The Flooded Farm
I was planning to ride to the race in Bavegem because the team is racing tomorrow and I had to get there by myself. I planned on giving myself plenty of time to take it easy and roll to the race. The weatherman called for rain and did not disappoint. I was disappointed that the report said nothing of large hail and lightening that would delay my departure from the farm.
I managed to leave with just enough time if I hustled. I put down an effort that was more than I would like but I didn't want to miss my last opportunity to race here. Racing to the race is not such a good idea. The signs I was supposed to follow weren't so great. I lost a bit of time navigating the wet roads. I even decided to not take a detour and came across a road that was gone. In its place was a muddy pit for 100 meters or so.
Bavegem seemed like a nice little town, much like every other town here. But there were hills! I would get to do a race with hills. I got to registration with seven minutes to go before the start and they let me register, which was quite generous. I didn't bother with the change room. I pulled my jersey out of my dry bag and pinned my number on and dressed in front of the pub with registration. As I'm going through this dance, Fred (whose name none of us knew until Friday) appeared out of nowhere. I was so excited to have support (and not to have to leave my backpack lying around a pub) that I gave Fred a hug.
I put my helmet on and got to the start line on time. I was eating my pre-race sandwich still and chewing the last bite as we took off up the cobbled climb. I felt ok. I was pretty surprised. Then came a 180 degree corner at the top into a concrete descent with a tailwind. We turned onto a muddy farm road and the race continued on narrow, muddy roads until the last kilometer or so to the finish. It was a hard and interesting course. It would have been even more interesting if I didn't start running out of gas very quickly. The first few laps felt good and then everything got progressively harder. Then I popped off the back and got pulled. I was happy to have Fred's dry, warm car to change my clothes. I was even happier to get a dry, warm car ride home to the farm.
I may do a more in-depth recap of my Belgian campaign, but it seems as though when I'm not working in abnormal conditions, I race just fine here. Unfortunately, I had three out of seven races where I felt good and couldn't do much about the circumstances, i.e. people falling down directly in front of me or balls of ice falling from the sky.
I'm excited to be going home and seeing how pregnant Shiri is. That will put the cycling/fatherhood bit more into focus. I'm also excited to see how Belgian changed my perspectives and abilities regarding racing.
I managed to leave with just enough time if I hustled. I put down an effort that was more than I would like but I didn't want to miss my last opportunity to race here. Racing to the race is not such a good idea. The signs I was supposed to follow weren't so great. I lost a bit of time navigating the wet roads. I even decided to not take a detour and came across a road that was gone. In its place was a muddy pit for 100 meters or so.
Bavegem seemed like a nice little town, much like every other town here. But there were hills! I would get to do a race with hills. I got to registration with seven minutes to go before the start and they let me register, which was quite generous. I didn't bother with the change room. I pulled my jersey out of my dry bag and pinned my number on and dressed in front of the pub with registration. As I'm going through this dance, Fred (whose name none of us knew until Friday) appeared out of nowhere. I was so excited to have support (and not to have to leave my backpack lying around a pub) that I gave Fred a hug.
I put my helmet on and got to the start line on time. I was eating my pre-race sandwich still and chewing the last bite as we took off up the cobbled climb. I felt ok. I was pretty surprised. Then came a 180 degree corner at the top into a concrete descent with a tailwind. We turned onto a muddy farm road and the race continued on narrow, muddy roads until the last kilometer or so to the finish. It was a hard and interesting course. It would have been even more interesting if I didn't start running out of gas very quickly. The first few laps felt good and then everything got progressively harder. Then I popped off the back and got pulled. I was happy to have Fred's dry, warm car to change my clothes. I was even happier to get a dry, warm car ride home to the farm.
I may do a more in-depth recap of my Belgian campaign, but it seems as though when I'm not working in abnormal conditions, I race just fine here. Unfortunately, I had three out of seven races where I felt good and couldn't do much about the circumstances, i.e. people falling down directly in front of me or balls of ice falling from the sky.
I'm excited to be going home and seeing how pregnant Shiri is. That will put the cycling/fatherhood bit more into focus. I'm also excited to see how Belgian changed my perspectives and abilities regarding racing.
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