this experience is that i need a lot more work before i can pull off being sly without a hitch. When i pulled my massage bottoms out of my jersey pocket, clearly looking prepared for the switch, I realized at that moment that i should have added another sentence or two to make the switch appear seamless. oops.

What do milk and rubber have in common?

They both taste nasty the second time around. I found this out today as the rubber camera was pulled up and out of my tummy. The discomfort of the gastroscopy was so intense with all its poking, prodding and snipping for biopsies that it caused silent tears to stream across my face as i fought the urge to gag. And if that wasnt enough torture, throughout the day rubber remnants have been materializing in my mouth to remind me of that fateful day one month ago when i drank milk. They really ought to put a warning label on products that contain milk, similar to the one that is plastered all over a pack of cigarettes. Only now am i able to eat almost normally and back off of anti-acid and pain pills.

The culprit - a SOBE Elixer energy drink. After we drank it, Jonas read the label and said, "This is strange. Cholesterol per serving - zero, cholesterol per bottle - five." I snagged the bottle out of his hands to see for myself what i had just surmised. Totally my fault. I didnt read the label where it had listed milk and cream at #2 and #3 ingredients. I just never imagined that a company would put milk in an energy drink. How naive am i.

Within two hours, the torture began. The milk started to make its way back up the entrance-only route, burning everything in its path. Even a sip of water caused a string of painful burps, heartburn (burning sensation in the chest area as it went down), and stabbing pain in my back directly opposite the location of the heartburn. The doctor told me that the damage looked as though i had ingested poison. I suppose to a vegan, who has eliminated milk products many years ago, it is.

The result of the biopsies are due in ten days. I expect to hear good news as i am almost able to eat normally again. Funny how I sometimes take the littlest things for granted, like being able to eat.

Tomorrow is another long day on the bike and now i finally look forward to my pre-ride meal! I already have it all planned out - farfalle pasta with a bit of (non-cheese) pesto, fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

Wanna come see me speak at Veggie Pride Parade in NYC?

Christine Vardaros speaking at the Veggie Pride Parade in New York City
Please attend the 2009 Veggie Pride Parade and support Christine's appearance on behalf of IDA!

When: May 17, 2009 at 2:50 p.m.

Where: Union Square Park, New York, NY

Christine Vardaros, spokesperson for In Defense of Animals and professional world-class vegan cyclist, will be the fitness and nutrition speaker representing IDA at Veggie Pride Parade in Union Square Park, NYC on May 17, 2009.

Vardaros is a columnist for VegNews magazine, Cyclocross magazine, and the Marin Independent Journal. In addition, she is a pro-activist for Organic Athlete, a founding member of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and a member of the athlete's advisory board for the Stone Foundation for Sports Medicine and Arthritis Research. She is flying in from Belgium to attend this special event.

Please attend this post-parade rally and expo. This is the second annual Veggie Pride Parade, which originated in Paris. Thousands of spectators are expected to attend.

Christine will also run the IDA table, handing out pamphlets, flyers and other informational media. She hopes you stop by to say hello.

Anybody wanna go?

I dont see the problem...

"WHAT'S THAT? You're not coming from SPAR?!?" (Spar is a supermarket here in Belgium)

This was Jonas' response when he took a look at my newly installed saddle bag. Even when i showed him all the necessities inside, he still thought the bag was way too big. That's OK because when his bike falls apart, he'll be thankful I brought a roll of duct tape and electrical tape to wrap it back together. And the gloves and handywipes will keep my hands clean while i do the work.


He says he will ride 200 meters behind me when i use my saddle bag. If he does that, then it's only fair that i do the same when he wears his authentic Humphrey Bogart pants to his nipples!

Three down, a million to go

I just completed my third hard training today. Up until now i have been doing lots of long slow rides only. They were lots of fun as i saw lots more of the sceneries than usual, and got to talk nonstop the whole time! They were also necessary since I was going through lots of therapy for my quads, neck, etc. But now that the therapy is solidly headed in the right direction, I was given the go-ahead to get some speedwork in.

