Got out for a great ride today. On order was 2.5 hours with a 30 minute block of tempo. I really enjoy this ride. It allows me to go for a longish ride and to get in a dose of intensity. Nothing too hard and nothing too long. Just enough to get the juices flowing and remind me that I’m a bike racer.

I had planned on the group ride – but the tire issue took precedence. So I went out mid-morning – the wind was fierce and it was raining. Not optimum. But so what – I’m in Belgium! I really didn’t care or notice the weather. It was just so nice to be outside riding my bike.

I hit up one of my favorite routes that took me through Ramsel, onto the bicycle path, and then onto the great canal bicycle path. Perfect route for today’s work-out. I love riding along the canal. It literally goes on forever. If I was feeling so inspired, I could follow it to Antwerp (but I think I’ll take the car…). Only saw a few other cyclists out this morning. Suppose the weather was a deterrent. Did see some wobbly young roller bladers and a few joggers. To keep me company on the ride I was plugged into some of my favorite CBC and NPR podcasts.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. Very short walk over to the health food store to check it out. I managed to get some almond milk and a jar of tahini. This health food store in Blauberg is pretty darn good. They stock some interesting pasta – sweet potato spelt pasta and some interesting looking cereal – contains quinoa and goji berries. I think I’ll be frequenting this little shop quite a bit. Got the tire fixed on the car. Thank goodness! Also got my phone almost sorted out. Managed to switch chips. Now just need to get the minutes I bought loaded onto the phone.

After all of this I decided to nap. Why not? I was feeling tired. So nap it was. I hooked up to CBC Radio and snoozed while listening to The Current and Q. I really do appreciate technology. Especially when I’m so far from my loved ones and friends. I can easily stay in touch and it helps stave off any feelings of loneliness.

Well, I’m off to watch the Nommay World Cup from last year. Marc put it on my computer so I best watch it so I know what to expect this weekend. If memory serves me correctly, it was an epic mudfest last year. Cool. Mud is a leg-sucker. I’ll need to remember to keep my legs turning over – I have a bad habit of over gearing myself and trying to power through everything. I’m really feeling like I just want to get my first race here done. Not sure why I’m feeling this. Guess because it has been a long time since I’ve raced with such a stacked field. Should be a good one.

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate your continued support and enthusiasm. It helps me a lot when I’m out there riding and getting ready for some big races. Keep pedaling. Safe travels if you’re off to Northampton this weekend for the Cycle-Smart International Races. Looks like big numbers of riders will be out to race. The course changes sound very interesting. I’ll be thinking of you guys this weekend (Marc, Steve, Josee, Conor, Karl, Derrick, Natasha, and Rebecca). Make sure you hit hard!