Since i'd done nothing but a cookie-timetrial that Coach Elmo led us on in California, i was super nervous about the upcoming rides. The first was the Begijnendijk ride - the one whose usual participants include heroes like Sven Nys and Niels Albert. Jonas and i rode the 25km each way and joined them for the over-80kms of riding. They averaged 36kph, which is pretty fast considering there were stop signs, stop lights, turns, yielding for traffic, cobbles, etc. But for the most part it was steady riding, which is easier to do than the race-style riding of fast-slow-fast-slow.

Just when i was feeling really comfortable in the peloton, all hell broke loose. Jonas was first in the double-paceline and i was two rows behind when we missed a turn. We went straight where the peloton veered right. Ten of us had to timetrial the long way to catch back on. It was cookie-timetrial all over again! I never thought i would be thankful for the cookie-TT so at least the feeling of suffering was not completely unfamiliar. We joined back on but not without consequence. For the next ten minutes, i felt worked! But i stayed with the group till the end. Yippee! As a reward to ourselves, we detoured by Leuven on our way home for an iced tea and a sangria on a terrace in Oude Markt.

The next hard ride was two days later on a Saturday. We joined one of those organized rides for 130km (plus the 15km to get there and back.) When you attend a ride like this, you never know what to expect. You hope for a big fast group to pass so you can tag a ride, but it is never a guarantee. The first group to pass was going about 28kph which was great for a warmup, then soon after, a faster group avg 33-34kph came so we jumped in, and quickly after that our ultimate group, the FOXYs, came by. It was a group of about twenty five guys, mostly wearing blue FOXY jerseys and riding an average of 36kph - in the beginning...

It was a comfortable pace until the last hour or so where the guys started to race each other. I hid as much as possible and felt mainly ok. But just when it looked like i was in the clear since most of the guys had already killed themselves pushing the pace, we merged with another group that was clearly well rested. They reanimated the race and i was buried. It took three priceless nudges from one of the guys to help me keep my place in the paceline. Only about eight of the 25 guys (and girl) made it to the end. I think i shocked a few of them when they realized i was one of the eight.

The third, and fastest, ride was this evening. We got in a 1 1/2 hour warmup before joining the ride. They started off slowly which gave me hope that i may have a chance of staying with them to the end. But then the pace jumped and my legs burned. I looked to the front of the paceline to see who was killing me and it was the only other woman on the ride, Melina. What a powerhouse! I was so incredibly impressed. She spent quite some time at the front in the first kilometers, making me feel like a lazy bum hanging out in the back. Out of fear of embarassment, i started to make my way to the front. Bad move.

On one of those frontward moments, i was third in line behind some guy with jonas 2nd wheel. We were moving at 36kph, then the guy moved aside and jonas brought it up to 40 just like that. And just like that i was in pain. Then after a few minutes of suffering, he moved over to kindly let me through. Shit. I went through, died, and almost lost contact with the group. Coach elmo once told me that you cant get dropped from the front. I wonder if i just proved him wrong.

Second mistake was similar to the first. I found myself up front again, behind melina, in fourth wheel. The pace went up to 51kph and stayed there. As each person peeled off, the wind hit harder. Thankfully i didnt have to face the wind. While melina was at the front again, the guys rode by us. Again, directly from front to back. And if that wasnt enough of a mistake, i thought i could pull a superhero move and help a rider who was dropping off the pace. Eventually i dropped myself and crawled back thanks to a couple of turns that are easier to take fast when all alone.

Then just when i was feeling really strong again, the road went uphill and the group started to sprint each other. Afraid that i'd pull another stupid move again, i rode up it conservatively. but as the riders started to slow, i kept the speed up since jonas was up the road in a group of five and i didnt know the way back home. Turns out that the top of the hill was the sprint finish. I got top ten without realizing it! Not bad for dying three times. Of course i look forward to doing it again!!

Thanks for reading.

Where have i been in California, you ask...

For those who know the San Francisco area, namely Marin County, AND are curious to know where I've been while visiting a couple of weeks ago, here you go!

General concept of the rides

day 1: 2hr15min - paradise ride around tiburon total time
day 2: 3hr30min - reverse alpine loop - sausalito-mill valley-east peak (top of mt tam), rock springs parking lot, ridgecrest, bo-fax to fairfax and back to sausalito

day 3: 4hr45min - sausalito-mill valley downtown-basic instinct descent down shoreline to highway 1, up and over to stinson beach, along bolinas lagoon, up and over to olema - pt reyes to Bovine Bakery - got vegan oat cookie - olema - samuel p taylor park - local roads to fairfax, through towns to Sausalito
day 4: 1hr45min - through downtown sausalito towards Golden Gate Bridge, up scenic Conzelman to top, drop down backside, almost ride off cliff checking out views, circle around military barracks, various tiny scenic roads, past Cronkite Beach on dirt trails to watch surfers, up and out through wind tunnel, descend to Sausalito
day 5: 3hr15min - offroad CX bike - sausalito - tennessee valley parking lot - coastal fireroad trail - up walls, down to muir beach, up hwy 1 to Coast View Trail, pee'd behind rock, up trail to Pantoll, back down same way to muir beach, up Middle Green Gulch Trail to include gut-busting steepy section part way up, continue to top of Coyote, and down Miwok to parking lot, back to sausalito
day 6: 2hr30min - offroad CX bike - Sausalito- downtown mill Valley - up Tenderfoot, over to Railroad Grade to East Peak. Back down almost same way, minus Tenderfoot. One flat tire was enough (friggin Railroad!)
day 7: 3hr35min - offroad CX bike - Sausalito - tennessee Valley parking lot - rock springs climb, down miwok, explore a bit, then up bobcat, down marincello, back to parking lot, thaw out from last descent by climing up coastal walls, down to Muir Beach, along muir woods road to Deer Park fire road, up and up and up to top of Coast View trail, then back down Coast view to fruit stand (at least where it would have been had it been there), detour up Muir Beach Overlook to freeze our Beljum Budder cream off , down the hill to Green Gulch, up Middle Green Gulch trail fully clothed to top and back down to Tennessee Valley parking lot via Coastal Fire Road - Sausalito.
day 8: 5hr - sausalito-san rafael via San Quentin Prison, over to San Pedro Road to "Big Rock", up big rock singletrack to the top where you can see the valleys just in front of Sonoma and Napa, back down and home almost the same way with a detour through China Camp trails and for dinner at Sol Food in San Rafael.
day 9: off bike but on foot in Ess Eff through all the neighborhoods. Thrift shopping in Mission was the best.
day 10: 5hr30min - sausalito, through little towns (the back way though) to Fairfax, up and over white's hill, samuel P taylor park, up and over to olema, down the road to Limantour road, up and over Limantour to the beach, back the same way but twice as fast as the deadly winds died down a bit. I was only thrown across the road once thankfully. The rest of the way out though was spent riding sideways.
day 11: 4hr - sausalito - mill valley - pantoll - stinson where i had that god-awful Sobe Lizard drink that turned out to be a tall glass of friggin' milk that caused me to have the most extreme pain coupled with troubles breathing, eating, swallowing, digesting food. Two trips to on-call doctors and about seventeen medications later i am still suffering from it, bolinas downtown - detours around the little streets in bolinas - mesa road - up bo-fax - up ridgecrest - down to tam valley - sausalito
day 12: 4th - sausalito - over golden gate bridge - presidio park, chrissy field, marina for Pluto's salad, union st, got lost trying to get back to Scenic Drive in Presidio park and repeatedly took Jonas up about twelve super-steep blocks and one impossibly long staircase. (As we shouldered the cross bikes, this woman at the bottom of the stairs told her kid to move out of our way because we have our mojo on. I am still trying to figure out what that meant. And we wonder how we all grow up with the goofiest sense of reality.) finally past GG bridge, through presidio along the clif to Richmond, final destination Brewery on the water. but with sun going down, we timetrialed back to GG Bridge, up and over and down to Sausalito.

day 13: 5hr45min - marshall loop: Sausalito - through little towns to Nicasio, Petaluma's Cheese Factory, rolling roads to Marshall Wall, up wall, descend to the bay, along the water for the Cookie Timetrial to Bovine. Then over to Olema, up to Samuel P Taylor park, through small towns, over White's Hill to Fairfax, through tiny towns, up and over mill valley via Meadowsweet, sausalito.
day 14: off doing a bunch of stuff i cant remember, maybe because most of it included packing bikes and crap to send back to belgium. Ended with a pizza party hosted by don. Cool attendees included don juan, ledward, GQ, and the Lizzer.
day 15: off packing, eating, drinking, and goodbyes with Doug, Monet, and Karin.
day 16: off to Belgium

day 17: still flying until 10pm

day 18: swung by airport to retrieve lost luggage on way to Ardennes for the week.

Each ride ended with Jonas stopping off at the "skank store", a little convience store which looks more like a night shop located at the Sausalito end of the bike path. I forgot to tell Jonas that the official name of the store was not "Skank Store" so when we went in one night to get some wine, he announced in a loud voice "Oh, this is the skank store". The cashier didnt seem to thrilled with Jonas' insight but it made me and Karin howl.

When we werent riding our bikes or buying/drinking wine, our time was spent lounging by the swimming pool (ok, only once for ten minutes while trying to finish an article for Marin Independent Journal - i would have stayed longer if i could have seen the computer screen), dipping in the hot tub (which lasted three minutes since the water was too hot at about 105°F), visiting Karen in San Francisco, going to Pizza parties at Don's (thanks for all who showed, especially Liz H for driving a zillion miles to be there), hanging at Mill Valley's Mt Tam Bikes, and eating - lots of it.

We had Puerto Rican Sol Food (San Rafael), Avatar's Punjabi Burritos, Joe's Taco Lounge burritos, Lucinda's Zookie Burritos, Whole Foods salad bar (all in Mill Valley), Sartaj's Indian burritos, Arawan Thai (both in Sausalito), Herbivore's burrito and noodles, Club Waziema's Ethiopian, Pluto's salad, random Mission burrito, and the newest trendy San Francisco coffee Blue Bottle served out of a garage (all in San Francisco.) Every day also started off with a collection of bagels from Sausalito's Bridgeway Bagel. They have salt bagels, my favorite. I put some mustard on them and it reminds me of street pretzels in NYC.

Thanks for reading!!

Back from Sunny California

Yep. Sunny. The weather was superb! Jonas and i were there for about 15 days and for the first 12 or 13 we were treated to over 65°F (over 20°C) weather accompanied by real sun. I even have a suntan to prove it. It was also the first time i saw my bare legs, outdoors while not racing, in at least a year. There is nothing like the feeling of sun heating up the quads.

Speaking of quads, mine are finally growing back. After extensive therapy the past month, i followed it up with almost 1000km of hill/mountain riding in California. We stayed in Sausalito (thanks Lips for your generous hospitality), and rode directly north every day. Coach Elmo also joined us for a few rides (thanks E) so we got some speedwork in as well.

I think the most amusing ride of all was the "Marshall Loop" with Elmo. After we descended the backside of Marshall Wall and hit Highway 1 south, Elmo turned to me to ask if i wanted a cookie from Bovine. Of course i could never turn down a cookie, so i said if we make it in time I would want two. With theoretically not enough time to get there unless we drive 50kph over the hilly terrain, we wont make it. But in Elmo fashion, he had us buckle our seatbelts and off we went.

For the next minutes, my body was a bit surprised by the speed but eventually it started to get excited to move. Unfortunately, on the ultimate mini climb - the one that's always given me trouble mentally, if that can make sense - I blew up. Damn, no cookie. Elmo gapped us a little up the climb. And while he was away, Jonas bitched nonstop while on my wheel. "Damn cookie time trial. This cookie better be worth it. No cookie is worth this much pain. Fuckin' cookie. I dont even want a cookie. Fuckin' cookie time trial." His bitching was so amusing that i almost tipped over from laughter. Once i got myself solidly back on track, I picked up the speed again. But a little too late. We pulled up to the Bovine as the "CLOSED" sign swung in the doorway.

We just returned last night from a too-long trip home. And now we are packing to leave for the Ardennes for another week of training. But first we must do the regular swing by the airport to pick up the delayed luggage. Five hours layover should have given the handlers enough time to put a bag on the plane, but then again my bike chains may have given them cause for distress. It could make an effective weapon i suppose. Not sure how i could wield it if its in my check-in luggage though.

Thanks for reading!

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!